Year: 1870

The New City Charter Restoration of tho


Boon Of self-Govsrnnent.


New York, long worthily digniHed with the
title of Empire City-an imperium in im-
perio-will shortly have restored to it all the
rights, privileges, prerogatives and dignities


which properly appertain to it in the way of


municipal government After dark inter-


regnum Of twenty-five years-an interregnum


of usurpation, of misgovernment and Of COM


plete abnegation on the part of the dominant


political party of the chartered and inherent


rights of the citizens-we have once more


dawning on us the promise Of return to the


legitimate rule of the people. 1t is to be


hoped that that promise will have its expected


fulflment, and that the municipal government


will again be vested in the hands of the citi-


zens, to be exercised by them through their


chosen representatives. The proposed new


charter now under consideration in the


lower house Of our State Legislature, and


which may be very appropriately termed ''our


new Magma Charta," will, when it shall have


passed both branches Of the Legislature and


received the assent of the Executive-which it


certainly will receive in due time-provides for


all this. Responsible government in our city


will no longer be thing of the past. The


reign of extravaganza, fraud and ire


sponsibility which has SO long prevailed


will be brought to an end, and order


and good government substituted in their


stead. The experience Of our citizens for


the past twenty-five years has been that of


chartered privileges disregarded and ignored !;
of contemned rights and Of usurped power Of


partial and unjust legislation, looking solely to
the aggrandisement Of person and party at the
expense of the general welfare. During all
this period of anti-democratic misrule the ad-
minstration of our city affairs has been that
of utter incapacity, Of fraud and spoliation
that has no parallel in our history 1t has
been an era of political jobs, of corrupt party
boards and incompetent and costly commits
sions. This is truthful retrospect of the
past quarter of century, during which this
great metropolis, under the rule of Guelph or
Ghibbeline, whig or republican supremacy,
has been deprived Of its chartered rights and
the citizens oppressed under load of most
unwarrantable and excessive taxation.


The turning point has, however, been
reached. The new charter will prove the
great restorative to the body polite, so long
prostrated under republican quack nostrums.
The malignant opposition evinced to it by two
republican sheets and the insdious and treach-
erous attacks Of pseudo democratic city
organ are the best assurances the people could
have presented to them of its certain efficacy.
Under the operations Of this new charter
an end viii be put to the reign OF
violence, lawlessness and terror that
has so long dominated in our midst.
We shall have under the new regime provided
by it an active, capable and efficient police,
regenerated Health and Fire Departments and
other municipal boards. The government of


the city, like that of ancient Rome in the last
days Of the republic, viii be in the hands of a


triumviratc, holding power from and RESPONSE


BILE to the people for the proper discharge OF
their official duties. This body will be COM


posed Of the Mayor Qhe executive head) the
Comptroller and Corporation Counsel-a
simple, consistent and homogeneous plan OF
| municipal government In this triumvirate
we shall have represented the three most


important departments Of the city govern
ment--the Executive, the Financial and the
Judicial-three coordinate branches emanat-
Ing from the people Of the city, just as
our national government in its coordinate
branch is represented through the voice
Of the people Of the whole country. Under
this new order of things we shall need


no Tarpeian rock outside our city limits
to punish any malfeasance in office. The
heads of each OF these departments will be


accountable to the people, and the peoples


ballots viii ever be the surest and simplest