The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1890-09-19
AuAppeai to Farmers.

OF Il let.
An TO Farmers.
The State Board of Agriculture bias car
ried out the resolutions adopted by the ex-
ecutive committee at their meeting and
nave sent out the follow ing address to fu-
raj voters:
To Tie rural 1fsifents and property
ocners IF N.ao jersey.
The executive committee Of the State
Board of Agriculture, having duly consid-
eied the question Of amending the State
| Constitution. aud having reached a unani-
nous conclusion, we desire briefly to call
your attention to the Importance of the
| election to be held on September 30, to
| amend the Constitution of the State by
striking ont of Article four, section seven,
clause two, the words Regulating The in
ternal affairs of ms and counties. The
plain truth of this proposition is to open
the doors for SPECIAL legislation of every
character for each township, borough,
| county and city in the State, and under
such authority to impose upon the unsus-
peeting taxpayers any scheme that UNI
scrupuious rings or cliqnes can devise,
that will inure to their own advantage,
and shift the burden of responsibilities up
on taxpayers, householders and landown-
ers. Prior to 1873. when the revised Con-
~stitution took effect, laws were passed for
each town, township, Legislative district,
city and county i'll the State, to Such an
| extent that general legislation for munich
| palities was nearly abandoned, and each
municipality sought to have a set of
statutes for itself. For instance, in the
| ,nar5G-2 thu N ~ h.raf .Yaparal larc ,1gss-
ed was 136, special public and private
laws $50, a total of 725 laws. 1t required
a book oil LA pages to contain these
laws. and the State paid for this, as well
as tie e spaper publication of this inn
mense mass of statutes, from Sussex to
Cape May, the laws themselves being
iorceful only in limited localities. The
| next year the new Constitution went into
force and prohibited the special legislation.
The number of new statutes fell at once tC
300 and were all contained in $50 pages 1t
Is not an increase In the number of laws
that is needed, but general laws applica
BILE to the whole State, and of such a
character as to be easily understood, sc
that a person changing his residence viii
not be compelled to study a separate set
of laws for every municipality in which la
may chance to reside.
- FIJI AMENDMENTS INTENTION.
1t was clearly the intention Of til,
amendments adopted in the report of th'
| last Constitutional Commission Gas an
nounced by ex- Governor Green) to compe
| the passage of general laws for the gov
| eminent oil cities as we'll as railroads, cor
porations, boroughs, townships anC
counties. The Constitution on his poih
| - ,a,H4.+,ry - tIa F.Ii.n 49,. ,,..
is used: The Legislature shall pass gen
eral laws for regulating thel~n Internal Affairs
Of towns and Counties and we beliov'
that the word shall is only found in thi
article ana section of the Constitution
What has been the result? Every devic,
that could be conceived has been resoItet
to to evade the constitutional restriction
and pass laws for special objects ant
purposes, until the limit of c~yasive ski
has about become exhausted. The court,
for the past twelve years have been set
ting aside thiss special legislation as uneon
stitutiOnal, and We are now approaching
the point where a comprehensive system
Of general laws has been forged out Whicl
the courts " i'll sustain. AT This time it il
proposed to let loose all the evils which
we have spent these fifteen years in pre-
venting.
VI ~ M.
beIb CIV ma dnnht stimnlated his eyaSiv,
legislation. And there is no greater mon
nment OF the folly OF such Legislative
pits'iSGue u 'Hau .eiS .'es a
And if is the same met bods that have load
ed some of the townships in the eastern
part OF the state with bonde indebted
"0 ei fo,o y y 80 ~ u, ..
the burdens are almost unbeatable. w
alIude to these instances as indicat ting
wAat may be expected II the Constitution
r. to~na1i u.s. 49, ~ 81 IN 1n'' go viesA ~,
as deeply Interested as the country resi-
dents, and Will, We trust, vote with MS OF
this OCCASION Tor II is an nndeniahie lac
tha Ia 80 ehasa' - tn haar So
these amendments be adopted to obIie,
the municipal corporations, what assur
ance nave we th"t PIi'"ce corporations