Daily Republican., 1883-09-07

more ABOUT SuAt NOWH"
Much Of what the Every Evening
says in regard to demoralizing habits
that had crept into the old police court
we can agree with, and we can even 60
farther than that. We would not OBJ
ject to Municipal Court properly con-
sttuted and placed beyond partisan
control. The best opportunity offered
to the Democratic Legislature to make
change in this respect was when the
Democrats were in power. That party
had the Mayor and the police for nine
years and nine months, and at no time
in the history of our city has the pre-
negatives of a police court been more
used for corrupt and partisan purposes
than during a major portion of that
time. During that time four Legisla-
lures, all Democratic, have come and
gone, and we never heard a word about
the establishment of a Municipal Court,
nor of Water Commission. The Every
Evening will not succeed in convincing
the people that the Municipal Court is
entirely free from partisan bias while
the records show the extreme partisan
feeling that prompted and craftsmanship
displayed in carrying it into effect since
it became law.
A Municipal Court may be a good
thing, but many good thing has been
prostituted 10 corrupt purposes and
that is what is the matter wi the pres
ent Municipal Court. If it is ever to
become popular it will have to be re-
modelled and built up on more non
partisan basis. Power may he submit
ted to, but power does not make right
No power could have made the infa-
nous stamp act popular even had the
colonists not succeeded in their struggle
for independence, yell nobody would
for a moment doubt that the British
Government had perfect right to pass
as many stamp acts as it pleased. The
staying qualities of our Municipal
Court will depend entirely upon future
Legislatures. II the Democrats by I'm
fair assessment laws and by disfran-
chising more than ope.half the voters Of
New Castle County under the present
system of representation, and one-third
under the proposed new system, can
succeed in keeping themselves in power
the court must be endured, but if they
do not keep the reins of power in their
hands it will not be endured.
The very existence of the court rests
upon the continuance Of dishonest as.
sessment laws and disfranchisemen OF
voters because they are Republicans
If the Democratic Legislature while the
city had Democratic Mayors had created
a Municipal Court, and permitted the
people to elect the Judge Of it, then we
would believe with the Every Evening
that the court had come to stay. Even
Republican Legislature would then
not have disturbed it, We have no is
sue to make about the peculiar fitness
of Judge Cuunmins to preside over the
court. He is very much ola gentleman
and his lenency and good nature are
unquestioned. We reiterate what we
have said before that it is a pity he
accepted an Office established through
partisan chicanery ami for partisan pur'
poses. We say again that the best way
for him to preserve his selt-respect is
for him to resign and permit such par
tisans as II. G. Turner, Esq, and H. h.
Pennington, Esq, or Frank Ball, Esq
to occupy the seat and put the partisan
machine into motion AZ it was intended
it should work by the partisan Legisla.
ture that created it.