New-York tribune., 1873-03-15
THE CHARTER OPPOSED.
prc or ,pr>-o nrFrcTs POINTED OUT.

10 ne Senate Of the stale 81 Neio York;
The construction OF charter is no holiday
xork A profound knowledge of the nature and growth
f poppar liberty is necessary its without
an enlarged and enlightened sympathy with popular
rights and thorough familiarity with their accustomed
and lradtionay safeguards. the work had better be un
ATTEMPTED. charter having. however, received the
assent Of the Assembly OF the State and being now
before the Senate for its approval the time would seem
to be proptous for rigid scrutiny OF the proposed
scheme OF government for the inhabitants of free city
When 1885, the Dongan Charter was conferred on New
York it recognized then 10 be an anceht CITY
body polite and corporate and its citizens possessed
of certain rights, privileges, customs franchises Jus
detons sc These had been the slow and painiu eIo"'n
os 20 years Of the care and protection of the Du''h
West India Company trained the true conception oI
popular government within the dykes OF Holland auueu
Ia 10 years of English pOlity, reposing upon 'oSo
articles Of the Great Charter which grant 'ha' Luon
land all other cities and borOughs and towns anu P
shal have their liberties and free customs. No"i' '
not quite half century later in $780, Inc hohlso~'iio
Charter confirmed and renewed the grants of the Don
gan Charter aud established others OF more extensive
but of cognate character The act OF October H. S- o
the Colonial legislature and the state CONSTITUTIONS oi
1777 ls2l and s46 having successfully rescued and con-
tnned their obligations the validity OF these t"o Char
ter enters into aud symmerzes the whole body OF our
laws.
And so it happens that every variety OF charter
changes projected by restless or selfish ana specuuNe
minds begins and ends cOnspcuously with rathcauon
of these ancient and charter rights, but deyotes tsei
bodily 10 their practical abrogaOn Accordingly aruce
I section ! of the latest OF these numerous changes
declares that
The corporation now existing and known by the
City of New-Y0rk' snail continue TO be body polite
and corporate, tact and in name. by the same name
au shalt have perpetual succession, win all the grants
powers and privileges heretofore held ~ ihe MSSS'
aldermen, and Commonay Of me Cty OF oTH
and not modified or repealed by the provisions heIeh
after made by this act"
Its last section provides that the charters of the City
OF New-York known the Dongan and Montgomene
charters the either OF them Is now IN
force shall continue ana remain in full force ana Shal
NOT be construed as repealed modified, OF in any manner
affected thereby.
NEw-YORKs VESTED RIGHTS.
II shall now be our object to show that the force aud
effect intended by the interior articles and sections Of
obviously that OF practically supplant
ing the essential nights and liberties the privileges ana
iiDmuDtes Of free city and Of replacing It's enhre
fabric OF popular government with the tyrannlcai sruc
ture OF a despOtsm 10 is 10 be forgotten that pOt-
cal power conferred by Legislature cannot become
vested against the government In any individual
or body of men, people VS.. Norris Is Wend. Rep 33l
Neither is 70 be forgotten that the Constitution OF the
Omitted States declares that State shall pass any law
imparne Mindful therefore, OF both OF these
proposltops is 10 be remarked that the first must be
understood as limited 10 that political power which
enables people TO administer government IN accord
ance with their nalenable rights The legislative act
which conflicts with these rights or more OF their
recognized safeguards, with the polity with which
they are identified, and on which they subsst s o0yl-
ously usurpation, and should be resisted Then re-
emberng public corporation OF body corporate,
such as New-York City, is legally defined TO be an in
yestng the people Of place with the government
thereof" People agt Morris, Is Wend. Rep. S5I, 1t is
plain the Legislature Of the State Of NewYork can
not either abrogate impair the government of the
people Of the City Of New-York. Under the
nremised
powers conferred be not for public purposes but for the
private benefit and emoument Of corporation, quodd
hoe II should he regarded private company, Bailey
al. agt- The Mayor OF New-NOIk, Hill, 6S1-539l,
II needs argument TO convince the understanding
that grants OF lands emoluments TO the Corporation
efNewYor cannot in any respect be lost or impaired,
but remain valid to the present day among its vested
rights Under this head shall shortly hereafter ad
vert TO the usurpaOns OF power by the Legislature
where in the lO8th and in the 11th sections they pre-
sumo to strip the Mayor, Aldermen ana Commonalty OF
all the city property, inclusive of markets streets parks
lands anlic buildings; &C. and TO place it at the dis
posal Of certain Boards therein named.
I'm the meantime we will return TO the first and chief
propositonthat the Legislature of the State OF New
York can neither abrogate impair the Government
OF the City Of New-York.
THE LIMITS OF STATE LEGISLATION
By resriptive aud charter right the Government OF
The CITY Of NewYork Is aud has long been, vested in
ITS Mayor aud Common Council, and civil courts they
n.patinr tbroneh the exercise OF the ballot from the
prescrptabe rights Of the people This governmentis is
the accepted representative OF local liberty identi
fed with local segOvernment, and popular rights arc
implictly confded TO It's custody. It is political
maxim that the legislative executive. and Judiciary de-
partmens ought TO be separate and
distno Tue accumulation Of all these powers-egs-
lattye executive. and judeiary-in the same hands,
whether Of one, a few, many, and whether hered-
itary, selfappOinted. elective, may justly be
pronounced tie very definition OF tyranny.
Were constitution, therefore, really chargeabe with
this accumulation of power, or with mixture OF power
having dangerous tendency 20 such accumulation,
NO further arguments would be necessary inspire
universal rcprobaion Of the system" Pederaist No.
xlvli. James MadisOu MontesQuieu says: " When the
legislative and executive powers are united IN the same
rsrson body there be liberty, because appre
hensiops may arise lest the monarch Senate
should yranncal laws to execute them in ran-
meal manner" Again he says: % We're the power of
Judging joined with the Legislature the life and liberty
Of the subject would be exposed 10 arbitrary control,
for the Judge would then be the legislator Were it
joined to the executive power the Judge might behave
with all the violence of an Opprcssor'
THE NATURE PROPOSED cIARTER.
Let us now examine in this Light the structure Of the
proposed City Government and the distribution the
Of power among its constituent parts The entire
powcrs Of corporation divided IN twain by the
CharterougeEs, and assigned DOmnaly 10 the Legisla
live and the Executive Departments. Article H., Sec
vests the legislative powers in Board Of Alder
men, which declared to be the Common Council Ar
tieie III section the executive power the
Mayor and tDe departments while by Section 20 the
MayOr is made chief executive officer Of the Corpo.
ration IT, with the power conferred on the Aldermen
Ia make modify, and repeal the necessary ordi-
panees resolutions, and laws, land 10 enforce
obedience thereto and Observance thereof by
s.N. NY 81