the work done by him, under his contract with the Convention, and under its authority, and the value of the books furnished by him for its use, does not exceed the sum mentioned in the resolution appended to this report; the committee reports the following resolution: Resolved, That a warrant be drawn in favor of Benjamin Singerly, Printer for the Convention, for the sum of five thousand dollars, on account of printing done and books furnished for the Convention, to be accounted for in the settlement of his accounts. Mr. HARRY WHITE. Mr. Chairman : I want to ask, for information, whether a general resolution has been passed authorizing the printing of the reports that have gone through the committee of the whole with the amendments. The PRESIDENT. The gentleman from Indiana will find the information by referring to the Journal. Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. President: I move the Convention do now adjourn. The motion was agreed to, and at two o'clock and thirty-six minutes P. M. the The resolution was road twice and Convention adjourned until ten o'clock agreed to. on Monday morning. SEVENTY-FOURTH DAY. MONDAY, March 24, 1873. The Convention met at ten A. M., the President, Hon. Wm. M. Meredith, in the chair. Prayer was offered by the Rev. James W. Curry. The Journal of Saturday was read and agreed to. THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD. The PRESIDENT laid before the Convention a memorial, praying the Convention to insert in the Constitution a clause recognizing the sovereignty of God. Mr. RUSSELL presented a similar petition, signed by one hundred and twenty citizens of Somerset county. Mr. MACCONNELL presented a similar petition, signed by twenty-seven citizens of Huntingdon county. These were severally referred to the Committee on the Bill of Rights. THE AMERICAN STEAMSHIP COMPANY. Mr. WRIGHT offered the following res olution, which was read twice and agreed to: Resolved, That when the Convention adjourn to-day, it be to meet on Wednesday next, at ten A. M., in order to avail ourselves of the invitation of Hon. E. C. Knight, president of the American steamship company, to attend the launch of the steamship Indiana. Mr. PATTON offered the following resolution, which was referred to the Committee on Revenue and Taxation, viz: Resolved, That the Committee on Revenue, Taxation and Finance be instructed to inquire into the expediency of incorporating the following article in the amended Constitution, viz: All taxes of this Commonwealth for revenue or public purposes shall only be assessed upon the net valuation of property, after deducting the indebtedness of its owner from its just valuation; a statement of such indebtedness shall be given to the assessor, under oath or affirmation, unless the person assessed shall waive his or her right to such deduction; and all moneys at interest, notes, bonds, judg ments and other evidences of indebtedness shall be taxed to the owner thereof as personal property. THE OFFICIAL DEBATES. Mr. LILLY. Mr. President: I offer the following resolution: Resolved, That the Official Reporter of this Convention shall in no case withhold copy of Debates from the printer for revision for more than two days after the debate is had. The resolution was read a second time. why I offer that resolution is this: I have understood, from conversations with members upon this floor, that the Printer alleges that he has not received all of the copy of the Debates as promptly as he should have received it. I also understand that he has been delayed with his printing, because the copy of the Debates has not been furnished promptly. This has probably been no fault of the reporters, but it has been because the manuscript, which has been furnished to members for revision, has been retained by them for several days. I do not want this Convention to get into the same slough into which the Constitutional Convention of 1837 and 1838 fell, where the official report of the Debates was not furnished until several months after the final adjournment of the Convetion, and where the Debates were not printed, bound and circulated until at least one year after the Convention had finished its operations. Mr. NEWLIN. Mr. Chairman: It is perhaps fair to the reporters to say that this is a matter which has only happened once or twice, and it has been no fault of theirs. It has been the fault of the meinbers of the Convention, who, receiving copy from the reporters for revision, have not returned it until after several days have elapsed. Of course, this put the reporters in a delicate position. They do not feel like importuning the members too much. I make this statement for the benefit of the reporters, because I think it is proper, and it also seems to me that the resolution ought to pass, so that in future the reporters will act under the orders of the Convention, and thus all difficulty will be avoided. The members of the Convention will see the necessity of complying with the orders of the House. I move to amend the resolution, by striking out the words, "two days," and insert "one day." Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. Chairman: I have been under the impression all along that under the contract between this Convention and the official Reporter, these Debates cannot be delayed even one day. There was a provision, I think, in the contract, at least I so understood it, that the copy was to be furnished to the Printer on the same day that the discussion took place, and that we were to have the reports printed and laid upon our tables the next day. If it is necessary to pass this resolution now, it is all well enough, but certainly the Convention always contemplated just such an arrangement as I understood, and as I have described, that the Debates in no case were to be held back, but were to be furnished to the Printer on the same evening, and on the next day were to be laid upon our tables. Mr. DARLINGTON. Mr. Chairman: I propose to amend the amendment, by providing that if manuscript shall not be returned within one day, it shall be omitted entirely from the debates. Mr. NEWLIN. Mr. Chairman: I accept the amendment. Mr. MINOR. Mr. Chairman: It strikes me that we will fall into difficulty. I do not