Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1873-04-09

cccdngs see elsewhere in to days Gazette.
IN TIE BOARD OF ALDERMEN,
sovsr. bills against the Aims House AMI
r,norts of the Committee on Streets III regard
to curbs cutters, &c., wrrr received and dis
posed OF. =,
G. n. Corsc presented Il petition f:om LEWIS
Mckenzie, President Of the Washington and
Ohio Railroad asking that the resolution re-
Gently passed by the City Council ordering GER
t,;n ;mprov.ments to sidewalks in the vicinity
NJ the dcpot of that railroad be modified, in
order that it might not be obligatory upon that
cu,napv at present to make their part Of the
improvement.
DIR. Johnson said it was IN imp pleasant task
for him to have to object To granting this re-
uucst. The cost to the railroad company you'd
he but about $50 and he could not understand
whv Mr.. Mckenzie would make >llc' a request.
1t would be unjust for Council to make oticr
property- holders in that section ot the c'ly
comply with the orlinarc':, and lei the railroad
c,nuauy 20 free. Ihcy ought To improve their
nropcrty; it would enhance its value. he then
ryrlaincd the utility Of the proposed improve.
mcut
Col. French regretted that DIR. }. entertained
such views in regard TO this matter. He sad
he had cxalnlucl the locality III question, and
was satisfied OF the rcasOnabicncSs nt Mr..
Mcl<euzic's request He (Nlr. Mcknzi,'J
had spared neither his labor nor money
in pushing this road through, which was cyl
denly destined at some early period to be IA
great auxiliary to the prosperity OF Alexandria.
la the speaker opinion, lnstcai Of $50 being
the cost, it would take Il thousand or more dol
lars to make the improvement.
Dr. Johnson said he thankc his Heavenly
Father that he WAS not imbued with the spirit
Of crushing his weaker fellow creatures az was
manifest III some human beings This Wash
ingtuu aud Ohio Railroad WAS powerful
monopoly, and charged whatcycr it pleased, aud
Mr. Mcl\cnz had been we'll paid Tor his labor
and outlay long ago. The company inuucston
wanted the sidewalks that Ical to their depot
improved, but asked to be relieved from their
share. Cod would PROSPER no man who gave
vent to such spirit -strlvIng to force poop Z
in his vicinity to make repairs Which would
cventuatc to his prnlir. Rather than modify
the law for the benefit nl such corporation he
wn,,l,l move tn do away with The requirement
atogtihcr.
Gu French said Dr. j. had mise 'nstrurd the
. intent OF Mr. Mck"nzlcs c"niuuuncul II II
there were any persons III the section Included
who were ulub.c 10 have the repair, made they
could he excused.
Dr. johnson asked if TIL, lynitird badly
THE City Council of Acxandrla) WAS tn be
cnmlr"llcd to modify lis cnartmcniS 10 sui the
whinls of such Individuals He was in favor
uf treating Mr. Mckenzie as any one else, and
while he was up he would say that Nlr. Mex.
had received more from this community, 1T less
cXur ,sc than any one else IN 1t; ami how lie
came 10 Council and asked to BE- exempted from
the expenditure Of the patry sum Of $40 or
SEQ. lie did not want this august and hnnnrl
Al,
to be turned and twisted about by any one.
A vote was finally taken on the adoption OF
the communication which was clrricd-aycs,
McSs.,. Simpson, Corsc, Preach, Living, Mar
kcll and Scaton. No, DR.. johnson
DIR. johnson offered the following:
Resoirctl, That committee of two from each
Board be, and are hereby appointed to amend
the present City Charter; aud that said COM
mlttce be instructed to report such amended
charter to the City Council for It's adoption and
reference to the voters Of the city OF AIcXan-
ria, for ratification Or rejection.
DR.. J. said: There is no doubt about the
fact, that the charter OF Il city Is OF importance
to those who are to hc governed !.y its prDvl-
siunS, and that the consent OF the people to It's
terms and character, should always bc obtained
through ma ority OF their voters. This IA
tional and prudent course, was REJECTED by
majority Of the members OF the City Council
of 1871, and they arbitrarily adopted the pres
cnt charter without deignlny to care who was
for or against it. As u protest against such Il
course, the voters OF the ely gathered on the
evening Of January 3lSt, 1871, and passed
unanimously preamble and resolutions dcprc.
eating the act DR.. johnson read the reso-
lulions referred to- which were published in
the Gazette at the time. No attention what
ever, was given to this strong representation
against the violent manner OF the adoption Of the
then proposed charter; and some OF the members
of the Civ Council OF Isl did put themselves
to the labor Of carrying petitions about the city
for the purpose of getting signatures IN recon-
incubation Of u charter, which, the large mass
of those who were to be governed by it, had
never seen or read and afterwards left their
counting-rooms to hasten to Richmond to cullst
our delegates to the General Assembly in be-
half of the passage of the said charter through
that body, before the slow travelling Judgment
Of an indignant majority, could be heard in
rclnonstrancc Our delegates readily yielded
to The plausible representations OF the sell. con
I, stitutcd committee which waited upon them,
and the charter easily gIidcd through the Leg
islaturc Such was the uncercmouious manner
in which the present charter passed and the
people were not pleased at the way in which
of the first opportunity to allow ''our dele.
gates, in company with the scIf.con~ttuted
committee of the City Council, to enjoy the
felicity of private business, freed from the care
and responsibility Of representative duties. =
No list of voters pcttioncd the Council Of ISL
for new charter, and the one which it forced
upon them, was idcntcally, in many particu
lars, the same which they had thrice before
rejected. The people were too well instructed
in the principles of local scltgovcrnmcnt not to
know that the charter of city is a mutual
agreement between a people and the body
which its articles create; and that the body so
created is allowed, by the consent of the ma j,r-
ity TO do certain specified things within the
SC ,pe of power dcfucd aud EXPRESSED. The
power of controlling the vested rights Of the
p ople, or of debating their franchises, is not
likely to be implied in such au instrument and
ought twcnty-tour men, whose legislative pro