The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1876-01-08
OUR TAXATION.
An Open Letter to the Mayor of Gins
Cimmati.


To the Editor Of the STAR:
There is no legislative power that
should be watched more closely than
that OF taxation. We have seen, In our
last number, your courts hold taxation
to be vital, and one. of the most import
ant powers given to the State, to be
used to accomplish the objects with
which it is charged, and none other. The
issue of bonds, by the State, or its sub
divisions under its authority, is the be-
ginning Of taxation, as neither have the
means to pay bonds except by taxation.
The people, therefore, and their repre-
sentatives must be careful in the issu-
ing OF bonds, and be sure they are nec-
essary to carry forward the purposes
with which the government Is charged.
With us our governments are all With
in constitutional limits, and our
legislators, jurists and others must look
to these instruments to know what p ow-
ers are delegated, and what withheld.
In the Walker case, 21 Ohio St., II, so
made, urged as settling the legality Of
the act of May 4, 1862 authorizing the
construction of railway by Cincinnati,
with ten millions of dollars, to be raised
bv the issue OF bonds in the name Of the
city, redeemable by taxation over in
come from the railway, the counsel for
the Trustees and the Court seem to
have a most extraordinary notion of the
legislative powers conferred upon the
General Assembly, which We believe to
be wholly unwarranted by the proper
rules for the construction of written
Instruments, and to which the attention
of the people, our Legislators and our
Courts should be directed. The counsel
(Mr. Stanbery) held the grant of power
in Sec. l, Art. 2, of the Constitution of
1851 to be untyersat, and the Court
held IL to be "a grant of general
powers subject to the limitations
contained in that instrument. Neither
position is true; that section grants
neither universal nor general powers Of
legislation. 1t in Tact grants no powers
of any kind, but declares simply the leg.
islative powers, whatever they may be,
shall be vested in the General Assembly !;
and by the,last section Of Art. /, it is
declared that all powers not given by
the Constitution remain with the
people. Put the two sections together,
and this every legislator and jurist
should do, and you find the General AS
semDly have no legislative power other
than is given by the Constitution. The
powers to be exercised is the resultant
flowing from the whole Of the instrume
taken as an unit.
No one knows better than the counsel
referred to and Judges who decided the
Walker case, that where you have a
power expressly given you can not infer
it from otner powers as corollary or an
incident.
Read the Constitution and you find
that it, by Sec. /, Art. 2, gives antversaL
OF general power of legislation TO be "a
pure myth and utterly faliacious; and
without it the Walker case tails to the
ground. When you look into our
legislation upon municipal cor
porations prior to the adoption of the
Constitution of 1902, you find the towns
of Marietta, Chillicothe, Cincinnati and
Detroit incorporated under the Terrific
rial Government; but in that Constitu-
tion no official provision was made for
the organization or incorporation OF cit
les or villages, though you do lind in
Art. 3, Sec. u, power to incorporate pri-
vate associations. AS early as Feb. Is,
1904, the General Assembly exercised
this power, and exercised 1T con.
tinuous:y under the Constitution OF
1902 until the adoption of the Consti-
tuition of 1851 Under that of 1902, the
grant of powers TO municipalities was
greatly abused in the use of taxation.
The Convention that framed the Consti.
tuition OF 1881 determined to stop these
abuses, aud the people approved their
work. That Constitution placed the bill
OF rights at the beginning Of their work,
and told the world the government
Ito be organized under II had no
powers but what it gave. 1t is true the
language of Sec. 20, Art. !, Of the Consti.
tuition of 1851 is not SO emphatic as Sec.
l28, Art. 8, Of the Constitution OF 1902.
| yet 1t means precisely the same thing.
Both declare all powers not thereby
given remain with the people. You look
In vain, Mr.. Mayor, for any reservation oil
power in the one instrument, that you
will not find in the other. The people
intended, by both instruments, to organ.
lize a government according to their pro.
visions. The Constitution OF 1902, as re.
yiseu, altered and changed by that OF
| 1851, Is our fundamental law, aud to it all
/ Legislation. must conform.
Look at Sec. ], Art. 2, Of our presen,
| Constitution, and what Is 1t? 1t is In
these words: sThe legislative power Of
| this State shall be vested in the Genera
Asse 1bly." Does that tell you what
that ,gisiative powerisf Certainly not
lThen look AT Sec. 20, Art. 1, and whai
| does it tell you? "Aii powers not herein
delegated remain with the people,,
Here, Mr.. Mayor, you have this reserva.
1 tion Of power, aud this yesting OF legis
llation put side by side pointinl
the General Assembly to the Con
stitution as the source of its powers
There are no general powers granite,