The New Orleans Democrat. (New Orleans, La.) 1875-1876, 1876-01-18


into q conflict With ell the power Of tht
British crown; and shall IL be that we
their descendants, arc to-day so REQ
reant as TO abandon 1t at the dictatior
Of false Legislature and corrupt
judiciary No. No such shame cat
rest upon Louisiana. The day viii
surely come when the names OF those
Bourbons who have stood immova
bly, by this great doctrine, incapable D
being either wheedled or terrified into
It's abandonment, will be honored ant
this message Of the Mayor Of New Or
leans and the resolutions Of the st. Pat
rick's Hall meeting will be treasured by
her sons as precious memorial thai
public virtue was never wholly extinct
Correlative with this great right, ant
necessarily connected with II, Is the
right to control and superintend the
expenditure OF tho money SO raised, and
to require IN account from those
through whose agency 1t Is disbursed
Turning now to this police law, 1t Ia
evident that IL tramples under foot this
great principle In oil Its provisions, and,
indeed, violates almost every maxim Of
free government. We are told, In
this very opinion OF these attorneys,
that the only function which belongs to
the administrators the representatives
OF the people who pay-in regard to
taxation for police purposes, Is ministe-
rial, precluding the exercise Of any
discretion and binding them absolutely
by the will OF the Executive OF the
State, acting through the mediation Of
board appointed by him and respon-
siblc to him alone. What Ia this but
despotism? Is it not fundamental
maxim OF all free government that the
executive caD never hold the purse
strings? From this little germ has
grown, through the strife and conten-
tons, the oppression and wrongs OF
seven centuries, that noble inheritance
Of Il nglish liberty. OF which, u few short
years ago, we we're oil so justly proud,
and which TIN" Bourbons" among us still
love, cherish and mean to maintain
While then we admit the correctness Of
the legal Interpretation OF this statute
by these attorneys, we draw from 1t pre-
cisely the opposite conclusion to that
derived by them. We infer the invalid
ty Of the statute, not the loss OF the
public liberties.
There is another respect in which this
statute violates fundamental principles.
Mr.. Locke Civil Government, sec. 142,)
says, "These are the bonds which the
trust that is put In them by the society
and the law OF God and nature, have set
to the Legislative power Of every com
monwealth, in oil forms OF government
=. Sd. They must not raise
taxes on tho property OF the
people without the consent Of
the people, given by themselves or
their deputies. =. 4th. The
Legislative neither must nor Gun transfer
the power Of making laws to anybody
else, or place it anywhere but where the
people have" In accordance with this
II has always been held that Legislative
power cannot be delegated, except to
bodies for local purposes and
this, when properly viewed Is rather u
compliance with the rule than IN ex-
ception to it. Tho rule Is founded
upon the great doctrine that legiti-
mate power flows only from the
people and can only be exercised
by their direct representatives; ;
and It is better carried out by the trans
fer Of local authority to the local repre-
The power Of taxation is
Legislative In It's nature, and falls under
this rule. Yet this great power Legis-
laturo Of Louisiana, so-called, has un-
dertaken to transfer to a Board which
nobody and is responsible to
except the Executive OF the
State. Turn which way we will, then,
we find in this system of legislation
nothing but outrages upon the simplest
elements Of free government. Yet we
are told that these are laws, and that
any attempt at resistance, even by legal
against that dreadful crime. Well, sup
pose it Is revolution, though OF course it
Is not In the sense meant, why should
we be terrified? Martin Luther was
called n revolutionist; John Hampden
was called revolutionist; Sidney and
Somers were called revolutionists /,
George Washington was denounced as
a "rebel and traitor" and surely no
man need be ashamed TO place his name
by theirs.
The broadside poured into the bunko
bios,1.a LIZ 4L1, htc,xlac Ls.,t 4e.l