The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1853-02-02
Iowa CIyY, Jan. 2lst, 1858.
JoHN d. Jennings Esq.

| displayed by the members to yaca,e their seats
But very few and slight amendments have
been made to the code, which consider a
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 about general revision
Of the Code.
| RE-APPoRTIoSMEST BILL.
The bill re arportioning the representative
districts of the State, has become a law By
/ this law Dubuque County, is entitled to four
representatives This will be gratifying to our
readers.
CoNTIsGEHr EXPENSES OF THE SUPEaE CouRr
| Petitions have been forwarded to the Gener
al Assembly, asking SAID General Assembly to
appropriate moneys to defray the travelling and
other expenses of the members of the Supreme
Court, for the last four years, under the rotary
system, upon which bill was drafted srpropria,
members Of SAID court. Upon this bill, in both
houses, warm and very animated discussion
sp:ung up and by close vote was lost. The
wings TO man voted against the bill and To-.
gcther with few democrats such as Grant.
Iiaun and llepner, 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 10 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 reat
ing TO the Supreme Court, would have been dit
ferent. The provision says, the supreme
Judges shall receive a salary of $1,000, 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" aud
"place" evidently means one time and one
Place, and it was no doubt with this view, that
the members of the convention fixed the saa
ry at $l0O0.-For, had they contemplated the
present rotary system, 1t would have been a
very easy matter to have said times and places
and as sensible and magnanimous body they
could not have escaped raising the salaries 10
higher figure. Yet the General Assembly in
the plentude of its wisdom, saw fit to establish
FIVE Supreme Judicial Districts, compelling the
Judges to travel all over the State at a heavy
expensc-an expense Of some five hundred
dollars year according to their own statement,
but will not on constitutional grounds, when ap
pealed to in the spirit of justice and magnanimi
ty, vote them single dollar for contingent cx
penses. If the General Assembly was author
lied in dsviat;ng from the constitution, in es
tablshing these several Districts ofthe Supreme
Court and imposing additional duties upon its
members, with what propriety 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 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 .feao democrats, in
the present General Assembly, there woui.
be no remedy for the Judges, but to make the
circuit, at an outlay of 1900 OR $4,000, res
Ign their seats.
But there is an other point which deserves a
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 tie Offices what duties
they had to perform and what compensation
they were to receive for said seryices. This
may apply to the Chief Justice, who was elec--
ted subsequent to the passage of the law estab.
fishing the rotary 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 deby Legislative enactment
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 lntmation, that the
General Assembly by an extraordinary con-
s.ruction were to impose new and extraordinary
duties upon them. This, is sufli.ient answer,
to the argument, that the Judges knew what
they had to do and what they were to receive.
We think Judge Grant, democrat, Il,
lawyer and as Speaker Of the House of Repre-
sentativcs, had little to do, to leave his chair,
when This question was before the House, des
cend to the floor and go from one desk TO anoth
err, yociforating in his pecaiimIy bluslcrlag and
bull dog style.-Ns unconstitutional gentlemen
I aoW stake my reputation rPoR 4, II wM mcoor
do to go for it There was little dignity in any
such course as this, and policy which should
not recommend itself to any man of sound Judg
ment. The Elk Judge we presume cannot ov-
crcome the chagrin of his Senatorial defeat, but
let him not carry his vengeance too far, or re-
ton may take place, which will land him
where some other one eyed politicians have
gone.
"a PERSONAL MATTER"
In the editorial correspondence of the Dubu-
cue Herald under date Of The 18th inst. Mr.. Mac
hopy puts forth pittiful whine, about some re-
marks made by Mr. Anderson in relation to the
character OF the Dubuque ssHerad and Demo-
crat." Mr. Nj. misstates the facts in relation to
this matter and it is proper that we should sci
it right, although we understand that Mi Ander
son re CARDS it as beneath his notice. Mr.. NJ en-
dcayors to convey the impression that the Her
aid was the journal selected to publish the law,
when such was not the fact When the bull for
reor sanlzing the judicial Districts of the state
4 NJ pa