The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1879-03-01
MORE CANDID FACTS FOR THE
LEGISLATURES.

hokalutS, NhiSh 10 oSiiA IA otooiOh a.
Wheeling, and we stated then as we
now reiterate that there is no inten-
ton t. fault find with that body of
honorable gentlemen. 1t is demo
cratic legislature, and being such, We
feel bound to it by feeling of frater-
nifty and common interest, and what
we have said and have to say is said
in spirit of friendship, and is die
tated by that candor which always
accompanies the statements of q true
friend. Perhaps what we have to say
is not pleasant to the earnest straight
forward gentlemen who have been so
earnestly and laboriously striving to
accomplish their honest purposes.
But certainly their can be no differ
ence of opinion as to the utter failure
of this Legislature to accomplish any
thing in the way Of making useful
and beneficial laws such as the peo-
pile naturally expected they would
make when elected.
We said last week that the Legis-
laturc is composed largely of men of
eminent abilities and is possessed of
straighttorwardness and honesty of
purpose more so than legislative
bodies usually arc, and for this utter
failure to accomplish any good there
must be some cmasc, and we think we
know and can point out some of those
causes.
When the Republican party ad-
administered the affairs of this State
the best talent was excluded from
participating in the government and
under a tGonstitution loosely framed
in time of intense excitement and
turmoil, the ignorant and the vicious
took possession of the offices and by
pandering to popular frenzy educat-
ed many persons to the belief that
the wealthy, and the intelligent, and
educated portion of our people were
the enemies of the humble and igno-
rant. When a constitutional conven-
ton was assembled, in which more of
the wisdom, learning and good, solid
common sense of our State than had
for many years before been assem-
bled, framed our most excellent Con-
stitution, a general howl WAS raised
against it by the Republican party,
and it was cried down as q "lawyer's
constitution. Many frivolous OBJ
jections were made to t,but the great
and almighty hobby WAS the county
court.
No persons know better than the
Republicans themselves do, that if
our county court is not what we
want, that by an application to the
Legislature and without any constitu-
tional amendments it can be changed,
or modified, or set aside, and some
thing better substituted in its place,
and that the provisions of the Con-
stitution in this regard are eminent
~ suited to the wishes of the people.
No wiser or better provision could be
placed in constitution.
1t is little singular that not one
Republican county, so far as we are
able to recall, has even asked the Leg
islature to give them tribunal in
leu of the county court. Democrats
have not had the manliness to stand
up and defend their own institutions,
but have been swayed by the false
pretenses of the designing Radicals,
and instead of giving the people good
legislation under the Constitution,
have been wasting their time in the
discussion of constitutional amend
mcnts, hoping to quiet the complaints
of these Radical grumblers, but all
the amendments they can propose
will be condemned, and condemned
with more reason than is the present
Constitution, for they will possess less
merit. This want of manly indie
peidence and disposition to pander
to the wishes of a false hearted and
treacherous minority led to the most
unheard Of liberality in the selection
of committees and committeeman for
the Legislature this winter. While
we like liberality in all things, some
times political parties, like individu-
ais, exercise lberality to SO great an
extent as to be unjust to themselves
and their households. And so we
think it is in this instance.
This mistaken liberality placed
DR.. Logan, a hard-money Republican,
o. the head of the Finance Committee
Of a Legislature Overwhelmingly in
favor of soft money. And the result
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