Elizabeth daily monitor. [volume] (Elizabeth, N.J.) 1868-1880, 1873-09-18

duty, and have framed their opinion
on matter of which they have no juris
diction, and for some reason best known
to themselves for they do not tell the
people how they came possessed of such
vast knowledge in reference to the acts
of justices and of the operations of their
courts. This great body Of Solomons
have found out that some one or two Of
the justices of the peace in this city
have acted in very improper manner,
and having thus found ont little, their
fertile brains have imagined that all JUS
tees are dishonest, and the courts ever
which they preside must be abolished
or, using their language 1.-THE grand
jury therefore respectfully recommend
that the offices of justices of the peace
and police justice in the city of Eliza
beth should be abolished, and that ONE
person only of competent intelligence
and integrity should be clothed with
the powers now possessed by those Off
GERS"
This is wonderful, for it seems that
these twenty self appointed censors
have found that the justices as body
possess such q wonderful power to fer
ment discord, strife and civil suits, as well
as criminal, and that all for their own
gain in filthy lucre, and yet they want
all this wickedness pressed into one
great man, who can, by his single fiat,
set whole city in blaze, end pocket
all the real costs that have filled the
pockets of some fifteen or twenty men.
1t appears from the reasoning of this
great body of twenty four, that they
could bear and the dear people for
whom they feel such sympathy could
bear, the pressure of one man, holding
all the offices and powers of all the JUS
tees, much easier than they could were
the thumbscrew and tourniquits applied
by all the justices of the city of Eliza
beth.
This is a wonderful discovery, and no
wonder they seek to be named among
the mighty ones. These men, or
should say mighty men of wisdom,
seem to have come to the conclusion
that man, because he is justice of
the peace, must of necessity be penu-
rious person, and use his office to set
his neighbors quarreling between them.
selves, in order that he may pocket
few pence. This shows vast amount
of legal knowledge on the part of this
great twenty-four for the facts in the
case are that the justices of the peace
have no right to demand one cent for
all the criminal services they perform
whatever, until there is an Indictment
found, and in many cases conviction
made against the offender. And / can
safely say that [ have never received
one cent on my demand for any such
services, and in no case, but such as pre-
fer to pay themselves and as to police
justices [ can only speak for myself that,
as police justice for more than five
years, and doing the greater part of the
business for the city during that time,
| never called on the city of Elizabeth
for one dollar for my services, as po-
lice justice, nor did they ever pay me
one cent for the same.
The chief of police held his office in
my Office, the receiver of taxes held his
office in my office, and all the police force
met at my Office for years, and all the pay /
ever received for all this labor, was the
payment of one half the office rent,
which never exceeded one hundred dol.
lars per year. and for the lights and fnel
burned by those officers themselves. If
| am now telling the truth, this wise
body of men must have large share of
what is called by particular professor
a large organ of imagination, and it
must have matured like Jonah's gourd.
in a single nights investigation, for u.
they had gone back for the last twelve
years and searched for all the facts in
the case they would have found it as /
have stated
But this is not ALL These twenty
four men We're called together to act up
on such matters as should come before
them in criminal point of view, and
yet they have found out that these pow
ers extended even to civil matters. Here
they present n paper to the court de-
claring that the city of Elizabeth shall
be deprived of swift and cheap mode
of collecting their debts, when all the
res. of the county retain this old wicked
system, and actually have the insolence
to dictate to the court what its duties
are in regard to this division of our
courts of justice. Yea, more, they re-
solve themselves into a legislative body
and say what kind of substitute shall
be given to the people of Elizabeth.
Now, sir, if this is not the highest
act of usurpation ever enacted in the
state of New Jersey by grand jury,
then l must confess that I am ignorant
of grand jury's duty, and should any
one of this mighty twenty-four see fit
to discuss this matter o. presenting
whole body of men as nuisance for the
acts of some one of their number /
shall hold myself ready to meet him or
them either in public debate or
through the columns of your paper, for
l hold that this act of theirs should not
go by without proper investigation
and the men who have done such great
injustice to some of the justices of the
peace be compelled to face the music,
and let the people know what were their
motives in this very sweeping present.
ment, and also give the injured parties
a chance to set forth some of their ideas
why some persons on that grand jury
have taken such pains to go out of their
line of duty to stigmatize as honest a
set of men as themselves.
JOHN Noe, Justice of the Peace.