The Idaho world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1864-1918, 1865-11-25
The Territorial Treasury and Boise
County,

the attempted EOUUe1y VI INC DolSe COUNTY
treasury. In referring to the matter of ex.
; penses in our remarks of last week, we said
"Boise county has supported the Territorial
prisoners for more than two years-paid out
cash for their keeping. The Legislature has
neglected to make any provision for these
Iexpenses. Now the SPECTATORS would have
the Territorial portion of the taxes collected
here, dropped into the Territorial Treasury,
where these warrants can cover the money
Immediately, and issue warrants worth fifty
or sixty cents to the county, in lieu of the
cash paid out one or two years ago." The
Statesman attempts to prove the extract "a
barefaced falsifcation," and to do so quotes
an act passed by the Legislature last winter,
which was published in The WORLD on the
29th March last, being an act to create a Ter
ritorial Prison Commission, &C.
We advise the editor of the Statesman,
when next he draws statute on US, to first
make himself acquainted with its contents.
There is an old proverb, which contains much
wisdom, about chickens coming home to
roost. We reiterate the assertion that the
Legislature has made no provision for this
old debt other than that expressed in the ex-
tract, viz: by drawing warrants on the Ter
ritorial Treasury worth so or so cents on the
ldollar-Warrants on Treasury which has
not cent Of money in it. The fifteen per
cent. fund, brought up by the Statesman,
has no more TO do with the payment of the
old debt contracted for the keeping of Ter
ritorial prisoners than has the u S. Revenue
Act or the Epistes of st. Paul. The statute
is prospective and not retrospective. 1t
makes no provision for the payment of the
expenses prior to the passage Of the bill /;
except that spoken of last week-drawing
warrants on the General Fund of the Terri
tory While quoting the statute, why did
not the Statesman quote the following?
SECTION II. 1t shall be the duty of the Terri
torial Prison Commissioner to examine all bills
aud vouchers concerning any and ali expenses in
Cured by reason of keeping and maintaining Ter
rltoral prisoners PRIOR to the passage OF this Act
and which may have been certified TO be just and
correct, by the Board Of County Commissioners,
or Probate Judge of the proper counties, and
when the Prison Commissioner shall have found
the same correct, he shall certify the same to the
Territorial Auditor, who shall draw his warrant
upon the Territorial Treasurer for the payment
thereof, to be paid out of the GENERAL FUND
OF the Territory.
Now tell US what your Fifteen per cent.
Fund has to do with the General Fund That
fund has no more connection with the SUBJ
ject than the Funded Debt of England.
cP - l.,
generously dole for the Territory what the
Territory has neglected or refused to do for
itself. 1t has shouldered the expenses of the
Territorial prisoners, paid out cash for their
keeping and burdened itself with heavy
debt, when it could pay 10 more, and for
what? Why, that a few individuals, who
have, for trife, bought up the outstanding
Territorial warrants, may gobble up all the
money collected from the taxpayers of Boise
county, and let the county whistle for its
money for quarter of a century to come.
| If the county had been authorized, as indi-
yiduals were, to put in bill tor its expenses
in this matter, and to have had warrants issued
at the time in their regular order, in common
with all other expenses, there would have
j DGRn no cause COupldlubs tuo County
/ had neglected the bills and allowed others
to get in prior to them, she would justly
have been forced to be satisfied with delayed
payments as the warrants became entitled to
the cash, in the order Of their registry. But
i such was not the case. The county was de-
lpriyed, by the lack of proper legislation, of
that equality due to all creditors. Every
other creditor could put In his bill, and &C.
cept his warrant; the county could not until
the present season. The Territorial Auditor
had no authority to issue warrants to the
county. Now the county treasurer is taken
4 by the throat and ordered, in style that
would do credit to highWaymen, TO stand
and deliver: that this money claimed to be
due should be poured into the General Fund,
and Immediately pIastered with outstanding
! Territorial warrants, many of which were
issued long after the Indebtedness of this
:. county accrued, but for which the county
was virtually prohibited from putting in a
bill, having allowed, or receiving warrant
The injustice of this scheme is apparent
J even to the most obtuse intellect. All Boise
8 county asks, is that she be placed upon an
equality with all other creditors of the Ter
ritory: that she shall not be sWindled TO the
!, same extent that she has been generous-in
= advancing money to the Territory when the
y Territory had none of its own.
In regard to the Fifteen per cent. Fund fol
: the payment of present expenses-thus far i
d has only an ideal existence. Ptactically nc
Y such fund exists. What has it done this pas
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