have suffered from their dereliction. It is
true that now and then you find a punctual
man, who at the end of his sheriffalty, will
be able to settle up his business But where
you find one such man, I will venture to as-
sert it as a fact known to many members of
this body, you will find a score that are just
the reverse. Now if you lengthen this term,
and make the sheriff believe that instead
of squaring up at the end of two years be can
wait for four years, the interests of the pub-
lic are immeasurably made to suffer, because
you have taken away the spur to urge him to
the discharge of his duties.
I have had an opportunity, as many other
gentlemen have bad, of watching this, and
seeing its practical operation. And I say
that for the good of the community, in the
respects to which I have alluded, this office,
so powerful over the people, should be cut off
from politics as much as possible; and the
officer holding that position should be cut off
as much as possible from the power of using
his office for his own individual benefit. That
I believe to have been the true and the real
reason why, when the constitution was framed,
and in all our previous practice, we have re-
quired an interregnum, so that the man who
was executing the writs of your court, might
not have it in his power to hold them in his
hands as rods over the heads of other men,
and say to them, "How will you vote to-mor-
row, or the next day, or at the next election ?
I am a candidate again, and I can indulge
you, I will either indulge you or press the
matter according as I am satisfied what will
be your action," I suggest this for the re-
flection of gentlemen. I do trust they will
give these matters that serious and earnest
attention which they so pre-eminently deserve.
This is not a mere question whether a man
shall hold an office for two years or four, or
whether be shall be re-eligible or not; but it
is the question how to protect the public
against the improper use of the offices of the
State; how to protect them against the abuse
that will inevitably grow out of the long
term of the office of sheriff. These are very
grave considerations. I have really concluded
in my own mind, since I have heard this mat-
ter talked about, that. we could do scarcely
anything more deleterious to the public, more
dangerous to the very men themselves who
hold these offices, than to lengthen the term
to any extent, or to make them immediately
re-eligible. These are some of the views I
entertain on the subject, and I would like that
the matter should be well weighed before it is
voted upon.
Mr. THOMAS I must confess that I do not
see this as the gentleman from Howard (Mr.
Sands) does. The same reasons which influ-
ence his mind to oppose the re-election of sher-
iffs induced me to vote in favor of this amend-
ment. The gentleman conjures up in his im
agination that if a sheriff is re-eligible to |
office, having in his hands a great number of
executions, and papers of that kind, he will
go lo the men against whom the executions
are issued, and threaten them that if they do
not go to the polls at the next election and
i vote tor him ho will levy his executions. The
gentleman knows as well as I do that the
sheriff of the city or county is a mere execu-
tory officer.
Mr. SANDS (in his seat.) I know that.
Mr. THOMAS, When a writ is issued in
court and put into the hands of a sheriff to
execute it, he is bound 'to execute that writ
within a certain number of days, or lie is
mulct in damages. is there a sheriff who
will goto the debtor and say, "I have an
execution against you which I will levy if
you don't go to the polls and vote for me,"
when he has the provision of law staring him
in the face that he may be brought up before
the court of justice for malfeasance in office,
if he does not levy ?
Mr, SANDS. I did not intend to be under-
stood to argue that he would go to the man's
face and say these things to him.
Mr. THOMAS. How will he get his vote
without going to him?
Mr. SANDS. There are plenty of ways to
make a man feel it without saying it.
Mr. THOMAS. I suggest that if he keeps his
execution in a pigeon hole and says nothing
about it at all, it would not have much influ-
ence in getting him re elected. He must have
some influence over him by that execution, to
make the gentleman's argument good; and 1
say that the sheriff dare not do it because the
law fays lie shall not do it. The law compels
him to return his execution in a certain time.
If he returns nullum bonum as a reason for
not making a levy, and if it is a false return,
if he returns that there were no goods when
there were goods, he is responsible on his
bond. Therefore I do not see that the re-eli-
gibility of the sheriff is to have any of the had
effects prophesied of by the gentleman from
Howard.
it appears to me that when the people have
a right to elect an officer, if he turns 'out to
be a good officer; this interregnum of two
years in which the people cannot re-elect
him is utter nonsense. Besides, he can be
elected ait the end of the next two years, after
having served two years and there has been
aninterval of two years; and be can make
the same promises, "1 will not serve these
executions if you will vote for me two years
hence;" and the argument has the same force
to prevent his being re-eligible at the end of
two years as to prevent his being re-eligible
immediately upon the expiration of his first
term. :
Mr. NEGLEY. I cannot see the force of the
reasoning of the gentleman from Howard (Mr.
Sands.) I am opposed to these extremely
short terms of office in any case, because the
incumbent scarcely gets warm in his position, |
