The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1882-01-31

But II may be said, Leon IL a popul0us
county, and should mot be taken rs an average.
We will concede the prop0siii0n. and take lrss
than half this amount as an aserage-say $500
There being 80 counties in The Stale. each el'e-
Iion would cnsi the people e1s.500. or the sung
little sum Of 456,5O0 EF the three elections that
would be necessary.
The Convention would be Of the same number
as the Legislature, and lie cnst per day wsuld be
nearly, u not quite, as much. Then. bow long
would II be In session. We will allow the In
telligent editor Of the Ad0anee- GGsstts 10 an
swer In q recent issue. speaking Of the frw
amendments before the last Legislature. he says:
Without doing the Legislature Of 1881 any in
Justice, We think We can say that had It's meD-
"ben had nothing else 10 do during The whole
session they migfh have devoted their uDdi-
vided attention to those amendments, and still
shave wanted further time 70 do them full JUS
~tice" Now If body OF men could not do jus
lice to a few amendments in 90 days. how long
would il take them to make an emf rrly new
Constitution But in every point OF view. this
body Of 100 men, with all their attaches, would
be 10 session q; least 90 days, and the cosi would
run up 10 between $4,000 and e7O.OOo. The last
Legislature, Of the same number, cnsI about $40,
OO0-dcduct $4,000 Cor over pay. if you please.
and you still have go, 900 as The cost Of the
Convention.
Now. the Legislature must meet 10 put this
new organic law in force; and we know that MI
Legislatures that meet for the first time for this
purpose necessarily consume more time than an
ordinary meeting of that body. They have 70
change everything 10 suit the new frame wo,k,
and this takes time. 81 you cannot safely put
the cost Of the first session under 10000 So
here we have the cost Of three elections, 500
cost of Convention. $60,OOO-cost Of LegisIs-
ture TO put the new Constitution in force, $50
000-making the cost OF the Convention, 416e-
900. And why all this expensef Merely -
save some 5000 or 5000 in salaries (which
could be done by amendmentl. and more pariic-
ularly TO give certain parties an opportunity Of
warming . seat on the Supreme Bench-whieh
they will never do.
/ Now, let IL be remembered thai all the year
this Convention business is g'ing On. the State
and county governments must 60 on also, and
we have to add that expense 10 the 9106 900
mentioned. But we win leave the county ex-
penses out, and take only those OF the State As
1t will be Legislative year (lhe Legislature hav-
ing to be in session 10 call the Conventionl we
know the expenses of the State government win
be about $9S0 900 iD addia:1h there is go. 900
fer interest on the public debl--making $50 600
Add this sum TO the &1eS. 900, cost Of the Con-
ventlon, and we have the gigantic and appalling
amount of e476. 900 due by the State in one year
I How Is this to be meis Either BIZ a large "a
creGse Of taratioR iRereass Of the bonded dit
Unless one or the other of these alternatives is
adopted, our State scrip will go down-d0wn-
until II Is almost worthless, and the millennium If
regulators, who believe in the doctrine that the
lower the credit of the State the greater the bene
fit TO the citizen, will be reached this of course
unless they reach their political goal at once and
repudiate everything. The people want no more
bonds to pay interest upon-theY want NO in
crease Of taxatiop. A Convention brings one or
the other
Amer all this expense is incurred there il no
certainty that the Constitution win be ratified
Owing to the fact that we have some cnunties
where the.cnlOred element largely predOminaies.
and others where the whites are in the ascend
ant, II will b. difficult task tn frame Consli-
tuition thai will lie endorsed. Should II not be
ratified we will have The expense without any
compensation therefor. Such q failure would, IL
course. be the death knell Of any political party
4 De FAcTo