The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1879-08-08
Meeting Of Tax Payers.


p. II. Rutledge and A. +. Galbreath appointed
Secretaries. Judge Price made lengthy
speech, in which he compared the county cx-
penditures in 1870 for roads, for the courts,
for the almshouse &c, with those of 1857,
and argued that after rigid examination he
was satisfied that very great reduction
could be made without inconvenience to any
body or dctriment to the public business. He
thought the expenses of our courts, in par
ticular, could be greatly reduced by the abo-
litIon of trials by jury in petty cases. These,
he said, could be better and more economi-
cally tried before the Judge. Trial by jury,
was called the bulwark and the palladium of
our liberties. 1t had rendered great service, no
doubt, in the past. 1t was eXtorted by the
knights from King John, at Runnymede, and
at that time was indeed a bulwark. 1t served
to protect the rights of our people against
the expressions of the crown and against his
appointces, the judges. 1t was then right and
proper as n shield and Il protection against
tyranny. 1t had been derived by us from the
mother country, and was important to our
| fore-fathers before the Revolution. To them
it was Il bulwark of defence against the ty-
ranny of judges appointed by n foreign gov
eminent. Now the judges are selected by the
people themselves, who need no bulwark to
protect them against the tyranny of their own
appointees. 1t seemed silly to call juries the
bulwarks of liberty. Are our judges our
enemies? Arc we going to erect bulwark
against our judges? Trial by jury was more
properly called Il palladium. 1t is really about
rs important to preserve the rights of the
people as was the statue of Pallas, which was
thrown down to the earth by Jupiter 1t fell
| near Troy and was erected as a sanctuary. 1t
was a tradition that Troy could never be ia
| ken while this image remained in the city.
II would he more appropriate, he thought,
to call juries cities of refuge, to which the
manslaycr could escape when the avcnger
of blood was on his track Trial by jury, he
said, should be honored for its antiquity, its
uncertainty and the money it costs 1t ought
to be crowned for the good it has done and
crucified for the evil it is doing
Judge Price also recommended the appoint
mcnt of a county treasurer, with his Office in
| Bel Air, to whom the taxes should be paid
| Those who pay promptly to receive dcduc-
| ton on their tax bills, and the dclnqucnts to
| pay an additional amount. Thus the COM
missions for collecting the taxes, he said,
would be paid entirely by the dclinquents.
| He thought the money spent on the roads
was not properly applied, and said that 81, 900
year could be saved by repairing the roads
by contract.
Major A. NJ. Hancock said that the present
movement affected every man in the county !;
that it had no politics in it whatever, and in
his remarks he intended to approach the sub,
| jcct with fairness and candOr. He sustained
the views of Judge Price, and argued that the
poor rate in Hartford county is double that of
any county in England. The almshousc, he
said, should be selfsustaining. The system
of appropriating money for outpensioncrs he
thought was greatly abused, and said it would
be more economical to keep them at the aims
house. He regarded change necessary in
the system of road-mending. The general
supervisors should he abolished. The sys-
TEN by which the accounts of the commits
sioners arc kept should be changed He
would defy anybody to tell from the published
statement exactly how the money had been
expended. He compared the expenditures
for roads, courts, &c, in Hartford county with
the cost of the same items in Washington
county, Maryland, and argued that we are
spending at least 100000 more per annum
than we ought to spend. The taxation
amounts in Hartford to SO per head per an
mum, for every man, woman and child in the
county. We must prunc, and prune, and
prune, until we lop off everything which
ought not to be on the public branch Now
is the time, he said, to begin to reform An
election is upon you. Select honest, faithful
and competent men to administer the affairs
of the county.
Mr.. p. II. Rutledgc approved of the re-
marks which had been made, and said that
bunghing and inefficient system of keeping
accounts had grown up in the commissioners
office. The tax payers are unable to gather
any information from the published statement
For instance, he said, $4,000 or more are paid
TO the commissioners every year by the Clerk
of the Circuit Court, being the amount de-
rived from liquor licenses. No statement has
ever appeared in the levy list of the manner
in which this has been appropriated. Then
n certain amount is levied to cover estimated
insolvencies. No statement in regard to this
fund ever appears. Mr.. Rutledge offered the
following resolutions, which were adopted:
Resolved, That the President of this conven-
ton appoint a committee of five persons (him-
self TO act MS chairman thereby to examine into
the financial affairs of the county, and report to
an adjourned meeting of this body, to be called
by the President.
ReSol,ed, That said Committed will also take
into consideration the matter of what legislation
other remedies if any, are necessary, to reduce
the county expenses, and report to said meeting.
ReSolyed, That said committee be further in
structed to consider the matter of officers fees,
MS presented in the accounts of county officials,
prepared by the Board of County Commissioners,
and report whether in their Judgment said ac-
counts are in accordance with law, and what if
any, legislation lis necessary to reduce said ac-
counts
The chairman, Judge Price, appointed as
said committee p. II. Rutlcdge, A. M. Han
cock, A. Finncy Galbreath and r. b. Mccoy,
who with himself as chairman, will perform
the required duty. . |.
On motion, the chair appointed the follow
ing delegates to represent Hartford county in
the State convention oftaxpayers, which will
meet in Baltimore, on the 18th of August
Col VIM. b. Stephenson, VIM. Galbreath, p.
II. Rutledgc, r. B. Mccoy, E. NJ Allen, John
Divers, John r. Rutledgc, Col John c. Walsh