Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1873-07-09
" GOVERNMENT.
THE NEW CITY GOVERNMENT.
nuoR ROUGH ORGA ALTON.
NETTING OF THE CITY COUNCIL.
OSCILLATION OF THE MAYOR.
,vrEEESTING PROCEEDINGS, &c, Sc.

INTERES1lN6 Z &C &c
TIN, organization of tho new city government
,.,. .omplctcd last night when w. N. BERK-
wv Mayor elect, Was duly installed in the
.,u,, If the members Of both Boards of the
City Council.
Tbe standing committees Of Council were an
,,,nn,.,d, and there being full attendance, the
lrs;pes, before the body was proceeded with at
ana, The official proceedings will be found
elsewhere. The following full report of the
,cb.tss vii! be found Interesting
IS TIE BOARD OF ALDERMEN
iii the members were present, and quite large
crowd of spectators gathered outside the bar.
Atier the reading of the minutes of the last
Cot, French said he would present the 6nan-
cial exhibit of the Corporation for the year end
inc May 3lst, 1878. tic said there had been
cnnmcn,s made by scribblers and members OF
the other Board as to the reason it had not
hitherto been published, aud for their benefit
he would say that it was not lawful to print
his account until it had been accepted by
Council and ordered to be so disposed of; and
had it been published before, it would have been
At his own private expense. During Col. F's.
remarks the Messenger, Lemuel Robey, mad
vcrtcptIy stood in front of the speaker, and was
quickly requested to stand aside.
While the report was being read a message
was received from the Common Council an-
nouucug that that Board had organized, and
Inviting the Board of Aldermen iuto their
chamber for the purpose OF administering the
oath Of Office to the Mayor elect.
DR.. johnson moved suspension of the read
ing for the purpose Of accepting the invitation
Col. French hoped the clerk would be allow
cd to proceed. This was au important u'attcr to
every Que, and it was the imperative duty Ut
Council to act on 1t.
The chair thought it would be better to post
pone the matter for few moments and pro
coed to the chamber Of the other Board, and
on returning they could proceed with the con-
siieratiou OF the Finance Committee report.
COL French said if the joint convention was
merely or the purpose of swearing in the May
or he would willingly yield, but he was opposed
to stopping the reading OF the report to elect
the municipal officers, as it would then be late
in the night before the Board of Aldermen got
through with its business.
The Board on motion, then proceeded to
the chamber Of the Common Council, and on
their return the reading Of the report was re-
suned.
Col. French said, (athough the report did
not seem from its wording to show III, that the
debt of the Corporation was 100000 less this
year than last
DR.. johnson said that in rising to make
motion TO accept the report aud order 1t to be
printed he would simply state that when the
City Council passed a resolution recently for
the cod:ticatiOn Of the laws Of the Corporation
it was then ordered that hereafter all reports of
that kind should be printed in pamphlet form,
and not on single sheet, as heretofore, rem
derng it so liable to be lost and mutilated. He
therefore moved that it be received aud printed
in pamphlet form.
Maj. Loving seconded the motion and it was
carried unanimously.
The chair then announced the standing COM
mittces Tor the current year.
COL French then said as the organ Of the
Committee on Light he would present the re-
port of that committee for the past year, which
Was read. He sad there was now surplus OF
$1,000 on hand which was due to the reduc-
ton that had bcen made In the price
OF gas, which had materially Increased the
receipts.
On motion of DR.. johnson the report was re-
ccivcd and ordered to be printed in pamphlet
form.
Col. French then rose and said:
TX. Ill Is que 10 uySeil LuaL
Should make some cxplanatun AS TO certain
measures which passed this Board, while was
necessarily absent from the city for short time
When at the last meeting of the Board, at
which was present, a bill excmptlng machine
~ and capital from taxation passed by the
Common Council and presented to this Board
for our action, / moved to lay the bill on tho
table, rcgretlng Was compelled to do so, from
u conviction that it ought not to pass, and that
would ut another time call it up, and assign my
bvi ,bpu11 Tho hill laid IN
the table, but ut the next meeting, while was
absent, it was called up and passe and also in
corporated in the Revenue bill.
AS Chairman of the Finance Committee, had
prepared with much care, tho Revenue bill for
the coming fiscal year. which passed this Board
went to the Common Council, and was their
changed by various amendments, sent back to
this Board, the amendments coacurred in, and
the bill passed in my absence.
AS WAS not permitted to vote against this
bill, which l should have done had l been
present, and lest it be thought that l concur in
its passage, here enter my protest against 1t as
unconstitutional and unjust, and therefore should
never have been passed.
Tho constitution of The State provides that
taxation whether imposed by the State, county,,
or corporate bodies shall be equal and uniform"
Let US try this bill by this provision of the
constitution.
Tho first section provides 'that upon all pro,
p"rty, both real ond personal, OF every KIND and
andra, or located within the city, and subject to
taxation under the constitution and the State
laws, there shall be- levied two dollars on every
one hundred dollars of their assessed value,
provided that tho machinery and capital en-
ployod by manufacturers shall be exempt from
taxation"
This bill is unconstitutional because taxation
under it, is not equal and uniform. 1t discriml-
mates in favor of one class of our citizens-manu-
tacturers; and against all others who are not
farfu Ii from taYatlOn the
capital and machinery employed in all our man
cuiacturing estsb!ishmeats-in our r,.ilroad shops
ionndries, furniture establishments, tanneries,
planning mills, breweries, whiskey rectfylng es
Establishments, dlstilleres Sc, SC, indeed wher-
ever capital and machinery are employed-yet
makes subject to taxation the household and
kitchen furniture OF the humble operative, labour-
Ing in these establishments for bis daily bread.
1t exempts from taxation the brewery with
It's spacious and expensive fixtures and machine
t...o - Lo,,sa-