The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1876-08-23


those who are willing to pay have the
benefit Of their promptnesS, and not pun
ish all on account Of the delinquents and
for the benefit OF the Office alone.
there venture the assertion that there
is not bank in the State but would re-
ceiye iand disburse the taxes for 2 pei
cent, for now they receive 1t all by de-
post Of the sheriff and disburse II by his
checks for simply the use Of the deposits
and do Il freely and cheerfully.
That there are. some taxes hard TO gel
I admit, but let the guilty suffer and pay
the penalty, not the innocent. y r.is
sEMl-ANNuAL PAYMENT OF TAXES.
Enough on this point. Next. Why
not pay our taxes into the treasury semi.
annuaily7 Say one.half on the 1st Of
August, and the remainder February 1st.
Would not the remaining half be Of as
much service in the hands Of the people
as in the vaults Of the bank? Even when
the collections are made, "a above stated
before December 1st (and Of least nine
tenths OF the taxes are paid before that
time) the sheriff holds one-half OF the
the entire tax until January Goth ensuing,
one.fourth until May LIST, and the remain
der until August lst. A. nice arrange
ment for the officer to have funds 70
speculate with. Let the funds stay with
the people, as above indicated, until they
are needed, and thus less delinquencies
will occur, and the disgraceful spectacle
exhibited last winter at the capital Of
trying an official in high position for bar.
tering with Stale funds will not DO again
witnessed. as.
I tried to explain to member Of our
Legislature last winter, who was urging
to give the sherifs time to pay the taxes
into the treasury as above, that it was nc
advantage to any one but the Sheriff a.
long. as Section 2 was in force, which
provides that "lhe Sheriff shall com
mence his collections yearly Sept. 1st, OF
as soon thereafter as he receives the AS
SCISSORS books, and may on Dec. LIST there.
after distrain therefor"
Finally,'if our Solons will enact and re-
enact law for the collection Of taxes
about as follows: "0ne.half Of all taxes
assessed shall be paid to the Sheriff al
his office at the county seat on or before
the lst Of September or October, the
remainder on or before tho LIST day Of
March or April ensuing, on which the
Sheriff shall receive commission OF two
per cent, and all not so paid shall pay a
commission to the Sheriff Of y per cent,
and 10 addition the party so failing or
refusing to pay within the times indicated
shall be liable to fine OF not less than
five nor more than fifty dollars, one-hali
to 20 to the informer, the remainder to
the school fund."-Enough would be
saved annually to employ two first class
teachers in every county in the State, and
100000 grateful voters would say, amen
and amen. .aaH
Having thus hastily and cursorily ex'
amined the two first heads, l come TO the
last, which in reality Is hydra head
and whose proportions remind me Of
trees you sometimes meet in the forest
Where the axeman's axe has fallen, an
excrescence begins, and the Shapely trunk
ia lost sight Of in the ugly, ,hideous hol'
low knot. Courts were once presumed to
be organized for the administration Of
Justice, where all, the rich, the poor, the
high, the low, and all alike could enter
and obtain their rights and redress toi
their wrongs. Over the Court House
doors should now be placed "None admit
ted here but the rich, and upon tho back
Of the Code should be printed IAN Act
enacted and reenacted TO prevent tht
administration OF JUSTICE lido not wisl
hereby to cast one single reproach upor
our Judiciary; for / think they are as able
az honest, as upright, and as good a set @
men as grace the bench OF any State. i
| Is the System laid down for them to ad
minister-the number, the intricacy, The
delays, and the never ending cost thereof
You will doubtless say that much Of Thu
Is attributable to the lawyers. l say
much more to the law makers:
HOW CAN THIS DE REMEpIED
We answer, Just as the surgeon RENE
dies wounds and bruises and purifying
sores-by ampntation 4excision and eau
terization. We now have Squires OF
Justices with Jurisdiction Of 500; next,
County Court swith abundant jurisdiction
land lar more Astounding ignorance Of
law, code and statute,) aud Circuit
Courts and Supreme Courts-an meeting
weekly, monthly, quarterly or semi.an'
nually and at great expense to the people
Our Justices meet want not TO be dis
pensed with, but the County Court with
its presiding Judge ("the Lord save the
mark" and ibis associate compeers, who
usually know as much about declare,
tions and answers, and .ejoinders and
replications, and demurrers and actions
on the case, and trespass and assumpsit
and the rest OF the paraphernalia OF
court, as Hottentot or Laplander
should have all the appliances Of the
surgeons art brought to bear upon it
such as cauleriEation, excelsior and am
putation, and then when dead be ere,
mated, so that the stencil Of Its dead
carcass would never again be smell In
this broad land. ofNll the legislation Of
this new State it Is the most cumberous,
useless, inexcusable and expensive. ]
have no doubt but that directly and In
directly. II adds at least S76, 900 annually
| TO our present. burdens. Circuit Courts
are allthat are needed in the rural dis
trics and they are and ever have been
good, II only moro speedy in dispensing
Justice. Our laws allow too great delays
Think a proper judicial system would
DO able to pay our Circuit Court and
Court OF Appeals Judges much more lib
eral salaries than now-at least twice II
much-and effect a saving thereby. A
position OF such high honor and response
bIlity should command the highest abili'
~ Of the State, and the position should b
placed beyond political strife and parti
ian feeling, and the incumbent should
hold for lie as in the Federal Courts
There Is not an intelligent man in the
State but can herein see how our burleni
will be diminished.
THE BURDEN OF JuRIEs.
As connected with courts have our Law
makers ever considered how great is thu
burden Of juries, and how little the bene
ct. Now I desire to ask In all serious,
ness, why should furnish my lidgieul
neiRhbors with jurieS to settle their dis
puted affairs, rather than pay their doc
Tor bill, or their butchers or bakers bill