The Portland daily press., 1871-05-18
DAILY PRESS.
PORTLAND. -
THURSDAY, MAY Is 1911.
-. p. O."
"And then the Justice,
n tair round belly with good capon lined

"And then the Justice,
In fair round belly with good capOn lined,
With ewes sever and beard of formal cut, |
Full of wise saws and modern Instances" |
1t was stated some weeks ago that since
the first of January four hundred COMMISSIONS
had been issued to justices OF the peace anu
quorum-the mys FERROUS 81. L. 70 'n"'
figure so conspicuously IN the ho"'f"f
TRANSCRIPTS of the records OF the governor anu
Council A list of all the magistrates Vi
every class. justices of the peace, trial JuSllces
and notaries. published in June, 1870, en-
hracad about three thousand names. We
NAV fairly estimate The present number,
therefore, at not unch less Than four thou
sand, or one magistrate TO every thirty
voters. It viii be seen from this statement
that the j. p. Q. business is very active in.
Maine, however depressed other branches of
industry may be. Entire neighborhoods
seem to be taking out commissions. Whole
families have the coveted parchment. 1t
costs only s., and you get broad expanse OF
paper richly digit with red ink, the great
seal of the State, bit of red ribbon and the
autographs of the Governor and Secretary
of State. The whole is neatly tied with
generous length of red tape to make it look
grave important and official. So far as oIna-
mentaton is concerned there is nothing left
TO be desired, and IFS merits need only to be
properly advertised to enable it to drive col .
leee diplomas out of the market. The academ-
ic parchment has the additional advantage
OF Icing printed in Latin, but the cost is out
OF all proportion. The first degree costs at
least thousand dollars and the second de.
gIee7-.the "a. NJ" which a humorous friend
of ours declares 10 be merely certificate Of
uninterrupted existence for three years after
graduation is obtained at an expense which
would supply family with commissions from
the State.
And here we have a suggestion to make
Let the commissions, too, be written in So
norous Latin, as they formerly were, and the
additional awe they inspire will warrant an
immediate advance in the price of at least
hundred per cent. Then let movement
be set on foot to place one of these testimo-
minis of the special confidence of the EXecu-
tive in the hands of every adult male in the
State. Result-a net income of over million
dollars for the next fiscal year, and the neces-
sity of aState tax Tor thaG year obviated =
The next year the same purpose can be effect
ed by issuing commissions to women-a pro
ceeding for which precedents are by no means
lacking Nor should the children be forgot
ten. Precious innocents nothing codld be
better calculated to please them! And let us
have a commissioner appointed with COM
Portable salary to superintend making the en-
tire population conservators OF the peace, and
a second commissioner to reside in foreign
parts and impress upon whatever people may
be" living there the importance of procuring
State of Maine 81. p. O." commission. By
- adopting this sound financial policy we shall
ave enough in the course of few years to
subsidze rich but deserving manufacturers te
any extent that NAV be desired