New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-04-22
the bench Of tho Supreme Court Of tho Dis
trict, would have permitted anything clearly
in conflict with justice and equity against any
citizen brought before them.
POVEG md RESPONSIBILITY.

The Absolute Removal bill being killed, 1t Is
now certain that Gov. Tilden will have no
efficient help from tho Legislature in his fight
with tho Canal Ring, and whatever that body
of statesmen may do in the cause OF reform
will DO the result Of an outside popular pres
sure which they arc unable to resist. The
issue of the debate in the Senate ought not to
be surprising. The Ring has been strongly
fortified in both houses Of the Legislature for
q great many years, controlling some votes by
direct purchase, others by local political pres
sure others by social and personal influence; and
the popular demand for the bill which has
lust been rejected proceeded in great measure
from tho conviction that the relations OF the
Ring to the Legislature arc altogether too in
innate. If the Senate is to be empowered by
law to sit in Judgment upon Canal officers and
other executive functiOnaries, it is not at all
likely that the intimacy will be allowed to fall
off, and we shall have fresh elements OF cor
ruptiOn introduced into our State politics in
order that our Woods and Lords may retain
their time honOred privilege of presiding over
their own causes.
But the reform is not to be stopped 10y this
rebuff Whatever substitute for the Absolute
Removal bill may now be agreed upon, 1t Is
plain to many honest and thinking men that
extensive changes in the distribution OF executive
power and responsibility must be made before we
can get reasonably good government. Sena-
tor Laning on Tuesday, in trying to give
reasons why the power of removal ought not
TO be conferred upon the Governor, stated so
strongly the argument for the other side that
his speech is worth reading even at this late
day. He described the government OF the State
of New-YOrk as system of divided powers and
responsibilities, with seven or eight indie
pendent executive heads and no subOr-
dnate members. 1t is the Democratic doctrine,
said he, that the people are the ultimate source
of power, from which the Governor and the
other State officers derive an equal authority;
and it follows that, being equal and indie
pendent, one functiOnary ought never to be
responsible to another There is no moro
reason for empowering the Governor to remove
o Canal Commissioner than for authorizing the
Canal Commissioners to remove the Governor.
All alike are answerable only to the people
who elected them. This is not Scna-
tor Laning's language. but it is the
logical meaning of it, The fallacy is plain.
The subordinate who holds Office by appoint
ment of President or Governor derives his
power from the people as truly as if he were
elected at the polls; and when he renders an
account to his superior, he is only answering
to delegate of the sovereign people. Ii makes
no difference in the nature of his authority
whether he gets it from the people Immediately
by ballot or mediatcy by appointment from
the peoples elected representative.
We hope the lawyers and statesmen who,
according to Senator Laning, constitute the
Legislature ut Albany, will bear this plain
trllth in mind, and not vex the air with any
more nonsense about democratic principles"
which they do not understand when the final
settlement of this matter of responsibility
comes up for discussion. Under the system of
several independent executive heads it results,
as a matter of course, that nobody is respOn-
sible for any wrong, or has any power 10 re-
form the most obvious abuses. This is
not question in dispute; We have
the lesson of our own experience to refer to,
and its answer il conclusive. The friends of
good government must not let the agitation
die away with the adoption of any dclusivc
and half way scheme of roundabout and i'm
practicable processes of trial and removal.
They should now give their attention
to "A constitutional amendment, revising the
whole subject of official responsibility. If We
cannot have instant relief from peculatOrs, we
can provide for the future. Let Us recognize
in public affairs the truth which nobody thinks
of disputing in private business, that there
must be one executive head for any well man
aged concern, and that We shall never have an
honest and efficient State administration until
we give the Governor ample Powers OF both
appointment and removal.