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

amount to 100000 by the first of April
He knows not how to raise funds to meet
liz. Nobody will loan him anything He
therefore asks rs to levy an early crop of
spring taxes, 90 cents on the 500, to be
collected by April 18th, 1870. He also pro-
poses an ert,'o.tax to build the Penitertiary,
and support the Asylums, to be payable
July 10Th, 1870, and the taxpayer to be
charged interest of one per cent for the
first month, and tCOO per cent. a month
afterwards, on his tax, while it remains
unpaid, after July 10Th. He also asks us
to instruct the Board of Education to loan
it's moneys to the State; and recommends
that the opening of the Public Schools be
postponed. (See his report, Feb 9Th,
1900 These extraordinary propositions
show the desperate straits we are in. They
truly indicate panic and despair. We
thought taxes, and heavy ones, once year
were bad enough. But here is spring
tax, and a summer tax, besides the regular
fall tax.
We need a Convention to stop this wild
career towards beggary and utter ruin
| The way to do it is to amend the Consti-
tuition so as to limit salaries and expenses
to LOaO figure; limit also per diem of the
Assembly to three or four dollars; mileage
| to five OF ten cents; limit the duration of
| Legislative sessions, and have fewer Of
| them. AS it is, the laws are changed so
often the people are kept in utter uncer
tainty and confusion on the subject. 1t
| is sometimes objected that Convention
will cost great deal. But Senators can
easily see, from the above figures, that a
Convention, by altering our system so as
/ to reduce salaries and expenditures, would
in one year save to the State enough to
pay for its own cost three times over
Let US glance briefly at county and town
ship matters. Authentic information from
ono county, about an average one. shows
that it Board of Commissioners, and other
officers cost So, 500 year; in the same
county, the old County Courts, doing more
work and doing it better, used to cost
81, 500; a difference Of So 600 against the
new system. Leaving out all other items
II the county governments, the above
ratio gives an increase of SITS, 600 annual
expense in the eigthy-pinc counties AS
for the townships, there are over seven
hundred Of them In the State, and the ex-
pense of g0rerntng each may be safely esti-
mated at not less than 5000 q year. Put
down the aggregate at $40, 90; and this
is an entirely new expense
We need q Convention to take proper
steps in regard to the State debt. The
hopeless tangle we are in on that subject
needs no comment.
We need Convention to amend the
Constitution SO as TO prohibit one person
from holding two or more offices at once
thing only partially prohibited now, and
which threatens TO grow into q great evil.
Many persons are holding Federal office
and State office also.
We need more stringent guarantees
against improvident appropriations of the
public money and piedging of the States
credit.
We need clearer and stronger restrictions
~, Il +nr n Cf
and an upro0ting Of the present system of
special State And county taxes, by which
device all barriers are overlaaped and the
people taxed Gd Iiditun1.
We need q decrease in the number Of
Offices. The great variety and multiplied
ty OF these not only costs insut1erably, but
begcts II fondness for office-holding, which
is growing into species Of insanity all
over the country.
Bat it is impossible to mention all the
obviously useful and important amend
monts needed in our present system. We
think this report points out a number
which are essential; such are the reform Of
the present judicial system, and the abol-
ishment of it's pendant-the E'Code;" the
simplifying of the duties of Superior Court
Clerks; the remodeling of the county gov
ernments; the restoration of the county
Courts. and other matters suggested above.
ments, with view TO greater economy; SO
that we may perfect our School system
and convert the hundreds OF thousands of
dollars, now wasted on useless officials, in
to fund for the advancement Of the sa-
cred cause of education.
The estimates and figures embodied in
this rep0rt-which by no means embrace
all the items Of expenditure, and which we
have tried to set forth without exaggera-
ton, when brought together, show the fol
lowing increase Of annual expenses, costs,
fees and taxes for merely carrying on the
State and county governments, on the
present plan to wit
State government increased cost 1890. $500, 900
Business done IN Superior Court Clerks
Office increased cost. Observation-Disclosures. $50, 600
County Commissioners. &c.-e~t'G cost. l78,000
Township gOvernmenrs-7le1C expense. 14O, 900
Total a.crecss. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 768,COO
Such is the vast amount uselessly spent
in various ways and therefore wasted an
nually under the present system of inter
nal government in North Carolina. Do wo
not need q change
No wonder the State is bankrupt. No
wonder the Treasury is empty, though a
heavy tax has Just come in. No wonder
the inmates or our Asyl umo are in danger
of actual want. The people groan under
LlClr DuIUSl1S. LAG ABSOLUTELY lNpOS66
taxes for the State the County Boards
levy taxes the Township Boards levy
taxes. Everybody and everything is taxed,
and money ponrs into the public Golfers
but it will scarcely lodge there over night.
Seven hundred and elghty-elg thousand
dollars needless increase of annual pay to
officials while the children of both races
are growing up ignorant, untutored thou
sands of precious intellectual diamonds
destined never to be polished and the
State government only giving them the
poor pittance of fifty cents apiece annually
to get an education with, and the school
houses to build too
The people demand change. Without
regard to party or race they demand it.
We ought to hear and heed their voice.
We cannot, if we world quench the
mighty spirit which is awakIng like
ground swell in the hearts of the masses.
We might as well try to imprison vol
cano under a half bushel, or quiet an earth