Beaufort Republican. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1871-1873, 1872-11-07

IN who perpetratefR Ola gentie
t venture to,suppose would surely
royn into. the Ses that such dust
the. eve Of his ret of the taxpayers,
aId or wouldbfj .irement from office,
that they Wep nd them so effectual-
i've. his moss Id be satisfied to re.
ne and bono astounding statement as
ke to taos fde. 1t certainly is NO
ust pay' who own property, and
unty o The sum of $34, 900 that the
otest ives, and we may naturally
.lsE against the light, as well as So
ov cical and untrue method, en-
ed in the communication in ques.
N, to show the origin Of the debt.
1 have no idea" said poor Harold
Skimpole, "whether it is a few shillings
or few thousand pounds; how should
I, who know nothing about money
In the second paragraph of this most
extraordinary paper the writer tells Us
that 'had the same ruling been adopt
ed by Judge Maher's predecessors, two
thousand dollars per term Of court, :"
say twelve terms; "would have been
saved, and the county working on a
cash basis all the time, could have also
saved ten thousand dollars additional
making, don't you see, just the sum
total of Indebtedness. One newly pa
tented stove saved one half the fuel;
ergo, a second would save the whole!
The G. G. G. could not have locked at
the record in his Office, or if he has,
how can he Justify his departure from
verify in such q statement; first, be-
cause those records will show that at
no term Of the court previous to Feb
ruary, 1872, did the entire cost Of ju-
rors, witnesses and officers Of court
amount to $1,000, which, he says
would have been saved: and, second,
he knows or might know from the same
source that since the beginning of 1870,
the costs of court have not been paid at
all, simply because under his admins
tration Of the finances, it has taken
every cent Of the amountof tax col
lected, to pay for Hospur bridge and
road contracts, for feeding the unfor-
tunates at the aims house and
jail, and the payment Of certain
preferred bills. What then becomes
of the audacious assumption that by
the cOnnivance of pCo; Judge Platt
and Judge Farmer, the officers Of court
have been enriched at the expense of the
county. The clerk is actually the only
officer who is in any manner affected by
the ruling of Judge Mahcr, and he is as
much rejoiced at the just conclusion Of
His Honor as any one else can be, mas
much as his share Of the tax to meet ad-
ditioral expenses under former rulings,
fully equaled his extra receipts. No,
Mr. Chairman i! the re&ponsibiity-and
it is a grave one-rcsts in large measure
upon the board Of Coanty Commissioners
for the creation Of so huge debt, an
no ruling Of most eStimable Judge can
alter the fact, nor relieve the retiring
Chairman from the charge of having
proved, to say the least. an indifferent /!
fnancier. Had the other members Of |
the board had an equal voice in the de-
termining Of vital questions, involving |
large expenditures, the &c. c. CO
might to that extent have divided the
Of the community he seeks
to mistify and uislead, on his retire
ment; as it is, his broad shoulders
must bear very nearly sthc whole bur-
len. Every just ruling Of presiding
Judge is a public benefit and doult.
ess the people Of Beaufort county
will have further cause to honor and
hank Judge Maher for wise and
beneficial administration Of his Office, but
nothing that he can do will cancel obliga-
ions already incurred, or relieve Us from
he pressure of u debt which &C. c. Co.
las done more than all other men to
reatc and lasten upon us.
1t might seem invidious to charge the
principle responsibility upon the Chair
nan and the writer would not without
he pToyocation Of the letter he publishes
lave assumed 50 emphaticalIy that it
lirIy rested upon that individual, had
le not so disingenuouSly sought to mud
lie and confuse the question, by making
cape goats Of the solicitor, clerk and
heriff. 4 word in regard to the first !
nd last of those officers, viii show how
is the assertion that their fees
re changed in any manuer by the ruling {
poken of. The fees Of the solicitor are
,gally fixed, so much for trial or bill /,
ound, so much for a rule granted, and
D much on bill ignored or entered mol. ]
roS. The same is true of the sheriff
lie has fixed sum tr making arrests, a
fixed sum for dieting prisoners. and for
lileage, and no Judge has power either
give these officers larger or lesser fees, a
IAN the law provides. And the
lllng affects the clerk in but one partic- I