The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1875-04-08
5. T.itize.,s al Nnson County.

Editor fSgtteE;
In aate number of the Register,
his Honor Judge Redmond, gives his
reasons ior prefcrring, the Alternative
road EN-, explains his action in
regas6 j the matter, and calls atten-
ton to.tke course taken by myself
against he system. 1t is true that
/ pyocuHd an injunction to prevent
its operation in, this county, and that
section 3.of this roadlaw was at my
instance amended, giving the people
ofaltS cauntyin thGstate a right tore
jecsst the polls this road system, ii
upon reflection, they desired to dOso,
and-eaablc them speedily to relieve
Themselves Of a wrong and burden
that must otherwise last at least two
years. One reason Sr the injunction
was tat the system had not been
submitted to the voters of this county
in thcmanner required BY law; that
the County Court had no power or
risht saSseta the petition was
psscscnted Z MAKE the oder submit
ting the question to a vote of the
county. The Court may have believ-
ed themselves compelled to do what
they did but had not probably exam
incd the road law, which says plainly
that the order shall be made at the
next term thereafter, as will be seen
by section , of said act. These are
some of the objections to the manner
in which the system was submitted
to the voters Of the county; but there
are objections, and grave objections
to it, as measure Of policy. In the
first place it creates ten new living
or important Offices in the county,
with strange and unusual powers at
tachcd: Such for instance, as to per-
NIT the Surveyor at the public sales
of road sections to reject the bids OF
all other persons, and to buy from
and for himself any or all the road
sections, or to give them, if they pre-
fer to do so, out at private contract
to parties Of their own choosing; and
that they shall specify the nature
and extent of the work that they may
deem necessary, without limit as to
its cost, or the means of the people
to pay; and this at time when mon
ey is unusually scarce. Another OBJ
lection to this system is that sl.50
per annum is levied upon men over
fifty years old who have worked for
wears as road hands, and by the gen
cral or old lax are exempt. The OBJ
iectionablc feature Of the district
system Of raising road tax is in the
general law, but with several very
considerable qualifications, such Us
the payment out of the County treas
ury, the salary Of surveyors, for cost
of guide boards, tools, &c, and open
ing new roads and changing the 10
cation Of old ones is paid by the coun-
ty unless the district has surplusof
money or labor not expended; and a
provision is made for assistance to be
had by one district from another If
circumstances should make it neces-
sary.
Your attention is respectfully call
ed TO section y, IS, - and q Of
the general road law, that you may
examine for yourselves, when you will
find that the matter is fairly andsub-
stantially statcdin this article. You
are also in this connexion asked to
examine section IS of the .Alterna-
tive System. The old system does
provide for the exercise Of humanity
in excmpting infrm persons of any
age from road labor, and does express
ly exempt old persons. The Alter
native law cxempts only the wealthy
and populous districts from paving
an equal and uniform road tax for
County roads, and compels the aged
and iafrm to contribute in the shape
of . poll tax for that purpose. And
it does seem to me that this new sys-
TEN does not offer one single induce
ment for its preference to.the old;
that It has nearly every Objectionable
feature of the old law together with
many new and strange ones added.
l do not wish to be understood as eu-
logising the general road law, on
the contrary it has the Objectionable
!