Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 5.djvu/576

 564 FEDERAL REPORTER. �this act," ought not, -we think, to be held as intended to re- peal the act of 1867. That section repealed, andwas undoubt- doubtedly intended to repeal, only the original act of 1868, incorporating the village of New London, and the amendatory act of 1869. �Comment on the provisions of the charter of the city oi New London, to which our attention was ealled on the argument, is unnecesaary, since the ground is covered by the observa- tions just made upon similar provisions in the charter of the pillage ; and, in accordance with the views thus expressed, we ■nust hold the first point taken in support of the demurrer mtenable. �But it was argued with much earnestness that the vil- Uge of New London had no authority to issue the bonds, because, as it is claimed, the enabling act of 1867 contained no sHch restriction upon the power of the village to loan its credit as is required by section 3 of art. 11 of the constitu- tion of Wisconsin ; and that for the want of such restriction the àet must b© held unconstitutional and void. The section of the constitution in question is as followsi "It shall be the duty of thfl legislature, and they are hereby empowered, to provide for the organization of cities and incorporated vil- lages, and to restriot their power of taxation, aseessment, borrowing money, contracting debts, and loaning their credit, so as to prevent abuses in assessments and taxation, and in contracting debts by such municipal corporations." �Now it is contended that the enablmg act of 1867 contains no such restriction as this constitutional provision requires, and hence that the act does not conform to the constitutional requirement, and is void. We cannot adopt this view. The constitution does not specify any particular mode in which the legislature shall restrict the power of municipal corpora- tions to contract debts or loan their credit. It is, therefore, immaterial how it is done, provided the restriction be im- posed, and we think the legislature sufficiently performed its duty in that regard in the act of 1867, to make that act a valid law; for it was therein provided that cities and vil- lages might issue bonds to a particular railway company, ����