Vicksburg weekly herald., 1878-01-11

" E14HTaUE.ElElHa kE1He HstHl=EF Fa-n HNNHH ~
che term OF she Circuit Court, the ChuFoh, 10
which the Court was g. be held, was de.
stF0yed By DIRE, aud with Il all the indict.
meuts and papers appeTtainlng 20 ell the
Courts, and ali the public records, reports
and statutes. This was manifestly the
work Of an iucendiary, or OF incendiaries,
Il is impossible 10 execute the criminal
law without O Courthouse and jail, and
without public officers who will make ar
rests and assist otherwise In bringing
guilty men 70 justice. The absence ol any
Of the criminal law In Pearl county, and
! the consequent failure TO enforce It, have,
doubtless, embOldened the Iawless 10 be.
| lIeve that they wilt never be punished
and that they may violate the law With
| impunity. There are many indictments
| for felonies pending, and there Is certainly
a strong necessity for bringing the culpFIls
! to just ce, In order TO protect the good
! citizenI, not only Of the county itself, but
also Of the adjaSsnt counties, BY inspiring
some respect for law, aud some terror in
| the minds OF eviLdoeTs. But, az things
now stand, there is little hope Of execu.
ting the criminal law In that county.
! Ii 10 wholly improbable that suitable
public buildings will ever he erected In the
county. The county 10 too poor to pay for
such buildings, and to bear the other ex.
penses incident TO tAe execution Of the
criminal law.
have ielt It to be my duty to call your
attention 10 the state of affairs In Pearl
county. | do 1t with The hope that you
will take some steps 10 Obviatc and cor
rect the grea' evils and publ c inconve.
! niences that have resulted from the act Of
1872. The Legislature surely possesses
sufficient constitutional power In tue
! premises. II Is certainly 70 be deeply de-
plOTed that any portion OF the territory Of
The State should be In the condition 10
which Pearl county Is represented TO be.
And II is equally certain that remedy
must exist.
! A9sIGNMEST OF DISTRICT ATTORNEYS.
I On the 10Th OF February last, made an
as assignment nj District Attorneys, in &C.
cOrdaHce with the requirements OF the Act
Of February lst. Tne Act was prom Junc d
! by the Supreme Court Of the state to be
uncons atuliOnal, the question having
come before the Court In the case Of James
T. FAINT We, VIM. II Gibbs, 4 udliOr Of
Public Accounts, on wilt Of error, from
the Circuit Court Of Kinds county.
THE LEvEE LAW OF 1877.
The supreme Court Of the state has 80
! pronounced constitutional the A ct Gf
! February !, 1917, entitled, IAN Act to
amend an Act entitled an At TO establish
/ The Office oil. Liqui iating LeVee COmmis.
sloner, and 10 provide for the redemption
( OF lands IN the Liquidating LeVee District,
and Tor other pufp ises, approved April II,
, 1876 By the d clsiOn Of the Sup enc
Court, IL was declared incompetent for the
I Legislature TO compel the holders OF levee
bonds 10 submit 10 forced reduction In
/ the amount due on their bnnds. II WAS
held, also, that by the terms OF the 10 an,
under which tn bonds were issued, a
/ fixed rate Of taxation was imposed upon
the lands lying 10 the levee district which it
was not In the power Of the Legi slAluTe to
repeal or reduce. II was declared, further,
that the lands forfeited for this unpaid tax
aud not redeemed, had, by the Ierms of the
loan, become the absolute p Operty OF The
Leyee Board. for the benefit Of the bond.
/ holders.
| These all seem d be 0ntroVerli ible
conclusions Of law rom the plain language
OF the statutes. have reason to believe
that the holders OF the bonds are not dis.
! posed TO puih to the utmost the !ull eXac.
ti0ns OF the law, aud earnestly hope that
some compromise satisfactory 10 all par.
ties may be arrived At by which the peO.
! pie OF the levee district may be relieved
Of the heavy burdens under which they
labor, and the large bodies OF land held by
the Lev'e Board mAt be made available
for purposes Of general revenue.
MILITARY COMPANIES.
AT tie session in 1S17, the Legislatur in.
cOrpOrated certa vOlu nteer military com.
plnles, and authorized the Governor, upon
the fling Of acquisitions and bonds, to
furnish 10 said companies such arm,
equipments and ammunition as the State
might have In possession. beg le I've to
report, that under the several Acts OF In .
corporation, have commissioned the Off.
GERS nf the follow ing companies, and have
supplied said companies with arms and
ammunition, t0.wit; Aberdeen Guards,
Aberdeen; Autry Rifles, HOLLY Springs;
senatObia lnvinclbles, SenatO6ia; DeS0to
Blues, fernando; Tunica Guards, Austin;
Lamar Rifes, oxford; Adams Light In.
iautry, SAIchez; and Oktibbeha Rescues,
staIkVille. also issued commissions 10
the officers Of the fjliowing named co
panies, which were In existence under
previous Acts Of incorporation, to.wIt:
| Columbus Rlilpmen, and Columbus Ii BIT
! Artillery, Battery A, Columbus. The trst
named company was supplied by me trum
state stores, with arms and ammunillon,
aud for the latter procured from tue Chief
OF lUTdnance. Washington, a complete artii.
lery outht including guns, caissons, har.
ness, etc
ANENDMESrs TO THE Contribution.
At Its session In 1875, the Legislature
proposed two amendments to the COnyl.
tuition, which were submitted TO the quail.
tied electors OF the state at the gene, al
election held on the 9Th day OF November
last. One proposed 10 abrOXate and annul
Articles Nv. and V. OF the Constitution, 10
asto abolish the office OF Lieutenant-0o
ernOr. The other proposed sub ,tItule
for Section q, OF Article ~, by which the
Leglslat Ire sh ,uld be required 10 meet bi.
ennlally, instead annually. | am in.
formed by the Secretary OF state that the
hrst named amendment, 10 abolish the
Office Of Lieutenant q OYernOr, was reject.
ed, and that the secOnd.named, TO provide
for biennial sessions Of the Legislature,
was adopted. The Constitution Article
, Ail', y provides that II II shall appear that
a majo ity Of the qualihed electors voting
for members Of the LepislRtur,', shall have
voted Tor any proposed amendment TO the
Constitution, it snail b. the duty Of the
next succeeding Legislature u insert said
Amendment as a part Of the Constitution
Of the State. The duty deYOlves upon you
10 ins ri in the Cone litutiOn the amend
ment = DIVIDING for biennial sessions OF the
Leg stature.
THE LIES LAW.
One VI the most serious and important
questions that Will come before you, 10 that
relating 10 what Is commonly known as
the agricultural Lien Law" " In many
sections Of the State, II Is cOntended that
the prostratiOn Of business and the power.
- Il.