The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-07-09
GRAND JURORS MUST WALK.
THE COUNTY WILL PAY No MORE
BILLS FOR CARRIAGES.

That the County VIII Not Eurn1sl
Them TrnnspOrtafion-In no Cas-
VIII Bills for Lunches and ste
nOEraphers BE Paid-County At
torney Saussy cites the Law on
the subiect-LittIe Mercy for MeE
Who Fail to show Up when sum
mOned for Road Duty-A New Road
10 he Opened.
Grand juries win not perhaps De- 50 ready
10 hire carriages. eat lunches and employ
sienographers in the future as they have
been in the past. for they have been pu'
on notice now by the county commits
sioners that the bills for all these eXpen-
Eive Injuries. as they have been den9ml-
mated. must come out OF The pockets o.
the grand jurors themselves, or the lux
uries must not DE INDUCED in-
The grand jury for The March term
OF the superior court submitted a b.u for
lunches. a bin for carriages amounting
10 $40 and Bill for the work OF stenog-
Tapher in preparing the final present
ments. Chairman J. j. Dale Of the county
commissioners submitted all these bills
10 Mr. j. r. Saussy, the county attor-
ney. and asked FOR his opinion with re-
gard 10 them.
Mr. saussy read his opinion concerning
the bills at the regular meeting Of the
county commissioners yesterday after
moon. il was quite "a lengthy paper, 60
3ng fully into the subject ana giving SUI
preme court decisions bearing upon Il.
with regard 10 the bM for meals In con-
nection with which the solicitor general
had given the advice that the county
was liable. Mr. Saussy said he had 20 dir
Ter with him, and hold TO his former
opinion that there was no law whatever
that requires the county 10 pay any bill
for meals or lunches incurred by the
grand jury.
As TO the stenographer. Mr.. Saussy saio
the judge Of the court is authorized TO
appoint a stenographer 10 take testimony
in criminal cases, but there Is no law
whatever authorizing the grand jury to
employ a stenographer or the county to
pay for such services.
With regard TO the matter Of carriage
hire Mr.. Saussy said no provision Of law
exists for the payment by the county
Tor the transportation Of grand Jurors
upon their tours Of inspection 10 the con-
Wet camps or elsewhere. II has been
the custom, Mr. Saussy said, for the
county TO pay these bills for carriage
hire. but the supreme court has held
that the county can only be charged
with such expenses as are PROVIDED Tor
by law The supreme court OF Georgia,
he said, had stated clearly that the au-
1hority for paying out public money
Should always be found in some law.
by this decision, he said, much that is
custom has been done away with. Mr..
Saussy also cited a decision on the sub
of m "a
in which payment for carriage hire was
refused grand jurors, and which stated
that grand jurors were given per diem
which was expected to be sufficient TO
meet all these expenses.
With regard TO the city court grand
jury, Mr.. Saussy said. that body has no
jurisdiction whatever over county matters.
Its duties, he stated, are confined 10 the
officers, books and the working OF the
city court. They sometimes go out TO
inspect the convict camps because pris-
oners from the city court are sent there,
but they have no jurisdiction over county
matters. No grand jury. he said, has any
authority to contract any bill against
the county, and unless there Is a law
providing for such expenditures as these
they cannot be made undeE the law
and these decisions.
THE use OF carriages by the grand
jury" Chairman Dale said, lis getting TO
be a very expensive luxury, and that's
why I asked for the county Attorney
opinion II there is no law for such eN-
penditures its time TO stop them"
II was suggested as there was no direct
decision on the subject as TO the county 8
paying for carriage hire for the grand
jury, the grand jurors who put In the
present bin might be allowed TO sue, and
make test case of IL.
There was no intention on the part of
the commissioners Of stopping the pay
ment of the present bill for carriages,
Mr.. Dale said, but the commissioners
simply wanted TO know what 10 do In the
matter in the future Mr.. Saussy's re-
port was received as information and or
dered fled.
The commi ssioners, or the three Of them
who were present, Chairman J. J. Dale,
Commis sioners w. +. Chaplin and Will
liam Kehoe, signed and approved the bill
for $40 for carriages. but refused to pay
the bills for the services of stenogra-
pher or for the lunches. They paid the
carriage bill, they stated, because IL has
been the custom here tofOre TO pay those
bills. but the other bills they do not even
consider the grand jurors had right to
present.
An order was then passed by a unani-
NOUS vote of the commissioners present
that no bills for carriage hire for the use
of the grand jury will be paid, unless some
law authorizing such expenditures be
produced to the commissioners
This will no doubt put a quietus on the
grand jurors in the carriage line as well
as on lunches and stenographers. Grand
Jurors are not specially fond, as a rule. OF
walking ali over the county to see just
what may be the condition of this or that
road or bridge or other public work, and
II IS likely that in the future there will be
very little inspection. 1t will not be a
surprise, however, to hear from members
of past and future grand juries some very
emphatic statements with regard to the
action of the county commissioners in sc
ruthlessly trampling down an old and es.
tablished custom simply because they
could find no law for 1t, and because su.
preme courts have said that such expen.
ditures must not be made from public
funds.
Before beginning their meeting the com.
missioners had a little caucus at which
the charges preferred against the bounty
engineer, Mr.. w. A. Dayton, by ex-Quar.
master Frank Lamar were considered
but no action whatever was taken in re.
gard TO the matter
The report Of the county engineer fol
the month just passed shows there has
been a little more sickness than for the
month before. There are now in all the
camps 125 men, ten women and forty BOYS
The forces are working mostly on the
drainage work, with only one gang on the
road work
Chief Engineer George w. Brown of the
typographical survey reported that the
work so far as authorized had been com.
pleted about the middle Of June. and the
force discharged. He himself is now en-.
gagged in completing a drainage map for
the county.