Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1865-03-17

Primary Meetings Tonight.
Democrats should not fail to attend the
primary meetings that are to be held to-
night, in the respective Wards of the city,
between the hours of and 0 o'clock, to
nominate q Councilman and Assessor, and
TO elect Delegates to Convention to assem-
BILE at the City Hall on Saturday evening"
at Z o'clock, to nominate City and Town
ship Ticket.
Partisan Legislation by the Ohio
Legislature-Let the People Con-
slider!
It is misfortune to the people of Ohio,
that the Democrats have in the Ohio Legis-
lature, on joint ballot, only twenty-four
members, whereas, the Administration par
ty have one hundred and seven members on
joint ballot. The Democrats, therefore, are
powerless for good or for evil. The mat
ter oflegislation is completely in the hands
of the Administration party, and the MEM
bers thereofin the Legislature have so con-
Quoted themselves as to carry into the
mind of dispassionate looker-on the con-
viction that they regard their duty to be
simply partisan legislation. The question,
"Willthe measure proposed benefitthe peo-
pie generally and contribute to the honor
of the State ?" seemingly does not assume
such proportions as to challenge their con-
sideration. The question uppermost in
their minds, and the only one to which
they pay any Difference, is-"Will the meas
ure benefit our party, or be of advantage to
any of our party friends?" Of this fact the
Senate on Wednesday gave conclusive il
lustration. They passed the House bill
creating the office of Clerk to the Supreme
Court, at an annual salary of $4,000, and
making the Clerk elective by the people of
the State at large. The duties of this Office
have hitherto been discharged by the Clerk
of the Court of Common Pleas for Frank
lin county, at an expense of about four
hundred dollars per rannum-sirteen hundred
dollars less than 10 is proposed to pay the
man who is to be elected specially for that
purpose. 1t is not pretended that the duties
of this position have not been discharged
with promptitude and accuracy; nor is it
pretended that there is danger that the
duties thereof will not be properly dis
charged in the future. Undoubtedly, the
prompting cause of making the Clerk OF
the Supreme Court elective by the people
of the State, and providing for him snug
salary, is to be found in the fact that Frank
lin county is Democratic, and that there
fore, the office of the Clerk of the Court of
Common Pleas for Franklin county is likely
to be filed in the future, as it now is, by a
Democrat. That he should be permitted
to discharge the duties of Clerk to the
Supreme Court, although thereby saving
of from Thousand to sixteen hundred dol
lars should be made to the taxpayers of the
State, is a thing that does not admit of fur
ther liberation. A snuggery must be pro-
vided for an Administration braw.er.
Ordinarily one such act of rank partisan
legislation would have sufflced for one day;
but on the same day they gave the public
another act of inexcusable partisanship.
They passed the House bill abolishing the |
Superior Courtof Franklin county-a court
that, we believe, has been in existence about
six years, and the duties of which have
been discharged by Judges;
atleast, epresentincumbent belongs to the
Administration party. This bill was intro
duced into and carried through the House |
at the last session; but the Senate refused to
pass 1t, and we have been informed that
thirty-six out Of forty praeticing attorneys |
in the county, without reference to party |
considerations, within short time, petit
toned the Senate not to pass it. The ma
jority Of the Administration Senators ap-
peared to have obtained a clear revelation
that the court was OF no use, and simply
an unnecessary tax upon the people. |
This they neould not perceive last
year, nor could they perceive 1t until |
withiR-a-few days of the expiration |
of the term of Office of the present in
cumbept who belongs to their party, and in
whose place they feared . Democrat would |
be elected, if the Court were continued
Had they felt confident that their political |
friend could be reelected, they tcould not |
hare passed the bill abolishing The Court. This
is an absolute certainty. = fc
Evidence more eincontrovertible than this |
is not needed to convict the party in power
with creating Offices to befriend co-laboring
partisans, and to legislate Democrats out
of office, even If IL has to be done through
the abolition of the offices themselves. This
circumstance the people can turn effect
lively to their own advantage, if they only
will. One of the crying evils of these
times, Is the great number Of needless off,
ces, through which graeeless ofice-holders
live lives of ease and prodigality on pay
derived from the taxes exacted from the
labor of the country. This legislation es-
tablislies It beyond doubt that the people
hold in their hands the corrective of this
shameless abuse. II they shall only, by
their votes, render the ascendency Of the
Administration party precarious, useless
otilcsswill beloppedOG. The Administra-
,tr,sss, o y y7-r ir