The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1872-01-05
THE CITY DEBT.
The Limits OF the Authority OF the Mu-
nietpaI Government.

The Limits OF the Authority OF the Mu-
nietpal Government.
To the Members of the City Council:
GENTLEMEN-Tn recent article we sought
to show that the city debt, not obligatory for
| want of capacity In Council to contract It,
| cannot be enforced by Council, that being an
| act of adjudication. Each assessment is
Judgment rendered against each individual In
Charleston for his proportion of the debt, and
that Judgment the Council cannot render, and
| the less should be- allowed to do 80, In that
the debt was contracted by itself, and its own
| authority to contract 1t is the point In issue.
But If YOU undertake to try this question,
| we have, at least, the right to ask that you
will try IL. We have right to the forms adopt
ed tor the protection OF legal rights-to
notice-to appearanceIto trial, ana tne opp9r-
tunity of witnesses and authorities for our de-
| fence. Do you propose to do this II you do
not. and to show also the authority you have
| to sit in Judgment, your Judgment, IN Wnat-
ever form rendered, will be void, your execu
! ton will be trespass, and each OF you lnol-
yidually will be responsible to us individually
for every act of violence to result from the et-
| fort to enforce 1t,
You cannot dodge that responsibility by as.
suming to act under your power to Tax. Inae
was given to you for the expenses OF govern
| ment. The State itself can use it for 40 other;
| In State vs.. Allen, McCord, 56. It attempted
to impose, by way of tax, penalty OF slV.-
600 upon the defendant for the sale OF lottery
tickets; In Horlbeck VS.. Council, IL Rich, l28,
in that way to recover the sum charged
against adjacent lot owners for the expense
OF widening a street, and in both failed, upon
the principle that having the political right to
so much only of the property of cltlzens as IS
necessary 10 LIS support, tae State mas tne
political power to take 80 much only oy TAXA
lion. To the extent only to which The State Is
itself possessed OF the political power of taxa.
ton can 1t confer that power on corporation,
snd to no Individual or corporation could IL
give the power In that way TO enforce the con-
tracts which, as agent, It might n incur: ,,n tho,
power 1t has not. lit could have authorized
ysu as agent of the people, and with their con-
sent, of course-for the State cannot force us
to accept such agent In our private matters
to make the contracts you have undertaken,
and to tax US for their, payment, II mas not
done 80. It has authorized you to make the reg
ulations proper to the peace anu oroer Oh tae
town and TO assessments thereto as you may
deem expedient. Clearly, you, at least, have
the taxing power but to the regulations nee
essary to the peace and order of the town. NO
one Of you has the simplicity to suppose that
| while you have but the power to MAKE reguia-
| tions respecting certain designated suo)ects
| of municipal government, you wera Intended
to make assessments to any other purpose
you might deem expedient to the private for-
| tunes Of the people.
Nor is even that power without limit. Not
only have you but the power to assess the ex-
| penses of your local government, but even
those expenses you can only assess Wnen II is
expedient. You, yourselves, tfyou had made
| this debt could not assess 1t, for you nave no
power to raise money but By assessment, and
| that YOU have borrowed 1t on stock would be
conclusive that 1t was not eXpedlent to assess
| and that iffor governmental urposes, therefore
| It was not within the condition upon Wnlcn
you could assess 1t at all. Nor made oy your
predecessors, and for the like purposes, could
YOU assess it, for 1t would be conclusive then
that. they also did not deem 1t expedient to
raise 1t by assessment, and 1t Ia inconceiVaoie
that you could deem 1t expedient to assess
now expenses which were incurred for objects
of which you are ignorant, or which you know
to have been improbable, and utterly unlm-
portant to the city government, and which the
] Council then, without the knowledge OF re-
suits possessed by you, deemed 1t inexpedlenS
| to assess.
Finally, gentlemen, youlhave had enough to
| do with that matter, aud had better let resi-.
| The ofiicious informed ddllng of Jour predeces-
sors has cost us much. acd has, perhaps, In
yolved us further, aud from that ne would ex-
| tricate ourselves, as best we may, without
further imp ediment from you. You say the
credit of the city will suffer Let 1t. We
| know nothing Of so little use or go much TO DE
deprecated as its credit. The officers OF city
government, with the power of Issuing money
but without the sense of Individual interest
in its use, are necessarily, ifnot worse, the VIC
Tins OF imposition.
But you shrink from reputation Be
at rest on that. 1t Is not your debt,
If it be debt, but ours, and We will
meet that responsibility. Your body without
authority. as we conceive, certainly Wltnout
is all that was ever expected Of 1t, and that 1t
has done 10 the best Of its ability, and then Its
/ office and concern about the matter ends, or
ought to end, and, for ourselves, If there be
odlam in resisting the obligation into which
we have not, either personally or by procura-
| ton entered, We will meet 1t.
But creditors will suffer If 1t be not paid !
More will suffer If it be. You are singularly
ignorant of the condition Of this town II you
do not know the sufferlngs this debt occa-
sions the people. The payment OF the tax
/ imposes the crushing weight OF 1t upon the
| fortunes and prospects Of the town. But that
is not the question. It Is not for you to act as
this is one of them, of which you are not the
arbitrator. It Is presumed the court will do
light about the matter, and should that exon
crate us-it would be but courtesy to assume
we ought to be exonerated-and becoming In
you at least to be content.
But the debt, you say, is valid, for that the
Legislature confirmed II. This debt Is In the
form OF certificates Of stock to the amount Of
S., ,35O, 900, issued without authority, and void,
therefore. All that the Legislature did was to
declarevalid certain subscriptions to railroads.
| Such declaration could give no validity 10 the
| contracts of corporation void for want Of
power; but If it did, 1t left the stock where 1t
| was before. That Is not even mentioned, and
there ls, therefore, no pretence of validity to
| that from confirmation.
But 1t is valid at least from time or acquies-
cence In 1t. No debt becomes valid from time.
That discharges, but cannot create 1t, and If 1t
be claimed that the acquiesence IN the
tax gives the right to Its continuance,
that IS error. The purpose of assessments
has never been declared. Few knew the
debt was taxed upon them, but If they did
that tax without authority was wrong, and
the wrong never becomes right by repetition.
That were Infringement upon common right,
which has no authority but from act Of Legts-
lature, or special custom: There Is no pre-,
tence of legislative authority, never of special
n,,,top, Thot r,onot houo aYictod frnrn time