Newspapers / The Weekly Star (Wilmington, … / Dec. 29, 1899, edition 1 / Page 1
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oTAR miuuis AT- WILMINGTON, N. C, .,,00 A YEAR. IN ADVANCE. 1 888SS8S88S8888888 qnow8I SSSgS88SS8S88S?aS 88888888888888888 " 88888888888888888 88888888888888888 . 82888S8828S888888 ' " "88888858888888888 : 82882888388888888 SSSS888S8S888888 - I ' 3: : : 1 - : s s -J.,-.. tntcred at the Fast Office at Omtgtoa, N. C, as Second Oan Ma er.l SUBSCRIPTION P CE. IT Star ii ar The subscription price of the We iogle Copy 1 year, poita paid.. $1 00 3 months " " 80 ROOSEVBLTIAN EOT. Governor Roosevelt, of New York. one of the most intolerant of the expansionists, who can Bee no hoh- esty or patriotism in those who dif . i - T ; i ii . 1 1 1 . ler irom mm, una reuuuuy written for the New York Independent an article on peace, which is really an article in favor of war for expansion, from, which we clip the following "Of course, our whole National his tor? has been one of expansion. Un der Washington and Adams we ex panded westward acros the continent to the mouth of the Columbia ; under Monroe we expanded into Florida, and then into Texas and California; and fl : ally, largely through the instrumen ts. it'y of Seward, into Alaska; while under every administration the process of(ipnsion in the great' plains and the Rockies has continued with growing rapidity. While we had a frontier the chief feature of frontier life was the endless war between the settlers and the red men. Sometimes the immediate occasion for the war to be found in the conduct of the whites and sometimes in that of the Ae hut thn ul ti mat a pan a van simply that we were in contact with a country held by savages and half .avatrca Were Wfl shut on Panada there is no danger of war, nor is their any danger where we abut on the veil settled regions of Mexico. But elsewhere war had to continue until we expanded over the country. Then it was succeeded at once by a peace which has remained unbroken to the present day. In North America, as elsewhere throughout the entire world, the expansion of, a civlized nation has invariably meant the growth of the area in which peace is normal through out the world. "The same will ha true of the Phil ippines. If the men who have coun selled National degradation. National dishonor, by urging us to leave the Philippines and put the Aguinaldan oligarchy in control of those islands could have their way, we should merely turn them over to rapine and bloodshed until some stronger, manlier .Power stepped in to do the task we had shown ourselves fearful of perform ing. But as it is, this country will keep the islands and will establish therein a stable and orderly government, so -that one more fair spot of the world's surface shall have been snatched from the forces of darkness. Fundamen tally the cause of expansion is the cause of peace. it is only the warlike power of. a ' 1 1 , . , A 4 buah MIU )(1TD ficavq v worid. The Arab wrecked tne coasts: the Turk wrecked the cmliza tion of Southeastern Europe, and the Tsr.ar desolated from China to Rus sia and to Persia, setting back the pro gress of the world for centuries; solely because the civilized nations opposed to them bad lost the grand hghting qualities, and in, becoming over peaceful, had lost the power of keep- ' log peace with a strong hand." a " HE w EEIOW VOL. XXXI. WILMINGTON, N.X., FRIDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1899. NO, 1$ of our domain we gave the world to j understand through the Monroe declaration that the European Mon- arcmes must Keep their hands off the yojung Eepublics which had f ol- owed our example. Is there any of this in the case, of the Philippines ? Was their sion necessary to protect and guard he Kepublic? Did they abut, as Gov. Eoosevelt expresses it, upon our territory and make their prox imity a menace? pii we get claim to them in the7 same straight forward, honestind unquestionable way that we got possseBsion of the other purchases? By what title do we7 hold them ' anv wnv? President McKinley says by con quest and purchase. If we con quered them there was no need to purchase. But Judge Day, one of the gentlemen whom Mr. McKinley" sent to negotiate peace with 'Spain, and ; who presided over the Paris (Commission, saya the commission de: nou claim on . the ground of conquest, bu t purchased, and offered Spain such a sum of money as they had reason to believe she would ac cept. They did this; conceding that Spain was still the owner, and asserting no claim by force of arms. Because it was wise to expand across this continent, to remove what might become menacing powers, thus get control of the de sirable territory and be made stronger for protection and defence, should we expand on the other hemis phere from which he had nothing to fear and against which we had no need to guard, and thus make our selves weaker instead of stronger? If we do carry out the policy of forcible expansion and plant our flag and keep it over the mixed peo ples of those islands they will become our weak spot which in case of war with other nations will invite at tack, and the more valuable we make them the more they will invite attack, and the more it will cost us to defend them. ' In his third message to Congress Washington said that the American