The Massachusetts spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1821-1823, 1821-10-24
Messrs. MANNING & TRuMpuLL-

Messrs. MANNING & TRUMBULL-
The writer in your last who assumes 80 speak
for ''many federalists" has asserted what no
other federalist, or any other person who under
stands the subject, would venture to say
Surely he must strangely msrecolect when he
says, that all charges and suggestions against
DIR. Fiske's conduct in his Office, ESQ far as he
knows have either not been met at all by DIR.
Fiske, or else admitted by him to be true.
The principal suggestions" against the
Register are those which attributed. to him
the taking of ercsSsire fees. Has the Register
ever admitted the truth of this suggestion p
Who does not recollect that it has always been
repealed as a most unjust and ungenerous as
persion This suggestion admitted! Why,
all of US know that, so far from its being adj
mitted- the opposing candidate himself has al
seays rindieated the Register from the inlputa-
ti0n: Indeed, it is charge which hardly any
one thinks it now worth while to hazard max
ing publichly. Certainly it would have be-
come the single individual who wrote the ar
ticle alluded to, to pay so much Difference to
those who were present at the meeting he
mentions, land there were an truth q many
federalfsts" there,) as to suppose they would
not lightly hazard an assertion which was not
warranted by the truth of the case Then
had regulations at stake, and therefore there
is quite as much pledge for their veracity
as there is for that OF any anonymous writer.
While on this subject, Messrs. Editors, al
low NE TO call the attention of your readers
more particularly to it. was present at the
publick meeting, held in Worcester during
Court week, which was composed mostly of
farmers from neighbouring towns and
heard some instances narrated of misappre-
tensions which had existed on the subject of
fees, and which had led to the belief that the
charge of taking excessive fees was well found
ed. This instance was given-a person had
supposed his deed came only to thirty-six cents
when it had been charged at sixty-four Cents
So great difference naturally excited a sus-
picion, on the part of the individual who first
heard It mentioned. that there was some mis-
take in the calculation. Upon inquirins of
the individual complaining, he learned that
the deed contained bat three pages and there
fore should have been charged only at thirty
six cents-that is, teCelre cents page. The
difficulty was solved at once. The fees for
recording an instrument containing more than
one page are fourteen cents, for each page =
The fee fer making the necessary certificate
on the deed, fire cents more; and the duty,
which accrues to the County, is Sfrenteen cents:
SO that the deed containing three pages Tor.
what would haveN been the same thing, more
than tW0 pages, since there is, | suppose, no
division of page,) amounts to sirtg-four cents,
which was precisely the sum charged in the
instance complained of
From hearing these statements have been
induced, since that time, TO inquire, when
ever opportunity occurred, into the grounds of
the belief that the Register takes illegal fees.
The subject was introduced, the other day, in
my hearing, by an intelligent farmer, one of
the most respectable citizens of a town adj
joining Worcester. He express,.l as almost
every one does who is acquainted with the
Register, very high regard for him, and said
that from his knowledge of his character and
integrity be could not have given credit TO the
charge OF taking illegal fees, had not the con-
viction Of its truth been forced upon him by
his examining two deeds which he had had
recorded. These, he said, were charged at
sixty-four cents, when they amounted to fifty
only. Here, then, thought ], is an instance
of the misapprehension that has been spoken
of; and inquired how he had made the COM
patation. Upon his explaining, it appeared
he had reckored tIcelre cents only, for the first
page, and had counted two hundred and for
Iy-t0uT WORDS 10 q page! observed to him
that the statute declared two hundred and
tfrenty-fotr words to be page, and that his
comp utation was therefore sufficiently errone-
GUS to make the difference of a page, and to
account for what he had supposed to be the
excess Of fees. He replied that he had ex-
aminct the statute, and had not been able to
find the provision as to the amount of a page
but that il had been stated an The Spy last
spring, that the number Of words was two
hundred and forty-four, and'he concluded that
what was published m that paper upon such
subject was to be relied upon. ] assured him
that the statement must have been erroneous !;
and he, at length, became satisfied that it was
SO, and that he had consequently been led to
misapprehcnd the subject have since found
the clause of the statute, which settles that
question 1t is under the caption of 6 ees IA,
the Secrcfary's Office" and is as follows:--" And
II is to be understood that page, as mentioned
in this art, should contain two hundred and
twenty-four words.'
Such, Messrs- Editors, are the mistakes that
have existed N relation to fees and there is
now little difficulty in accounting for the mo.
mentary credit given TO the representations on
on the subject. But the subject is now pretty