Charlotte home and Democrat., 1882-01-13
COMMUNICATED
Mecklenburg County Expenses.

Editor Home and Democrat There
was communication in the Charlotte
Observer of Sunday morning last about
Mecklenburg County Expenses that
should attract attention and serious con-
sideration. The taxpayers of the County
are being swallowed up by Court Ex-
penses, costs of. Coroner's Inquests, Jail
expenses, &c. Our people used to get
along very we'll with the old County
Court times year and two terms of the
Superior Court Of one week each. Now,
it is Commissioners Court or 4 days in
every month, an Inferior Court four times
year, Superior Court twice year of
weeks each, and Special Courts of unlimit-
ed duration. Something should be done,
by somebody, to relieve taxpayers of
some of the burdens they now have to
bear.
Please copy the following extract from
the article in the Observer and ask some
one to favor the adjustment of some of
the Courts, and make suggestions for
other relief:
"In ante-belum days it was quite common to
see the actions of our county and State officers
criticised. Nowadays one rarely sees it, unless
some State officer touches up railway COM
pany, or some embryo statesman, eager to serve
his country, raises clamor to pull down an Off
cial, in order that he may gain his place Having
never held an office, claim the cold time" right
of the citizen to call attention to our county ex-
penses. From the last statement of our county
Treasurer the Inferior Court seems to cost about
| as much as the Superior Court. If the extra
ordinary expenses boarding juries at hotels,
lawyers fees and expert wtnesses) of the latter
are deducted, the difference is very little. The
| Court expenses amount to $5,207 49, If the pris-
oners expenses, 81 100 IS; Jail expenses. 1886 A.
| and Coroner's expenses, $6lO, be added, we find
that justice cost the people of MecklenbuTg ST.
| S74 O5. This year promises much greater ex-
penses, extra term of the Superior Court has
| already been called, and if we judge it by the
work of former Courts it will take good mathe-
| matclan to calculate when the docket will be
| cleared When the Inferior Court was estab-
| lished it was claimed that it would relieve the
| Superior Court to such degree that it could
| transact all necessary business. 1t was soon
| found that the Superior Court docket was
| crowded as bad as ever. Then extra aoeek was
| added to each term of the Superior Court, and
still the disease grows worse, and the Governor
| has applied the costly remedy of extra Courts
Where the fault lies, cannot say, but there is
general impression that the Judges could save the
people much of this expense by preventing the
i
| rabbits" The expenses of the county Commis-
| sioners, including their clerk and lawyers fees
are 81 1,27615-not high wages for active old gen.
| tlemen, who only drink buttermilk a beverage.
The poor and poorhOuse expenses
| ($3 457 81 seem to be increasing and will proba-
bly, be greater this year on account of the failure
of last years crop. There appears in the expense
account OF the poor house, bad precedent.
| Commissioner K. NJ White, receives 81 1856 81
for furnishing supplies to the poor house. The
overseer Of the poor-house is simply the agent of
| the county Commissioners, and it places Com
missioner White in the attitude of trading with
his agent, which is virtually trading with himself
| Commissioner Whites accounts have to be ap-
proved by the county Commissioners His
| brother Commissioners cannot feel that liberty to
criticise his accounts that they would with an
outsider; besides Commissioner White sits in
judgment upon his own case disclam any in
tention of rejecting upon Commissioner White.
| believe the county and the poor have received
| full justice from him. but one of his high char
acter may not always ill the Office, and the pre-
cedent of to-day may be upheld in the future by
Commissioners with unclean hands"
1t would look little better if the Super
intendent of the Poor House was to scat
ter his favors a little more, or at least "try
| the market"
| 1t should be stated, in connection with
the complaint about frequent Courts, that
the County Commissioners are not to
blame for the present special Term, for it
was ordered by the Governor without
their consent or recommendation The
Magistrates OF the county, however, can
afford some relief by abolishing the In
ferior Court and reducing the number of
Commissioners from FIVE to three.
T.