Weekly miners' express. (DuBuque, Iowa) 184?-1849, 1849-03-06

VI Tue 0oEeTnOT; mus after IabOred res
view Of three columns Cssoh Lucy hon hap
Py &c. in length this faithful chronicle
I'll human events succeeds in showing
that the enormous sum Of four-hundred
and sixty dollars Of the public money, in
the way of extras, has been expended by
the General Assembly, and large por-
ton of it Nth his assent and By his cote,
and then arrives at the very correct con-
clusion, that "such charges are small in
Themselves" which am not disposed to
controvert. They arc certainly small,
rery small, and in Ibis particular there is
striking resemblance between them and
the author ofthe Address.
The next robbery is the creation Of
new offices and that Of State Printer
is first in order. ''True," he says, ",he
Bill reduces the prices below what they
have heretofore been, but now, the
whole printing being thrown into the
hands of one man, the prices are enor.
mously high, and such that fortune can
be made there from in the term Of two
years" This paragraph contains some
truth for it is true, that the Bill makes a
gerry material reduc ton in the prices
heretofore paid for printing, as will be
seen by reference to the rates paid the
"Standard" the "Ha,rk Eye'' and Des-
moinse Valley Wing" By the arhig House
Of Representatives, during their short
reign at the first two sessions Of the Gen
eral Assembly and this was the very
object they had in view in passing the
bill but the idea Of State Printer in
Iowa receiving his compensation in scrip
on which he is uuder the necessity OF
discounting at from ten to fifteen per
cent. to procure means for the purchase
on materials, "making q fortune in t,co
gears" is, to say the least of it ludicrous
and wild-but it is perfectly in keeping
with many Of the other brilliant coneep-
tions of the distinguished author Of the
wing "retrenchments and reforms''---
"two dollars day and roast Beef mani
festo" l venture the assertion that nc
law Of greater public utility has yet been
passed by the General Assembly than
that creating the office Of State Printer,
and it will be remembered that the al
ready greatly reduced rates of the Bill
were fixed in anticipation Of a still far.
thor reduction two years hence. But a
comparison is made with the o1Ge1
States; in answer to which l will only in,
quire. What were the rates paid by
them in that early period Of their polit-
ical existence which corresponds to that
Of Iowa at the present time? fancy
that an answer to this question will show
that no state under the circumstances has
yet had its Public Printing done upon
more reasonable terms than tho rates
furnished in the Bill passed by our Leg
islature this winter.
In relerenc, to the proposition to Gre
ate the office Of Attorney General, the
address says: ''This officer was to have
salary ranging between four hundred
and three thousand dollars.'' The idea oil
proposing TO give this Office three Mous
and dollarS, is so perfectly absurd that il
scarce y needs contradiction would
only say that no such compensation was
ever thought Of much less proposed
Secondly, "they create other Offices in
the nature of three State Commissioners
to make sale of School Lands, retaining,
at the same time the office of Fund Com
missioners in each county, and thus do
they manage to eat up the School Fund.- y
This is palpably false, and is another
striking instance of the ignorance of its
author, as to wha! was actually done. He
was probably absent from his seat on
pirate business, or engaged in writing
out some long bunkum speech for publ
cation which was never delivered, or,
for ought | know composing the sad
Dress" (stW receiving the t,co dollars per
day hoaceuer.) When the bill for the ap-
pointment Of the commissioners was pass
ed, they were appointed to select not to
make sale Of School Lands; for the law
by which they are appointed expressly
states that "the lands" when selected
"shalI be sold by the Fund Commission
ers," the declaration Of the aforeraid ad-
dress to the contrary Notwithstanding
| would here remark that bill of pre-
cisely the same tenor (as am informed)
passed the achig House Of Representa-
tives, by handsome majority, last year,
g. would have become law had it not been
| SOIIlS VI IAO VI tHUl
memorable body. That the school fund
is to be eaten up by these commissions rs
is also false, for they are not paid out OF
the school fund, but by the state. Such
misrepresentation might be pardonable
in Lobby Letter Writer but they ap-
peared with ill-grace over the sigma
lures ofnineleem members Of the General
Assembly, and doubt not, but some of
them will feel mortified when then see
them. We have about $4,000 acres OF
school land to select, and when we take
into consideration the rapidity with
which spectators and others are taking
up the most valuable portions Of the pub
lie domain within our limits, the absolute
necessity of making immediate provision
Tor their selection is obvious; and if the
Legislature had adjourned without doing
so, they would have been guilty (readel
pause here and reflect all that | ask is a
fare hearing) OF gross injustice to the
present and future generations. The
selection Of these lands at the presen,