people mighty consider themselves fortunate in having the Atlantic ocean for a barrier. That is one thing that, gives us little to fear from the aggressions of other na tions, one reason why we had so few foreign complications, and per- sued our- destiny of development and -progress with little hindrance from other powers, because we con fined ourselves to our own domain and didn't meddle with them nor get mixed up in their schemes or complications, the very thing that the Fathers of the Kepublic warned us against. They believed in expansion, hon est, legitimate expansion, not ex pansion by s knavery and' force. That's the difference between their expansion and the kind that Roose velt utters his rot to defend. THE SHIP SUBSIDY GRAB. -Some of the most outspoken and vigorous opponents of the proposed ship subsidy scheme are papers pub lished in our leading shipping ports, which should be especially interested in the restoration of our merchant marine. They are interested in that, but they see through the fraud of this subsidy : business, concocted for the benefit of a lot of sharpers who have combined to raid the Treasury, and therefore they expose it and op? pose it. The New York Journal of Commerce and Commercial Bulletin is, as its name implies, a commercial paper, published in the greatest commercial center of the country, and one that has no partisanship and no political bias. It discusses ques tions of this character from a purely economic and business standpoint. NAVIGATION AND PILOTAGE. Commissioners Met Yesterday and Made Recommendations Looking to the En forcement of Shipping Rules. DEATH HATH ALL SEASONS FOR ITS OWN. The Commissioners of Navigation and Pilotage met yesterday afternoon at the office of Geo. Harriss, Son & Co., Thomas Evans, Esq., ? the chair man, presiding. and members present being Messrs. W. N. Harriss, the sec retary, George Harriss, port warden, Samuel Northrop, 8. F. Craig and J. W. Craig. ' . .. The only matter of interest that came up for the consideration of the board wa3 the recommendation to the Board of Aldermen of the adoption of certain resolutions delegating to Capt Edgar D. Williams, harbor master, the authority to enforce the rules adopted by the commissioners for the Referring tothe subsidy scheme, it idea td have these rules and reguk. tions adopted as an ordinance by the "THE BLOODIEST WABV' There has "been a good deal of wild talk about the bloody fighting South Africa. Gen. Methuen in "Our whole national history has been one of expansion," but it wasn't -expansion by gun and sword, but by peaceful and honorable methods, which involved no breach of faith " and no butchering of people who relied upon our professions and hailed us as their deliverers. There isn't an inch of the territory ac quired by the United States before the discreditable purchase of the Philippines, which was not honest ly acquired, and there wasn't a foot of it that was had to fight to estab lish our supremacy yover after the purchase. All the territory pur chased was practically an unpeo pled wilderness before purchase, and the best of reasons could be given for the purchase and not a merce nary one among them. To protect the Republic and make it strong it must have room enough to grow and - guard against hostile powers being established on its bor ders. To get supremacy on the con tinent it was necessary to get rid of the powers, as far as practicable; that might some day contest that su premacy' and become troublesome. For Buch reasons these purchases ere made when the opportunity presented itself, but made straight without anv hypocritical pretence that it was done for the benefit of the people who inhabited the pur chased territory. We sympathized with tfnd gave the colonies of Spain in Central and South America our moral support when they revolted against Spanish dominion for the same reason, that Ui to remove monarchical govern ment from this hemisphere, and we followed that up with the declaration of the Monroe Doctrine, which was a re affirmation'of the intent to make and keep this hemisphere Republi can in government. The espousal of the cause of the Cubans was the cnl . mination of that policy which began n the purchase of territory belong ing to European monarchies. There never was a step taken in all these proceedings that the self government of the people was not ikept in Yiew, and stepping outside was probebly exoited when ho tele graphed that the battlerin which he got worsted was the " bloodiest in history." It . was a pretty lively racket, considering that there were not more than 1,000 Boers, and 3,- 000 British soldiers participating in it, but the small number killed in proportion to the number of men engaged, does not bear out the as sertion that it was an extraordinary "Klnrkdv" affair. ' - ! - The remarkable thing about .ail these battles, in view of the reports of the storm of shot and shell, the accuracy of the marksmanship, the destructive capacity of the guns em ployed; and the fearful explosives used is not that there are so many killed and wounded, but that there are so few, and that so many escape. Senator Depew called attention a few days ago to the contrast between the casualties in this " bloodiest of wars," and the casualties in our civil war when American louna Ameri