The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-09-12
AGAINST SPECIAL LAWS.
The State Board of Agriculture Bit
terly Opposed to the Consti-
tutional Changes.

The following document speaks for it.
self
To The Rural Residents and Property Otpners of
Netc Jersey&
The Executive Committee of the State
Board of Agriculture, having duly con-
sidered the question of amending the
State Constitution. and having reached a
unanimous conclusion, we desire briefly
to call your attention to the importance
slant, to amend the Constitution of TIE
State by striking out of Article ", Sec
tion z, Clause 2, the words regulating
the internal affairs of own and coun-
ties" The plain truth OF this proposition
is to open the doors for special legislation.
or every character for a township,
borough, county and city in the State,
and under such authority to impose upon
the unSuspcctlng taxpayers any scheme
that INSCRIPTIONS rings or cliques can
devise, that will inure to their own ad-
vantage, and shift the burden of respon-
and land owners. Prior TO 1875,
when the revised Constitution took
effect. laws were, passed for each
town, township, legislative district,
city and county in the State, to
such an extent that general legislation
for municipalities was nearly abandoned,
and each municipality sought to have a
set of statutes for itself. For instance,
in the year 1873, the number of general
laws passed was 136, special public and
private laws $50, a total of 725 laws. 1t
required a book of l ,74l pages to con tain
these laws, and the State paid for this,
as well as the newspaper publication OF
this immense mass of statutes, from Sus-
sex to Cape May, the laws themselves be-
ing forceful only in limited localities. The
next year the new Constitution went into
force and prohibited this special legisla-
ton. The number of new statutes fell ut
once to 800 and were ali contained in $50
pages. 1t Is not an increase in the num-
Der of laws that is needed, but general
laws applicable to the whole State, and
of such q character as to be easily under
stood, so that a person changing his resi-
dence will not be compelled TO study a
separate set OF laws for every municipal
ity in which he may chance to reside.
It was clearly the intention of the
amendments adopted in the report of the
last Constitutional Commission tas an
nounced by Ex-Governor Green) to com
pei the. passage OF general laws for the
government of cities as well as for rail-
roads, corporations, boroughS, townships
and counties. The Constitution on this
point is mandatory, for the following
language is used:-"The legislature shall
pass general laws for regulating the in
ternal affairs of towns and countless and
we believe that the word shall is only
found in this article and section of the
Constitution. What has been the result?
Every device that could be conceived has
been reSorted to, to evade the Constitu-
tional restrictions and pass laws for spec
ial objects and purposes, until the limit
of evasive skill has about become ex-
hausted. The courts for the past twelve
years have been setting aside this special
legislation as unconstitutional. and we
are now approaching the point where a
comprehensive system of general laws
has been forged out which the courts will
sustain. at this time it is proposed to let
loose all the evils which we a spent
these fifteen years in preventing.
The unfortunate bankruptcy of Eliza
beth City 40 doubt stimulated this evas-
i've legislation. And there is no greater
monument of the folly of such legislative
privileges than that very city, which was
ruined by the ~viciousness of special laws.
And 1t is the same methods that have
loaded some of the townships in the east
ern part of the State with bonded indebt-
edness of from $500 0 TO $4,000 0 each,
and so increased the county and city debts
that the burdens are almost UNDESIRABLE.
We allude to these instances as indicat-
ing what may be expected il the Consti-
tuition is amended as asked for at this
election. @ (
The t~axpayine residents OF the cities
are as deeply interested as the country
residents, and will, we trust. vote with
us on this occasion; for it is an undeni-
able fact that house owners II and
holders have the largest share OF taxes to
bear.
Should these amendments be adopted
to oblige the municipal corporations,
what assurance have we that private cor
porations, whose numbers are legion and
whose interests are of value,
will not ask for similar privilegese We
teel that this sought-for amendment is
only the entering wedge TO annul all re-
strictive legislation.
The Constitution is good enough as it
is.
Let every taxpayer and every citizen
who feels an interest in the welfare OF
the State be sure to vote against all the
proposed amendments TO the COnstltu-
tion. E. BURRoUGH, President.
Attest:
FRANKLIN DYE. Secretary.