The daily gazette., 1879-02-15
For the Gazette. 49, -s
ECONOMY IN GOVERNMENT.

LCONOM IN GON NEBNMENT.
Mr.. G. p. .JoHNsoN:-Af On hum mble,
unpretending citizen, having an interest
In common with others in the welfare OF
the State, and in the enactment of good
and wholesome laws, l propose to call
the attention of the Legislature to some
thing- that offer an opportunity for prof
liable legislation. First of all, and abo We
all, weuld say that all legislation in the
Interest of economy and looking to re-
trenchment and areductiOn of taxes, will
be acceptable to everybody and to all
parties. In some instances q reduction
Of salaries may be effected without harm
to the public interests. But in more, Der
haps. the Office itself might be dispe nsed
with. The tendency has been to continu-
ally increase the number of officers and
Also to increase the salaries. No step
back ward is likely to be taken. Might
not some remedy be provided for the ex-
pense to the counties OF so many prison.
ersY Petty thieves, for stealing some
tribe, are sent to New Castle to await
the next term of Court. This Is going
on from the close Of .he November term
until May. They are sent out by scores
from Wilmington for various petty Of
fences, or for the result Of drunken
sqnabbles, and then housed and fed and
warmed at the public expense for the
whole winter. This item alone involves
an expense upon the county of not less
than thirty thousand dollars annually.
Why not have police court In the city
Of Wilmington, which, so far as that city
Is concerned, could dispose at once Of
about eight out of every ten of all these
Cases. Let them be tried and punished
at once, and have done with It. The of
nee OF Coroner il becoming an intolerabe
burden; an inquest must be held and a
bill run up on the county whenever, un-
der any possible pretext, such thing
can be crowded in. 1t is claimed that the
Coroner has discretionary powers that
he has right to hold his inquest and col
lect fees without being notified. More
over, he has come to expect the juT ors'
ices also. The custom has nearly become
law for the jury to vote their fees to the
Coroner; Of course IL would be selfish
and discourteous to refuse. Why not so
amend the law that when there is no
suspicion OF anything wrcng that the
friends of the deceased take charge Of the
remains? Why go through the form of
a trial when nothing is suspected, and
after 1t is over nothing is known but
what was known before? The atten.
tion of the Legislature has been already
called to this matter, and now let COM
bittee investigate 1t fully, A fixed sala-
ry of two thousand dollars has been sug-
gested. The event of this would be much
less work done and for what was done
better pay than before. Suppose you try
one thousand. A State school superin-
tendeDt has been added to the list of offi-
GERS. Does anybody know of any real
benefit to the schools from this Off ce =?
II a. the State had the worth of its money
or were the schools quite as well OFF, and
the teachers little better off. before?
ltar .rfA
tirely too much. Yet there will ALWAYS
be attorneys, judges and other officers,
whose harvests are in the courts, and the
longer the better for them. If more than
half these cases weIe disposed of as
above suggested by police court, at the
tI me of the offence when the witnesses
are at hand, the session of the county
courts might be shortened one-half. Nu-
merous witnesses are summoned and
Kept there, at an expense for days If not
weeks, awaiting petty trial. of which
they, perhaps, have no knowledge of any
wheE the trial comes but a
bill for fees and mileage will be In order.
Is it so that only the witnesses on the
successful side are paid? If so, is that
good and wholesome law? An execu-
tor, or guardian, appointed by will, be-
heve IL not required by law to give Sc
curity.
Sometimes vast sums Of money are
held, and must be held for a long time.
That estates are liable to be wasted, and
are being wasted frequently, requiring
neither proof nor argument. The shrink
age in values and failure in many of
ments, as well as the prevailing prosperl-
ty with those who have other peoples
money to waste, ought to serve us an
to us all in their regards
This session ought not to close without
the enactment of law providing in all
such cases that ample security be given.
There is a system of legislation that
has been supposed to be popular, and
that has obtained to some extent in
many legislatures-l mean exempting
property from liability for debt. Such
legislation is "A premium on rascality ,and
cannot be too strongly denounced
Honest men have never asked for such
legislation and do not want it. They ex-
pect to pay their debts. When lawmak-
ers get all the rest done aud go to legls-
latng in the interest of dishonesty aud
for the benefit of Williams. it is almost
time to adjourn and go home. The work
OF legislation is to declare what Is law
aud to enact in perceptive form the eter-
nal principles of rlgnt and justice. All
the laws in the world will not change
wrong into right. 1t is a moral and
righteous obligation to pay debts. That
obligatlon cannot be annulled.
Moreover, the creditor would not be
likely to disturb an honest man. Could
not the wisdom of the legislature devise
IA law that would follow property, the
title of which has been fraudulently con-
veyed to defraud creditors? Cannot
swIndling be characterized as punish
able crime? In carrying out reforms in
. l.. ...t co pf 3 thA
of those onerous license taxes especially
those upon men of small means, and un-
productive business, be taken off, and
the people burdened that much less 2
These suggestions are probably enough
for this time, and they are respectfully
made, meantime expect to be and re-
main LAW ABIDING.
New Castle, Del, Feb. II, 1879.