Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1870-02-25


gibility afterwards. .7ssS ~
| The expense. of the present judicial sys!
! tenn is much greater than that CT the old
one. Then we had eight Superior and
three Supreme Judges, and their salaries
amounted to $23, 100 The whole Depart
ment of the Judiciary cost less than $780,
| 900 year. Now we have twelve Superior
and five Supreme Judges, whose salaries
amount to $42, 500, although the individu-
al salaries of the Supreme Judges stand at
the old figure. and are relatively smaller
than those of any other officers. The Pub
lie Treasurer (see report of Feb. s, 1870
estimates the whole cost of this Depart
ment for the current fiscal year at $54, OOC.
Here then, in this Department, is an in
crease of $4,000 or Eore over the former
expense. How many children would this
educate who will die in ignorance for the
want of it ?
! But it is said the additional Judges are
needed because the County Courts are no
more. But the County Courts cost little
| for salaries or fees of officers. They dealt
ont substantial justice in plain and sim
pie way. They educated the people in
the most common and practical parts of
the administration of the law, and gave
even illiterate men much useful knowledge
of legal forms and proceedings. They
were emphaticaliy the peoples courts, and
the people want them back again. With
some slight improvements no more useful
tribunals ever existed in any country.
Among other excellences they constituted
the cheapest and most honest system of
county government ever devised. More
over, the great mass of business pertaining
to the administration and settlement Of es-
tates, to guardianships, to the probate of
wills and the many kindred subjects, was
done by these Courts in the easiest and
simplest manner and at a very small cost.
| Under the present system exceedingly
cumbrous proceedings and forms are re-
quired in this latter class Of business, so
that taking out letters of administration is
as troublesome as q superanuated suit In
Equity; and the whole matter Of estates,
wills, deeds, guardianships, partition, dow
er, and numberless other things are thrown
on the hands of the Superior Court Clerk
and if the in,aO0dtOrS could have full sway,
| he would also decide most of the cases IN
| the Superior Court Itself. But this last
idea is temporarily checked. Neverthe-
| less, as it is, this Clerks office is the grand
receptacle of miscellanies--a curiosity
shop-a farmers old barrel into which all
kinds of plantation tools and old irons and
trinkets are tumbled peli-mell. No one
man can properly discharge such q variety
| of duties in addition to his appropriate
duty as Clerk Of the Court, and endless
confusion will soon show itself in this
quarter.
The cost here in the way OF fees and
charges is also immense. This Assembly
has just passed an Act making the SUPERB
or Court Clerk OF one county a Salarled
officer with a salary Of So, 600; for the rea
son, as was stated on this floor, that the
said Clerk was receiving n fees an I'M
known number Of thousands, perhaps TWEEN
ty thousand dollars year. Are the peo-
pie to endure a system by which ten, if
teen, Or twenty thousand dollars OF fees
are annually paid to single county Off
Ger? You give Clerk q salary Of So, 900,
equal to that of the Governor; but you do
not thereby stop the extra amount OF fees
from coming into his office out Of the PEG
pies pockets.
From the statements made here while
that bill was under debate, it is certain
that the eighty nine Clerks of the Superior
Courts receive, an average, 81 900 IA
year each !; making, for the whole State,
the vast sum of 1856, 900 annually, for this
one class of officers. IN old times il was
scarcely one-thild IS much +; and, after
duly allowing for the former expense OF
transacting the ertra work now thrown on
these Clerks, which used to be done very
cheaply by the County Courts and other
wise, it is safe to say that the business a1OtC
transacted in the Offices OF the Superior
900 a year more than the very sane mat.
ters cost under the Old system. True,
this is not paid as taxes bnt II i paid as
fees and charges and where Is the differ
ence Il comes out Of the people, and
forms part Of their burdens.
II We look into the Executive Depart
ment We find several new Offices and a
great increase of salaries SO that the cost
of this Department for salaries OF officers
and clerks is nearly three times as great
as formerly. The estimates for this De-
partment during the current fiscal year are
placed at $40, 900 by the Public Treasurer.
(See his Report of Feb. 8th, 187O.) This
is an increase of $50, 900, Or more, over the
former expense And then, besides this,
there is the swarm Of subordinates about
the offices and the Capitol grounds, doing
nothing or worse than nothing. but cost
ing an immense amount Of money who
can tell how much ?
How is it in the Legislative Depart
ment The General Assembly meets twice
as often as formerly its mileage and per
diem are twice as large; and it sits twice
as long. The old General Assembly used
to cost about $50, 900 biennially, or $50, 900
year. The present Assembly has n0tC
sat altogether nearly nine continuous
months. According to the aforesaid Re-
port of Treasurer Jenkins, this Assembly
has cost the State, since October LIST, 1868,
the startling sum of 1888. 500 49, and be-
sides this, the State now owes us for last
month This does not include the expense
of our first, or summer session of 1885,
The Treasurer (see his Reportl estimates
the expense of the Legislative Depart
ment, for this current fiscal year alone, at
$173, 900. This is an increase in the an
nual expense of this Department, over
that of old times, of $143, 600, or more.
Besides all this, there is the expense of
the Asylum, the elections, of ''contingen-
cies," &c, &C.. most of these costing i'm
mensely over former figures. A reference
to the aforesaid report of the Treasurer
will show that the annual cost of the State
government proper, without paying any
interest on our debt, is at least 100000
more now than under the old system. Look
at the following overwhelming figures
showing the money used by the present
State government since it began in July,