can, and.no such machine guns and destructive explosives were used as are now used. Alluding to the losses of the British armies in South Afri ca, he is quoted as saying, "These losses thus far aggregate 1 000 killed, 3,000 wounded and Z 00U says: "Mr.. Henry W; Peabody is an American shipowner of long and wide experience, but he does not seem par ticularly impressed with the advan tages of the Hanna-Payne Subsidy bill. He has observed, what no one can be blind to, 'that the promoters of the measure are our shipbuilders and a few owners of steamships, most of which are sow sailed under the Eng lish flag.' The interest of the shipbuild ers in a measure for the payment of the proceeds of taxation to anyone who Will buy a ship of them is obvious enough, but why should otheV people be" quite so ready to see in such a mea sure a promotion of national welfare? The shipbuilders alone were unable to secure the appropriation they were af ter, so they associated with themselves the owners of vessels built abroad, or to bs built abroad before a certain date, on condition that they would also dis burse a certain amount of money with the shipbuilders. When the shipown ers who have pooled their interests with the builders have secured Amer ican registry and a share of the reve nues from taxation on account of their foreign built ships already in ser vice, or ordered in anticipation of this' subsidy bill, and then attempt to fulfill their part of the contract by ordering ships of the American builders, they will find, if tney have the experience of French ship owners, that the cost of ship-building has been advanced in proportion to the Government sub sidy. Mr. Peabody anticipates that the American owners of ships now under foreign flags 'would have, un der the proposed bill, on an enlarged scale, the supremacy, if not the mo nopoly, of American commerce for a series of years to come.' " The Brooklyn Citizen, represent ing a constituency closely allied to the general commercial center for which the Journal of Commerce and Commercial Bulletin speaks, pre sents the following object-lesson, showing that our shipowners and builders do not need subsidies and that ships can be built and, operated without them: . "Orders to build four large freight and passenger steamships for service between New York and New Orleans have been placed with the Newport News, Va., Shipbuilding Company by the Morgan Line Steamship Company. These will make twelve vessels built there for this company. . "Ordinarily, although the new ships will involve an aggregate cost oi 6, 400,000, it might not be deemed a sub ject of editorial comment; but, in view of the monstrous job embodied in the bill which Hanna in the Senate and Sereno Payne in the House are stnv iner to cet throuerh Congress to author ize a raid on the public treasury for the sole benefit of shipbuilders and owners, who do not need any assist ance at all, it is worth while to take notice of the incident. - "That neither the Morgan Line owners nor the Newport News ship builders are in need of any public aid to carry on their business, is perfectly plain from the facts above stated. If they could not do so, the owners would not be increasing their fleet from eight to twelve, which they are doing without a subsidy, paying the builders a fair profit thereon, of course,' lor the sufficient reason that the new vessels are needed in their business,, which is the only proper reason why new vessels should be or ever will be built, except under the unwholesome stimulus of a subsidy whereby the people would be made to pay for ves sels not wamea. builders can build SPECIAL MEETING OF CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. city, and for the aldermen to grant unto the harbor master arbitrary power in enforcing the same. A petition to this effect has been before the aldermen for some time setting forth tho reasons for such ac tion and liberally signed by, masters of vessels trading at this port and citi zens identified with Wilmington's shipping interests. The neoessity for such a ruling by the aldermen was made apparent to the commissioners some time ago in a case which the harbor master had brought in the Superior Court against a local steamboat man for obstruct ing' the docks and violating other pro visions of the harbor master's rules. It is probable that the recommenda tion made yesterday afternoon will be before the aldermen at their next regular meeting. THE TRUCKERS. They Want Lower Bates On Vegetables to the Northern Markets Meeting of Executive Committee Yesterday. The executive committee of the East Carolina Truck and Fruit Grow er's Association held a meeting yester day morning at The Crton, President W. L. Hill, of Warsaw, presiding. The subject of vegetable rates was discussed, and the conclusion was reached that the trucking in terests of this region demand lower traffic rates on vegetables shipped to the Northern markets. 