New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-06-05
CONSTITUTIONAL EXPERIMENTS.

Mr.. Charles NordhOff has written a letter to
the Hon. Rutherford b. Hayes on the subject
of Constitutional Amendments, and has sug-
gested certain general principles for the
consideration of the Convention now in
session in Ohio. Mr.. NOrdhOff has given
great deal of study to this subject, and
his letter deserves very careful con-
sideration. Most of his views are identical
with those which THE TRIBUNE has con-
sistently advocated. He believes with us, in
limiting the number of elective Offices; con-
centrating responsibility in the chief ex
ecutive, who should have an extensive
power of appointment, and should be
changed often; abolishing the elective
judiciary; enacting q general law for the
government Of cities; prohibiting special leg
islation of all kinds, and comforting upon
townships the power to prohibit retail liquor
selling within their limits. Mr.. NOrdhoH
would also extend the principle OF local OPP
ton not to cities, but to separate wards in
cities-a plan which is evidently open to
strong objections, and does not promise much
good. He "would hold the City and State
" elections at the same time with the general
election, and then make the City as well as
Estate tickets clearly partisan,"-a proposal
! from which we most earnestly dissent, firmly
| believing that we shall never have good
municipal administration until we exclude par
tisanship from it altogether.
II will be seen that the Constitutional Com
! mission in New-York adopted several of Mr..
Nordhoff7s points, and that two of the most
| valuable of them, the prohibi ton of special
! legislation and the requirement or general
law for the government of cities, were after
! ward thrown out by the Legislature. AS some
misapprehension still exists, and occasional
violent and ill-informed criticism is heard re-
specting the possibilities of constitutional re-
form in New-YOrk, we may as well explain
exactly how the amendments are left by the
recent action of the Legislature. Article
XIII. of the State Constitution provides that
any amendment or amendments may be pro-
posed in the Senate and Assembly, and IL
agreed to shall be referred to the Legsla-
"ture to be chosen at the next general election
"of Senator's; - If agreed to in that Legislature
also they shall then be submitted to vote
of the people. After our late Legislature had
wasted almost the whole session IN faction
fights, it was undoubtedly the wish of the
people that it should not attempt to tinker
the amendments proposed by the Commission,
but pass them as they stood, and leave the
task of closer examination TO the Legisla-
"ture to be chosen at tho next general cleo
"tion of Senator'S which will be the Legis
lature of 1874. That body would have
the power to reject any amend
ment which might seem unwise. But
the gentlemen Of the Senate and Assembly
could not resist the temptation to throw out
certain valuable clauses, like that on special
legislation and we have now to consider
what is left for us to do. 1t may be ques-
ton whether it will be worth while to adopt a
long string of amendments from which the
most important portions have been excised-
whether We shall not hasten thorough re-
form by refusing TO accept a partial and
delusive one. Or il may be wiser to take
what we can get now, and insist upon hav-
ing the rest two years later. 1t is
mistake to suppose that the Legislature of
1874 viii have no power to correct the errors
Of the Legislature of 1878. It may propose
new section on special Legislation for instance,
aud O new section on the government of
cities, and what will be the RESULT Why, al
though those sections cannot be submitted to
the popular vote in 1874. they can DO sub
mitted i9 1876. provided they pass tho Legis-