Year: 1875

'f-nst VI NbNhhht ~ hENAIuR hid
The following letter, addressed to State Sena-
torJ Jeauder f Riddle; by Mr.. william Dean, of
White Clay Creek, one of the most prominent
Democrats of the county, will be read with in
| terost -


| NEWARK, DEL, Feb. l6th 1875.
| LedndT r. HidiLa Esq, chairman OF Com
| n,'itec on ReoiSed Statutes -


| SIR Can you inform me what the great OBJ
Jections are that appear to be raised in the SEN
ate in regard to bill that was before your hon
orable body from this locality in reference to
| registering OF dogs? That bill was gotten up
and the petition asking its enactment intoa law
was signed by al least seven-eighths of all the
| property holders in our two school districts to
VIII ch it was made applicable. | had no individ-
ual interest in the bill further than my nterest as
II land holder, the same as any other person hold
| ing like number OF acres know every wheat
crop raised on my farm that am out of pocket
| in regard to money, and at the same time my
land is left in worse condition with eacli succeed
| ing crop.


| THE OBJECT OF rnE BILL
presented to your honorable bodies was 10 rid
our two school districts of Il lot of worthless
ours that have no one who il willing to own
| them whenever the assessor comes along to as
| SEES them, or when any mischief is done by
| them, and some one is wanted to pay the dam
age. can safely say that various individuals in
| our two school districts last year lost hundreds
of dollars worth of poultry by this worse than
worthless pest of dogs without owners. Las.
| year ! suffered by the loss of poultry to the
amount of near one hundred dollars and made
| several attempts to shoot the dogs for they
have frequedtly been soen at their work of
destruction. applied to one OF our magistrates
to see il could get


any REDRESS N A LEGAL WAY,


when was told there was none. Those persons
who were interested had consultation IN regard
to it and they got up the bill presented to your
honorable body, with its seventy odd names sign
ed as petitioners ata,l e to it. They will compare
favorably with any other equal number of names
that can be got in any locality in the state or
with the members of your Honorable bcdy.
Our Senator, when at homo, said it was for
personal objections against me and my having
taken an active part in the matter of getting up
the bill which caused its defeat. 1t is strange
that personal matter against an individual
should be made to operate to the disadvantage
of a whole community.


IFIuAvE sINNED POLITICALLY


or otherwise, I willing, able, and ready TO
meet my accuseE face to face, and will answer
for my own sins without having them placed
upon the shoulders of innocent persons. There
was not n single sentence i'll the bill that was in
conflict with any existing statutes, as orr
friend 7. H. j. Baldwin told liz he had
submitted it to the inspection of our Hon.
orable State Attorney General, and he made





to tho House, neither did it affect any persons
outside our own school districts. Why, gentle
men lis it true that when wo ask for something
that would be of great benefit to those per-
SONS who are large majority. as are the agr-
cultuialists of our school districts, we cannot
get it, when at the same time it cannot affect
outsiders? 1t forces MS to ask you gentlemen
composing tho Legislative body, this question
Why do we go to 30 much trouble wasting our
time and money in electing legislatures II it
is not the object to enact such laws as tend to
the general welfare of the masses, what il it
Some of our


CITIZENS WHO ARE DISAPPOINTED


with tile action in reference to the matter re-
ferred to, which to them was of great impor-
tance, very freely say if our bill had been for
the purpose-as are many bills now before the
Legislature to renew or fix up some matter
of indexes. by which onr county officers VIII
have an order for the purpose extracting from
the pockets Of the Taxpayers two or three thous-
and dollars, there il no doubt we should have
got what We asked for. AS it IL, we will be
obliged to submit quietly to have money taken
out of onr pockets to pay for


JOBS WHICH ARE TO PUT MONEY


into the pockets of individuals who may happen
to hold Office, while at the same time the Legis-
lature refuse to protect us in the prosecution OF
an honest method of obtaining livelihood. The
money taken out of Cur pockets to pay for such
same in effect upon our financial welfare as
though it was taken by pickpocket, only in the
latter case We have some law for redress, While
by the former method of taking it we have to
stand Quietly by, and Sc our money taken for n
purpose which will never benefit us to the value
of any thing, and cannot help ourselves, for the
simple reasons that your honorable bodies have
legalized this last


METHOD OF TAKING OUR PROPERTY.


Now which of the two styles of taking the
money out of the pockets of the masse do you
suppose the masses would prefer? the one by
winch if you on the alert, you may, when
the party who is taking your property without
law shoot him down, or the other method by
which the legalized gentleman comes along, de-
mands, and takes your property simply because
he il called n tax gatherer, and you are left III
the position that =" Boss Tweed " thought he had
the people of New York, when he asked them
what are you going to do about it?'


THE AFoRE MENTIONED STEAL is NOT THE ONLY


ONE


which we must expect to feel the effects of,
Judging from bill presented before one of
your Houses and which have no doubt VIII re-
ceive the sanction of both your honorable bodies.
bill has already been introduced to Sill fur
ther rob the tax payers of the State for the
misdeeds of any state or county oiilcer
who happened to hold Office under the state
or county governments. If any officer commits
a misdemeanor of any kind, while holding an
office, against the laws of our State, you pro-
pose to take ont of til pockets OF the people an
amount sufficient to reimburse said officers for
all costs of prosecution and penalties that may
be attached to his offence, 10 matter how long
standing the case may be- Is such an act as
honest as that of highwayman who demands
your money, for if one of the latter named gen
rlemcn meet you, and you are provided as the
law allows you to be to receive such gentlemen,
instead of giving him the contents of your pock-
| ct book you may give him the contents of your
revolver. II in case bill introduced becomes a
law you will legalize


THE MOST OUTRAGEOUS ACT
| that has ever been enacted in Delaware. If
| such acts are the objects for which we elect
| Legislatures, the sooner the people become ac-
| quainted with it the better it will be for them
And no doubt the people would be better of if
| we were not TO have another Legislature meet
| for the next twenty years.


Respectfully,
WM. DEAN.