St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1910-01-12

privilege, and the diversion or the
mind of the legislature from its real
public duties.
The proper Office of the legislature
In this regard should be to carefully
| formulate reasonable general corpora
| ton laws, the benefits of which shall
be uniformly available to all who will
comply with their conditions. Cor
| porations of a certain kind require diff
! ferent privileges from corporations of
another kind; but there is no reason
| why all corporations of the same class
and under like conditions should not
| enjoy the same privileges. There is
| no more reason why corporations of
| the same class should have varying
| rights and privileges than there is why
| individuals should have. The seek
| ing and giving of special privileges to
| particular corporations is one of the
| greatest reproaches upon the cor
| poratfOn system.
With some small qualifications and
a few recognized general exceptions,
| the constitutions of forty states pro-
hibit their legislatures from passing
| special acts of Incorporation and re-
| Quire charters to be obtained under
| general laws, and many Of them pro-
hibit any special private corporate
| legislation. The provisions Of the
| different constitutions may be grouped
under a few types. The type fol-
| lowed by the most states is that Of
the Illinois constitution, which is
| substantially the proposal recon-
| mended.
| In twenty-three or more states munich
pal corporations can only obtain char
| tiers under general laws. The grant
| ing of varying charters to the numer-
our small villages in this state, though
not so Objectionable as private cor
| porate legislation, is subject to much
| of the same criticism. Some general
municipal law broad enough to meet
| the requirements at least of all vii
| lagos would be very desirable; but it
| has not seemed to us best to include
| in the above proposal any constitu-
| tional limitation upon municipal legis-
| latiOn.
| PROPOSAL EIGHT
| That the annexed draft of a new
Chapter 2 of the Constitution marked
Exhibit Cor such modification of it
as may be decided to most correctly
express the existing provisions) be
| adopted to take the place of present
Chapter 2 and the existing % articles
| of amendment.
This proposal is not intended either
to add to or take from the present
constitution as now in force, but
simply to put it in convenient and
disable form.
The existing constitution of Yer
mont was established July g, 1898. 1t
| has been amended five different times
| in 1928, 1885, 1850, 1870 and 1888.
These amendments cover twenty
eight articles, some of them contain
ing more than one section.
Article IS of the amendments pro-
vides that such parts and provisions
only of the constitution as are altered
or superseded by any Of the first
twelve articles of amendment or are
| repugnant thereto shall thereafter
cease to have effect. Although I'M
expressed, such is also the effect Of
| all later amendments. The amend
ments have never been written into
the constitution; but the constitution
entire and the amendments entire are
printed together and what has been
altered or superseded by any of the
amendments or is repugnant thereto
remains entirely matter of interpre-
tation, except the 43rd section speci-
fically abrogated by Amendment
Article 25, Section 4.
Of the forty-thr sections of Chap
Ia
one or more times, and of the twenty
eight articles of amendment six also
have been amended. There are
twenty sections or articles. there
fore, which no longer stand as they
read.
| Section 9 is an extreme example of
the extent to which these changes,
unexpressed in the text itself, have
gone. This section relates to the
powers of the house of represe ntatives
and is still printed in the constitution
as originally adopted.
/. 1t provides that they shall meet
the second Thursday of October. The
date now is the first Wednesday of
October. (Amend. Art. 24.)
2. 1t provides that they shall be
styled the general assembly. The
correct name is the house OF repre-
sentatives. (Amend. Art. %
8. 1t provides that they shall have
power to choose a secretary of state.
Amendment Art. 10 provides that this
officer shall be chosen by the joint as
sembly, and Amendment Art. % pro-
vides that he shall be elected by the
people.
4. It gives the house authority to
sit on their own adjournment. Amend
ment Art. 3 limits their right to ad-
journ without the consent of the SEN
ate to not more than three days.
i IL.