The Nevada journal., 1857-09-18

JOURNAL Office If required to eject bargain, the en-
tire concern will be disposed Of Address the Proprie
tors. Mp BROWN & co.
CRY ORDINANCEs-THE EFFECT-
The only relief to the general dizziness
of the times is the excitement an en-
forcement of city ordinance or two has
produced during the last few days.
More than usual spirit has been ava
kened in consequence and the wisdom
of said ordinances has been seriously dis
cussed by parties interested. The or
dinances were designed to provide pro-
lection in time of fire, but by careless
ness or incompetency on the part of the
city dads they amount to nothing but
oppression and monuments of official
folly. One ordinance compels each
owner or occupant Of a building to pro-
vide ladder long enough to reach the
roof of said building and keep it con-
stantly on hand. The occupants of
brick buildings are not exempt from this
provision.
Doubtless the idea of having an easy
access to the roofs of houses is a good
one and should lie carried out by law if
the object is not to be gained otherwise
But the ordinance is so framed as, if
literally enforced, to compel each occu-
pant of house, room in hotel, prison
er in his cell, man woman and child, to
have ladder
Another ordinance makes it obliga-
tory upon the owner or occupant of any
building where stoves may be used to
build brick chimney of certain dimen-
sions. The intent of this law is good,
but as drawn it is one of the most bung-
ling pieces of legislation in existence.
Under it some contend that one stove
need not be supplied with a chimney,
but two stoves or more must be accom-
modated with chimney each
The ordinance requiring barrel of
water to be kept constantly on hand at
each tenement, in design, is one of the
best. 1t is liable to be made oppressive
however from the manner in which it is
drawn. Under it the Recorder, we are
told, insists that g tank, tubs, hogshead
or any thing but barrel will not answer
the purpose. Thus sale is created for
old barrels which otherwise might have
rotted. In an instance or two persons
occupying part of a building as tenants
have been fined for not having ladders
independent of the one supplied by the
owner of the building, which is all sufi-
cient. Men have also been brought up
by the police because their wafer barrel
was missing of morning, the negli-
gence, perhaps, of the same police be-
ing the cause of its removal during the
night.
The operations of the city officials du-
ring the week past have createdno little
discussion and various reports are in
vogue not much to the credit of the pow
ers that be. The city council are open
ly charged with the grossest incompe-
tency, the city Recorder with caring
little to carry out the reasonable intent
of the ordinances, and conniving with
the police to fleece the people and make
money for themselves, taking advantage
of the stupidity of the council so to do.
In corroboration of this charge against
the Recorder, he is reported as having
boastingly declared he would give the
people ''the best he had" and would mt
take less than eighteen hundred dollars
for his chances at the spoils during the
next two months. In consequence of
these reports, true or not we cannot say,
changes of venue are frequently taken
to justices courts.
We learn from authority that the
trustees have never obtained satisfac-
tory reports from the officers who impose
and collect fines, and also another fact.
if it be a fact, of Importance to the peo-
PIE, namely, that where a fine of ten
dollars is imposed the whole of it is swal-
lowed up and the city brought forty
cents in debt. These statements need
investigation for the benefit of all con-
cerned.
Missouri ELECTIoN.-The election
of Rollins as Governor of Missouri is re-