Year: 1875

Meeting OF the Legislature.


The Legislature Of New York will assemble
at Albany next Tuesday. The session is
likely to be one Of great interest, although it
may not accomplish much work. Both po-
litical parties will be at disadvantage by
the tendency of important legislation to a
deadlock. The republicans have majority
both in the Senate and Assembly but not a
two-thirds majority, so that it will be useless
for them to pass any bill which cannot meet
the approval of the Governor. The political
opposition between the Legislative power and
the veto power may have salutary effect on
one of the important subjects which will
come before this Legislature namely, the
apportionment of Senators and Assemblymen
under the new census The republicans had
the apportionment in their own hands ten
years ago, and that they made an unfair use
of the advantage is attested by the fact that
in the last election they were able to carry
both branches of the Legislature although
the democrats elected their State ticket by a
majority of about fifteen thousand. As Gov
ernor Tilden will be certain to veto an unfair
apportionment bill there is a reasonable
prospect of justice in organizing the new
Senate and Assembly districts.


AS there is only one subject in which the
Governor takes an active interest it is prob
able that all the emphasis of his Message will
be given to the canal frauds. He will, of
course, extol and magnify his aggressive war
on the Canal Ring, but the republican
Legislature may not accept his own valuation
of his services. In the numerous speeches
of Governor Tilden last summer and autumn
he made constant appeals for a supporting
and cooperating Legislature, confessing that
he would be powerless without such aid.
The appeal was not responded to by the
people in the sense in which it
was made, and as the republican
party think that the Governor has been man
aging the canal question to promote his
chances for o Presidential nomination it is
improbable that this republican Legislature
will vote him any laurels. Nor is there any
reason to suppose that the democratic oppo-
sition and denunciation which he encoun-
tered last winter will not reappear in this
Legislature. He is known to be scheming
for Tilden delegation to the Democratic
National Convention, and he has too many
bitter enemies in his own party to expect
gentle treatment from this Legislature.


On the important question of municipal
reform the Governor has conspicuously
failed to do his duty. He was authorized by
the last Legislature, at his own request, to
appoint commission on this subject but
he deferred the appointments so long and so
inexcusably that the labors of the commits
sion will be of no value to this Legislature.
1t is too evident that he means to fight off
and postpone the question, but whether with
view to his Presidential chances is best
known to himself. We trust however, that
the Legislature will not postpone so important
and urgent subject in Difference to Gov
ernor Tilden's wishes to secure the New
York delegation to the Democratic National
Convention. On the great point of spring
election he is so committed that he cannot
retreat, and his position is so distasteful to
Tammany leaders that he may wish to avoid
offending them by throwing the question of
municipal reform past the choice of delegates,
which will probably take place before the
Legislature adjourns.