Iowa capitol reporter. [volume] (Iowa City, Iowa) 1841-1855, 1847-01-06
For The Reporter.
New Couuly seats.

Il As i is known that petitions are j. cir
cnlation for divisions Of counties and re
moyals ofcounty seats, which will doubt
flass be presented 10 the present Legi.la
'ure, it is important that the subject shout.
be veil considered before precedent i
set for future Legislatures 10 be continu
ally altering county boundaries, di.oresn
izing old counties and forming new ones.
It is well known that most Of ,hos.
concerned in getting up these petition.
/ are pecuniarily interested in the proposed
new county seats; and if the Legislature
encourage their applications by granting
their prayers, there will be no end 10 sucf
petitions; and every succeeding Genera
Assembly will find their tables loaded
with a doubly increased number.
It will be well for the future prosperity
Of the State, if these applications be dis.
couraged from the very outset fo,, if a
different policy be adopsed--if our L.gir
lures grant the prayers Of the pe,i,iovers,
the young State Of Iowa will s>6n be
dotted over with decaying towpI and de-
serted court houses as deplyable monu
ments Of the instability otfegislation and
the total insecurity Of purchased riphs.
The rights Of those 1sho have bought lots
and erected buildings in county seats
established by law, should be zealou.ly
protected BY the Legislature nor should
those rights be vacated, by legal enact
ment or otherwise, without The consent of
those whose condition is thus changed.
True, the changes effected by lang series
Of years-a greatly increased population,
&c. might make it expedient, at some
future day, to make some corresponding
changes in counties: But even then no
county seat should be removed without
providing compensation to those who have
purchased town property st high prices,
with the express agreement that the town
in which such property is situated should
be the county seat. But, although some of
the counties heretofore formed are some
what larger than the minimum prescribed
by the new constitution, still they are
generally thinly populated, and the inhab-
itanls have sufficient burden to bear in
delreying the county expenses, without
increasing their taxes by diminishing the
size of their counties, and proporiionably
lessening the population. Tie trainers OF
the constitution were doubtless influenced
by this very idea, when they provided
that No new county shall be laid off
hereafter, nor old county reduced, to less
contents than four hundred and ,hirty-two
square miles" They did not say that the
counties should all be so small: on the
contrary, they went upon the ground that
it would, in many cases, be necessary for
the convenience of the citizens to make
the counties larger; and for the protection
Of the people they declared that no county
should be made smaller than the limit
above named.
In most Of the counties in which changes
are proposed, the seats of justice have
but recently been established, towns laid
out, the lots sold in pursuance of law, and
the county buildings commenced and are
now in various stages of erection. 1.-THE
sascilla,ing and unjust policy OF removing
these county seats, be already commenced,
people will be dissuaded from purchasing
in new county seats, and counties hereafter
formed will consequently NEE, with much
embarrassment in the erection of county
buildings, and incur heavy expenses to
supply the deficiency of funds caused by
a failure to sell their town lots
A comparison of the numbers of the
petitioners and remonstrants for and
against a measure Of the kind above al
lded to, does not always afford pr per
criterion by which legislator should be
guided. Men are naturally much more
active and vigilant in the pursuit of gain
than in the retention of it when obtained
Hence person interested in the accom-
plishment Of the object of petition, will
very APPLY exert all his energy; while he
whose rights are proposed to be legislated
away, would deem himself secure in the
strength OF his title and the protection Of
the Government. If. in such case, the
Legislature should grant the unjust re.
quest Of one at the sacrifice OF the rights
Of the other, merely because the latter ne.
elected to demonstrate, they would there
by punish him for the confidence he had
reposed in their wisdom and integrity, and
cast lasting obloquy upon legislative
bodies. @.
Major Rmgold's 7eamster The Ring
u 20 II