Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1895-01-05

Legislature was to lower the compensa
tion paid assessors, but such has no
been the result. The law provides, tina
assessors shall be paid "two per cen
upon all property assessed by them, a
80 assessed, and approved by the boar
OF county commissioners, or board o
equalization"
This would give to the various asses
sors salary OF $4,000 per year, which wa
certnlnly not tho intention OF the ieglsla
ture. 1t is more than likely that IL wa
the Intention to provide that their com
pensation should be two per cent OF tn
taxes assessed, and not two per cent O
the value OF the property assessed.
Fortunately, this law was not TO &c
into effect until January ls1, 1881 sc
that there ls ample time to save the yer
ritory any loss, by the repeai OF the law
An act should be introduced ana passse
remsdylng this defect
c. v.,,a
~
One of the most pernicious laws to BIT
fornd rron our statntes and one that has
"a ,,;m;no,s = oso,,;no
ooh' l'ei0 w "'u VI ''"o'' 40
punishment for their crimes, retard tnt
courts in the trial OF cases, aod 10 the
expeLss or ltlgation, delay crealtors IN
the collection OF their honest oeots ano
generally to defeat the ends OF 1ustice
more than any other laW' Is Gnat one
known as the "change OF venue. law, De
Ing chapter u OF the acts or ioo9' rms
law should more properly be entltled
An act to defeat justice ana 70 ala crlml'
nails IN escaping from punishment Iei
that is the only purpose 1T serves. Ihe
law referred to reads as follows:
"Ihe venue In all civil ana criminal
cases shall be changed whenever the
Judge is interested IN the result, or Is re-
lated to, or has been counsel Tor elthel
party, or when the party moving for a
change shall lille In the case an ahdavlt
for himself, his agent or attorney, stating
that he believes such party can not OBTAIN
fair trial IN the county wherein the
cause ls then pending, either because the
adverse party mas an uhdue lniloehce over
the minds OF the lnhaoltants OF such ceun'
ty, or the inhabitants OF such county are
prejudlced against such party, or because
by reason OF public excitement or local
preJudlce IN such county IN regard 70 the
case or the question involved therein an
impartial jury can not be obtained IN
such county to try the same. such afh.
davit must be supported by the oaths OF
two disinterested persons that they be-
lieve the facts therein stated are true.
A careful perusal OF this law must I'M
press every man at all familiar with lltl-
CATION with Its evil character. A defend
ant in civil suit who wishes to delay a
creditor from the collection OF his debts,
no matter how just; or criminal, no
matter how guilty, VINO desires to put OH
from time TO tlme, the punishment Tor
crimes committed, under TINS law, mas
only to swear that "he believes he can not
obtain fair trial in the county where
the case is pending" and then tnd two
complaisant tools to swear that they
believe the facts therein contained are
true,' and the court IS compelled without
further proof, and even with knowledge
that the afhdavlts are false, to change the
venue to some other county. He would
have to do this, even though hundred
witnesses, respectable ana honest, should
swear to the contrary; no positive testi-
mony is required from the applicant; he
has only to swear that he "believes" Sc
and so, and all other evidence IS at once
excluded. Such law Is disgrace to the
statute books OF any civilized country,
and should be repealed by You at the
earliest practicable moment.
My predecessor in Office, a gentleman
who has had lorg experience IN this terri
tory as your chief justice, and who is
familiar with the court proceedings, has
twice called the attention OF the legisla-
ture to the existence OF this law and its
evil results, and strongly urged its re-
peal. So long as it remains upon the
statute book, you must expect the trials
of desperate criminals to be delayed from
time to time until the witnesses of their
crimes have disappeared, and in the end
that many OF them will 60 unwhipped OF
justice. man whose life or liberty is
at stake seldom let's his conscience pre-
vent him from making any oath required
to save him, and this law cempels the
court to accept as truth statement made
on "belief" only.
/ can not more forcibly show to you
how this law is used to defeat the ends of
Justice, to delay trials, and to permit
criminals to escape, than by reference to
well known case now pending in the
courts OF this territory.
Nearly six years ago prominent and re-
spectacle citizen OF thu. county was shot
in the back AMI killed in the streets Of
Santa Fe. The party who killed him was
duly arrested by the authorities, and at
the first term of the district court, was
indicted for murder in the first degree.