The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1874-02-28
THE PETERSBURG CHARTER AND
THE CONSTITUTION.

liam, mas the following amends
ments to the proposed charter of the city
Of Petersburg 3 hi argmIEw0CE'
First. To limit the power of the NUM-
cipal commissioners to police, fire, and
sanitary matters. 41A
Second. To confer the power of APP
pointing the commissioners upon the
Governor instead of the Judge of the
hastings court.
Mr.. Round was the first to discover the
fact that the clause of the Virginia consti-
tuition in reference to city officers was
copied cord for pord from the New York
constitution. His argument, although
lengthy, did not go over the cases discuss.
ed in the Senate by Messrs. Allan, Kirk
patrick, Cochran and others, and was
confined entirely to new cases brought to
light by him, which had been decided
by the highest courts of New York state.
1t is singular that Judge Ould in his
reply should have confined himself to the
u%nimportant question whether the judge
Is a city or state officer, and with drawing
h~air-splitting distinctions between the pro-
posed Scar of Petersburg y as a ''hust-
tings court" q Judge" and a man. As
if it makes any difference to the people of
Petersburg who are to be practically dis
franchised, whether it is done by a |" court,o
Judge" or Mann"
In support of the above amendments Mr..
Round referred to two ~precedents. The
first was the establishment of the metro.
politan police district of London, by the
act of 10th George Nv, chapter "A. This
district extended fifteen miles in every
direction from Charing Cross. The
commissioners were appointed by the
Crown, and it is said that the Parlia-
ment of England, although unrestrained
by a written constitution, so far respected
the immemorial municipal rights of the
city of London, and the inherent love
which the English people entertain for
local administration, that it left the NUM-
cipal police force Of the city in existence and
entirely untouched by the act. No Eng
lIsh authority has been found which gives
the slightest precedent for comforting ex-
ecutive authority upon a judge, or legisla-
tive authority upon the commissioners.
1t is reserved for this year of grace, 1874.
and for the latitude of Richmond, Vir-
ginia, for the bold announcement of the
doctrine that all the powers of the govern
ment may be centred in one man. This
certainly savors more of Babylon and
Egypt in their palmy days, than of the
land Of Thomas Jefferson in the nineteenth
century.
The second precedent referred to by Mr..
Round was that of the act of the New
York legislature, passed in 1857, estab-
fishing the metropolitan police district of
New York out of the cities of New York
and Brooklyn and the counties of Rich
mond and Westchester. This act. and a
number of other acts passed subsequently,,
places the police, fire and sanitary affairs
of the district under the control of com.
missioners appointed by the governor.
The "immemorial rights" ofthe municipali-
ties of New York and Brooklyn were re-
spected, and their police made part of the
new police force. The cases ofNew York and
Petersburg are almost exact parallel. The
political party dominant in the state was
not dominant in the city, and it was
charged in that case, as in this, that the
dominant party in the state was attempting
to unconstitutionally obtain control of the
power in the city. The parallel, singularly
enough, extends even to the name of the
of the cities in question I; the name
Of the n being Fernando Wood and the
other Franklin Wood. From the conflict
Of authority (which followed between the
mayor and common council on the one
hand and the police commission on the
other, we ought to draw some useful les.
sons. The cases are numerous in the
New York reports, and the battles were
ought out by such legal giants as William
II. Eyarts, David Dudley Field, Francis
3. Cutting and Charles O'Connor. And
t was upon the case as discussed by them
the highest courts Of the state of New
Sork decided the cases which were referred )
0, which are making such a stir in the !,
of the friends of the Petersburg char :
err. .i"t sD
Let it be remarked here that no attempt i
'as ever made in London or New York to t
i've commissioners any power beyond po- b
ce, fire and sanitary matters, except once, G
hen the New York Legislature passed an q
giving the police commissioners author n
y to issue licenses. The court of appeals h
decided the act unconstitutional. o
ven the act originally establishing the
commissioners was held by the mi
Of the court, and by the attorney f
,neral, to be unconstitutional. The L
OF the court seem to concede that o
icy are obliged to go TO the very geyge of c.
'e constitution to find authority for it. Be te
remembered, however. that no such dar- b
g attempt was ever made or dreamed of to
'en by Horace Greeley, at the height of q
s political power, as the comforting Of T,
authority on a jad0e or of leoisza- W