The Cairo daily bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1870-1872, 1871-10-19

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| patience Of the General Assembly is ia.
vokcd to furnish n full, complete and
| satisfactory response.
The general political proposition, that
| that government is 10 be regarded rs the
! best that interlnies with the people tho
least, will remain forever true; and ~
pericnce has cohclu,ivcly shown that in
tellg.nt men aud women are, under all
ordinary circumstances, more capable "i
providing fnG their own wants, managing
| their own affairs, and regulating their own
Onduct, than any government can be-
! however well organized or administered
| 1t seems to me, then, that the people OF
! Chicago and Cook county, who have sui-
| fcrcd losses, require nothing from the state
| but to be left free 10 employ their unexHm.
| pied and unbroken energies in the great
work of rebuilding their homes
They need no loans or gifts from the
| Cuited States or the state of Illinois, and.
unless | greatly mistake them they will
! a,n no more than that the state shall as
.umc the discharge of its own proper
| luties, and relieve them from burdens
that. from their peculiar situation, were
always heavy, but have been cheerfully
| borne-so that they may be leit TO apply
al their resources to their own great task.
| IL u primarily lHt uutN VI tHt bt"'S w
provide for the poor. the blind, the insane,
| and all other helpless classes, and for the
enforcement of its laws everywhere within
It. limits. 1t is also its duty to provide
| for the construction of highways, building
| bridges and the support OF schools. The
| state of llino has always recognized the
obligation of these duties, and for the more
| convenient performance Of many Of them,
counties townships, cities, towns and Other
| examinations have been established by
law. They are but paris of the machinery
employed IN carrying on the affairs of ,hc
| State, and the authority and the duties OF
Zach are confined to certain well defined
territorial as well as legal boundaries,
| that may be modified or Destroyed, a. the
-xigcncies of the public may demand.
| Aud whenever, from any cause.
any of these agencies become un-
unequal t. the discharge Of the duties as
signed them. or the public duties imposed
| upon them become to burdensomc or op-
| pressivc to She people embraced within
their limits, il is the duty of the State 10
| provide other means for their perform
ance. 1t is fact that requires no proof
that the county Of Cook and the city Of
Chicago, two Of the most important of the
classes Of public agencies to which they
| especially belong, are, from causes that
ire well understood, unable to continue
.hc fun discharges of all their duties that
were imposed upon them. From an incv-
table accident their resources are dinin.
lshed and their local burdens vastly IN
C cased, SO that they are no longer ayaila.
| ole TO the State a. governmental agencies
lor all the purposes for which they were
created and il follow. from that fact that
| 4, h.., ka u,,fu oh
duties are in excess Of the legal resource,
of the county and ci.y-such duties mu.,
be resumed by the Stuic, and the Genera
Assembly must devise other methods fol
their performance.
Its remarkable illustration of the diff.
, fculty of providing for every possible con
F. stituuonal regulation, that certain provl,-
/ IONS of the constitution Of 1870, that wer
intended 10 restrict the powers of municip
al corporations and were resisted upon tina
= ground, will be found TO operate to reliev,
Z the county of Cook and city Of Chicag,
o of what would otherwise be ntolerab
# burdens Every part Of the constitution
abound, with proof that ITS Trainers re
garded the municipal organizations of tn
State ~ mere administrative agencies, Nh,
that they intended to deprive them Of al
, emergent or discretionary authority. ex
g ceI = within.very narrow Limits.
By the Eth seton of the 9Th article @
the constitution, ii l. provided that IN
county, city, township, school district {
pther municipal co operation shall
a, allowed TO become indebted in any mai
~ n.r or for any purpose 10 an amount, II
~ Guiding existing Indebtedness, in The uggI
gate exceeding . per c"utLm Of the va.r
~. Of the taxable property therein to be ~
g.r.uip.I Ly tina lea. II f,r ltf
: and county taxes And by III
- . h section Of the same article, county at
- thorlties are prohibited from rsscs-ln
~ taxes, the aggrcgut, Of which shall rXcec
sevcnty-hvc cents on the hundred dollar
q valuation. Then, whatever power I
!, raise money for necessary public purpose
, the State has denied its local or munIcipo
+ organ cations, it has reserved to itself, I
:, be exercised by the General Asscmbl
=, The financial resources of municipal al
local organizations are necessarily limit
~ to their powers 10 contact debts aud
impose taxes. When these powers hay
been excrted to the utmost legal or posslb
\ limit, and ae inadequate 60 the compile
~. performance Of their duties 10 the Stat
-, they must be relieved of such duties alt
Il, gether for the accepted construction OF Il
vs. constitution forbids the Genera Asscmb
NO to pay, assume TO pay, or TO become rcspof
~ ibc lor the loan orcStcnd its credit 80 or
a.. or in mid OF any public or other corporate,
NJ, or individual. lSccllon 20. Article
~ S,ptc Constitution.
nm This provision of the constitution W
he adopted for r"lsons well understood, M
IT, but few will doubt its policy or wisdor
is md no on" will, ! apprchcnd be wilIr
to relax IL strngcncy or narrow its int
trt, ti,.,,