The Portland daily press., 1875-01-26

l.
The constitutional commission now in ses-
sion at Augusta is undoubtedly very coDser-
vative body. No danger of any rash or crude
action from that commission! Those grave
elderly lawyers, associated With learned col
lege president and an able editor, will not set
the Kennebec on fire. And certainly nobody
wants the Kennebec set on fire, or any rash.
crude or incendiary proceeding on the part OF
the sober decemvirs. The constitution of an
American state is solemn thing and it is not
fitting that every theorist and upstart doctri-
naire should try his prentice hand on the ven-
cradle structure. A committee of Paris
commune will turn you off constitution in
few days and a very well sounding one, too;
but somehow it has not the element OF sta
bity and is soon superseded by another or
swept by coup Getat or plebiscite into
oblivion. But our constitutions are made for
use and il is desirable therefore that due con-
sideration and careful deliberation should be
used while they are building. There is no
doubt that these requirements will be rigidly
observed by the commissioners who have now
entered on their labors. They will, if we
mistake not, need to be encouraged to 60
boldly forward rather than to take counsel OF
their doubts. Their strong conservative ten
dency is illustrated by the gingerly way in
which they approach two topics on which
there is pretty substantial unanimity OF opin-
ion among the people, viz: the abolition OF
the Governors Council and the substitution
sc t;on,;o1 f,r opn,iaI caeciopc nf tho aUislq-
ture. They may fairly be the bolder, as their
work is only preliminary, and if they should
make any serious mistake, it would hardly
find permanent lodgment in the revised COLI
stitution after running the gauntlet of the
Judiciary Committee, the Legislature and
popular election. las-. ae.0 .i4 ..rr'
As suggestions have been invited we are
emboldened to make one which seems 10 US
important Special care should be taken
while giving the organic law the shape it will
probably retain for the next half century, to
make it popular in the sense of contributing
to The perpetuity of the condition Of civil and
social equality which now happily character
ICES in a peculiar manner the people OF
Maine. There is undoubtedly some founda-
ton for the declaration that the purity of our
democracy is impaired by the accumulation
of immense fortunes, and by the monopoiesI
which are rendered possible by the growth of
manufactures and commerce. The evil. is
not by any means in the increase OF wealth
and power, but to the ever growing tendency
to inequality in their distribution which is
encouraged by the establishment of great cor
porations that do not hesitate to claim supe-
riority to the state which has created them
| and given them special powers and privileges.
| The epoch is near at hand, if it has not al
ready come, when for the first time the words
| 'laboring classes" lower classes" common;
people," will be in general use. With the
| development of our resources, bringing with
| it many things that are desirable, will come
that unhappy social differentiation which
| marks the decline of the primitive Democrat
ic idea and renders the increase Of the aggre-
| gate wealth doubtful promoter OF the aggre-
gate happiness and virtue. 44 IM
| 1t will be said that all this is irrelevant,
| and that constitutions and statutes have lit
| tie to do in the sphere where remorseess
political economy is supreme, and that the
dead level of ideal democracy can be reached
| only by the destruction of commerce and in
| dustry. But, be the legitimate influence of
law ever so little in maintaining equality of
| condition, so far as it goes it should be ex-
erted. Sumptuary laws and measures OF
| confiscation are not so much as dreamed of
| on this side of the Atlantic. But it is with
| in the bounds of reason and moderation to
| ask that the law shall not be directly con-
tributory to making the rich richer and the
poor poorer.
Among the features Of the different Amer
| lean state constitutions that aid in conforms
| ing our society to the old aristosratic models
| are: ..-st -lt# ... i. .'4a -at8e-
| First, the too great power and indepen-
dence of corporations, tending directly to
anti-Republican monopolies.
| Second, the liberation of large state OF
municipal debts, the burden of which always
rests on the mudsills, however skilfully the
fact may be disguised and however indirectly
the weight may be made to bear.
The constitution makers of other states
have crappled boldly and well with the sub
| ject of corporations and of debt and taxation.
| What we ask of our commissioners and our
Legislature is that they will not be content
with going almost as far as others have done
in liberalizing our institutions, but that they
will, so far as in them lies, see to it that
Maine continues to be, as it now is, the
| enthusiastically democratic state.