The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1866-09-20

Attaek on Connt, Conrt..

Is. the Clarion some fAllacicS aud vagariC
" that bear upon their faces the color {
=. FEASIBILITY, and hence are calculate
Il TO mislead. We had laid aside III
N Clarion with view Of noticing tn
il subject treated Of hy ScncN. and oN
u posing the ignorance therein display
ed, but the "Natchez Democrat Ton
. contemporary ofthis city,) Of yester
5 day, has a leader in reply TO SenoX
I, ct ID oRns g,Nas, So apposite, 40 tru,
and soitreNtahlc in facts and figures
, that we conceive we will be doing ouI
readers and the general public scr
b vice, by reproducing it entire in these
columns
These County Courts do materially
interfere with the fees and prequisitos
of District Attornies, and, we may he
mistaken, but il occurs To us that one
of these, with a hankering after the
flosh.p pots has been at the elbow of
SencN, and others afflicted like the old
man, whilst these attacks on The Coun-
~ Courts were being penned.
County CoURrs. One who signs
himself Senex, a correspondent of the
Mississippian, has taken up the cud
gels against County Courts From
the style and matter of his communica-
tion,we suspect his non de piame is very
correct, and that he is very old man
He is quite indignant that the Clarion
should have refused his first communi,
cation, and has the appearance Of say |
ing that friend Shannon did not know
what he was rejecting, We suspect
that Shannon only looked at his manu-.
script, and the quantity ofparenthescs
and italics, made him think it was
twaddle. lie was right II is twad.
die, aud the article ON County Courts
he does publish, signed s., although
not SO studded with italics and parcn-
theses, is twaddle too. ~
County Courts are not unconstitu-
iionaL They are expressly provided
for in Art. II, of the Declaration of
Rights, aud in Sec, 81, Of Article ~,
IF the Consttution, The Convention
'oresaw that the existing system of
Courts was not adapted to the great
,hange in our social system and gave
,ower to the Legislature to act IN the
tsfrl. t.t /,
Nor are County Courts an additional
expense to the counties On the con
rary they save enormously. SeneX
'yphers out that If the Courts sit only
hree days in each month, the sixty -four
counties have to pay S01 ,625 rs each
ear for their support. Let us see how
t is in our county, and then we can
Joint out his errors in calculation.
We will increase our estimate Of
ime TO an average session of four days, ,
md for the eight months ourCounty q
jourt has been in operation the expen- s
es have been Sl,S42. In that time :
he county has received in fines and a
Iury taxes pail the sum of 81, 737--so d
hat the Court has actually cost the Q
ounty only Sl05! .
Now let MS see whit IL has saved the A
ounty. Every individual who was =
Gilt to jail would have had To stay
here until he was tried-whethcr the j
'ounty or the Circuit Court tried him. G
he Circuit Crurt sits only once in six "a
lonths, and it is only fair to say that 1
he average time of Imprisonment \
'onld be ninety days. AtGfly cents /,
day, each prisoner would cost the 4
onnty S45. The County Courts sit n
nee month, and the average term Of :
IMPRISONMENT is fifteen days, so that
ne difference to the county in the nc q
lal cost ofkeeping each prisoner is s..
lat between 81 80 and $40. In this ~
ounty there are at least one hundred =.
risoners in Jail for trial during the L
ear. .... or
10 prisoners at SIS 90. ....-.S 81 500 ~
10 .,t.I" ,750...... 100 no
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