The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1888-03-10


instead Of setting forth that the sheriff had
simply earRcd fees, emoluments and per.
quisites OF his office, and kept the fees for
them, had set forth that the money belonged
to the county, had set forth that the county
Of Bureau or La Sale had obtained q judg.
ment against John Smith for 1000, and an
execution had been put in the hands of the
Sheriff, and he had collected that $4,000 and
he had held IL, and failed and refused to pay
IL over after demand made by the county
treasurer OF this county, then you would have
him dead TO rights under the 21lst section
Now, you see, there Is ample room for both
Of these sections to operate.
Ii has been remarked in the course of argu.
ment here, that | had said In some former
decision that had made, that the county is
the owner of the fees that the officers get
the sheriffs get, ] examined the constitution
and the statute a. carefully rs ! was able to
when ! announced that opinion, ana / am of
the same opinion still; not to the contrary
convinced or my confidence shaken. | want
to remark, too, that the statute here WAS a
general change of policy The policy had
office, and let me stop aud remark here, |
think 1t was the best. ! think the policy of
justice ought to be justice-cheap AS II could
be. | think 1t is a disgrace to any christian,
Intelligent, educated people to sell justice. |
think the old policy was the best. All we
needed was reduction Of the fees to such an
amount as would be a reasonable compensa-
ton for the officer. And then, II the officer
thought he could make more money AZ pri-
vate business than by holding public office, he
need not be elected. | have been always OPP
posed TO the policy Of making Il speculation
out of the administration of Justice. That is
aside from this decision. But there was a
general change of policy, and in my Judgment
it was bad change. Undoubtedly the Legis-
lat In rn hot off . 10
constitution, could not get their salaries nor
their clerk hire nor their other expenses. eX-
ccpt to great extent out Of the fees of the
Office. They saw-the Legislature saw-that
if they passed law requiring these officers
who were paid their salaries out of their fees,
Immediately when they got dollar to trot
right up to the county treasury and pay 1t
over, that many Of the officers wonld have, as
the boys say, rather thin slop for part of the
time" and they feared that an officer who
was naked and hungry, and had that sort Of
folks at home perhaps, would not be so indus
triOus in running around after criminals and
jurors and witnesses and per.
forming every other duty that sheriff has to
perform that he would not be quite so indus
trious as If they allowed him to keep the fees
for awhile.
Now, it is not worth while TO take up time
IL is plain to everybody that has read the
statute, that the Legislature means that the
officer shall keep the fees, and II there is not
enough fees of the Office that he collects, if
he does not collect enough fees, he keeps all
Of them and never pays over any. That is the
provision of the statute. And then when is
he to pay over? The Legislature provided in
this statute all about it. They provided that
the sheriff should keep the fees as long as
there was anything due him; SO long as he
was entitled to anything for his salary-any-
thing for his pay and that of his deputies,
anything for his reasonable expenses; so long
this statute allows the sheriff to keep the fees
all that he collects; and they provide safe
way and manner in which it shall be ascer-
tanned when and how much he shall pay into
the county treasury. They say that he shall
make his report; they ssy that the Board Of
Supervisors shall act upon that report; they
say that the Supervisors shall have authority
TO examine every pen mark that he makes
and when they have examined his report and
allowed so much of it as they find correct, and
have made their allowance to him for enough
to pay his salary and his reasonable expenses,
then they shall ascertain the balance, and
then they shall make an order on him to pay
over the money.
Even if | hold this statute, this Section a7l
applied to this case he is only liable when he
refused to pay over as required by law. Now,
nobody can say that the chapter on
fees and salaries is not the law. That chapter
there were no particular provision about pun.
precisely the same otfense in the
35th section of the chapter on fees and salar-
les, ii there were no penalty inflicted by that
statute at all, and it were left to be operated
upon as I wo:ld be left 20 be operated upon,
then under the 27lst section, that penalty is |
not incurred until he is required BY law to
pay it. Now, he is not required by law to
pay until the Board Of Supervisors pass upon |
his reports if he REPORTS
IL Is said by gentlemen for the prosecution |
hat it Is lamcntable state of affairs that the
should not be convicted under this |
.7lst section and sent to the penitentiary. |
lont Thick So; and il is certainly perfectly |
lear TO me that the Legislature did not think |
SO. If sheriff, or any other officer, paid Il |
dollars fine and went to the county |
Jail, and then he and his securities pay the |
county all they owe them, the Legislature !
seemed to think that they were hurting these |
fellows about bad enough. They uudoubt. |
,dly looked all over these things, and 1t was |
I, very plain, simple, straightforward thing to |
ne. Now that | have looked carefully all |
over IL, it seems to me that unless ! would |
ransgrcss the statute, if this defendant were |
under this indictment, ! should |
have to arrest the judgment. IL said that |
Brother Blanchard passed upon this indict- |
nent. 1t would make no difference to me If |
Brother Blanchard had passed on it; on my |
present information would not hold II good |
and could not, that is, as applicable to this
sort of Il case. 1t is said that this case was
not argued before Brother Blanchard. ! am
sorry it was not. Therefore if they only pro !
pose to find this defendant guilty under this |
for Withholding fees, they cannot.
hold the law to be that he cannot be con
ricted under the 27lst section; the Legislature
did not intend it: and the law Is such that it |
IS an impossbility that he should be con-
victcd. If he is guilty there are ample pun
shments and ample remedies. II is not Il
question with me now whether he is guilty or
not: he like all other defendants, is presumed |
Dy the law to be innocent until the contrary |
appears.
! did not know last night but it might he
The intention of the prosecution To prove that |
he sheriff had some money that did not con- |
,ist of his fees earned; but II they had any |
such proof it could not be offered under this |
Indictment; and all the proof they could
,tfer under the law would not convict the
defendant. So, ] believe | will instruct the
Jury To find this defendant not guilty,
-
+. G. Lewis is certainly hustling about
illinois in grest shape, and at every gath
sring political or agricultural Lewis is