The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-02-07
JUDGE NORWooD's VIEW OF 1T.
CANNOT CONDUCT a COURT WITH A
PARSIMONIOUs Foley.

Clerk Collins VIII Write Letter TO
the Mayor Monday Explaining the
City Court Officers Side of the
Case-JudGc Norwood VIII Also
Furnish Some Facts and Figures.
Court officers Very Poorly Paid at
Best-Judge Norwood willing TO Go
Through With the Mummery of
Opening Court Every Day, If Nee
essary.
The matter OF the refusal Of Mayor Mel
drim TO approve certain bills of the city
court officials for per diems on days when
the court was not in session was placed
before Judge Thomas NJ. Norwood yester-
day. There were present with Judge Nor
wood. Clerk ]. S Collins, Sheriff T. J.
sheftan and the other officers of the
court.
Mr.. Collins explained the whole matter
to Judge Norwood, and stated that he had
been asked by Mayor Meldrim to write
him a letter on his side of the question,
setting forth his position. After a dis
cussion of the matter, Mr.. Collins decided
that he would write such letter to
Mayor Meldrim on Monday, and in the
meantime Judge Norwood directed that
certain statistics and facts with regard to
the workings of the court be prepared for
that purpose, to show just what the duties
of the court and it's business are.
The last letter received from the clerk
of council by direction of Mayor Meldrim,
by Clerk Collins, was as follows:
Savannah, Feb. A. 1871. S. Collins,
Esq, CLERK of the City Court Savannah,
Ga. Dear Sir: 1 am instructed by lis
honor, the mayor, to say that the city viii
not pay for the intervening days, between
the adjournment of the November
term and the opening of the
bill of the city court officers, unless
the court was opened In due form, during
the period, for the trial of criminal cases;
and in future no per diem will be paid
unless the court Is opened in due form by
his honor Judge Norwood. / am also in
structed to say that the bill of Joseph But
character should be borne by the sheriff
Enclosed l return your bills for correc-
ton. Yours truly,
Clerk of Council.
There were three or four points in this
connection upon which Judge Norwood
commented. He spoke of the fact that
at best the officers of the court are very
poorly paid and it was stated that while
the court is not in session the bailiffs
have to do the hardest part of their work,
tnat OF serving SuDpOendS, Tor winch tney
get nothing. There are hundreds of these
subpoenas to be served every term of
court, and the costs for each of them go
on the insolVent costs bill. 1nsolVent
costs are payable from fines and costs,
and the difficulty here is, there is never
| enough collected from this source to pay
| the bailiffs anything for serving sub
poenas, so they get practically nothing but
! an o u for this service.
In the next place, it is stated in the
letter to Mr.. Collins that the city will in
| dlpmg
| court is opened in due form by his honor
| Judge Norwood. There are many days
upon which the court is opened and ad-
! tourned by the sheriff without Judge
| NCrwood's presence, for the simple reason
| that there is no business to be transacted.
| Judge Norwood says, however, that if il
| is desired that he appear every morning,
! even though there be no business, and go
| through with the mummery of opening
| and adjourning the court before the Of
| ficers will be paid, he will do it, though
| he fails to see any necessity for it,
With regard to Butler, the negro who
| is employed to serve subpoenas from the
| court, he is put on practically the same
| footing as a bailff, and II is considered
| he should be paid for his services. The
three bailiffs, all of whom are entitled tc
| their per diems, but he has heretofore
I'VE will consider" Judge Norwood
! said, that every member of the board oil
| aldermen Will treat the matter fairly and
justly, and l think We can show them
that II the business of the court is to be
properly transacted, and justice properly
administered, it cannot be done with q
| parsmonious policy"
Sheriff Sheftall said his greatest inter
| est in the matter was on account of the
officers of the court. So far as he is con
| cerned, he loses nothing outside of this
| per diem, for the five days during which
| the court was not in session. He does
not consider it a part of his duty to en-
| ploy a negro to go into the country tC
serve subpoenas, and he does not con
slider that the revenue from the Office
| justifies it.
| AS the outcome Of the discussion it was
| decided that a letter explanatory of the
situation from the court officers side OF
il shall be written Monday to Mayor Mel
drim, and the city's action in the prem
| ises will then be awaited with mucn in.
| tereSt.