Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1856-02-01
TTU5s PGOUttUF. -O,VWU
Expenses. $500
Nett proceeds. 400


-four, only exceeds by four hundred dollars, the
amount which the economical "Quer,t" would allow.
Thus vanishes into thin air the gbbcr about the office
of Inspector of Hour being worth twice rs much a.
that Of the Governor of Virginia. ] have given 10
the opponents Of the inspection laws the advantage OF
the most favorable year for them, and we have seen
how far they have been from the truth in their
lectures The present inspector of -four is receiving
much smaller fees than did his wing predecessor.
EDMUsD WALLS held the Office for TWENTY-FIVE
YEARS and received THREE CENTS PER BARREL Tor
inspecting -four for a portion OF the time, and Two
ceuts for the rest; and JoHs ENGLAND held the office
for eleven years. and received two cents per barrel
for inspecting. The present incumbent receives out
one cent per barrel, and the place netts him only
about twenty.four hundred dollars year, when flour
is selling at unprecedented high prices
1t therefore appears that the nett income from the
office Of inspector OF -four for this city, is not larger II
as large as that of the majority Of the
officials of this city, and that his rumorcd emoumens
(o sixteen thousand dollars yeur) in truth, on
ly about twen,y.iour hundred dollars per annum.
The present Democratic inspectors fees for flour
are one cent per b.rre whilst one OF his Wing pre-
decessors received three cents and the other two cents
per barrel With this evidence before the Le-sla
turc, We cannot see how Messrs. Deane and Bomdu-
rant, or any other Knnw-Nothings, can venture 10
ask for n reduction Of the present barely adequate
compensation of n Democratic Inspector. No do"Jt
the knor- Nothngs Of M,s STATE are 0nrious si,tcc
ihcy failed 10 get tie oESccs Of the C0mmoa~cah 10
render them comparatively raln'css but that our De-
mocrac friends will be the victims Of this attempt,
we are reluctant to believe. They know well, that
the present inspection laws have worked well, and
their wsest and best policy will be to let our nspec-
ton laws remain as they have been for many years.
At least they should not interfere with then unit!
it has been distinctly and clearly understood that the
farmers of the State dissatisfied with the existing
laws-and of this there is not at the present time one
solitary particle of evidence in any reliable shape or
form.
Fortunately, the question Of repeating the inspec.
ton laws was discussed and acted upon by the neigh
boring State of Maryland few years since, and the
whole subject was then and there fully and matureIy
considered. And, a. our readers will see from the
following extracts the Governor and Legislature con-
Cured in the opinion that the inspection laws were
wholesome and sauary in their practical workings.
That distinguished Democrat, Governor Lowe
in his annual message Of January 9Th, 1853, to the
Legislature of Maryland, thus discusses the subject
"This lends me 10 the consideration of another mat
ter of which shall trent very briefly An effort will
be made to induce you To abolish the whole system
INSPECTIONS; or, so 10 u H.
censed inspectors for those appointed by the Stnc
To abolish inspections absolutely will, presume,
meet the appreciation Of comparatively few. Ii
qures great degree of sagacity to toresee the nu
rious results of such measure. But Ia" more pau-
sible scheme of the license system will be pressed
upon your consideration. Powerful influences will
be brought to bear for the attainment Ut this object
respectfully caution you against nasty actloii III Inc
matter. The unprecedented prosperity, visible III
every branch of our industry and commerce, which
has been reached under the present system, should
ad,nonsh you against inconsiderate change. The
principle and object of every system OF Inspection
must be to establish IN impartial umpirnge between
the buyer and the seller the producer and the con-
SINNER The Arbitrator Of valuation must be abso
utely independent; that full justice may be done
to each Of the parties interested The Independence
of the Inspector must not be Jcopnrdzcd Men arc
not prone to DO dishonest though they may be weak.
To remove temptation is to insure integrity The In
spector who holds his appointment from, and is d.
rectly responsible to the Executive or other Supe'
ror Officer Of the State, can have no motive to do
wrong But the licensed Inspector. who depends
upon the patronage OF the producer, or ms Cohhls
sion merchant, may not have the moral courage to
perform his duty with strict partiay. Past expe-
rence has convinced that the occasions Tor the e3
ercsc of trmness, on the part OF Inspectors IN na'
tanning the market standards OF merchandise are
much more frequent thnn is generally supposed
This may be one reason why some are found ANXIOUS
70 rid themselves of the wholesome restraints which
the preseut system imposes. Ii is much more impor-
tnnt, however for the general purposes o' JUSTICE us
we'll us for the character Of our market abroad ii"
these ssutary restrictions should be risldy MAINTAIN
ed than that individual interests or preudIces should
be gratihed'
Durinp that session of the Legislature commit
renorted adverse to the repeal of the inspection
laws and from their report take the following e1
tract:
Your committee presume that the legislature is not
abandon the principle upon wh'f nnca. a m
led to be this that it necessary to the interests OF
both the buyer and seller, that there should oe @ an
honest and Competent judge, somewhere ana some
how, authorized by law, to decide upon me lua,,y
Of the merchandise offered for sale. 1t is unvetSais
admitted that the Judge arbitrator should be aoIo
utely impartial. The question then arises, on .ne
threshold of the enquiry, how can that De pest e,eH
sd The answer is obyious-by rendering hlni ~
dependent. 1t cannot be denied that inspectors ap'
pointed by the State and responsible to the appoint
ng power alone, must necessarily be independent
They can have possible motive (short OF absolute
to favor either the buyer or seller, as hgr
official acts and the incomes Of their offices can Do