1 After going over the situation, the committee waited on Mr. T. ,M. Emer son, traffic manager of the Atlantic Coast Line, and Mr. W. J. Crosswell, district superintendent of , the South ern Express Company, and laid before them the conditions affecting the trucking industry, and submitted the proposition that the situation re quires and the truckers expert a con siderable reduction in their present vegetable tariffs. The committee ask ed that the railroad and express au thorities take action in. this matter at as early a day as possible Traffic Manager Emerson and Su perintendent Crosswell promised the committee to give the matter their prompt attention. The executive com-nitteeis alive to the interests of the Truckers' Associa tion and will use their best endeavors to bring ?. bout the much desired re duction in rates for which they have asked. If the ship builders can ships for the Morgan line for coast business, why can't they build ships for trans-oceanic business? They have built some, some very fine ones, and they would build more if these subsidy schemes were killed and it were definitely decided that there would be no tapping the Treasury to put money in their pockets. "Gen. Roberts and Gen. Kitchener, who have been called to rescue Eng land from mess in South Africa, are both Irishmen. And Irish troops are doing some of the hardest fighting down there. Without Ireland Engr land's right arm would be gone. Cotton and Naval Stores. The following weekly and part crop year receipts of cotton and naval stores at the port of Wilmington for the period ending yesterday, together with those of corresponding periods last year, were posted yesterday at the Produce Exchange : Week Ending December 22, 1899. Cotton, 8.852 bales; spirits, 818 casks; rosin, 5,208 barrels; tar, 4,995 barrels; crude, 576 barrels. Week Ending December 22, 1898. Cotton, 10,324 bales; spirits, 488 casks; rosin, 2,226 barrels; tar, 4,436 barrels; crude, 667 barrels. f Crop Year to December 22, 1899. Cotton, 204,965 balesf spirits, 26,392 casks; rosin, 113,067 barrels; tar, 50,450 barrels ; crude, 9,970 barrels. Week Ending December 22, 1898. .Cotton, 266,065 bales; spirits, za.eou casks; rosin, 123,460 barrels- tar, 46, 754 barrels; crude, 9,670 barrels. IN NASH COUNTY. Messrs. WHIiam Ulricb, J. J. Tharp and j. H. Turner, All Well Known Citizens, ! 1 Passed Away Yesterday; ; Sincere sorrow will be universally felt in Wilmington at the announce ment j of the death of Mr. William Ulrica, which occurred at 8.05 o'clock yesterday morning at his home, 502 South Front street. 1 During-the Summer Mr. Ulrich suffered from lung trouble which de velopedanto a rapid case of consump tion. He got better, however, after his first attack, but for the past two months has been $leadily on the de cllne. He left here in November and spent the month Iwith his uncle, Mr. Jacob Biblin, in Pender county, with the hope that his health would be benefitted. He returned here Decem ber 1st, and feeling somewhat im jfrSved, "resumed "htStratioa-as-ohUf mailing clerk at the postoffice. After working for ten days he had to retire to his home, and for the past two weeks his decline was steady. The deceased was born in Wilming ton September 7th, 1867,and was in the 33rd year of his age. He was'.a son of the late Mr.andMrs. William Ulrich, both of whom passed away a number of years ago. He leaves three sisters, Mrs. H. M. Bremer, of New York, and Misses Mina and Annie Ulrich of this city. Mrs. Bremer was telegraphed the sad intelligence and she will arrive this evening. . For nearly seven years Mr. Ulrich has been chief mailing clerk in the postoffice. He was'widely known in the city, and his genial disposition made Mm a host of friends. Among all classes of people general regret is felt at his untimely end. He was never married, arid was a member of Live Oak Camp. No. 6. Woodmen of The World. The funeral will take place to-morrow at 10 o'clock from residence. Mr. J. J. Tharp, a well known gro cer, corner Eighth and Mulberry streets and residing at No. 307 Mac Eae street, died at fifteen minutes to four o'clock yesterday morning of diphtheria. He had been sick only since Sunday and his condition was not considered serious until Wednes day about midnight when he grew gradually worse, dying ai the hour stated. Mr. Tharp was about 33 years of age and was a native of Brunswick county, being a son of M.r James Tharp of Town Creek. He leaves a wife and one daughter to mourn their loss. He had since moving to Wilmington about five years ago beorne a very high character in the eyes of his asso ciates and those with whom he had business transactions and was a mem ber ofHanover Lodge I. O. O. F., Jefferson Lodge No. 61 E. of P., and ncord Castle No. 1, Knights of the olden Eagle. Delegations from the different orders were present at the funeral which was conducted privately by Rev. J. W. Potter, pastor of Mar ket street M. E. Church, from the late residence at 11 o'clock yesterday morn ing. The interment was in Bellevue. Mr. John Turner, No. 719 Orange street, who for more than twenty years was engineer at the plant of the Wilmington Gas Light Company and a well known citizen, died at his home at 8.15 o'clock yesterday morning at the advanced age of 87 years. ' Mr. Turner had not by reason of the infirmities of age been actively en gaged during the more recent year3 and his death yesterday morning was due more to old age than to other causes. The. only surviving member of his immediate family in Wilming ton is Mrs. J. P. O'Sullivan. The funeral will be conducted this after noon at 3 o'clock from his late resi dence by Rev. Dr. Robert Strange, rector of St. James Episcopal