But  the  old  system  of  governing  New  York  at  a  distance  by  men,  a
majority  of  whom  have  no  interest  in  its  government,  so  far  as  its
local  affairs  are  concerned,  who  have  no  share  of  its  burdens  or
responsibilites,  is  still  going  on,  and  will  continue  to  go  on  unless
this  Constitutional  Convention  at  last  prohibits  it.  Therefore,  I
say  that  in  this  report  of  the  Committee  on  Cities,  however  imper-
fectly expressed,  however  doubtful  some  of  its  language  may  be,
however  insufficient  the  mechanism  which  it  provides  for  the
expression  of  the  will  of  the  locality,  is  at  least  to  be  found  the  two
principles  recognized  by  all  men  as  essential  to  any  better  local
self-government  in  cities.  What  else  does  home  rule  mean?  What
does  it  mean,  except  either  a  direct  grant  of  powers  to  the  govern-
ment of  cities  over  local  affairs,  some  restriction  of  the  power  of
the  Legislature  to  interfere  with  existing  charters,  or  else,  as  a  half-
way measure,  the  passage  of  general  laws  under  which  existing
municipalities  may  be  reincorporated  and  of  the  opportunities  of
which  they  make  take  advantage.  That  is  the  rneaning  of  home  rule.
Those  are  the  advantages  denied  to  the  people  of  the  cities  of  the
State,  and  which  they  now  demand  as  essential  to  the  better  admin-
istration of  their  local  affairs.
