Proposed Constitutional Amendments

The pcoplo of thi8 county and State aro called upon to "TOte at the coming election for or ngainst threo proposed amendments to the Constitution. Ihofint is ooncerning railroads, or rather tho railroad aid bonds invalidatod by the decisión oí' tho Supremo Court, and if adopted will becomo section three of article ninetecn - a, "Of Railroads." It is as follows : Sec. 3. The Legislatura shaíl próvido by law fo'r the payment by the counties, townships, and municipalities of this State, of all bonds or other obligations heretofore issued and negotiated and tho purchase prico thcreof realized, previous to the 27th day of May, A. D.187ü, in pursuance of acts of the .Legislatura, by sueh counties, townships and municipalities, severally, for and in aid of any ruilroad company : Provided, That such bonds or obligations shall bo paid by the county, towuship, or municipulity issuing or incurring tho samo, and in 110 event shall the State pay or becomo Kable for any portion of sUch bonds or obligations : And l'rocided furthcr, That no county, township, or other inunicipality shall be requircd to pay any such bonds unless the question of payment shall bo first submitted to the doctors of such county, township, or other municipality, at an election to be appointed for that purposo, and a ïuajority of tho votes cast at such election shall bo in favor of such payment: And l'roeiifetl furthcr, That noeleotor shall be entitled to voto at such eleotion who hag uot resided in the couuty, township or mnnicipality three months next preceding said election. Individually we can not and shall not give our vote for this amendment, and therefore can not adviso our readers to give it thoir votes. Wo novor belioved in the principie of railroad aid by taxation. We never believed that a majority of the eloctors of a township or citr liad any right to vote a tax for anything but a legitimato public purposo. We nevor behevfd that a railroad ownod by a corporation was a public purpose in tho sonso to iii.'ike it a legitimato object of taxation. Tho original aid laws having been held unconstitutional we d'o noi; believe in tinkering the organic law in the itttorost of holders of illegal bonds and against the interest of tax payors, though they be a minority. We shall therofore vote : " Amendment providing for the payment of bonds issued and nogotiatod and the purchaso prico thereof realized ]rior to tho twenty-seventh day of May, cighteen hundred and soventy, by tho counties, townships, and municipalitios inning the same for and in aid of any railroad company - NO." ■ The teeotod amendmend limits tho number of judicial circuits, and if adopted is to stand as section soven of article sïx, as follows : No more than eighteen circuits sliall be created prior to tho year 187.), and in that ■year the Legislaturo shall re-divide the State inte not more than fifteon circuits, and the number of circuits shall not excecd fiftcen until the yoar 1881, when, or at any time theroafter, tbc Legislatura may ineraise the number of tho same. - Within these linrits the T.gi.slatiiro may establish or alter circuits as tho public nends sbuill require, but no altcration or ereation of any circuit shall oporato to removo a jnerge froin office. Wlien a circuit is made, a judge thcreof shall be electod therein, and his term of office shall continue as provided in this constitution for jurtges of the circuit courts. This is about as bunglingly exprossed as could well havo beon dono in the En glish language. Nevertheless it is good as far as it goes, the failing being that it does not oxtend tho limit to fifteen circuits until 1000 instcad of 1881. Circuits have been multiplied beyond any nood or domand, and nothing but tlie adoption of tho amondmeat will prevent further multiplication. Vote eor it. Tho tldrd amendment increases tho salaries of circuit judges froin tho present picayune, small potato or starving figuro, $l,ü()0,.to $2,500. It amendsjscetion one of article nine, but malíes no chango in tho salary of the Governor or other Sta to oflicois. We regard tho adoption of this auiendmout as not ouly just, honest, orable and right, n absolutely ntctefcry. fho liest liiwyi'is in OUT Stute - nut thoso nuted for tlieii' technicalities and sharp i practico, but thoso of thorough legal eduoution, age, ezperience, jud groent and. character - should not bo exultttlod from tlio bonc.li by "a penny wisc and pound fool'sh econotny." Any luwyer fit to bc :i circuit jii'lfre can inaktynore thm Kl.