The evening light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1881-1883, 1882-09-28
IRELAND AT JACKSONVILLE.
independent Report.

An Independent Report.
On Friday last Judge ireland spoke to {
fair audience at this place. The burden o
his speech was to warn the independent voter!
against the return Of the days when Governor
Davis overran the country with police, sus.
pended the writ of habeas corpus and taxed
the people for school-house purposes outside
the ordinary state tax. He charged that the
Davis administration stole the money belong
ing to the state, and said Davis had $500, 900
ated and ran the state debt to So, 200, 600 by
the end of his administration. He said no
school-houses had been built in his county,
though they collected SIS, 900 there for school
house purposes. He frequently asked if the
| independents desired to return to such times
and to such government. His speech was
| merely a feast on the carcass of the Davis
| administration. He forgot to tell them
that Coke said Davis only had
$4o, 900 when he began his administra-
ton and that the state had a debt of
only S, 500, 900, when Davis was closed out by
Coke, 5000, 600 of which was bonds issued by
Davis, but not sold by him because they
would not sell at par, but which Coke sold
and gave his own administration credit for.
He also failed to state that the school-house
tax of per cent. was declared unconstitution
al and that whatever of this tax was paid into
the treasury was appropriated to pay teachers
and the balance collected was stolen by DEM
ocratic and republican tax collectors. He
might have been answered by the following
query; "Do the organized democrats want
to get back to the days of 1861, or to the time
honored doctrine of favoring the importation
of African slaves % This would have been
foolish proposition, but equally pertinent with
his appeal to know if the independents wanted
to get back to the days of E. J. Davis. AT the
close of his remarks the Judge stated that he
was prepared to answer any questions that
any one desired to asked. The following
questions were propounded in writing, and the
answers given are substantially correct:
Q.-Ars you in favor of the prohibition OF
the manufacture and sale of alcoholic Ii
quors?
Al am in favor of letting the law stand
just as it is. You might put guard with mus
kets and bayonts every fifty yards around the
whole country and you could not prohibit the
use of intoxicating drinks.
Q.-Are you in favor of allowing the Bible
to be read in our public schools?
A.-That cannot be allowed without chang
ing the constitution.
Q.-Are you in favor of allowing each tax
payer to draw his pro rata of the school fund
whether he sends his child to the public school
or to some other school OF. his choice-the
teacher to have a certificate from the School
Board!
A.-This is Democratic, but it is not practi-
cable.
Q.-Are you in favor of law to stop the
trains and other vehicles ofpublic Garage from
working on Sunday?
A.-This is a question beyond the
legislative control ofthis state. Under the in
terstate commerce doctrine the United States
Congress alone can control freight and pas
senger trains.
1t will be seen that he wholly evaded the
questions of the Bible in public schools. He
was not asked for his "constitutional' opinion,
but if he was in favor of the proposition. His
friends here acknowledged with chagrin his
back-down on this. On the question OF pro-
hibition his answer is explicit, and commends
itself to the attention of all who are alive up
on the subject. Altogether, his effort here
weakened his cause, followed as it was by the
discussion between the Hon. G. w. Jones
and John H. Reagan on the next day. Ire
lands friends have all their enthusiasm knock
ed out of them by his square back-down from
joint discussion with Jones. The latter will
carry this section by over two to one. Next
week we will review briefly the points made
by Jones and Reagan. Jones will be the next
governor. as little as it is now realized, and
by the voice Of the people who are tired of
political rats.-Argonaut.