The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1860-01-28


u % The Committee on charitable Institution
OF course Il carried. "Old Black Hawk q n
Strcetcr isjoculary called, il the ..bricks of Il
House. He maintains the position he assu,ue
. the last session, and Is the dryest joker fro
the North In the Senate, Dr. Bowen took q,
cas'on 70 castigste the Democracy, and also III
Dubuque Times, which, In arecent issue, charge
that the DR.. afiliatcs somewhat with the Den
ocracy. @
This afternoon . passage At arms occurred l,s
tween Claggctt aud Caldwell. The latter, !
Chairman Of the Committee on Judiciary renpr,
ca back bill, and recommended it be indcin
itely postponed The bill proposes to rccnac
the code provision that negro msulatso, or In
dian are not competent witnesses between whit,
men. The Chairman said the constitution wx
explicit, and makes every person competent, NO,
an Interested party to the suit
Judge Claggct wanted them excluded. tht
constitution notwithstanding He wanted the
Legislature to construc the constitution. We
had the right to do it, although the Supreme
Court had decided the point At any rate. he
wanted bill introduced, probably to give him
chance to express his opinions, which he an.
nounced 70 be against the broad and explicit
language Of the constitution. He moved the
Dill De referred back with instructions to the
Committee to report such bill.
Caldwell told him there was no sense in what
Claggett said, and addressed some puncent re-.
marks to Mr.. Claggett for pretending economy.
and consuming the time of the House in debating
against one of the plaincst provisions of the
constitution.
Claggett rctorted, that the young gentleman
from Van Buren, was troubled with the big-head:
disease that had ruined many promising young
men, and recommended him to bath through
the ice of the Des Moines.
Caldwell replied that there was this much DIFF
ference between himself and, Claegctt. He
(caidwell was young and might ou,grow the
disease; while Claggett had been attacked in his
youth and had never recovered.
AT these rather undignifcd sallies, the House
roared in laughter. When, as the blood was yet.
Ting up, motion was made and the House ad-
Onrned fa5s g G
Mr. EDIroR.-In yesterdays Hawk-Eye,
called the attention of the people, and through
fhem the legislature to what consider a SUBJ
ect Of Importance to the people generally, and
taxpayers in particular, Wig: The aox- Payment
y 1ases, by money lenders s
then promised to give my views as to the
'emedy; they may be crude and not well digest
I'd, but If taken as the basis for a law, bv some
me more experienced in legislation than myself,
have no doubt much good would result from it,
My plan is, to make every man who has per-
onal property give a schedule of his property,
md il he has debts which would be legally an of.
ct, give schedule Of them too; and compel
nm to answer to the correctness of it, Then
make false swearing this subject, special act
# perjury, for which he should be sentenced to
ne penitcntiary for not less than five years.
And then to make the fact more easily proved,
nd the remedy more certain, would have him
Drfeit half the oycrplus above the amount he has
worn to-half of this forfeit to 20 to the school
ind, and half to the infor,ner.
If such law was in existence, you would find |
he asse smcats rapidly Increased, and increased |
OF by taxation of the poor mans homestead, but |
y making these men, who are getting 90 80 and |
0 per cent. for their money, pay only their just |
..ra...
Aud surely there could bc no hardship in this
)rfeiturc clause-for If man swears he is |
'orth nothing, and you prove him to be worth
2O, 900, you give $1,000 to the school fund So
90 to the witness and infor,ner, and put him in
ossession of $4,000 more than he sworc he
as worth Would not this bc liberals Would
not deyelope great amount of hidden treas
re, and give many men wealth and the position
nat goes with it, who are now too modest to
aim it.
l should like to see the subject discussed, to
ear the pros and cons; for there may be reas-
n too deep for my philosophy, why men who get
D per cent. for money, should not do az much
relieving our county and city Indebtedness. as
hose who pay 20 per cent. j do nct know what
ne reason is, and should IKE - he enlightened.
do not make these charges against all money
nders, for I believe we have some honorable
lceptions, but you know, as does every one,
hO has looked at our assessment lists that We
i've rich men in our midst, who pay next to no
X. CITIZEN.