The Shasta courier., 1865-12-23
County Matters.

are laying pipe for the fat Office OF Collector
each considering himself the legitimate success
sor of the present incumbent. Disinterested
souls, how they pant to serve their country!
| They would 30 it at a sacrifice Of time, COM
fort and convenience aye, and turtlier, even
to having their pockets crammcd with flrea-
ties. While we admire the self-sacrifcing
| spirit that actuates these men, we must. not
withstanding, adhere to our text" Rctrench-
ment and reform" and in keeping with the
text we now touch upon the salary paid cur
County Judge, which we should have done
previously had it not escaped our memory
The county is now paying that officer twenty
one hundred dollars per annum. We think
| this sum too much for the services rendered.
To be sure the County Judge is compelled to
| to reside at the county town; and that IS
used as an argument for paying him high
salary. 1t is further urged that as the Judge
receives his pay in scrip he cannot realize
| from the S2l00, which he now receives, more
than enough to live on. Admit this to be
true, and still we say it is too much for the
county to pay, and we believe that an abun-
bance of good men can be found who will take
the Office at $1,000 per annum-a sum sufi-
cient, we think, for an officer who, at the
outside, has only about sixty days service to
perform in the course of the year. If it will
not pay man to move in from the country,
then let the Office be given to some one who
| lives in town. There are men here, perfectly
competent, who would be glad OF the Office at
the rate mentioned, and the county would be
as well served as it has ever been, and at a
saving of 5000 per annum.
This theory of g am in favor of paying
the county officers well" won't hold water,
particularly when it follows at once that they
should be, as they are, better paid than any
other class of community.
Our Sheriff's Office pays less than any
other; and yet the incumbent took the Office,
knowing its emeuments, and he discharges
his duties, too, in such manner as TO give
general satisfaction. The Office of Assessor
is the next poorest yet we have an efficient
Assessor. This proves conclusively that good
men can be had to transact the county bust
ness at price even below what we recon-
mend.
While, on the one hand, we would not have
ia man work for nothing on the other, we
would not pay him more than his services as
worth. Honesty, good faith, good govern
that
change should be had. to the end and effect
that tax payers be no longer drained and de-
pleted for no other purpose than to annually
enrich or keep in luxury a few officials. The
time has come to stop all this sort of thing
/ The people demand that their business, in a
/ public capacity. be attended to at rates ap-
proximating to what they have to pay men
Of equal capacity to attend to their business
at home and the peoples heads are about
level on these points.
By making the Clerks and Recorders
offices one, and paying the CLERK $500 per
annum. and $1,000 per annum for a deputy,
reducing the salary ofCounty Judge to $1,000,
and abolishing the Office of Tax Collector, we
\ shall at once have reduced the county ex-
/ penses S5,09l 81 per annum and should
/ litigation become prominent feature in our
| District Court, the saving to the county " ould
be in the ratio of that increase for whatever
of fees should come into the Clerks Office
from that source, would be so much to the
countS credit. As a consequence upon the
rich quartz discoveries, business must in
crease in the county, and as business be-
comes flush, men will naturally seek their
rights" in the law Courts. Let the county
be prepared to receive benefits therefrom,
instead Of, as now and heretofore, being dc
pleted by it.
We arrive at the saving abare referred to
in the following manner:
For the fiscal year ending June 30th, 1865,
the cost Of collecting the property tax, State
and county, together with State and county Ii
censes-and which we propose to have the
Treasurer do for his present salary
amounted to Sl3S6 27. The fees of Clerk
and Recorder for the same time amounted to
/ S4s7S 81 Deduct tberefrom salary Of Clerk
and deputy, S2S00-l27S 81. For the same
year the county paid the Sheriff, in fees,
S2527 75. We propose to pay the Sheriff a
salary Of $1,000 per annum for doing the
county business; so taking the past year as
a guide, ind deducting that sum from the
amount paid last year, We have saving Of
Sl527 -. Then deduct from salary of Coun-
ty Judge 5000. and we have saving to the
county of s., ,09l 39,-a sum more than sufii-
cient to pay the, county debt in ten years.
/ The Collectors commissions for collecting
the foreign miners licenses, for the fiscal
year as above, amounted to 1860 The
SherifTs fees for the same year, in civil cases,
amounted to sl393 II. Now, in abolishing
the Office of Tax Collector, we propose to give
the collection of the foreign miners license to
the Sheriff. We further propose to give the
| Sheriff $1,000 per annum for doing the county
business but taking the fiscal year mention
ed as base for calculation, the Sheriff
income would be: For fees in civil cases,
Sl393 Il; salary from county, $1,000; CON-
missions on foreign miners license, $500
l.