The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-05-03


York city charter inglorious to its parents
and to the Legislature that nursed it into life
but glorious TO Governor Hoffman, who killed
the monstrosity. 1t had, as is well known
seventy fathers seventy old fogies-who could
hardly he expected to produce healthy and
vigorous offspring. We have denounced il
all along as a monstrous production that ought
to die at the hands of the Governor. The
exposure we have made Of its deformity
good sense to quote our language in his very
able veto message to the Assembly He said
1.-THE New York HERALD, in recent
Issue, expressed so well the impression
left upon my mind by an examination of this
charter that cannot do better than quote it's
words 1t says II is a law experimental in
its character, complicated in its machinery
and destitute of that directness and simplicity
which, more than anything else tend to secure
sound and honest government. This, in
condensed language, expresses the real charac-
ter of the charter. But the Governor, with his
clear legal mind, has dissected this instrument
as ably as the best surgeon ever did the human
body, and has, in the most lucid manner, ex-
posed its defects. He has done this SO well
and forcibly that the Legislature is ashamed Of
its work. Though the charter was passed by
an overwhelming majority, and by majority
opposed to the Governor politically, his veto
was sustained by vote of eighty to thirty
seven. We donot know anything more curious
in the history of legislation than this. While
the Legislature showed incapacity or
stupidity in passing the charter we
must give it credit for repudiating
that measure so decisively after hearing
the clear argument Of Governor Hoffman It
is something creditable to manifest shame for
ones folly, and not to persist obstinately in
wrong doing, and, therefore, AS we have
escaped from the evil consequences of bad
legislation, we can afford to be charitable to
the penitent Assembly
But what shall we say Of the seventy
amateur statesmen very respectable old
fogies-who forced this crude and impracti-
cable charter upon the Legislature 2 That, like
the so-called reform legislators, who were
newly elected to power on the tide of excite
ment they tried their prentice hands at what
body, of homogeneous elements, and assuming
authority and a representative character.
without representing anybody but themselves,
or having any delegated power, they presumed
to dictate a fundamental government for
this great metropolis aud its million of
inhabitants, when they had no right to
do So and little knowledge of the sub
i.r.t Init
The Seventy were an improvised commune, and
about as revolutionary in character rs the Com
mune Of Paris They had no legal status and
yet undertook to control both the city affairs
and the Legislature. They did control the
Legislature, as we have seen, in forcing that
body to pass q charter, though against the
Judgment of a majority of the members. This
| could not have occurred formerly, when the
legislators of our State were men of experience,
intelligence and independence. But many of
the present Legislature have shown themselves
to be mere apprentices in lawmakng and
they were either frightened by the apparently
formidable array of the names of the Seventy
or were Influenced by corrupt and political
motives. Behind the seventy would-be Solons,
and dictation of bad legislation, was a portion
of the party press. One journal in particular,
controlled by an Englishman, who cannot be
expected to know as much even of Ameri can
institutions and politics rs the Seventy or the
new-hedged Legislators at Albany has
been vociferous for the monstrous abortion
of charter now happily dead 1t has been
instrumental, too, under the pretence of public
virtue, of bringing about the present chaos in
city affairs, the creation Of dictatorial COM
mune and the election of Legislature more
ignorant and corrupt than any that ever as
sembled at Albany before.
1t Is hardly necessary TO follow Governor
Hoffman in his powerful argument against the
charter. He has argued the matter so we'll
that little is left to be said. There are few of
our readers, we presume, who did not read his
message in Wednesdays HERALD. He has
utterly demolished the cherished theory of the
Seventy Of divided municipal government
without a responsible head He shows, as we
have urged over and over again, that there
can be no good government which is hydra
headed, one part OF it irresponsible of and
clashing with another. He makes il clear
that the Mayor should be invested with
proper power over oil the departments
and be made responsible to the people
and the laws for their administration, and in
doing this he ties the disastrous failures of
former experiments in governing by indepen-
dent commissions. His remarks, too, on the
attempt TO engraft the anti-republican and
unconstitutional theory Of cumulative voting
or minority power on the charter must be
regarded as sound. Our whole framework of
government from the federal government
down to the smallest municipality, is based