Church, of which the deceased had been a mem ber for a number of years. The inter ment will be in Bellevue Cemetery. Abuse of Magistrate System, River and Harbor Improvement, and the Qnes- . tion of Sewerage. Discussed. N. C. SUPREME COURT. New Trial for Jefferson, Alleged Murderer of Capt. Barnes, of Wilson Other Opinions Handed Down. STEAMER CATHERINE WHITING. taken nrisoners. Senator .uepew oig- . a a 1 A. ta.l i Ct nificantly remars:s mat muo w KAmnmher the Civil War and were more or less in it recollect 23,000 killed and wounded on the Union side in the battle of Gettysburg; we re member about lO.ouu a aayjsmeu uu wounded in the battles oi we v To rAn bavati Havs in succession. But in spite of these unparalleled horrors. the country mwowunou i T, ,7 'business did not lose i It isn't easy to excite the Anglian- m i 1 1 Jam VanmCk AT. man, out wneu u uveo cited he gets pretty wild, and in this differs from the American who generally carries a pre .ty level head. But the fact is thfl,. genuemeu nuw precipitated this war underestimated the size of it, and the fighting capacity of the Boers, and are dazed at their blunder and the penalty Great Britain has already paid. Pris oeht to keep on good terms, . i z with American women, for tney n i .MnrJin7 to a , raris nuauy uujr, . , . i t Ann nnii worm xl wim- m i riiKi . i .www.wwv JVM - ' nery in tnai city. Brick Pell on His Head. Mr. A. J. Bolduc, of North Adams, Mass., who is known as the "steeple climber" and who is here repairing the steeples of various churches, met with a serious mishap while ascend ing the steeple of the First Presby- trian Church yesterday morning. While seated in his "sling," thirt; five feet above the earth, some fthe tackle loosened a brick twenty feet above him and it fell wth terrific force xm his head. He was badly .funned, but he retained enougn pres ann nf mind to have himself lowered to the ground Mr. C. U. unaooourn, wuu wm uu the piazzif his father's residence, next ioUie church, hurried to Mr. Bolduc's assistance and took him into theliouse, where ne was aitenaeu uu r. T. S. Burbank called and dressed the wound. A gash an inch and a quarter long and nearly through the scalp, bled profusely. The steeple climber soon returned to work, however. Illicit Distilleries Seized by Revenue Raid' era Mr. Robert Hester's Condition. Special Star Correspondence. Gold Rock, N. C, Dec. 23. United States revenue officerBmade a raid yesterday in the gold mining section of Nash county and cut up four or five illicit distillery plants, de stroying a large quantity of beer. No arrests were made, but a small quan tity of corn juice waacaptured. ' Mr. Robert Hester; who was shot by two negroes near Rocky Mount a few days agOjis growing worse. His wounds are more serious than the .doctors at tending him at first thought. ANOTHER DASTARDLY DEED. Butler's and Pritcbard's Friends Continue ' Their Campaign Against Amendment. Star Correspondence.' Gold Rock, N. C, December 21. Mr. Robert Hester was waylaid and shot near Rocky Mount Falls yester day at one o'clock P. M., by two negroes John Taylor and another. They met Mr. neater and uemanaeu his money. He gave them his purse and begged them not to shoot him, but both negroes fired severashots which took effect in his breast and ranged around. He will not die. The negroes were captured in Battlebore last night and taken to Kaleiern tnis moraine ior aaf e-keeninir. Feeline ran high and there was danger of lynching. It was a daring affair, in broad daylight. Part Of Her Equipment Will be Sold at Auction Here Saturday. The coastinglichooner Ella Wheeler, Capt. A. A. Milliken, which arrived in port yesterday, brought as a cargo a number of articles saved from the wrecked steamer Catharine Whiting, which went ashore during the No vember storm near Little River, 8". C. The cargo consists of a quantity of rope, blocks, compass lights, steam winch.' pumps and several tons of IScrap iron. The wreckage is adver tised to be .sold by Messrs. Brooks & Taylor on Saturday morning, Decem ber 23rd, at 10 o'clock, on the steamer SeabrighVs wharf. Capt. C. F. Miller,' mate on the wrecked steamer, is here looking after the interests of his son, Capt. T. C. Miller, who owned the vessel. Messrs. Brooks & Taylor are agents in the matter for Mr. George Brooks, of Brunswick county, who had the contract for saving the wreck age. The cargo of 350,000 feet of lumber on the vessel, which was also saved by Mr. Brooks, will be brought up to the city early in January and sold at auction. Mr. J. W. Booker Dead. Mr. J. W. Booker, for a number of years watchman at the Clyde steam ship wharf, in this city, died Thursday night at the County Home, where he was being temporarily cared for pre paratory to being sent to the State' In sane Asylum at Raleigh. He has a son living near Charlotte and a daugh ter residing in Charlotte. His second wife and a little daughter reside at Newbern, where the remains of the de ceased were sent yesterday for inter ment. ; Deceased was a member of the Masonic order. In accordance with the call of Pres ident W. E. Worth of the Chamber of Commerce, a special meeting of that lbody was held at 3.30 o'clock yester day afternoon at its rooms in the Sea board Air Line building. President Worth was in the a chair and Col. Jno. L. CantwelL the secre tary was oh hand. The reading of the minutes of the last meeting was dis pensed with. President Worth stated that there are in the hands of the secretary about 2000 of the- maps of the Cape Fear river and bar, and suggested that something about the city be printed on the backs of the maps and that they be sent out as ' an advertisement dfttfe city:- 7 -- " J---v." .