Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1894-12-06

among n few of our citizens by the action
of the Levy Court OF our county i'll making
appointments to the Office OF assessor in
those hundreds where vacancies occurred
by reason OF the failure of duty on the
part OF the assessors who We're voted for ut
the election Just had and also upon the
part of the election officers in other hun
dreds in making and returning in proper |
certificates of such election; ana as no one |
has yet raised his voice in defence of the |
Levy Court il has been suggested to me |
that inasmuch as ! am their legal adviser |
1t behooves me to do SO; and with your |
kind permission | will endeavor to per.
form that duty to my client, through the |
columns of your valuable paper.
There were few of the assessors Il |
know not how many who did not appear
before the Levy Court for qualification
and instruction on the day when the law
provides that they shall do so, and there
were Others whose election was not verb
fled in such manner and as the law re-
quires, i'll that they did not produce the
certificate of their election, signed by GER
tain of the election officers, nor were such
certificates with others lodged with the
sheriff and clerk of the peace, as the law
directs. Being called upon by the court to
give them the law applicable to such
condition of things. | appeared before
them and said to them that in my opinion
they had the power and authority to de-
not appear before them on the day desig.
mated BY the statute for their qualification
and instruction, and that they were not
compelled to adjourn to another day for
that purpose, but that they might do SO;
and i'll respect to those whose credentials
were not complete | told them that they
might qualify and instruct them il they
saw proper, or they might demand their
complete credentials and declare their seats
vacant il they failed to produce them.
Here considered that my duty was per-
formed and my services no longer needed.
The body, in its wisdom and in the ex-
ercise of what they were advised were
their legal and legitimate functions, de-
clared the seats of those vacant who did
not appear because it was due to their own
laches that they were not duly qualified,
and the body adjourned to a subsequent
day in order that those whose credentials
were not complete might have the oppor-
tunity to procure the missing certificate,
and as they were not guilty of any laches
they should have full opportunity to
qualify. They did not produce the re-
quired certificates and their seats too were
declared vacant.
At this iuncture the question very natur-
ally presented itself, by whom shall these
vacancies be tilled-by Democrats or Re,
publcans? And is il surprising that the
Democrats of Georgetown hundred should
volunteer their suggestions or even insist
upon the Levy Court applying the rules of
politics to the situationP And especially at
that time when our leading Republicans
were openly Boosting of the fact that they
had bought the county, and publicly de-
claring that it would have been useless for
them to have nominated a ticket had they
not had the use of Mr.. Addicks' money!
The situation was fully discussed by the
Democrats of our county and some were
in favor of administering the same medi
cine to our Republican friends that they
administered to us while they were in con
troll of the Levy Court from 1888 to 1892
and to add more nauseous ingredients
theretoif it were possible to lind them il
the market. But more conservative coun
sells prevailed and it became finally tn,
almost unanimous Judgment of our peopl
that it would be right and Just to appoin
Republicans i'll those hundreds wher
Republicans would have been eectet
under fair conditions, and vice versa
This was also the Judgment of the Lev!
Court, as ! understood them. Bu
we were surprised to learn that the.
had made an exception in Ceda
Creek hundred, and ] at once sought t
know their reasons for it, and one membe
who assumed the responsibility for it tan
that man was not MIR. FISHER, gave m
their reasons or at least his reasons TO
refusing to vote for Mr.. Hazard an
insisting upon appointing Democrat i
that hundred, they were these 1t had bee
represented to the members that he wa
not the proper man to perform the dutlt
of the office for the reason that he Ia
might be susceptible to Mr.. Addick
metallic influence like (as is reported)
number of others whose names appeare
upon the same ticket, and as they believe
from the opinion which | had given ther
that they had the legal right to elect WHOM
soever they might choose to do, they sin
ply exercised that prerogaJive and nine {
fnl r IA nnDlnprut
Now, let us see what serious col
sequences resulted, or might have T
suited, from this action. This is not
general assessment year. and therefore Il
office is not u valuable or desirable one
this time, because the emoluments there
will not compensate the incumbent for ii
time which it will pe necessary to emplt
in performing the duties, and hence !
substantial injury could be done NJ
Hazard.
Then again, this being the year for VIII
is commonly known as the scrap asse;
ment the citizens and property ownt
generally of Cedar Greek hundred cam
be affected, because their assessment W
made in 1892 and that assessment stan
until 1s96-two years hence. Thereto
no substantial injury could be done thel
\ The assessor will be called upon howevt
to assess those who have attained thu
majority SINCE the last assessment al
also to reasSess those who were return
delinuuent ut the March, 1898 session
the Levy Court and the removals fro
other States and counties. Well, the
will be assessed whether it becomes
duty of a Democrat or a Republican to
II. and of this none can have any dou
therefore, no injury can be done them,
There is another class, however I'll
mightsbe affected and right here is witt
the "snaggle-toothed Niger" is located
the wood-plle. Before the enactment
the registration law, and when the c
lectors of our county were Republican
III large number of negroes were brous
into our county from the adjoining st
of Maryland and elsewhere and W
given tax receipts upon which they vot
This cannot be done now and it is the
fore very necessary that the names of 81
should appear upon the assessment |
This class may be affected ii an tlnscrn
& lous Republican assessor should not be
pointed in Cedar Creek hundred. III
we see that no ones legal rights have
can be impaired or in any wise affected
the act of the Levy Court, and | presu
E it is a safe rule to measure a mans tut
tude by the degree of injury which resi-
from his acts. And il we apply this /
4& to the present circumstances the meas
of turpitude to be imputed to the mt
beers of our Levy Court is of small degl
And now, a word in reference to
45 raneorous, unjustitiable and SANDER
resolutions which were adopted at the
called indignation meeting held at Milf
Va on the evening of the 18th ult. With
endeayoring to acuuaint themselves v
the facts, and without desiring to do S
At have no doubt they fell to hear
calumny upon the Levy Court in gen
without any exceptions, and upon San
q. Fisher III particular when lhey ml
have readily aseertained that samuel
Il rad TIM