The Shasta courier., 1865-12-09
County Matters.

state AS we co not claim al lnHuenct
throughout the State Of such potency as to
insure a favorable result, we propose to con
fne ourselves to our own county, and if sue
cessfnl in obtaining such legislation as will
secure to Shasta county an economical gov
ernment, and free it from the corruption
heretofore incident to our local elections. we
shall rest, content that we have well dis
charged the duties incumbent upon US as
conductor of journal of local circulation.
We would have our county affairs con-
ducted on the same s9und basis that good
business man would conduct affairs of similar
magnitude. There are necessarily certain
offices to fill which require the services of
men of ordinary intelligence and education
no more; and upon the hypothesis that the
county affords large mum Der of men who
come up to these requirements, and who
being otherwise engaged, do not more than
make living, we believe such Offices can be
| filled at price far below the present rates
At any rate, We shall advocate a change of
the programme for doing the county bust
ness, and propose such alterations as We
think expedient, holding ourselves open to
correction if better are offered.
Then we propose to abolish the Offices of
Tax Collector and Recorder and consolidat
ing the Office of Recorder with that of County
Clerk, making the Office of County Clerk a
salaried one, and allowing him for his servi-
ces, over and above Office, fuel and station
cry, the sum of eighteen hundred dollars per
annum, and the further sum of one thousand
dollars per annum for deputy. All the
services now performed by the Clerk and
Recorder to be performed by the Clerk and
his deputy, for the sums above named, and
all fees accruing to said Offices under the law
to be paid in to the Treasurer monthly, and
held as salary fund for the liquidation of
the salaries Of those officers.
The business of the Tax Collector should,
in our opinion, be divided as follows: the
collection of the foreign miners license tax
should be given to the Sheriff, the collection
Of the per capita taxes to the Assessor. and
the collection of the property tax to the
Treasurer, without additional compensation
to that officer, and the per centage for the
collection of the State tax to he paid into the
School Fund.-)r even the whole per centage
now allowed for collecting the property tax
to be so devoted.
On the first of January last the County
Clerk had received in fees, for the six months
preceding, the sum of Sl007 90; for the same
time the Recorder received in salary and
fees, Sl076 so; total for six months, S20S4
46; and at the same ratio for year, the in
come of the two offices amounts to S4l6S 81
making a clear saving to the county, even
at the low rate of receipts in those offices for
the time above referred to, Sl36S 80. During
the six months ending with December inst
the County Clerk was paid little over 5000
ton. Add this to his salary of $500 per
annum as Clerk of the Board of Supervisors,
and we have total of Sl200-within 5000
of the amount of the years salary we propose
to pay Clerk. The Recorder is now the
recipient of salary of 5000 per annum as
County Audtor-wthin 800 of the salary
we would pay a Deputy Clerk, and feel
safe in saying the services of good Clerk
and Deputy can be obtained for the sums
named.
The Sheriff's Office is not self sustaining.
By adding to it the emoluments and duties of
collecting the foreign miners license, it
would be. The Office of Assessor is not a
paying one. By adding to it the collection
of the per capita taxes, it would be sufficient
ly remunerative to warrant its acceptance by
competent men, The Office of Treasurer is
already salaried one, and the additional
tax would be so slight as not to make it ne.
cessary to increase the salary.
By this arrangement, the management of
the business of the county would be simpli-
fed and cheapened, as well as being grand
first step towards the liquidation Of an oner-
Gus and expensive county debt
Ifa law be passed in accordance with the
suggestions above, to take effect on the first
Monday in March, 1868, it will be greeted a.
good one by our people. 1t is "A measure
that not only addresses itself directly to the
| pocket, but also to the moral sense. To
| acquire an Office which offers emoluments so
small. men will not take the chances nor
spend the money they would to acquire one
worth fortune: hence, bribery. corrup
ton and ballot-box stufing will no longer be
the cry throughout the land. On the contra
ry. good and deserving men will accept the
Offices, and discharge the duties. when re-
qured by vote of their fellow citizens so
to do.
In our neighboring State of Nevada, the
people are awake on this subject. The Gold
Hill News, in the course of an article too
long for our columns, says:
We hope and are led to expect that the
coming Legislature will cut down the fees to
fair figure, and then salary all our cou ty
oficers,-leaying the corporate organizations
as they are. Ali this talk about abiltv to
get good officers if salaries are fixed and fees
chopped of is CANNON. Experience don't
show it. In the Union party we can select
plenty of competent willng-shall we ada