The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1877-05-16
r. Doesn't Work Well.

..The world is governed too much !" was
the motto OF ANpREw JACKsoN's oDlc,al OF
gan, An amendment made to the charter
OF this city during the. session before tue
last of the Legislature has afforded stri-
king proof OF the truth OF that motto. IL
was undertaking to govern Richmond ZOO
much" when the Legislature maze IL nc
cessary to the appropriation OF none! ."a'
two thirds OF all the members eiccteo ~
each branch OF the City Council snou'u
vote affirmatiyely on the question. IL was
giving to the absent members not one ou'
two votes each. The lodging member a'So
caets two votes. The outspoken, fearless
member. who is always in place and always
nrenared TO do his duty. has but one vote.
Whom the amendment was proposed We pre-
dic.cd that its operation would be JUST what
was not intended or expected. A provision
would be tolerable one-one, we meah'
that could be toleratcd-which should re-
ouir. the votes OF two thirds OF all the
members present to appropriate the public
money: but TO. require the votes OF TWO
thirds of all the members elected Is to offer
premium TO log.roling, to absenteelsm, to
obstinacv. and to corruption. What could be
more discouraging to the pubicspirltcd
members OF the Council than to appear IN
the Council-chambcr, count noses, ana III
once see that an important ordinance APP
propriating money could not be passed, be-
cause out Of thirteen members present only
eleven would vote for it; or, in the other
branch, out OF twenty-one members present
only nineteen would vote for it:
What must be the practical operation OF
such provision in the charter: How can
the working members induce the malcon-
tents to let an appropriation be made
Why. BY bribing them. By giving. them
money for some pet scheme which has not
merit enough to secure for it majority in
the Council The Virginia Constitution up
to 1851 had in it no provision requiring the
votes Of majority OF the members elected
to the Legislature in order to the passage OF
n money bill. That provision was incorpo-
rated into the Constitution ratified that year
In the next five years the Legislature ar-
proprlated more money to works OF inter
nal improvement than had been appropri-
ated in thirty years before. Why
Because the minority had controlling
power: The absent members were al
counted in the negative. The conse'
uuence was that every member present
made his own terms; and these terms
always included small appropriation FOL
some turnpike or other, or for improving
some creek, or for whatever the bribed
member wanted an appropriation for. Like
causes produce like effects: and we shall
surely see the members OF our City Council
bribing the dissatisfied amongst them'ln the
same way if the provision OF the charter
which we are discussing shall be allowed tc
remain unchanged. We know that the OBJ
iect. OF it was good; but we are Just as con-
fident that that object will never be accom-
plished by the method devised.
Can anybody assign any good reason why
all the members OF legislative body absent
when vote is taken upon bill should be
counted in the negative: Logically 1t
might be assumed tina. the absent would be
divided as those present; that is to say, II
two thirds of the members present vote for
bill it would be much more reasonable to
infer that two thirds Of those absent would
vote the same way than that they would all
vote in the negative. Experience at any
rate has shown that for guarding the trea-
sury some plan must be devised which has
more to recommend it than the one under
consideration.