The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1879-01-30
VOL. VIII.
THE LAW AND DYING CITIES.

cases presented. A public corpora
ton is an individual, and in no sense
a partnership. l. is q creature of the
law-making power. l. may be given
at any time an additional arm or leg,
or be amended or repealed - put to
death by the Legislature. Whenever
it ceases to subserve properly pur-
poses Of its creation lis creator may
stop its breath. If it do harm rather
than good; if it plunder the people;
if it squander money and become insol-
vent and defeat the ends of its existence
the State has the perfect right, aud it
ls the States duty, to put period to
the unhappy corporations existence.
As the Legislature has the special pow
er to create and amend, even so 1t has
to destroy, for the power to amend in
wolves the power to destroy, and those
who credited the corporation were very
ignorant or certainly cognizant of this
fact. Therefore, we find that when
city government is unwisely admins
| tered or, which is the same thing,
whenever it falls into the hands of the
nor-taxpaying mob, when its credit
has been destroyed, the Legislature
may properly destroy the corporation
itself. Bond-buyers, for these reasons
and facts, pay but little for the paper
of corporation IN which non -taxpay-
ers are dominant. They fear its speedy
dissolution. An Individual may 90 |
into bankruptcy when overburdened |
with debt; but public corporation
cannot. Its only remedy for intolera-
bic eYils and mandamuses is in death.
This is no more peculiar than the fact
that city's creditor cannot sell the
clty's steam fire engines. Public
policy and public necessity forbid and
the courts will not suffer it. 1t has
also been held, when final mandamus
has been applied for, ordering the in
stantaueous levy of tax, that hun
cry creditor may be appeased, that
such a tax can only be levied when all
other taxes are estimated and imposed.
Creditors having judgments against a
city must therefore, if the opinion of
the learned Judge Pierce be the law,
come before boards of aldermen with
their judgments and executions when
these local law-givers are making as
sessments for the year and at no other
period. Courts and sheriffs have no
right, as they have done in Houston,
to come down at any and all seasons
to drive aldermen and people to insan-
ity by ever-recurrlng levies of "pres-
tamos" during any and every month.
When an individual or bank or other
private corporation or partnership be-
comes insolvent it has a remedy against
ehe eternal pressure of debt in the |
insolvent debtors act. A public cor
poratIon cannot 60 into bankruptcy. |
1t cannot file its statement of assets and {
and have the account !
balanced and itself discharged. Its s
only remedy is in an appeal to the |
Legislature. If it present facts justi- I
flying the repeal of the act creating the
if it have failed to accom- s
plish the purpose of its creation; if its
existence be public evil rather than a l
public good; the lawmaking power I
that created can destroy and the only 6
question Is whether public policy COM I
mend the course proposed to be
adopted. There is no question of 8
plenary power in the Legislature. s
This is absolute. In facs, it is now l
held by the courts that the '
can amend or repeal at |
will even private acts of in I
like railway charters. 7
If this may be done, as determined by {
The branch to z court, much more t
perfect and absolute is the power tc 4
thrust city, as a corporate fact, out of ?
existence. There is little moral obli- [
cation imposed upon taxpaying citi- I
zen of town to pay the towns debt if j
.he town be plunged into insolvency q
by the non-taxpsying mob, invested
with governing power by the towns
creditors. Such are the facts affecting
more than one city of the South.
Georgia repudisted debt OF about b
light millions, created by knaves who ?
Itole and held the bonds, and yet the t
'redit of Georgia to-day is as good as |,
hat of Texas. The world approved I
he conduct of the State. If Houston v
lave been plundered by thieves who p
Houston, and these thieves a
loId evidences OF Houston's debt, Gre u
ted by mobocracy, Houston, on its 81
Iesth bed, will not be deemed unwor- d
by of saving grace. On its tombstone, o
therefore,, will be inscribed "Resur- c
ldm, and when the statute of hmita- Ii
ions has discharged it's proper work Il
nd the lawmakipg power again Fl
,reathes the breath of life into the de- n
unct corporation, it will stand before "
be world brighter and fairsr than to- b
ay and need only guard its virtue in p
uture years against the defilement of tc
UNIVERSAL suffrage in local elections. p
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