The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-05-28
THE CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTION.

editorial columns of the London Times, and
If expresses the opinion Of that greatest OF all
the English journals In regard to The newly
adopted constitution Of California.
The adoption of the California constitution u
a surprise tt the world. II Ia the most astouhn,
of a community. If all the notions of the re-
formers who put forth their 'panaceas t'r me
regeneration Of the human saea during ,,, ~
Paris Commune we're embodied IN document
they would not appear wilder, more ebsurd,
more menaclng than many Of TIE provisions q
the constitution Which N.Y. M efns i
to be punished and restricted 10 'he same Wy WY,
Those persons only are excepted VINO hhye
nothing to lose The CONSTITUTION as hat %p tbs
people Of California might well be stupltiad
when they learned that Ksarney had carried his
last long The mischief which has been wrought
may produce reaction. and M, effort may be
made to revise constitution which must pro
dure widespread ruin.
The criticisms Of the London Times upon
pecially such as involve the framing Of a fun
damenta law and the application Of those
great principles Of constitutional government
which serve as barriers for the protection Of
individual freedom and personal rights, all of
which have been inherited by us from our
English forefathers, the criticisms of that
paper upon such questions, we say, are en-
titled to more respect than those Of any other
journal published elsewhere than on Ameri-
can soil. Upon all such questions In the alb
stract is, perhaps, even better authority than
the vast majority Of American journals, par
| ticularly those that adopt and enuncate the
tenets of the Republican party For example,
upon such questions as those the Democrats
are now agitatlng In Congress IN connection
with the several appropriation bills the ban
| ishment Of the army from the polls IN order
To preserve the freedom and purity Of the bal
lot and the protection and assurance OF
fair and impartial trial by jury, and upon the
further right Of the people, In their repre-
sentative capacity, to force these concessions
by making them the conditions of money
grants to the government, the London Times
would be a much safer and enlightened guide
for an American statesman than dozen
leading American papers we might name
without resort to a newspaper directory.
But In this Instance, We humbly venture
the opinion that the London Times does not
know what II Is talking about, and for this
reason we do not attach that Importance to
the views expressed by 1t To which Its utter
ances are ordinarily entitled. Nor do we
share In the gloomy forebodings INDUCED by
so many American papers in regard to the
effects this new constitution ID destined to ex-
ert on the destinies Of the people and the
State of California. There Is certainly great
deal In this constitution that Is crude
some of Its provisions may ultimately
prove mschievous, and throughout
the whole Of It there Is manifested an extreme
and radical spirit. whose dominance In an old
and long established State, whose people are
surrounded by the restraints of ancient usage
and custom, and who have at hand abundant
precedent u ,-uidh them In public emerger-
gencIes, we should be disposed TO deprecate
and view with apprehension and alarm. But
California is not such State, nor has 1t the
advantages of any such conservative public
sentiment 1t is not only new State, with
out traditions and without precedents, but Is
also one that has suffered for years from tota
and violent dsarrangement OF It's poitiea
and social organism. This constitution, w
conceive, was framed for q special purpose
and an immediate exigeDcy. It was INTENDED
not SO much to conserve blessings already en-
joyed as to bring about a thorough regenera
ton, and We are disposed I'd believe that |
will correct many OF the most grievous evil
that have fo@years afflicted the people Of tb
Pacific coast. There Ia vast difference be
tween the mild prophylactic that j
administered as tonic to ward OF
: and prevent sSilsease In health
organism, and the stronger remedies, I'll
active agents, the knife and probes that ar
used and are necessary to drive out dseas
and cure sickness that may prove morta
California needed the more violent treatmen
and she received IL none too soon. It ma
prove too vigorous to be persisted In for an
length Of time, but 1t can be modified as cir
cumstances and the symptoms OF the patien
require.
The condition OF affairs that has existed |
California, and which made the conventio
which framed this constitution necessity
never existed at any time In England. ant
Z for this reason, the Times, Or any other Eng
lish journal. could not have formed any jus
conception of the cure for them. For year
the State has been dominated by rich an
| powerful corporations, who owned Its legisls
t lures, elected its governors and made up II
3 congressional delegations from their pal
. HRtuNS lfth H5 biHIbtGt
question forced upon this convention was
: Do these corporations or do the people const
d tute the State of California? 1t declared In ft
: vor Of tho people and proceeded to assert the
9 power and to cripple and destroy as far q
0 possible that of the corporations and the
I tools. BY various devices, more especially b
/ making borrowing on margins illegal. I'll
convention has attempted to destroy, or d
least curb, the universal system of stool
gambling which is the conspicuous curse
: tho Pacific coast. In that by debauchtng pu
a lie sentiment. it destroys thrift and patiel
' industry and encourages speculation ar
4 jobbery, and thus disposes people to acceI
. the nominations Of these institutions. 4
). Mr.. Croly has said In an admirs
). BILE letter to the New York Tribune, "In effeo
0 the people of California are told that tht
! must not buy what they cannot pay for, nj
l.. ,x,t a