know, if this amendment be adopted, what we will do with the Debates that occurred last Saturday. They will all be ruled out necessarily⚫ Mr. TEMPLE. Mr. Chairman: I suggest to the gentleman from Crawford that Sunday is always excepted. Mr. HAZZARD. Mr. Chairman: 1 desire to ask, in case the manuscripts are left out of the printed Debates, how the accounts with the reporters will be ascertained? They ought to be paid for work done, and who is to pay them? On the question of agreeing to the amendment, a division was called, which resulted in thirty-one in the affirmative. Not being a majority of a quorum voting, the amendment was rejected. Resolved, That the official Reporter of this Convention shall, in no case, withhold the copy of Debates from the printer for revision for more than two days after the debate is held. The resolution was agreed to. IN COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE. Mr. NEWLIN. Mr. President: I move that the Convention now go into committee of the whole, upon the article on cities and city charters. This was agreed to, and the Convention resolved itself into committee of the whole, Mr. Darlington in the chair. CITIES AND CITY CHARTERS. The CHAIRMAN. The committee of the whole, at its last session, disposed of the amendments to section three, and finally voted down the section itself. The question now before the committee is section four, which will be read. The CLERK read as follows: SECTION 4. The Legislature shall pass no special law creating any municipality, or regulating its form of government, or the management of its internal affairs, or altering the charter of any city now existing, or creating a public commission for any purpose, unless such law is specially asked for by a majority of each council for a definite object, nor shall such special law have any force or effect, unless accepted by a majority of the legal voters voting at the next municipal election after the acceptance by the councils. Every municipality shall have power to pass laws for its own regulation, not repugnant to the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of this Commonwealth. Mr. NEWLIN. Mr. Chairman: I move to amend as follows: To strike out from the word "purpose," down to and including the word "councils," and insert: "All public commissions now in existence may be altered, remodelled or abolished by the councils." Mr. STANTON. Mr. Chairman: How will the section read as amended? The CLERK read as follows: "The Legislature shall pass no special law creating any municipality, or regulating its form of government, or the management of its internal affairs, or altering the charter of any city now existing, or The PRESIDENT. The question is upon creating a public commission for any purthe resolution. pose. All public commissions now in Mr. NEWLIN. Mr. President: I call existence may be altered, remodelled or for the reading of the resolution. The CLERK read as follows: abolished by the councils. Every municipality shall have power to pass laws for its own regulation, not repugnant to the Constitution of the United States, or the Constitution of this Commonwealth." Mr. D. N. WHITE. Mr. Chairman: It appears to me that this section is in direct opposition to the section we adopted ed in committee of the whole on the article on legislation. This says that no special law shall be passed in relation to cities. In the article on legislation we passed a provision that all laws regarding cities shall be general, so that we cannot pass any special laws. I think we had better vote this section down. Mr. NEWLIN. Mr. Chairman: The object of the amendment which I have suggested is to meet the exact difficulty stated by the gentleman from Allegheny (Mr. D. N. White.) I It will be seen that the section, as reported by the Committee on Cities and City Charters, would authorize the Legislature under certain circumstances, there detailed, to create commissions. Now, I am opposed to giving the Legislature the power to create commissions under any circumstances whatever, and I am opposed to all commissions on principle. Now, when this matter was up before us, a few days ago, the existing commissions in this city were alluded to, and it was stated that the gentlemen upon these commissioners were reputable citizens, and that, therefore, the commissions ought not to be abolished. Now, cheerfully agree with the friends of the of the existing commissions in everything which they have said as to the personnel of the commissions. I think that the present commissioners are very reputable gentlemen. They are good citizens, and I have no doubt that they desire to carry out the objects of the bodies to which they belong, with a proper regard to the public interest and, therefore, what I say has no reference whatever to the gentlemen composing these commissions. I desire to be explicit on this point, that my objection is a general one, and goes to the root of the difficulty, and that I am opposed to all commissions in themselves, because they are both irresponsible and unrepublican. We have lately, in the city of New York, had an evidence of what commissions can do when they get into improper hands, and although I admit, as I have already said, that the present commissioners are men of character, the time may come when persons of a very different calibre will fill these places, and then all the difficulties that have occurred in the city of New York, I take it, would occur here. But, sir, even if these commissions were continued to be conducted properly, they are, in their nature, irresponsible, and they are anomalies in our political constitution, because the people have no voice whatever in their selection or control over their actions. The commissions have the power to bind the municipality, and though the appropriations to meet the contracts made by these commissioners have, I believe, always been made by the councils, the eouncils have not been willing agents for the people in so doing, but they have been obliged to make the appropriations to avoid heavier expense to the citizens, because the contracts were already com. pleted and had to be complied with by the city authorities. Notwithstanding that the commissioners now in office have unquestionably been