--cs ' The president announced that at th last meeting of the Chamber the un satisfactory magistate system. was dis cussed, and it was the unanimous opinion that through abuse of the sys tem the jail fees were entirely too ex cessive. The Chamber decided to make some efforts to remedy the evil, and adjourned to take the matter up again. In the meantime a letter was addressed to W. B. McKpy, county at torney, asking for information as to the matter, and Col. Roger Moore, chairman o the Board of County Commissioners, was also invited to at tend this meeting and make a state ment on the question under considera tion.' County Attorney McKoy and Chair man Moore were both present, as was also Mayor A. M. Waddell, who had been invited to attend. President Worth read the following communication from County Attorney McKoy: Wilmington, N. C, Dec. 21. Mr. W. E. Worth, President Chamber of Commerce, Wilmington, N C: Dear Sir Yoar letter to hand rela tive to the evils and expense of the Magistrates' courts in our county, with a view of a movement of the Chamber of Commerce to recommend a change to the next Legislature. I would direct your attention to the fact that these courts are established by the constitution and the Legisla ture cannot abrogate them. The Legislature may establish a new court, of equal or enlarged jurisdic tion, but this will , not abolish the Magistrates' courts, but only add to the expense of our county govern ment. No system has ever been de vised equal to the magistrates' courts, that would prevent expensive litiga tion about small matters. , The present and previous Boards of County Commissioners have reduced the expenses of the County in this line so materially that it is not now exces sive. The acts of the last Legislature have aided the Commissioners very much in this matter. Chapter 634 provides, that excepting capital felonies the county shall not be taxed for more than four witnesses; in former times I have known the county to be taxed with as many as twenty witnesses in small and frivolous cases. The other act does not immediately concern the magistrates, but the Criminal Court, and in Chapter 623 and relates to the payment of special venire-men. Though the expenses of the county were reduced by the former Board of Commissioners, ' I will give you a few items from the books of the. county which will show what has been done by the present Board of Commission ers, and from this you may ascertain the actual cost of the present magis trate system : 1898. Magistrates' courts $ 673.98 Witness Criminal Court 457.60 Jurors Criminal Court 1,644. 15 Sheriff Criminal Court 763.85 Clerk Criminal Court 371.73 Solicitor Criminal Court 219.90 Jail fees 2,704.00 As to the prisoners in the jail after their conviction, they will probably not long be of any great expense to the county, because they will be put to work on the county roads as soon as the. system devised by the last Leg islature can be carried out by your present Board of Commissioners, and I have no doubt that thev will be ask ing for other convicts from the State to effectually carry on that work. It misrht be of advantage to enlarge the jurisdiction of the magistrates in certain cases and in that manner les sen the number of prisoners bound over to the Criminal Court in petty cases, who frequently remain in jail from thirty days to four months, wait ing trial. I think that there should be more care paid to the selection7 of magis trates for the county, by our Represen tatives in the Legislature. Let me say in closing, this letter does not emanate from the Board of Commissioners, bat is simply in an swer to your letter personally address ed to me. . Very truly yours, W. B. McKot. After reading Mr. McKoy's commu nication, the President said that it had been' suggested that- the magistrate svstem misht be supplanted by a re corder's court which should be given jurisdiction in cases that now are sent up to the Criminal Court, entailing expenses on the county on accdunt of jail fees by reason of the imprison ment of persons who could not give bond. Col. Roger Moore, chairman of the Board of County Commissioners, by request of President Worth, then made a statement of facts to the meet ing. He said that the present trial justice system made it entirely too expensive for the county, as the "run ners" for the trial justices or magis- Col. Moore said somethiag ought to be done to relieve the county of this burden. In further discussing the mat ter, he stated that the convicts of the county before: the present road law was adopted, were sent td the work house and the superintendent of that institution boarded them, clothed them and physiced them, being allowed the free use of the county lands and the work of the convicts as his remunera tion. Under the road law now in force, that convicts now a.e taken in charge by the county and are worked on the roads, the county bearing the expense'of feeding, clothing