The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1853-02-02
Iowa CITY, Jan. .lst, 1858.
JOHN ID. Jennings Esq

io"h MI !, 'aA. ~ist , i|o'.
JoHN ID. JENNINGS Esq
The period G'r adjournment is rapidly draw
to close, which is percep,ible in the increased
energy in dispatching business and the anxiety
displayed by the members to yaca,e their seats
But very few and slight amendments have
been made to the code, which we consider
very fortunate thing for the people. The wings
of The two houses, with Grimes at the head in
the House and Browning in the Senate, have
labored hard to bring abouta general revision
Of the Code.
! RE-APPoRTIoNAENT BILL.
The bill re arportonng the representative
districts of the State, has become law By
/ this law Dubuque County, is entitled to four
representatives, This will be gratifying to our
readers.
CoHrrsGENr EXPENSES OF THE SUrEmE CoURr
i Petitions have been forwarded to the Gener
al Assembly, asking saId General Assembly TO
appropriate moneys to defray the travelling and
other expenses ofthc members Of the Supreme
Court, for the last four years, under the rotary
system, upon which bill was drafted appropria
ting three thousand dollars TO reimburse the
members Of sad court. Upon this bill, in both
houses, 4 warm and very animated discussion
sprung up aud by close vote was lost The
wings to man voted against the bill and To-
gether with few democrats, such as Grant
IIaun and IIepner, they carried question,
which was strictly party in its character, party
because in very question touching the Reports
of the court, its consolidation and the noting Of
compensation to reimburse the Judges the
party spiri! and party hatred have been cleanly
manifested. As to the merits Of the bill just
defeated, they can be stated in very few words.
The constitution never contemplated the estab
lishment of the present rotary aystem, because,
if it had, the phraseoligy Of the provision reiat.
ing to the Supreme Court, would have been dit.
ferent. The provision says, the supreme
Judges shall receive a salary of 1000, per year
for their services and that the General Assem-
bly, shall designate the time and place of hold
ing the Court. Using the words time and
"place" evidently means time and one
place. and it was no doubt with this view, that
the members of the convention fixed the sala.
ry at $1OO0.-For, had they contemplated the
present rotary system, 1t would have been
very easy matter to have said times and places
and as a sensible and magnanimous body they
could not have escaped raising the salaries TO a
higher figure. Yet the General Assembly in
the plenitude of its wisdom, saw fit to establish
FIVE Supreme Judicial Districts, compelling the
Judges to travel all over the State at heavy
expense-an expense OF some five hundred
dollars year according to their own statement,
but will not on constitutional grounds, when ap
peaed to in the spirit of justice and magnanimi.
ty, gote them single dollar for contingent cx.
penses. If the General Assembly was author
lied in dsviating from the constitution, in cs'
tablishing these several Districts the Supreme
Court and imposing additional duties upon its
members, with what proprety can the same
body refuse to vote the Judges, the additional
expenses, created by virtue of its acts carry the
principle out, and it may order q tenn of the
Supreme court to be held in every county in
the State; and yet according to the reasoning
adopted by the wings and a .fep democrats, in
the present General Assembly, there woull
be no remedy for the Judges, but to make the
circuit at an outlay of 1900 or $4,000, or res
IGN their seats.
| But there is an other point which deserves al
brief notice 1t is claimed by those who oppos--
ed this allowance to the Judges, that the rotary
system was established prior to their assuming
the duties of their Offices and therefore they
knew before accepting the Offices what duties,
they had to perform and what compensation
they were to receive for said sergices. Thisi
may apply to the Chief Justice, who was elec-i
ted subsequent to the passage of the law estab..
fishing the lrotary system, but it cannot apply to-
Justices Greene and Kinney, who were appoin-.
ted by the Executive some eight months before
the change was ma dcby Legislative encatment,
and had held court at the seat Of Govern.
ment, under the only consistent construction
which can be given to the constitution. These
two gentlemen had abandoned their profession,
entered upon the discharge of the duties OF their
office, and served in that capacity tor eight
months, before they had an Intimaton, that the
General Assembly by an extraordinary con-
s.ruction were to impose new and extraordinary
duties upon them. This, is sufficient answer,
to the argumcnt that the Judges knew what
they had to do and what they were to receive.
| We think Judge Grant, as democrat, a
lawyer and as Speaker of the House of Repre-
when this question was before the House, des
cend to the floor and 90 from desk to anotii
er, gociforating in his peculiarly blusterlag and
bull doy style.-H'S unconstitutional ssnticmcn
aoM stake my rcp@tatioa TPoR i, IL acW ncoer
do to 90 for it There was little dignity in any
such course as this, and policy which should
not recommend itself to any man of sound ludg
ment. The Elk Judge presume cannot ov-
ercome the chagrin Of his Senatorial defeat, but
let him not carry his vengeance too far, or a re-
| where some other one eyed politicians have
gone.
GA Personal Matter"
In the editorial correspondence Of the Dubu-
que Herald under date Of the 18th inst. Mr.. Mae
hony puts forth pittiful whine, about some re-
marks made by MIR Anderson in relation to the
character OF the Dubuque 'sHerald and Demo-
crat" Mr. Nj. misstates the facts in relation to
this matter and it is proper that we should set
it right, although we understand that Mr.. Ander
son regards it as beneath his notice. Mr.. M en-
deavors to convey the impression that the Her
aid was the journal selected to publish the law,
when such was not the fact. When the bill for
reor gaElzing the judicial Districts of the state
was under consideration, MIR Townsend moved
to strike out Miners Express and insert pubu-
que Herald. MIR. Anderson then rose in his
place and objected on the ground, that it was
customary to patronize the papers of one the
other parties and claimed that the Herald was
bogus" belor gins to lether party and was
iablished for the avowed purpose of breaking
down both parties.
This MIR. M. pronounees untrue. Now, for
the truth of this declaration of Mr.. A s.