The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1859-01-14

whether upon convictions fhIB mul
der in the first degree. it may not !
exprdient to authorize the Courts
sentence at discretion 10 capital pnr
ishment, or to imprisonment for life
am pursuaded that, in many in
stances, murder escapes all punish
ment, or ali adequate punishment
through the reluctance Of inries I,
find vcrdicts which must NECESSARILY
be followed bv sentence o: death.
1t is we'll ascertaincd that, o
crimes of violence, nearly one-hsl
have their immediate origin In in
temperance, and that more than iour
titths of the police offences are du,
to the same balelul cause. Ii is th,
abundant source ofpiuperism, luna
cy, and disease, as well rs Of crime
Its cost to society is beyond the po "
er of computation, and it's mnltiforn
Influences for evil, beyond the rcacl
of estimate. ] again invoke you
attention to- this vitally iupprran
subject. and trust that your action il
regard to it insy be wise and effi;ien
In this connection, think it IN
duty to recommend to you the es'sb
lishment Of AN Asylum for lnnbriates
Much evil tn individuals an society
may be avertel, and much positiv,
xood accomplished, by means .
such All institution. II establishe,
on the State Reform Farm, upjn ,
iulicious plan and scale, its cos
need not he great.
The administration OF sivil, no
less than that of criminal justice, i,
intimately related to social conli
ton and advancement. When cheap
prom t, unbiased and sure. it gmsr
antees industry. promotes enterprise
and ensures progress. When dear
!ilatory, partial, and uncertain, i
impoverlshes labor, discourages use
ml undertakings, AMI intr duces DO
elmo. In thiS state, tho people cleo
their Judges, and thus directly de
termine. in large measure, tn,
character of judicial administration
The results thus far, especially in
civil Justice, have not disappointed
the advocates of an elcctivejudiciary
Incompetent Judges have, 1t 10 true,
been sometimes elected, aud the
evils of m,l.adninistratipn have
been sometimes felt; but the Courts
of Ohio, considered in general, have
nothing tn apprehend from . COM
parison with those OF any other state
in respect to intelligence, learning.
or efficiency. The amount OF their
lsbors nsy he inferred from the fact
that the nnmber oi civil suits last
year was about 10000, in Is. 900 oi
which judgments were rendered. -
The number oi suits involving scri'
ons controversy of law or TACT. bore .
small proportion 10 the Whole. Much
the larger numb,r were prosecuted
for the collection ui claims, AMI 1t 10
that nine. tenths in amount
IT the debts unsecured 10y mortgage
or otherwise, which class constituted
Of the whole, was re-
covered or il recoverable. THIS es'
innate. il at all reliable, in licates
plainly the grounds on which the
nlgh credit ot the business men. n
we'll as ot the state of Ohio, is cstab-
lished. Tne whole debt ni her pco-
pie. public an. private, AS took oc-
raSicn To show last year, IL hardly
equal in amount to one fifth Of the
property in the state, and the loss by
Individual failure ia payment, is on
ly two-sni a.half per cent. III thu
,iebt The rate Of commercial h z
ard in credits. is. therefore cJmpara
lively insignificant.
Such is the social condition OF ,h,
4tate, contemplated in some oi it,
most important and interesting As
poets. The sketch - necessarily
imperfect, for the materials are in
ad rquste. IL may not, however, b,
altogether without value, while tn,
provisions julicionSly made by you
aud the preceding General Assembly
for a more ample collection OF sta
tis,ical inform alton. will supply
hereafter the means OF more certain
and more usefnl comparisons an
deduction, than arc possible now.
Passing from these general view
to other topics OF perhaps more i'm
mediate concern. permit me to IN
vite Your attention. in the first plact
to our financial condition.
The Constitution requires that u
property, OF whatever descriptio
and by whomsoevet' held, shall +
listed for taxation At its true valu
The revenues Of the state, Il
counties, the townships, the cite
the villages al! thn school iii
tricls, are raisel by rates levie
# for state purposes, on the who
roperty listed. and il for local pu
poses, 90 the property liateI with
t the proper territorial limits. t
school laws of various years, b
particularly OF 1883 and 1851; t
: road anu bridge laws Of 1854, a
. other years; the poor house act
: 1881; one act OF 1857; two OF lS5
r and some other acts OF less impo
/, ance, pr scrbed tho rates OF ts
: alton.
e The school acts direct the levy
6 one mill and six,tsnths on zach Il
- lar OF valuation throughout the sta
IS for general school and library p
IL posss, and Of various rates to be tiS
J. by the local authorities, for lo
:. purposes, such as the construction
10 school.houses and the purchase
% sites.
The road and bridge laws auth