The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1874-02-14
A PETITION AGAINST THE PRO-
POSED CHARTER.

Document--An Opinion Relative TO the
Popular Desire for Change of Munic-
ipal GoVernma nt--A Few Words About
the New System.
The first iptimation we received
that a petition had beeen circulated
here for signatures, protesting against
the passage of the new charter bill
introduced by Senator Bovee, was
the announcement in the official jour
nal of the Senate that such a document
had been presented by Mr.. Bovee,
and referred to the same committee
which has the charter bill under con-
sideration-that on Corporations and
Parochial affairs. We. were all in
the dark concerning the number and
character of the signers until yester-
day, when a gentleman who has seen
the petition informed us that it con-
tanned only about forty names, and
was engineered by a few prominent
gentlemen Of the community whose
motives, considering the relation they
bear the town government, are liable
to be placed in a very questionable
light.
We do not pretend to challenge the
privilege or right of any citizen to
express his opinion on any question
or measure affecting the town, State
or country id which he dwells, but
when the desires of the few are sought
to be made appear the viii of the
many. we feel it to be the duty of
josrnaist to endeavor to counterfeit
the nieyement by an exposition of the
real state of the popular pulse.
The same gentleman who gave us
information concerning the petition of
which this article treats, openly i'm
pugned the motives of the originators,
and declared that out of every ten
citizens of the proposed City of Dom
aldson, eight would be found fayora-
BILE to the new government. He said
that counter petition, fayoring the
passage of Senator Bovee's bill, would
receive fifteen hundred signatures,
and we feel confident from the gen.
| eral tone of discussion relative to the
charter question, that he has not
greatly over estimated the number.
OF course, every one familiar with
the subject recognizes the fact that if
all the projects authorized by the new
charter are carried out and all the
officers and employees allowable
appointed, the expense of the
new system will be much too great
for town the size of this to meet,
but there is no probability whatever
that under che management of eapa-
BILE and honest men, the new method
will be more expensive than the old.
On the contrary, We believe that we
have already shown in the columns
of the CHIEF that, by the limitations
of the new charter, the annual ex-
penditure will lie even less than now
and this with larger portion of ter
ritory to care for than is at present
comprised within the corporation
boundaries. The idea is that the pro-
posed act of incorporation will meet
the requirements of the city when the
population has increased to double
the present number, but at the same
time the provisions of the instrument
can be conformed to the compare
lively limited wants of the town as
now constituted. So much is left to
the discretion of the Council that the
cost of the government will depend
in very great measure upon that
body, and the people may rest assured
| that the men who will be recon-
mended for appointment as Admins
traitors and councilmen will be gen.
orally acceptable to the entire COM
manity SO far as regards personal
character aud eapability.
| We may take occasion torefer here.
after to the petition against the pas
sage of the new charter when we learr
more of it's nature and supporters.
IGENAT0R MoRToWS SPEECH on