Saint Paul weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1858-1859, 1858-07-10
Justice 10 Mister Sibiey'

a week or SO back. upon Mr.. SIBLEYs spec
ial Message to the Legislature, YOU co"l".n'
-, 's'on his recommendations for the
,r,.t;nr # several additional and, as you
SOW useless Offices, to bleed the public Treas
nv. but YOU say nothing of his proposition
ca, !. retrcnchment and reform embodied In
~. o,rarraph in reference to the meeting of
~, nsxt session of the Legislature OF the
Sr1te. Does he not therein show his dispo-
sition TO economist the public money?-and
should ven not give him fair credit therefor!
Be lust il YOU will not be generous.
Yours Truly, "OLD SETTLER.
We desire nothing SO much as to do the
lust and fair thing by Mr.. SHELLEY. Though
he does hold his office partly by crime and
forgery. and partly through his own disrepu-
table protest on ''mere technically" against
counting in $500 legal votes, yet we will not
withhold from him single need of praise to
which be is honestly entitled for anything
good that lie does, or has done, Usurper
though he is.
But touching the Special Message to which
"Old Settler" refers, we defy any man to run
ception of paragraph or two about the
State Prison and the organization OF the
militia, remark or two about banks which
he before denounced as necessary evils"
and a suggestion in favor of reducing the
number of Senators and Representatives to
our State Legislature, suggestion that is
far from being original with him-find aught
therein which bears the stamp of good, sound
vigorous sense, or which should render any
friend of Mr.. SIBLEY, proud of the document
or of him. We pass over without special
comment at this time, his sneerng at the al
legged decision of the Supreme Court, as "a
aqere technicalty," his anxiety to have the
lands of poor pre-emptors taxed prior to the
issuing of the L. S. patents therefor, his H.
diculous proposition to divide the ''reatty"
ana tax the improvements" separate from
the land. and his undignifed suggestion that
the Legislature should memorabilia the Pres
dent of the United States to prefer Minnesota
over other States by putting the entire force
of the General Land Office to work at issu-
inc patents for Minnesota lands, $50 that they
may be included in the assessments OF the
present year''-a preference which it would
be neither in the Presidents power nor his
inclination to bestow, and which it would be
absurd as well as humiating in us to ask
We likewise pass over his vain and conceited
announcement of his eXtra-official and unnec-
essary tour to New York to confer with
eastern capitalists" about our small State
loan of S250,000; followed by his still more
foolish announcement that it is also my in
tention to visit Washington before my re-
turn; and that he actually should see the
"P,esident' and urge upon him in person to
prefer Minnesota in issuing the land patents.
Nor shall We dwell at present upon his sug
gestion to the Legislature to set aside the
laws Of the United States governing the In
dian Reservations, and the Indian country,
and to substitute therefor an act extending
the laws Of the State of Minnesota over all
the Indian tribes within our boundaries!'-
suggestion revolutionary and insurrectionary
in its consequences, if carried OUT and show
ing the man who made it, to be either an ig-
nOramus, foolish fellow, or a reckless knave,
though we would rather for charity's sake in
clude him in the two former classifications.
We pass by also without further remark,
than we have already bestowed upon it, that
feature Of the same message recommending an
assistant Secretary of State, fat 200 a
year,, besides extra Clerk hire, another 81 )
000) for that Office, when it is notorious that
the present Secretary of State himself will
have three lfourths of his time nothing to do:
so that this assistance" proposed for his Of
flee was but an attempt to create sinecure Of
fees for partzans at the expense ofa beggared
State Treasury; that feature recommending
a Private Secretary for himself lat $500 a
year,, when the Secretary of State should
properly perform all the public duties that
such an ornamental functionary could possibly
have to execute that feature recommending
also useless State Engineer, lat $1,000 a
year,, to take off from himself the responsible
ay OF deciding upon the good faith of the Land
Grant Railroad Companies, as to their having
properly executed the "grading ready for the
superstructure," upon the basis of which
grading the S5,000,000 of State bonds are to
be issued to them and that feature recon-
mending Superintendent of the Capitol
Building, (another $500 year,, when the
Secretary of State, as he did under the Ter
ritorial rule, or the State Librarian as that
functionary does in Wisconsin and we believe
also in Iowa. could easily attend to this duty
without either of them feeling very much ia.
tigued with the additional burden, to carry
which they have both plenty of spare time !
But no that mode of arranging it would
not suit the expanded and magnificent views
OF the Indian Trader. He wants more Offices
for his friends; and is no. bit afraid of more
tareS upon the people,! And in consequence
OF these wants on the one hand, and this fear
lessness of his on the other, We have our Ex-
ecutive boldly recommending useless Offices in
volving an annual draft upon the State Treas
ury of near S6,000!! at period too, when
every dollar of taxation, beyond the low-wa-
ter-mark of the closest economy IS Ike dis
taiing, to feed 0ampires, the last hearts Jyocd
of the People,
Our Bogus Governor seems to think, how
ever, that tazes are a small matter-a consid-
Grafton not to be taken into the account; for
he winds up his recommendations by naively
Informing the Legislature, as an inducement
for their more readily complying with them
that "if the appropriations are made, most of
the funds can be paid, after the treasury shall
have been repleaistsd Jytte receipt Of TAXES y