Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1874-08-05

be earnestly supported by it,
champions, voting and non-voting,
the poor Constitution has scarcely
friend left. Judging from the
fact that all open advocacy
of its adoption has ceased, and
from the concession that even the
party which is responsible for it,
will not dare to make its adoption
a plank in the party platform, the
conclusion has been almost unani-
mously reached that while woman
suffrage is almost sure to fail, its
chances are in every way better
than those of the new Constitution.
This conclusion, however, the
EceniRl Post overturns and ii
the Constitution has any friends
left, aside from the compiler and
the officials whose salaries are to
be raised, they ought to thank the
Post for the information which it
has given.
Almost equally astonishing is
the Posts statement that the peo-
pie of Michigan SHOULD not need
urging to adopt this Constitution
Although in form an opinion rather
than an item of news, it has about
it all that charm of novelty which
entities information to be called
news. The general feeling in the
State is that the people should
need urging, and great deal more
than urging, to induce them to
adopt the Constitution; but the
Post, being disinterested observer
ought to know.
Were it not for the disinterested
character Of this observer and for
the proverb referred to we might
be tempted to doubt whether its
conclusions really are any more
valuable for its distance from the
scene. If we could ignore for a
moment the assumed necessity that |
being impartial it must be right,
we should be tempted to believe
hat the Post has taken counsel of
Is hopes rather than its judgment.
And there would be really a great
leal in the Posts statements to
Justify this belief. In the whole
Constitution it finds but four points
worthy of special notice. The
irst of these is the prohibition of
pccial legislation, of which the
Post speaks very enthusiastically /; |
mt We cannot help wondering its s
would be dampened if
knew, what is so well understood ,
ere, that there is scarcely one of
hese prohibitions which is not [
mbodied in the present Constitu-
on or which has not become c
art of the settled legislation of
ne State. Another change which ,
he Post admires is that in the
judiciary article ; but it seems
trangely enough to have lost sight
4 the fact that the most important
eature of that change is its giving
he judicial branch of the govern
nent over to be bound hand and
DOT by the Legislature. The third
desirable improvement, according
o the Post, is that made in the
natter of salaries; and as this is a
natter of opinion the Post has un-
luestionably right to its own.
The opinion differs, however, from
that expressed in Michigan. The
fourth and last point which the
Post finds most admirable is the
change proposed in the article on
corporations; and here again it
seems to have jumped hastely to its
Unquestionably good
as some of the provisions with re-
lation to corporations are, those
which are new are for the most
part crude, and such as ought new
er to be embodied in the rigid un-
changeability of q Constitution ;
and even if they were much better
than they are they would form no
sufficient excuse for the demand
that the people, for the sake of
securing them, shall except the
very Objectionable articles and
provisions which have been so in
judiciously bound up with them.
To some such criticism as this
would the Posts eulogium of our
proposed Constitution be open,
were it not for the rule which binds