Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-07-09
DEFYISG TIE Law.
NaShViIle'S Common Council vs.. the
General Assembly Of
Tennessee.
A Combination to Defeat the Redis-
tricting Of the City.
Let Us Have No More of This Folly.

Last night the Common Council adopted
a resolution giving il as the sense Of that
Board that the lines Of the wards ought
not to be disturbed during the present
year. This is rot the ouly evidence Of a
combination in the City Council against
redis;ricting The city. A compact has been
signed By number of the members not to
Vote for any bill that may be gotten up for
that purpose in the present City Council.
1t Is a solemn pledge on their part to dis
obey positive mandate OF the Legislature.
The act passed by the last General As
sembly applying to the charter Of Nash
vile, sec. II, SAYS: "Be it further enacted,
That the City Council Of all mnnicipali-
ties controlled by this Act, shall, within
three months after the passage Of this Act,
proceed TO divide each of said cites into
as many wards as may be deemed eype-
dent, by an ordinance of said council
which wards shall contain as nearly as
practicable equal numbers of qualified vO-
tiers, and a TedstTictiDg of wards may be
made at at any time as required by ordi-
nance o! said council"
Nobody denies that this is mandatory;
but the answer is that 'there is no penalty.
What does law amount to, where there
is no penalty to enforce it?' This excuse
proceeds from a spirit of insubordinatiOn
and want of respect for authority, far from
cOmmendable in any citizen, and notably
unworthy of members of body making
local laws in the expectation that such
will be obeyed by their constituents. In
subOrdinatiOn is about as perniciOus an ex-
ample as a iaw-eiver can set.
Il is contended by some, however, that a
mandlmus would lie in the present case,
and that it is only necessary 70. citizens to
apply for It, to compel some SOFT of redis-
tricting. At all events, the interests Of the
city require that il shall be rediStricted, the
people are interested in having it done, and
in their name and that of obedience to the
law Of the State, We urge that it shall be
done.
But as TO a penalty, We are not prepared
to say whether there exists one in this case
or not. There certainly ought to be pun
ishment for so flsgrant a contempt Of The
Legislature, as would be the persistent re-
fusal to redistrict the city Of Nashville in
the face of the above enactment. The
Legislature certainly has ample authority
to SUPPLY what may be wanting.
A majority Of the City Council are in
favor of reGistTicting the city on an equi-
table plan, and We hope they viii set their
faces against the combination TO which we
have alluded, determined to defeat it swift
IL, by the passage Of a fair and Just bill.
Since the question Of sectiOnalism has been
raised, the HALEY bill would practically give
one section OF the city COntIOl Of the
city government. On the other
hand, it's well objected 10 the ToWles bill
that IA does not Give Snuth Nashville IFS
just share of representation. Both sections
ought easily 10 be harmOnized by the mod
ifcatiOn Of ore bill OF the other in spirit
Of compromise. The problem, so far a.
majority of the members are concerned, is
TO so arrange the wards as to leave no
rational ground for sectional discomfort
Let this be done, and all the other desirable
ends to be accomplished we think are safe.