The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1847-06-25


them sufficient To allow man TO remar
in his office and attend To his duties. liz
must be engaged in something else.
/ In case OF the reduction of the uumhP
OF representatives, what would small
cou ties do 4! Small counties have to paw
almost a. much taxes for officers as large
ones Small counties would be entirely
cat OH in representation in ,he Legisla.
TIRE, and the People of them could no,
he sued. Every session there are peti.
lions for new counties. and the People 5
money sqlander"t in ltgI,latiug upon
them.
MI. Davis OF Montgomery said. thai
he hoped this subject would I've referred
again To the committee, or to a select or
any other dppropnare committee. What
scenes would be Witnessed here every
year, when ,hese petitions cone before
The Legislature on this subject, asking
for new counties. Fifty or SIXTY per-
sons came down here and hung round
he Legislature AT every session, begging
and endeavorlng 10 carry through some
nne or other OF these measures they
were round the ,ommittee on counties.
and aiiilaslls upon allidavils were spread
before them, with their petitions. Every
one knew how they were obtained, and
by what sort OF persons.
There was but little difference between
the expenses of small counties and those
oi large ones, and the less number OF
counties, the less expense II would be to
the State.
This was an evil which the People
were everywhere alive To, and he hoped
the Convention would put a stop to it
He hoped tIF provision requiring the
400 square nS,es to the county would be
adopted, In nine cases out of ten the
petitions for these new counties were
goIuP 10y men looking for the county
oihces to be created or by men who
were ANXIOUS 10 have the county seat To-
Gated on their land. thereby increasing its
value. Indiana had a provision of this
KIND IN her constitution, and If he was
not mistaken, Missouri aso had one
No one there complains of il, and every
one admires the system. We already
had one hundred counties. and it would
he much better if We had bu. sixty.
Vie hoped ii would be adopted
Mr. Daviso( Mclean, agreed with the
gentleman last up. This was Of the
greatest Interest to the People Of the re-
gion he came from. Ga no subject were
they more united than upon Iii. No
evil greater than this do the require this
Convention to correct.
Gentlemen cannot deny that great
evils grow out of this system of creating
new counties every year. Indiana had
provision against it. Ohio, too, bad
one, and he believed the area was larger
in those States than 400 miles. There,
every county is respectable, and there are
not those complaints about taxation.
The amount Of taxation in large coun-
lies for county expenses, was less than in
smaller ones. Sangamon paid less than
Macon. These petitions were always
the work ofinteres,ed persons. lie was
in favor Of a prohibition against new
counties being formed with the area less
than 400 miles, and also that the county
from which i, should be taken should not
he le(, smaller than that. The attention
Of the People had been directed to this
question, and it was serious one. By
adopting this, weeks Of legislation would
he saved. Since he had been in the State,
a great amount Of the time Of every lie.
gisIaure had been wasted upon this sub.
jec,. The Legislature that met . years
ago, performed a browning act By crea-
aling no new county, the first time any
thing Of the Mad had occurred. He
moved the resolution he recommiued to
the committee with the following insiruc.
tons:
10 repor, provision, TO be inserted
in the constitution, that no new county
shall be established by the General AS
sembly, which shall reduce the county or
counties, or either Of them, from which
il shall be taken, to less contents than
400 square miles nor shall any county
he laid of Of less contents, or any line
Of which shall pass within less than ten
miles Of any county sea, already estab-
lished."
Mr.. Jenkins. The committee intend
ed to incorporate into some report, some
thing in relation 10 this matter, at another
time. lie had not said word about re-
trenchmenl, though others had. The
People do not expect US ID relrench by
restraining them in their privileges. We
have no RICH, 10 restrain them in petit
,lonng for new county when they deem
such necessary. We have no right TO
bind them down to silence by saying
there shall be no new county unless II
contain an area Of 400 miles. Gentle
men had said that the petitions for the
division of counties we're always got up
by men with interested or dishonest mo-
lives. He admitted that this might oc.
cur, bu, were they 10 presume that oil
men who had part in such questions
were dishonest. and that they could cheat
the Peoplel No, sir, the People are not