Meigs County telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy [Ohio]) 1848-1859, 1857-04-28
/, Hg-.The Ohio Legislature adjourned

last week. It was elected upon the rally
ing cry of reform and goes out of exist
ence with the stencil of long decay and
lingering death aboutit it. OF all its mag
nifcent promises, not one has been re-
deemed; no, not onei The public burdens
have not been lightened, but rather in
creased. Instead of reforming existing
abuses, they have generated new ones. In
lieu of giving the state healthful and vig-
orous administration, they have contrived
to debase hercredit, dripple her resources,
and embarrass the business of her people,
with an exquisite peryersion of skill that
were worthy the "Circumlocution Office
itself. The acts of the Legislature are
before the people, and to their decision the
democracy confidently defer. In due time
the Unconstitutional bills which were
passed shall be laid bare to public animad-
version. The lays which avowedly were
made to favor the few at the expense of
the many. shall be shown up. ltis said
that fool can best teach n wise man wit,
= and if, after the folly and insanity of the
late majority, the democrats do not carry
the State elections, the fault is their own.
The above is clipped from a Locofoco
paper published at Portsmouth. We pub
lish it merely to let our readers see the
kind of stuff which is used by the opposi
ton, in the absence of al truth and argu-
ment, to bolster up their rotten and sink
ing party There is nothing original or
peculiar about this particular article to in
duce us to notice it, other than as a $peci-
men. 1t happened accidentally to be the
first one which met our gaze when we had
the scissors convenient. Similar para
graphs may be found in every locofocop pa
r,-,.-s---.A.- erure----ru TACT, they constitute
their chief "stock in trade.'' 81, ~ f,-
Wholesale denunciation Is the easiest
thing imaginable, if one can. only dispose
of his conscience for the time. 1t requires
little or no mental labor; and, if the read
CT is too idle or careless to investigate the
subject, and is ignorant of the facts, it an
swers the purpose justas well as the most
profound reasoning. a,., w. 4 81,
We propose, however, to examine the
matter little--to set forth few undenia-
BILE facts, and show chow plain tale shall
space for a minute examina alton of details,
but stand ready with the documents to es-
tablish the truth of our assertions.
/. When the Republican Legislature
came into power they found that the for
mer Democratic State Treasurer { Mr.. Bres-
lin) had failed to pay over to his successor
$1,O47, 1873 IA of the public funds. Yig-
orous measures We're pursued, and he has
since paid over all but 1911 ,o36 81, and
it is hoped that the greater portion of this
may be recovered. This, of itself, is much
more than the entire cost of the Legisla-
ture saved in that one branch of the gov
crnment. Is this generating new abuses
instead of reforming old ones?" .f
2. After close investigation, they found
frauds, defalcations. useless expenditures.
and overcharges, about the Penitentiary.
the New State House, and the Northern
aud Southern Lunatic Asylums, amount
ing to $279,383 II. Much of this had
already been paid, but large amount will
vet be saved to the state-enough, in all
probability, to pay the expenses of some of
these institutions for the current year. Is
there no ''reform" in that?
3. They found the State saddled with
debts, amounting to the sum $6l7,373 65,
contracted by Democratic officials the year
previous, but no provision made to pay
them. THEY paid these debts! Is that
what you call -:'debasing the credit of the
state? .s - t...... ...a .|--
"a They have administered the govern
ment of the State, and carried on the inn
provements previously begun at a saving
to the State of nearly S4OO, 900 year. Is
that what you call ''crippling her resodr
ces?''
s, They found that the canals were in
the hands of contractors who obtained the
contracts by fraud, at prices far above the
bids of other responsible men, and they
said to these men: "Leave these works
we will pay you for what you have done,
but we don't want you any longer. Sue
the State. if you please, and if you can
make it appear that these contracts were.
honestly obtained. then we will permit you
to finish the job-otherwise we shall hire
Others to do the work" There is no one
who doubts that the work can be done at
a saving to the state of from sixty to one
hundred thousand dollars a year, if these
contracts arc declared void by the courts.
Is this ffavoring the few at the expense of
the many?"
6.The people ery-where complained
of high taxes, and unequal taxation. BY
an economical administration of govern
ment they have been enabled TO reduce the
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