COMMON PLEAS COURT.
Mr. McCLEAN presented the remonstrance of the Mayor of Terre Haute and a number of the people of Vigo county, against the abolition of the Common Pleas Court: which was referred to the Committee on the Organization of the Courts of Justice.
Mr. HOLCOMB submitted the following:
Resolved, That from and after Wednesday, May 29th, at the hour of adjournment, no bill or joint resolution shall be introduced into this House.
On motion by Mr. BUNDY, it was laid on the table.
Mr. BUNDY, from the Judiciary Committe, (the order of business having been suspended for the purpose,) returned his Treasurers' fee bill (54) without amendment, and with a recommendation that the same ought to pass.
Mr. DAVIS. What was to be accomplished by this bill?
Mr. BUNDY. The fees are the same till you reach $5,000. Then we reduce the fees to three per cent, between $5.000 and $15,000, and to two per cent, between $15,000 and $25,000, and to one per cent, on all sums over $25,000. The reduction is the difference between one per cent, and three per cent, on large revenues. On small revenues there is no reduction.
Mr. ORR had no doubt that heavy revenues could be collected even cheaper than the bill proposes.
Mr. CASON. I propose to recommit the bill, with instructions to reduce the fees of the County Auditor and County Clerk twenty per cent., as near as may be. He said: It seems to me, that by this bill we are endeavoring to reduce the fees of a class of officers, with respect to who, if we look the State over, we shall find that a majority of them do not receive any more than a fair compensation. The duties of the County Treasurer are onerous and responsible; and in disturbed times like the present, when he is more than ordinarily liable to have it robbed - taking these things into consideration, it seems to me that we are making a tilt at an officer that should be the last to be disturbed. Then the delinquent list must be larger in these times. But you only have to look at the County Auditors and County Clerks, to be convinced that they are the most profitable offices in the county. A man could not enter court without very heavy Clerk fees - much more than the labor is worth. You can't settle a decedent's estate without paying $30 for Clerk's fees. The body had just reduced the Treasurer's fees for collecting the delinquent list from 8 to 5 per cent. He spoke at length.
Mr. BUNDY said this speech of the gentleman from Boone and Hendricks had come up to the programme of which we gave notice the other day. The object was to strangle and destroy the bill. The bill was brought in in accordance with a general desire of the members. The same bill met with the favor of the House at the last session. Where the County Auditor received no more than the law allows, he was the poorest paid officer in the county. He repeated that the Treasurer's office was far the best paying office; and it would be better as we increased the taxes. We assessed fifteen cents on the $100 at the regular session, and five cents at this session. On his motion, the proposition to amend was laid on the table.
Mr. NEBEKER submitted some considerations in figures against the bill. He saw not why the treasurer should be singled out at this time for a reduction of fees.
Mr. RAGAN. If the bill reduced the per cent, from the first thousand dollars, he might look upon it with more favor. He wanted to pay the the treasurer in proportion to the labor he performed. There was no inducement in the bill to collect the delinquent taxes. We had already cut down the treasurer's fees in the disbursement of the school fund. A banker in his region had declared that he would not give the bond of the county treasurer for the compensation he gets. We ought to pay, so that we may secure competent and reliable men for these places.
Mr. JENKINSON demanded the previous-question, and under its operation the bill was considered as engrossed, and the final vote was reported - yeas 61, nays 14 - as follows:
YEAS - Messrs. Anderson, Black, Brett, Brucker, Bundy, Campbell, Collins of Whitley, Collins of Adams, Combs, Cooprider, Dashiel, Davis, Edson, Epperson, Erwin, Feagler, Ferguson, Fleming, Gore, Gresham, Hall, Henricks, Holcomb, Hopkins, Howard, Hudson, Hurd, Jenkinson, Jones of Tippecanoe, Jones of Wayne, Kendrick, Kitchen, Lads, Lane, Lee, Lightner, McClurg, Moorman, Mutz, Orr, Owens, Packard, Parrett, Pitts, Polk, Prosser, Prow Randall, Robbins, Roberts, Sherman, Stevenson, Trier, Thomas, Thompson, Underwood, Veatch, Wells, Williams , Wilson, Woodhull, and
page: 204[View Page 204]NAYS. - Messrs. Atkinson, Bryan, Ford, Fordyce, Fraley, Harvey, Horton, Jones of Vermillion, Knowlton, Moss, Nebeker, Eagan, Stotsenburg, and Turner - 14.
So the bill passed the House of Representatives.
