The New York herald., 1874-11-10
inferior in this respect to the noble gardens IN
London and Paris.
The con.,isusionai Amendments.

London and Paris.
The Constitutional Amendments.
There is as yet no authentic and precise
statement of the vote of the State on the
amendments to the State constitution. 1t
was our wish, but hardly our expectation, that
they would all be adopted. Our contemporary,
the Times. had judicious article on this sub
ject on Sunday, whose tone of sentiment we
indorse, although we have yet no trustworthy
information confirming or confuting its con-
lectures respecting the fate Of the amendments.
1t was the impression of our contemporary that
about one-third of the amendments have been
saved. and that the other two-thirds have
been lost solely in consequence of the trickery
OF Kelly and Morrissey and schemers of the
same sort in other cities. What can be more
despicably scandalous than the fact that the
tate of important constitutional amendments is
put in peril by men of the social grade and
intellectual calibre of John Morrissey2 What
competency have the men who sought to de-
eide this great question to judge Of it (? The
thirty-two wisest and most experienced men
that Governor Hoffman could select from both
political parties spent many months of COD
scientious labor in maturing these amend
ments; two successive Legislatures have ap-
proved them after full debate; q vast ma
jority Of the Bar of the State, nearly all the
Chambers of Commerce, Boards Of Trade and
similar associations, and q great preponder-
ance of the intelligent classes Of our citizens
warmly recommended their adoption, and yet
half dozen selfish, tricky politicians, Of the
least intelligent sort, have either caused or
come near causing the rejection of q great part
of the work which the best intelligence of the
State deliberately and earnestly recommended
The method by which this was sought to
be accomplished is very simple It is the
habit of citizens to get their ballots from the
booths of their respective parties, erected on
the streets near the polls. The Tammany
tricksters supplied ticket indorsed "Con-
stitutional amendments" but the voters did
not open il, and for aught they knew at the
time they were voting for them all, when in
fact two-thirds of the amendments were can
celled on the ticket which the sharpers sup
piled. They indorsed few of the amend
u1cAtS dS AIouu6 Va AuOTo SuIoiy 50uuCAuB
democratic voters into defeating the rest.
Nothing can deserve more indignant denunci-
alton than such methods of practising on the
simplicity of unsuspecting citizens and en-
trapping them into rejecting measures which
their own judgment approves 1t is as ras-
cally and as infamous as any other means of
tampering with the elective franchise.
Among the amendments defeated or in
doubt are those relating to bribery in cleo
tions and the Legislature, those forbidding aid
by local governments to railroads or other
corporations, and those extending the
term and changing the powers Of the
Governor The very best amendment in
the whole set, that authorizing the
Governor to veto Objectionable items in an
appropriation bill without defeating the whole
bill. is said to be in doubt. The amendment
restraining thepower Of the Legislature to pass
private, local and special bills-an excellent
amendment it isis said to be saved.
When reliable returns are received we may
recur to this subject, but meanwhile we sin
cerely join in tho Times reprobation Of the
methods taken by the Tammany chiefs for
defeating o great part Of the amendments.
We wish Mr.. Tlden's spokesmen would in
form rs whether he was an advising and ac-
tive, or only consenting and passive accom-
plice in thwarting the wishes of majority of
the most enlightened men in the State.