The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1893-06-09
A. B. VALENTINE
PERSISTENCE TO TYRANTS is ODE
DIENCE TO LAW"

,u, a. A. B. VALENTINE
PERSISTENCE TO TYRANTS is ODE
DIENCE TO LAW"
Mr.. EDITOR: Blackstone, in his great
commentaries on the law of England, re-
ferring to the statute which directed the
great charter Co be allowed as the COM
mon law, says: "All judgments con-
trary to it are declared void; copies of
it are ordered to be sent to all cathe-
dral churches, and read twice year to
the people; and sentence of ex-commu-
nication is directed to be as constantly
denounced against all those that, by
word, deed, or counsel, act contrary
thereto, or in any degree infringe it"
Again, speaking of Charles the First, he
says: UNFORTUNATELY, either by his own
mismanagement, or by the arts of his
enemies, the king had lost the reputa-
ton of sincerity; which is the greatest
unhappiness that can befall prince"
Again he says: when King CHARLES,
deluded brother attempted to enslave the
Nation, he found it was beyond his
power; the people both, could and did
resist him. and in consequence of such
resistance, obliged him to quit his en-
terprise and his throne together"
the greatest legal commentator. living
or dead, are suggested by the lawless and
reckless despotism of the village trustees.
By trustees i'll this, as in every other
connection, refer to the majority
acting. At the meeting of the trustees
April Bird, they audited and ordered
paid, the bill of McClintock and Wood
fall sewer engineers for $356.44. This
bill was wholly Unauthorized by the
charter, bylaws or any vote of the vii
lage. No authority exists or has ever
been conferred upon the trustees to en-
ploy foreign engineer either in plan
ming or constructing sewers. Section 25 of
the village charter provides that "the
Street Commissioner shall superintend
the construction and repair of,
sewers and DRAINS" as has been pre-
viously noted in the columns of both vii
lage papers, and yet the red flag of
foreign engineers re-re-surveying our
streets is Haunted in the faces of the
people, under the pretended authority of
the trustees, day after day, now running
into weeks, piling up unlawful charges
against the village, running doubtless in
to the thousands of dollars.
The pretended sewer contract, instead
of being drawn, as it only could be law
fully, so that the work should be done
under the superintendance of the street
commissioner and to the approval and
acceptance of the street commissioner
and trustees, was drawl so that the
work should be done under the supelin-
tendance and TO the approval and accept
ance of foreign engineer, concerning
whom we know nothing except that he
comes from the same vicinity as the
ofnr md &c har ~;
unlawful charges against the village in
charter and in spite of the protest of the
people, twice expressed by ballot, in
village meeting assembled.
The act of experimenting the con-
struction of sewers and approving and
accepting the work is an act of official
discretion charged upon the officers of
the village by the charter and can be
legally performed by them only and can
not be legally farmed out or delegated
by them to foreigners or to resident clti-
zens even. This is principle of law of
such universal and uneXceptional appli-
cation as to be not only familiar to the
profession but to many laymen as well.
The trustees voted May 31st to draw Or
ders to pay Waldo Brothers for sewer
pipe in compliance with contract made
with them March 9th. There never was
any such contract made; the nearest APP
proach to it was a request, by the previ-
GUS board of trustees, to Waldo Brothers
to state prices at which they would fur
nish the pipe, which they replied to stat
ing the prices. .
There was no contract for pipe; the
village had voted to rescind all authority
previously given to purchase pipe, and
having no authority to make contract
for that purpose the only thing they
could do toprocure the material to carry
out their unlawful purpose was to vote
to draw orders to pay for the pipe hop
ing to procure it by that means. There
must be big deal in this sewer bust
ness somewhere or the parties to it
would give Bennington wide berth I'M
til the project becomes grounded on a
legal foundation. Although a statement
of the actual cost, the current revenue
and current expense of the water works
has been requested through the local
papers for the enlightenment and salts
faction of the people in these days when
the measure for the purchase of the
water works is pending, yet this very
desirable information is withheld.
Whether the trustees have made any eff
fort to obtain this information for the
benefit ofNhe village does not appear.
1t does appear that pretending to act as
trustees, but acting outside of their au-
thority, they caused the unimportant
matter of the names of the petitioners
to the special meeting Of the village to
be held Saturday June 18th, to buy the
water works and prevent the construc-
ton of sewers under the present plan to
be published. This act of the trustees
was unusual and the purpose of it with
in their knowledge and as they pretend
ed to act officially the purpose was pub
lie property and its publication is now
demanded, whether 1t was to intimidate
freemen from exercising the privileges