The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1876-01-19
MISCELLANY.
fHE G0vEkN0R's MESSAGE.

Governor Bedies second message to the
Legislature was delivered on Tuesday of last
week. 1t is a lengthy and comprehensive doc
tmeut, of which WE give an a6strset. The
Governor refers to the importance Of this ses-
sion of the Legislature in the history of the
State, as the amendments to the Constitution
recently adopted have imposed peculiar duties
and responsibilities. By hearty cooperation
in all suitable measures, we can secure TO the
people the substantial fruits of the amend
ment, we will be doing great public service.
He refers to the article in regard to right of
suffrage of citizens of the State in time of
war. and to the necessity of law to provide
for the time and manner of taking such vote.
Section 2 Of the same Article having been
amended so as to read as follows +" Tho
Legislature may pass laws to deprive persons
of the right of suffrage who shall be convict
ed of bribery, while before it only applied
to bribery at eleetiJns--I earnestly recon-
mend the passage of law depriving every
person convicted of bribery of any kind, of
the right of suffrage, unless pafdolied, and
that to be in addition to other penalties pre-
scribed. These are times when sharp punish
ments are needed for all crimes in public Of
fees or affecting the purity of the ballot box.
The less respectable and more ignominious
such crimes can be made, the more protection
there is against their commission.
He refers to Article Section Z, requiring
publication of notice to apply for special leg
islature. " No general law shall embrace any
provision of private, special or local charac-
ter" The evident object is to separate the
two classes Of laws, thereby preventing sur
reptitious legislation, and then, TO secure to
All persons Interested fair notice of any bill
not general.
1t is important, also, THAT mode of perpet-
uatng the evidence of notice as record,
should be provided.
He takes up the subject of general and
special laws. for municipalities and private
corporations at length. 1t Is ffcw the settled
policy of the State that legislation shall he by
general laws in all cases ttaeticables This is
the clear fnesfiing of the new Paragraph II,
IN Section I Of Article 4. Special legislation
has heretofore been srievous evil. One
marked feature Of this paragraph is, that it
cuts off all right to grant exclusive corporate
privileges, and prevents the Legislature from
comforting, by special law, any corporate pow
ers. This is very sweeping change. Exclu-
sive privileges should never be granted. They
are unfair, and contrary to sound State pol
icy, and the policy is equally Strong, that cor
porate powers should not be granted by speci-
al law when practicable to provide for them
by general laws I; but the wisdom of an entire
restriction, except by general laws is not free
from doubt and can only be determined by its
practical results.
The tax amendment IS as follows -" Prop
erty shall be assessed for taxes under general
laws and by uniform rules according to its
true value" Taxation is one OF the most es-
sential aud absolute prerogatives of the State,
and this amendment cannot be extended by
any liberal construction. 1t is cripple in that
respect. The point Of the paragraph is not
that all property shall be taxed. II has re-
ference only to the mode of imposing the
burthen. 1t still remains for the Legislature
10 designate what classes Of property shall be
assessed but, whatever is assessed shall be
assessed in the manner provided by the amend
ment. The power to exempt necessarily fol-
lows from the power to select, and the Legs-
lature may exempt, as heretofore, but all ex-
emptions must be general as to the same OBJ
jects No special or local law can be passed
exempting any particular property. All local
and special laws will be abrogated by force of
the amendment, so far as they are not protect
ed by contracts, or provisions in the nature Of
contracts with fhS State, affecting vested
rights.
1t is hardly necessary to say that this
amendment does not apply to assessments for
local improvements. Although within the
taxing power they are not taxes in the sense
of the amendment. Neither does the require
ment that tile property shall be assessed at its
true value interdict all other species of taxa
ton. A poll tax can yet be assessed, and the
Legislature can yet compel railroad corpora
tions, whose property is involved in the fran
chises, to pay annual or other sums according
to convenient standard, whether it be CAPT
tai stock, the cost of the road, equipment and
appendages, or otherwise. The difficulty in
tended to be reached by the words true calue
was the notorious fact that property in this
State has universally been asscssed on reduced
values, the standard depending upon the ca
price Of those who make the estimates in par