öoo a year nt tho bar, and if this amendment is r.ot adoptud n nurabcr of tbc bost judgc nowoii t!n.' bonrb will rosign, resume practico, nnd thoir placo will bofillcd by brieflen yonng lawyera or oidor lawyen who never had ability cnough to got dior.te or Lntcgrity cnough to keep them. Whon the pre ni Ooustitution w tfdopted- in 1850 #1,600 was a better aalary than L'2, ■";()() is now, and lawyors then did not roap tho largo incoines from practico that they do now. Tho times havo ahosgodi and the pooplo of the State should recognise tho chango. VOTE FOB Tins amkxument, and make it possible to get and keep competent judges. Ik presenting Emanuei.G. Nchaiter to the recent Ropublican County Convention as a fit candidato to be nominated for Register of Doeds, ex-Shoriff PoRter said : " "We do not present Mm in behalf of the southwest portion of the county, nor as a cripple, nor as a Gorman, but as a Republican fit to bo noininatcd and elected." Wo remarked at the time that this speech was to bo interprete'l by tho " rulo of contrary," and subsequent developments prove that we were at least two-thirds right. Being a cripplo and a Germán were the two prime qualiücations discovorod in Mr. SCIIAEFEB. Tho formor had boon sought for somo ïnonths, and when found in the person of a Gorman it was considered a god-send, and it mattored not that he was a GltEKl.líY man, as it is said SoHAFFEll was. " A good cnough Morgan until after oloctïoa" was what was wantod, and Schaffes was just the man. As a cripplo - made 60 by a mowing machine - tho patriotie Republieans will think it a duty to rally for him ngainst a one-armed soldier, whilo it is expocted tho Germana of Manchester, Freedom, Lodi, and! Scio will ropoat their not very laudable feat of two years ago and vote for their "fcllow countryman" in a body. Wo supposo that no words of ours will have any effect on the patriotic and foil Republicana who prefor a peaco cripplo to a one-armed soldier, but wo wam the Germán Democrats of the towns natned, as woll as thoso of other localities, that thcy will be watched Candidatos must not be slaughtcred because it is their misfortune to bo nativoborn, and it cannot be agaiii done with impunity. This warning ought to be sufficient. The i,ast Lansing Republicnn gavo place to ono of the most disgraceful articles which has met our eyes during this canipaign, disgraceful uot in its attompt to exposé corruption, but in charging tho corruption of ono official upon another. It is headed : " ffhameful Facts K.cpnsed. - The Michigun War Oocernor Trading in Military CommüsUms. - Dorvs M. Fvx 7m Corrupt Agent. - Leavesfrom Official Ikcords." Some correspondence is produccd to show that Col. Donus M. Fox, then and now a blatant Radical, attemptod to speculate in coinniissionj, but in the wholo two columns not a sontonce or line or word is to be found in any way connecting Gov. Blair with bis trafficing or indicating that no knew of it. The licpublican must bo hard pusbed to throw dirt in this disgraceful way. The following telegram from the Tucsday morning dailies will show ono of tho means resortod to to insuro a largo Republican majority in Pennsylvania : Lancaster, Pa., Oct. 14. - Complaint was made to-day boforo Alderman Arnwcg by Reinhard Rtinor, Election Judgo of the Eighth Ward of Lancaster, against Dr. H. E. Muhlenberg, Unitod 8tates Collector of Internal Revenuo, for offoring said Election Judgo $1200 if he would stuff the ballot-box to rcduco Buckalew's majority to ono hundred iu said ward. A warrant was issued for the arrest of Muhlenberg. It failed in this single instance, but tho lesson of the returns is that it succeeded in many othors. This, with tho importation of negroos, stocking of navy yards, excossive registration and ropoaters, did the job, elected Hartranyt, and perpetuatcd tho rtiign of Simon Cameron. In THE second Representativo district of this county the Ropublicans have nominatod M. J. Noyes, of Chelsea. He is said to bo a man of good ability and a clever fellow, but in running against Elias Haire, in a district with Doxtor, Freodoin, Northfiold and Lyndon, he will find an up-hill job. In the third district Peter Cook is the selectod victim. Peter makes a capital Supervisor and would be somo on making Uvws at Lansing, but then bis opponent has the insido track, and will be very likoly to go to Lansing instead of Peter. The Jackson Citizen commoncos a pathetic paragraph thusly: ""When you have a good tbing keep it, ' a bird in hand is worth two in tho bush.' Wo have a Btablc governmont now." A slight but very natural mistake. A government atable was what tho writer was thinking about, a $30,000 stable, with the money to build it cabbagcd or stolen from the Htato Department building fund. The Citizen should use a little more caro in putting its words togethor. Hif. Wil. H. Seward, ex-Govenor cf Now York, ex-Senator in Congress, and ex-Secretary of Stato under President LINCOLN, died at his rosidonce in Auburn, Xow Vork, on the lOth ult.r of tertiary fever. He was bom in 1801, and was in bis 72d year. Tho funeral took place on Monday, and was largoly attendod. The lifo and services of Mr. Sewakd aro so well known to tho reading public that it would bo prosumption in us to skotcli his carecr. Gov. Hendricks made a speech at Indianapolis Weducsday ovoning. Ho said the Grantites had Bpont all tbcir money and had no moro for corrupt use in Indiana, and tbat with hard work the State could be carried for Greeley by a majority of from 5,000 to 10,000. Tho meeting-a largo and onthusiastic one - was also addressod by Judgo Goodino, Gen. MANSOS, Ilon. J. S. WlLlJAlls and Hon. Geo. W. Jui.ian-. - Tho Republican voto of tbo District of Columbia, on tbü 8th, was over '2,000 short. It is supposed that the absenties wero voting and repoatiug in l'cnnsylvauia tUat dny.