and phy sicing them. He stated that at present all the convicts are at work on the county roads, putting them in condi tion for the work of macadamizing them, which would begin in about twenty days. - The matter was then discussed by Mayor Waddell. Mr. J. Aw Taylor, Capt. T. D. Meares, President Worth, Coi: F. W. Kerchner and Mr. Hugh MacRae. On motion of Mr. MacRae a committee "of three"Tras appointed to investigate' the matter and suggest a remedy for the magistrate abuse. Capt T. D. Meares and Messrs. J. A. Taylor and W. M. Cumming were ap- nted on the committee. River Improvement. President Worth announced that the second matter for consideration was the improvement of the Cape Fear river and harb r. The Chamber was mistaken iu supposing there was a vacancy on the river and harbor committee of Congress, and that the eff ort to have Congressman Smill ap pointed on the committee bad conse quently failed, j He was satisfied, how ever, that the efforts made would re sult in good. In this connection, President Worth said it had been suggested that one of the needs of the harbor is the dredging of a basin wide enough for vessels drawing from 20 to 22 feet to 3wing in the stream. Another matter was the recent communication of the Fay etteville Chamber, of Commerce ask ing the cooperation of this body in securing am increased appropria tion to improve the navigation of the river between Fayetteville and Wil mington. He stated that Capt. Chas. Humphreys of the United States' en gineer corps, informed him that $142, 000 had been expended on the upper Cape Fear, and it was the opinion of the engineers that too radical an im provement of the river by dredging and removing logs would result in running all the water out in a chan nel that would be too shallow for navigation. On motion, the president was au thorized to send a letter to the Fay etteville Chamber of Commerce ex plaining the conditions and enclosing the written opinion of the engineers on the question! As to the dredging of a basin in the harbor in which vessels can swing at anchor, Col. IF, W. Kerchner moved that the river and harbor Special Star Telegram. Raleigh, N. C, Dec 22.-rAccord-ding to a decision of the Supreme Court, banded down to day, John Jefferson, 6f Wilson county, gets a new trial on the charge of killing Capt Barnes, near Wilson, on August 20th, 1899. Jefferson, it will be re called, was brought here to prevent -being lynched by citizens of Wilson county. He was tried first in the Eastern District Criminal Court, and - -was convicted. His counsel appealed ,. to the Superior Court where Judge , Hoke ordered a new trial because of . the admission of the dying declaration, of Capt. j Barnes that he believed he had been shot by Jefferson. From Judge Hoke's ruling counsel appealed to the Supreme Court, which suBlaini Judge Hoke. Other opinions were handed down as follows: State vs. Mallett, from Edgecombe; motion of defendant de nied and former opinion of the .court affirmed. Robeson vs. McDowell, from Bladen ; motions of both plain iff and. rdefenjiaot-refused. Garrett vs. RcQvesjjromfnElaywood; new trial. Micny vsi Foster from Macon ; af firmed. Consjter .ya. Pealand, from MaolevessSiank vs. . Warlick, from, Lincoln; affirmed. Asbury vs. Electric . Railway Co., from Meck lenburg; no error. Wilson vs. Wil son, from Rutherford ;affirmed. Pant Co. vs. Smith, from Polk; reversed Adams vs. Railroad, from Gaston; rever3sd.i State ys.' Bost,. from Mecklenburg; reversed. Butner vs. Blevins, from Surry ; affirmed. White vs. Fox from Alexander ; affirmed. State vs. Brown, from Iredell; re versed. Waters vs. Waters, from Sampson ; new trial. Crews vs. Cant well, from Wilson; new trial. Daniel vs. Massenburg, from Franklin; error. White vs. Tripp, from Pittt affirmed. King vs. Stokes, from Pitt; reversed. Morriss s. House, from McDowell; reversed. Bernard vs. Hewlett, from " New Hanover; per curiam, reversed. High vs. Pannill, from Vance, per cu riam, affirmed. I The decision in the case of Cansler v?. Penland establishes a new prece dent in this State. Cansler, who was sheriff of Mason county, contracted withN Penland toTcollect taxes on a commission of 2 per cent. A diffi culty arose over an account of $93.02. Cansler set up the claim that the con tract was contrary to the statute for bidding a sheriff to "farm out" the collection of taxes in his county. The court so holds, declaring that it is con trary to public policy. This establishes the fact that a sheriff cannot have his taxes collected on commission by an other. - " LAID TO REST. 1899. $ 470.68 439.53 1,364,05 763.15 850.91 290.50 2,478.71 trates, were interested in getting all the cases they could before court, and the magistrates not having juris diction in many trivial- cases, were compelled under the law to bind them over to the- Criminal Court The result was that the county has 9 pay excessive jail fees. He read from a memorandum showing that the mag istrates' costs in 1898 amounted to $530.2 and in 1899 $577.11 ;that the con stable fees in 1898 were $9.75 and in 1899, $119.53; and tha jail expenses m 1898 were $2,704 and in 1899,$3,028.89, the fees alone being $2,337.15. committee of the Chamber be instructed to urge an appropraition for this work. Sewerage System. i President Worth announced that