Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1859-01-08

Imprisonment, for lilo am persuaded that
in many Instances murder escapes all punish
meuL or oil adequate punishment throgh the
reluctance Of jures TO tnd yerdicts which must
necce ssurily be followed by sentence Of death.
II is well asceriaiued that Of crimes OF vio-
lence, nearly one-haf have their immediate Ori-
gin in intemperance, aud that morc than four.
hnbs Of the police offences are due TO the same
balefu cause. Ii Is the abundant source OF
Puuperism Lunacy aud Disease, rs well as OF
crime. Its cost to society is beyond the power
of computation, and It's multiforn influences
lor evil beyond the reach Of estimate. | a.
gain invoke your attention to this vitality impor-
tant subject aud trust that your action iu re-
gard to il may be wise nnd efficient.
In this connection think il my duty to rec
ommend to You the establishment OF an Asy-
lum for Inebriatcs Much evil to individuals
aud society may be averted, and much positive
good accomplished, by means of such an lnsti.
tuition Ii established on the Slate Reform
Farm upon a judicious plan aud SCALE its cost
need not be great.
The administration Of civil, not less than
that of criminal Justice, is intimately related to
social condition and advancement. When
cheap, prompt, unbiased aud sure it guaran-
tees industry, promotes enterprise. and ensures
progress. When dear, dlatory, partial aud un-
certain, il impovershes labor, discourages use
lul undertakings and introduces decline. In
this Stale the people elect their Judges, and
thus directly determine in large measure the
character Of judicial administration. The re-
suits thus far. especially in civil justice, have
not disappointed the advocates OF an elective
judiciary. Incompetent judges have, it is true,
been sometimes elected, and the evils Of NAL
administration have been sometimes felt but
Of Ohit, rOucidprp1 in upuprnl have
nothing to apprebend from q comparison with
those Of any other State in respect to intc-
gence, learning or. efficiency. The amount of
their labors may be inferred from the fact that
the number of civil suits last year was about
| 10000, in $1,000 of which judgments were rem
! dered. The number Of suits involving serious
controversy of law or fact bore n small proper
ton to the whole Much the larger number
were prosecuted for the collection Of claims,
and il is estimated that nine tenths in amount
Of the debts unsecured by mortgage or other
wise, which class constituted three.fourths OF
the whole, was recovered or is recoverable
This estimate, if at all reliable Indicates plain
ly the grou nds on which the high credit Of the
business men, as we'll as Of the State Of Ohio
is established. The whole debt Of her people
public aud private, as l took occasion to show
last year, is equal in amount to one.hfth Of the
property in the State, and the loss by individu
al failure in payment, ia only two and hall
per cent of the debt The rate Of commercial
hazard in credits, is, therefore, comparatively iD-
significant
Such is the social condition of the State con-
templated in some of its most important aud
interesting aspects. The sketch is necessarily
imperfect, for the materials are Inadequate. II
may not however, be altogether without value,
while the provisions judcinuSly male by you,
and the preceding General Assembly for Il
more ample collection Of statistical information
will supply hereafter, the means Of mure GER
tain aud more useful comparisons and deduc-
tion, than are possible now.
Passing from these general views to other
topics of perhaps more immediate concern,
permit me TO invite your attention, in the first
place, to our financial condition.
The Constitution requires that all property Of
whatever description. AMI by whomSOever held,
shall be listed Tor tax iiion ut its trne value
The Revenues Of the State, the Counties, the
Township, the Cities, the Villages and the
School District, raised by rates levied, u
for State purposes, OH the whole property LISTED
and if for local purposes, on tue properly 81
ed within the proper territorial limits. Th'
school laws of various years. but particurIrS
of 1853 and 1854 the road and bridge law.
]
of 1881 one act of 1857 two of 1858, and
some other acts af less Importance, prescribed
the rates of taxation.
The School acts direct the levy Of one mill
and siX-tenihs Oh each dollar of valuation
throughout the State, for general school and
library purposes, and of various rates TO be fix
! ed by the local authorities. for local purposes
such ls the const ruction of school houses anC
/ the purchase Of sites.
! The Road and Brdgelaws authorize rates 70
the objects indicated by their titles, varyin.
1 from the twenty fifth of a mill to nine and
half mills, to be determined by the Count
! Commissioners and an additional rate, not owe
six mills, 20 be levied by the County Auditor
on property adjoining roads within certain lin
its on the petition Of the property holders.
The pour house act of 1921 authorizes th
levy by the County Commissioners of an indef
mite rate for the erection of Infrmaries and
rate not exceeding one mill for the support 0
the poor.
The act of 1857 requires the levy O
seven-tenths Of mill for general State pur
poses of niue.tenths of mill for pay
nent of interest aud principal of the pub
lie debt of rates for county purposes
within various limits from two 10 four mills
to be determined by the County Commis
sionerS. with liberty to the Commissioner
of counties whose taxable values do no
exceed $4,000, 900, TO levy higher rates
of rates for Township purposes, to be iixe
by Township Trustees, but not to excee
one mill on the first $4,000, 900 of valua
ton, and one-fourth of mill on the excess
of rates not exceeding four mills, for Cit
and Village purposes, to be fixed by cit
and village authorities and of a rate 70
City purposes, not exceeding six mills, I
be fixed by the City Council Of Cincinnati
The acts Of 1858, require the Audto
of State to increase the levy for the pay
ment Of the State Debt, whenever it ma
be necessary, in order to make the Sink
ing Fund equal in amount to the require
ments of the Constitution and the law,
and direct the levy of seVen-twentieths Of
mill in each of the years 1858, 1859 an
1860, TO provide means for the payment {
the loan of 100000 authorized by tn
second Of these acts, and intended to sup
| ply the deficit created by defalcation.
1t thus appears that the rate of taxatio
for General Revenue, applicable to the SUI
mort of the State Government. in all il