The Placer herald., 1857-03-07
The Redemption Fund Act.

answer to our contemporaries article of the Dist of
February last, upon the above law. The act it.
self will be found upon our fourth page and has
been published in this paper for two previous
issues. In order that the public may more fami-
larly understand the object and reason of the law
we will add a remark or two to the information
contained in "Veritas."
Heretofore few monied men have been in the
habit Of purchasing almost at their own prices,
such scrip as found its way into the hands of per-
sons who were not able to retain it until the cash
was on hand in the Treasury of the County, to
pay the several pieces of scrip in due course
This was the privilege of the parties vendors,
and purchasers, no complains of it. the trans
action was lawful This act proposes to set aside
a portion Of the revenues of the county, which
shall be used as public purse, and come in com
petition with these purchasers in buying up these
evidences of our Indebtedness. Those who receive
scrip from the county for services cannot, itseems
to us be injured by this, and all that percentage
which the specuator has or would make upon
scrip thus purchased, will be made by the county,
instead of going into the pockets of individuals.
The Bill provides for paying out money on these
purchases four times year, viz: in the months
of February, May, August and November.
For the Placer Herald.
.lfr. Editor:-The Placer Press of the DIST ult.,
contains an article under the caption of County
Finances" which would not notice were it not
for the fact that the editor gave the public to un-
derstand in a previous number of that paper that
his matured ideas on the subject would be spread
before the world by him.
4lo Ia, Of {1,o
editor sets out with the following sweeping SEN
tence, which if true is begging the question, but
which has not the semblance Of fact in it,
"Thus it will be seen that more than 0ne-haIf
fhe entire recenue Cf fMe c0uaty will be divert
ed from its original line Of appropriation and
thrown into the Redemption Fund"
l regret that gentleman who has been acting
as Clerk, Magistrate, Associate Judge and Official
Printer to Placer county. should know so little
about the ''entire revenue of the county"
find by reference to figures obtained from the
Treasurer's books that there was collected and
paid into the County Treasury, from January lst,
1856, to January 1st 1857, for county purposes,
exclusive Of the School and Road taxes, over
seyeatY-t2c0 thousand doilars Add the State
taxes and the percentage allowed 10 collecting
officers to the above, and it will be that the
people of Placer county are paying in round num-
bcrs over one hundred and twenty thousand dol
lars per annum. With the above facts staring us
in the face, | ask, was it not time something
should he done for the taxpayers?
The "Redemption FUND.- act, only takes from
the Genera Fund seventeen thousand four hun
dred dollars, which is not 0yer 0ne-h0T Of Sere2-
ty-t1rO thousand d0i}0rs, the editor of the Press
will perceive, unless figures do lie
After deductng the money required to be plac-
ed in the "Redcmption Fund.- there will be left
in the County Treasury for county purposes over
fifty thousand dollars to meet the current eNpen-
ses of the yeay 1857. A sum which all must ad-
nit will keep County Orders. not surrendered,
paid mp as promptly as heretofore, and not set
them back 10 three Yeas" as stated hy the
Press.
But The editor of the Press is alarmed about
the violation of implied contracts. What are the
facts: The people Of the county elected County
Judge at a salary Of three thousand five hundred
dollars per aunulu; but before he takes his scat
he seeks and obtains, through the Legislature, for
the terra, four thousand dollars more. Who yiO-
lated the contract? The Sheriff receives when
elected, ten dollars per week in scrip. for board
ing prisoners, but that contrct is violated, and he
is paid cash out of the Special Fund. created by
a special tax law; SO with the official advertising.
All these contracts are violated by the officers and
yet the nice sense OF honor of the editor Of the
Press is not outraged.
No sooner however, does an agent of the people
attempt to do something for 4 taX-riddcn commu-
nit and the honor of an almost bankrupt county,
than the tears, lamentations ard suilerngs OF the
hard worked, poor-pad, and i'll clad county Off
cials become intensely narrowing to the consci-
encc of the editor of the Press, and he cries out
in great agony of spirit, ''amended '-"repealetl'
-"repudiatiOn -"JGnG fde creditors County
Judge''-"D District Attorney" &c. But, Mr. Edi-
tor, manifest destiny points to a gradual reduc-
tion and utter extinction Of all such extra sources
of revenue as Foreign Miners License lax,
Merchants License tax, &c, and while we have
these extra sources Of revenue, let us pay off our
debts, and thus be prepared to live without that
which, sooner or later must loose. whether
prepared or not Let us reduce our expenditures
every dollar they will bear appropriate our in
come in way calculated to lqudate our heavy
debt most rapidly. and the citizens Of Placer may
yet be proud Of their county. There are many
wild vagaries and much unreliable data contain
ed in the article under criticism, which will not
now MISUNDERSTANDING that the editor of the Press
has already spun sufficient yGrn to hang himself
vERITAs.
We make the following extracts from the
Eastern correspondence of the Sacramento
Union:-
Mr. Buchanan left Washington for home
February 3rd, and the quid nuncs are no
wiser than when he came.
Of this long looked for and important
visit from the President elect, | spoke in
my letter of the Goth ult But his visit
was to obtain, not to impart information,
and doubt not he has gone back with a
fund of useful information, which will be evil
denced by the character of bis Cabinet, when
their names come to be known.
The Congressional proceedings since my
last letter have been more important than
usual Bills have passed the House Of
Representatives for the admission of Oregon
and Minnesota as States; establishing a
Judicial district and Surveyor Generals
Office in the gadsden purchase. These are
bills of vast importance to California and
send you by this mail copies of each.
The Senate has passed the Oceanic Tele-