another question for consideration was a sewerage system for the city. He said this was the most important question for this city now, and he would even rather have a good sewer age system then to see the river and harbor improved. The necessity of a sewerage system Was discussed by Messrs. M. W. Jacobi, Col. J. L Canttwell. Mr. Hugh Mac Rae, Mr. D. L. Gore and Mayor Waddell. All agreed on the ques tion. Mr. MacRae said the sentiment of the citizens was unanimously in favor of a sewerage system, but the ways and means of securing it was the stumbling block. He stated that tho matter was under consideration by the Board of Aldermen, of which he is a member, and the matter had been re ferred to a committee of which Al derman C. W. Worth is chairman, to submit a plan for sewerage. Mr. Mac Rae and Mayor Waddell said the limit to which thej city debt could be raised had been reached and bonds could not be issued, but a proposition had been mads to have a sewerage system constructed by a corporation and leased to the city at a fair percent age on the investment, with the privi lege that the city can purchase the system in a given number of years. This is understood to be the plan upon which the Board of Aldermen is to act. On motion of Mr. M. W. Jacobi, a special meeting of the Chamber is soon to be called to consider the sewerage question in detail. Liberal Offer. The following substantial message of sympathy was wired by the Atlan tic Coast Line Company of South Carolina to their agent at Florence, S. C, upon the occasion of the recent fire in that city: Atlantic Coast Line, Traffic Depart ment Wilmington, N. C, Dec 19, 1899. To A4 H. Shepard, agent, Florence, S. O. : I rogret exceedingly to hear of the disastrous fire in Florence, Please notify proper parties that the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad of South Carolina will contribute 25 per cent of the freight ! money for transporta tion of building material used in re building the burned district; ship ments moving prior to June 1, 1900. 11. M. .EiMERSOU, General Freight Agent. Funeral of Mr. William Ulrich Yesterday Morning Wilmington Light Infantry and Reserve Corps Attend. The obsequies of the lamented Mr. William Ulrich, who departed this life on Thursday morning, took place yes terday morning at 10 o'clock at the residence on the southwest corner of Front and Church street?. There was a large attendance, including a dele gation from Live Oak Camp No. 6, Woodmen of the World, of which the deceased was a member, and the Wil mington Light Infantry and the W L. L Reserved Corps, in a body, to which Mr. Ulrich belonged. The de ceased's sister, Mrs. H. M. Bremer, cf New York, was here to attend the fu neral. The Rev. A. G. Voigt, pastor of St Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church, conducted the services in an impres sive manner, after which a large cor lege bore the remains to Oakdale Cem etery for interment. The cortege was headed by the Reserved Corps, with the Light Infantry, in full uniform, following them. The Woodmen of the World came next in a carriage. After the final serviee at the grave it was overlaid with many beautiful floral designs. The pall bearers were as follows: Honorary, Dr. Charles T. Harper and Dr. Thomas S. Burbank; active, Col. Walker Taylor and Messrs. J. E. Hall, August . Zoeller, D. D. Cameron, Charles Schnibben and Henry Weil. N. C SUPREME COURT. Lumberton Telephone to. The Lumberton Telephone Com pany has filed articles of incorporation with the Secretary of State. The in corporators, each of whom takes ten shares of stock; are Caldwell & Car lyle, A. E. White, Q. T. Williams, E. K. Proctor, Jr., and A. W. McLean, of Lumberton, and E. G. Johnson, of St Pauls. The capital stock of the company is $3,000. 1 Adjourned to Meet Again in February, More Opinions Cases Undecided. Special Star Telegram. Raleigh. N. C, December 23. The Supreme Court adjourned to-day and will meet again at the regular ses sion on the first Monday in February, 1900. Certificates of judgments and opinions will be sent to courts below on the first Monday in January, un der the Act of 1887, Chapter 41, at which time execution will be issued. t Opinions were handed down by the court to day as follews: State vs. Gentry, from Madison; no error. Barker vs. Railroad, from Hederson; new trial. State vs. Shines, from Pender; no error. About forty cases that were areued are left undecided. Among these is the case to settle the question of salary of Theophilus White, fhell-fish commissioner. A Wanderer Comes Home. Mr. J. Bryan Russell, formerly of Wilmington, now a resident of Texas, arrived in the j city yesterday after noon to spend la while with relatives and friends. Mr. Russell left Wilmington about flve years ago to seek employment in New York city. Since then he has travelled extensively, residing for while in England and France. He finally settled in Texas, and ha through energy . and enterprise achieved marked success. The Atlantic National Bank and the Wilmington Savings and Trust Company have both declared semi-annual dividends of three per cent, payable on demand. Ill & 1 ' x ; 1 I
The Weekly Star (Wilmington, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Dec. 29, 1899, edition 1
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