Morning journal and courier., 1884-01-10
Thursday, January 10. 1884.
: THE MESSAGE.

Governor Walters message is a very unas- suring, business-like sort of a document, which contains no very striking or novel rec- concentrations. The Governor, with some what doubtful propriety, gives the members of the Assembly the benefit of his opinion as to how they should vote upon the Oonstitu- tional amendment for biennial sessions now pending before them. He repeats the stale and not very forcible argument that 1t should be rejected because it has already been once rejected. He states the case of the advocates of the bill very weakly when he says the ob- lection to the present constitutional provision is the length rather than the frequency of the sessions. He suggests that the true theory of democracy like ours is s'that the people govern best the nearer they are to the power they control" But exactly how the people get any nearer to the power they control by holding twice as many sessions as the public business demands he fails to point out. The real question at issue, namely, as to whether the public business does require annual ses- sions he scarcely touches.
 In his remarks upon taxation the Governor again calls attention to subject that stands in sore need of legislation- Under the law as it is, he says, if taxable property is not returned to the assessors, and they fail to discover t, it absolutely escapes all taxation, for no provision exists for the enforcement of a claim for taxation which has been con- cealed from the assessors or inadvertently omitted from the grand list. A large amount of property in this way is continually eyad- ing it's part of the burden of public expense He recommends the appointment of care fully composed commission, to which not only the matter above alluded to but the whole scheme of taxation be referred.
 The message calls attention to a rather startling fact which appears in the report of the Bank Commissioners It seems that some savings banks have invested four million thirty thousand seven hundred and sixty-s dollars and seventy-nine cents in promi- sory notes without any security what ever. From this it would seem that the officers of the banks have learned nothing and forgotten 8 good deal. The Governor mildly suggests that if the law permits the placing of the funds of the depositors in securities it ought to be changed. We think 8 criminal statute providing for hard labor in the State prison would be about the ade- quste remedy for this class of investment.
 The Governor inserts rather meaningless paragraph in what is on the whole clear and sensible message concerning the consoli- dation of town and city government. The agitation he thinks is in the interest of municipal economy. But such legislation he says ought not to become operative until approved of by those whom 1t affects, and then adds thas "from the principle of local self. government no further departure should be made.''
 The suggestions on the subject of bri- bery at elections cannot be too highly com mended and form, to our mind, the very best part of the message. We hope that those who only have time to read part of the doc ument will not omit this portion of it.