Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes County, Ohio) 1856-1865, 1859-01-13

ordinances 1885; making the number ol
arrests for crimes and otfenses of lower
grade IL, ,4S6. The convictions carried in.
to judgement, upon indictment, were 1900
The murders during the year were go
and the suicides IS. The proportion OF
crimes and ofenses to the population was
one in 2Os; the proportion of offenders
being of course somewhat less. The pro.
portion ofnurders was Que to $4,000; tina,
Of suicides one to 36,923. -a
The infrequency of convictions as com.
pared with indictments will doubtless at.
tract your attention. 1t indicates a de-
fective administration of criminal justice,
to be remedied not so much by legislation
as BY increased vigilance and firmness on
the part of those to whom that admins.
tration is committed. 1t is worthy youl
consideration, however, whether, upon con.
victions for murder in the first degree. j,
may not be expedient to authorize the
courts to sentence at discretion to capital
punishement, or to Imprisonment for life.
l am persuaded that, in many instances,
murder escapes all punishment, or all ade-
quate punishment, through the reluctance
Of juries to find verdicts which must nee.
essarily be followed by sentence of death.
1t is well ascertained that, of crimes oi
violence, nearly one-half have their imme-
diatc origin in intemperance, and that more
than four fiths of the police offences are due
to the same baleful cause. 1t is the abun.
dant source of Pauperism, Lunacy and Dis
esse, as we'll as of crime. Its cost to socie
ty is beyond the power of computation, and
its multiform influences for evil beyond
the reach of estimate. again invoke your
attention to this vitality important subject
and trust that your action in regard to ii
may be wise and efficient.
In this connection l think it my duly to
recommend to you the establishment of an
Asylum for Inebriates. Much evil to in.
dividuals and society may be averted, and
much positive good accomplished by means
of such an Institution. If established or
the State Reform Farm, upon a judicious
plan and scale, its cost need not be great
The administration ofciyiI, not less thar
that of criminal justice, is intimately re
lated to social condition and advancement
When cheap, prompt, unbiased and sure
it guarantees industry, promotes enterprise
and ensures progress. When dear, dilato
ry, partial and uncertain, it impoverishes
labor, diseourages useful undertakings and
introduces decline. In this Stale the peo
pie elect their Judges, and thus directly de.
termine, in large measure, the character o.
judicial administration. The results thus
far, especially in civil justice, have not dis
appointed the advocates of an elective ju'
dietary. Incompetent judges have, it is
true been sometimes elected, and the evils
OF mal-administration nave been sometimes
felt; but the Courts of Ohio, considered il
general, have nothing to apprehend from
comparison with :hose of any other State
in respect to intelligence, learning or effici
ency. The amount of their labors may
be inferred from the fact that the number
of civil suits last year was about 10000, ir
$4,000 of which judgements were rendered
The number of suits involving serious con-
troversy of law or fact bore, however Q
small proportion tothe whole. Much the
larger number were prosecuted for the col
lection of claims, and it is estimated thai
nine-tenths in amount of the debts unse
cured by mortgage or otherwise, which
class constituted three-fourths of the whole
was recovered or is recoverable. This esti
mate if at all reliable, indicates plainly th'
grounds on which the high credit of the
business men, as well as of the State o
Ohio, is established. The whole debt o
her people, public and private, as l took oc
casion to show last year, is hardly equal il
amout to one-fifth of the property in tn
State, and the loss by individual failure il
payment, is only two and half per cen
of the debt. The rate of commercial haz
ard in credits, is therefore, comparatively
Insignificant. ,- ..ear af -l. gitas
Such is the social condition of the State
contemplated in some of its most import
ant and interesting aspects. The sketch j:
necessarily imperfect, for the materials ar
inadequate. 1t may no. however, be al
together without value, while the provision
judiciously made by you, and the preced
ing General Assembly for more ample
collection of statistical information will
supply, hereafter, the means of more Ger
tain and more useful comparisons and de
ductions, than are possible now.
Passing from these general views to 9th
er topics of perhaps more immediate con
cern, permit me to invite your attention
in the first place to our financial condi
tion. ........
The Constitution requires thai all prop
erty, of whatever description, and by whom
soever held, shall be listed for taxation a
its true value. The Revenues of the State
the Counties, the Townships, the Cities
the Villages and the School Districts, ar,
raised by rates levied, if for State pur
poses, on the whole property listed, and j
for local purposes, on the property liste'
within the proper territorial limits. Th'
school laws of various years, but particu
larly of 1853 and 1854; the road ant
bridge laws of 1854, and other years; th'
poorhouse act of 1881; one act of 1857
two of 1858, and some other acts Of les
Importance, prescribe the rates of taxation
The School acts direct the levy of on,
mill and six -tenths of each dollar of valua
tion throughout the State, for genera
school and library purposes, and of various
rates to be fixed by the local authorities
for local purposes, such as the construc
ton of school houses and the purchase o
sites. &. s se
The Road and Bridge laws authorize
rates for the objects indicated by their Ii