actuated by proper motives in the discharge of their duties, it is an undeniable fact that through these commissioners a very great and enormous increase of the city indebtedness has been made, and that the taxes of the city have, of course, increased correspondingly and to a most alarming degree. The present city rate is $2 15 on the $100 of assessed value, and when gentlemen bear in mind that the assessed value of real estate in this city is its full market value, they will see that this rate of taxation is enormous. It used to be, and I presume still is the case in many counties, that the assessed is nothing like the real or market value of the property. In many cases onefourth, or one-third, or one-half of the market value, but in Philadelphia now, as a rule, the assessment is of the full market value of the real estate. So that the tax of $2 15 upon the $100 of full market value of the property is what is now imposed upon the tax-payers of this city. It has got to be a very serious consideration with very large manufacturing establishments in this city whether they can stand, along with other expenses, the great increase of tax, and we had recently an instance of a very large establishment being compelled, partly on account of the increared taxation, and also for other reasons, to remove their works, not only out of this county, but out of this State, and to go to the neighboring State of Delaware, and they are now about erecting works at New Castle. I am told that other establishments contemplate similar action. Owing to that fact-the great in crease of taxation-and the low rate of interest in this city, capital has been leaving us, to a great extent, and the neighboring States have been profiting at our expense. In the State of New Jersey there are numerous manufactories of every description, which, on account of the taxes being lower, are carried on by Pennsylvania capital. The taxes now, on some properties, are nearly as great as the whole rental which was a few years ago received by the owners, and if the tax rate continues to increase at its present rate, in a few years the city will become the great landlord, and the owners of properties will becomes its tenants, with the right to sublet to other people. That is what it will practically amount to. Now, the amendment proposed does not of itself and immediately do away with all these commissions. It follows out the general idea already adopted by this Convention; first, of taking from the Legislature the power to create comInissions, and of placing the city affairs within the control of the municipality. If this amendment is adopted it will take this shape, that the city councils may either alter the present commissions or they may remodel them or they may abolish theni, as they think best for the interests of the public. Gentlemen may say that we have already prohibited the Legislature from creating these commissions in the future, but we want to get rid of those now existing. The necessary and inevitable consequence of their continued existence is to heap up public debt and taxes, without the consent of tax-payers, and if we cannot get rid of the incubus which is now upon the city, the relief will only be partial. If the principle that has been adopted by this Convention is correct, that these commissions cannot be created in the future, I can see no logical reason why those now established by law should not be abolished. This is a matter of very grave consideration to the city of Philadelphia, and I hope the gentleman from the interior will agree with me, that these commissions should be done away with. Mr. HANNA. Mr. Chairman: I would like to have the amendment read. The CLERK read: Strike out all after the word "purposes," in the fourth line, to and including the word "councils," in the eighth line, and insert as follows: "All public commissions now in existence may be altered, remodeled or abolished by council," so that the section will read: "The Legislature shall pass no special law creating any municipality, or regulating its form of government, or the management of its interternal affairs, or altering the charter of any city now existing, or creating public commissions for any purpose. All public commissions now in existence may be altered, remodelled or abolished by council. Every municipality shall have power to pass laws for its own regulation, not repugnant to the Constitution of the United States" Mr. HANNA. Mr. Chairman: I submit that if we adopt the amendment offered by my colleague (Mr. Newlin) we will be going entirely too far, and further than this Convention proposes at present to go. It seems to me, sir, that the committee, in considering the report of the Committee on Legislation, has covered the ground entirely. I do not think we need the section as reported by the Committee on Cities and City Charters. I do not see any necessity for it, because we have prohibited the Legislature from passing any special law regulating the affairs of cities, counties, boroughs, &c.; and in addition to that we have also passed a section which will cover this very subject. That is with regard to the creation of commissions. If the committee will turn to the report of the Committee on Legislation Mr. NEWLIN. Will the gentleman allow me to interrupt him? Mr. HANNA. Certainly. Mr. NEWLIN. I ask if it refers to the commissions that are now in existence. Mr. HANNA. It does not, and that was the very question that the committee of the whole declined to act upon when they considered the report of the Committee on Legislation, that is to abolish existing commissions; but they did pass section twenty-four in the report of the Committee on Legislation, which prohibits the creation of commissions in the future. It reads: "The Legislature shall not delegate to any commission, corporation or association any power to make, supervise or enforce any municipal improvement, property, money or office whatever, to levy taxes or to reform any municipal functions." Now, I submit that while the object to be obtained by my colleague (Mr. Newlin) may be good in itself, yet the committee of the whole have refused to act upon that, and have said that we are not now prepared to abolish existing commissions. I there |