The constitution adopted in 1872, made considerable change in the county court and the legislature provided by legislation for the change so made.

                                ARTICLE VIII.
    23. There shall be in each county of the state a county court which shall 
    be composed of a president and two justices of the peace, except when, by 
    the constitution, the presence of a greater number is required. It shall 
    hold six sessions during the year, at times to be prescribed by law; two 
    of which shall be limited to matters connected with police and fiscal 
    affairs of the county; the other four shall be held for trials of causes, 
    and the transaction of all other business within the general jurisdiction 
    of the court, except an assessment or levy on property of the county. In 
    all cases where a levy of the county is laid a majority of the justices 
    elected in the county, shall be necessary to constitute a quorum for the 
    transaction of that business.

    24. The president of the court shall be elected by the voters of the county, 
    and shall hold his office for the term of four years.  It shall be his duty 
    to attend each term of court and shall receive for such service four dollars 
    for every day he shall preside in court, to be paid from the county treasury. 
    He shall also perform such other duties and receive such compensation there
    for as may be prescribed by law; except that he shall not be authorized to 
    try causes out of court. When for any cause he is unable to attend as pres-
    ident of the court, any justice may be added to the court to make the court, 
    who, in conjunction with the other two, may designate one of their own number 
    to preside in his absence.

    25. Each county shall be laid off into districts not less in number than 
    three, nor more than ten, as nearly equal as may be in territory and 
    population. In each district there shall be elected by the voters thereof, 
    one, and not more than two justices of the peace who shall reside in their 
    respective districts, and hold their offices for the term of four years.

    The present subdivisions of the counties by townships shall constitute such 
    districts until changed by the court constituted of a majority of the justices 
    of the county.

    26. The justices of the peace shall be classified by law, for the performance 
    of their duties in court; they shall receive a compensation of three dollars 
    per day, for their services in court, to be paid out of the county treasure, 
    and may receive fees for other official duties, to be prescribed by law, and 
    paid by the parties, for whom the service shall be rendered.  30. The voters 
    of each county shall elect a clerk of the county court, whose term of office 
    shall be six years, and whose duties, compensation and mode of removal shall 
    be prescribed, by law.

    32. A vacancy in the office of the president of the court shall be filled 
    until the next regular election by justices of the peace, all of whom shall 
    be summoned for that purpose. Vacancies of justices of the peace may be 
    filled until the next regular election by the county court.

                                                          January 13, 1873.

This court met this day at the court-house pursuant to law. John H. Dickey, president and justice, presiding. Justices present: Frank McJilton, A. L. Pelley, Wm. Blake, Reuben Zink, George A. Jones, Wm. A. Knox, R. H. Holliday, O. H. Moore, Geo. Hubbs, Hardesty Long, Joshua Goddard, S. Barnhart, Wm. Cecil, L. G. Martin. Absent: Henry Reed, Alfred Turner, H. S. White and Samuel Howard.

The oath of office was administered by the clerk of this court to Wm. Cecil, Esq.

The justices present proceeded to draw lots for the classification and the present justices drew lots for the absent justices, which resulted as follows, to-wit:

  Class No. 1       Class No. 2       Class No. 3             Class No. 4
 A. L. Pelley      O. A. Moore       R. H. Holliday          Alfred Turner
 Henry Reed        Samuel Howard     H. S. White             Joshua Goddard

  Class No. 5       Class No. 6	      Class No. 7	      Class No. 8
 Geo. A. Jones     Wm. Blake         L. G. Martin            Geo. Hubbs
 S. Barnhart       Reuben Zink       Wm. Cecil               Hardesty Long
 
                             Class No. 9
                           Frank McJilton 
                           Wm. A. Knox

R. C. Holliday, J. L. Parkinson, James D. Morris, J. W. McCarriher, Robert McConnell, J. Alex. Ewing, James D. Ewing, Gentleman Practicing Attorneys, appeared in court and took the oath required by law; thereupon it is ordered that the said gentlemen be admitted to practice their profession of law in this court.

The oath of office was administered by the clerk of this court to J. L. Parkinson, Esq., as Prosecuting Attorney of this county.

Jno. P. Wayman presented to court his official bond as sheriff of this county in the penalty of thirty thousand dollars, bearing date October 18, 1872, with John S. Redd, Amos Dobbs, Samuel Wellman, and Hanson Griswell his sureties and on which hick said bond is the following indorsement, to-wit: The within bond is approved and sureties acknowledged signatures and qualified as to sufficiency, T. Melvin Judge, etc.

Thereupon the said bond is approved by the court and ordered to be recorded by the clerk of this court.

Upon the petition of Frank McJilton, Esq., and others, it is ordered that Edward Tracy, Andrew Quigly, T. C. Edwards and Frank McJilton, Esq., be and they are a committee and authorized to make and enforce such regulations in Union District as may be necessary to secure the inhabitants from the contagion of small-pox now prevailing in Benwood in said district and to prevent its spread among the citizens, and the overseer of the poor is directed to afford such relief to any sufferers from said contagion, who may need relief from the county.

Ordered by this court that the following gentlemen be and they are appointed overseers of poor of their respective districts, to-wit:

T. C. Edwards, of Union District;
John Riggs, of Washington District.
Michael Dunn, of Clay District.
John Snedeker, of Webster District.
Geo. W. McKimmie, of Franklin District.
Thomas Allen, of Cameron District.
E. R. Harris, of Liberty- District.
Jeremiah Mason, of Meade District.

It is ordered that the May and August terms of this court in each year be set apart for police and fiscal business of this county. John Healy, Esq., petitioned the court for a correction of an erroneous assessment against him on the land books of the first assessors district of this county in Union District for the year 1872, he being charged with an excess of $900 on lots Nos. 13, 14 and 16 in the town of Benwood and notice being waived by the prosecuting attorney and the error being fully proved by the oath of said John Healy, and upon consideration thereof, it is ordered by court that the assessor make proper correction upon the land book and the sheriff of this county refund the tax so erroneously assessed on said excess and that the clerk of this court certify a copy of this order to the auditor of state. State tax, $1.80; state school tax, 90 cents; hospital tax, 45 cents; township school, $3.60; county tax,. $3.60.

John B. Bole, Esq., petitioned the court for a correction of an erroneous assess- ment against him on the land books of the first assessor's district of this county in Union District for the year 1872, he being charged with an excess of $540 on lot No. 16 in the town of Benwood, and notice being waived by the prosecuting attorney and the error being fully proved by the oath of said John B. Bole, upon consideration whereof, it is ordered by this court that the assessor make proper correction upon the land books and that the sheriff of this county refund the tax so erroneously assessed on said excess, and that the clerk of this court certify a copy of this order to the auditor of state. State tax, $1.08; state school tax, 54 cents; hospital tax, 27 cents: county tax, $2.16; township school tax, $3.76.

Ordered that this court adjourn until tomorrow morning at 9:00 o'clock.

JOHN H. DICKEY,
President Justice.

The last session of the county court, composed of a president and two justices of the peace, was held on the twenty-seventh of December, 1880. Since that court ceased to exist, the county court ceased to try causes, and give its sole attention to county affairs.

An amendment to the constitution was adopted at the general election in November, 1880, replaced the justice court with a county court composed of three commissioners of the county court which elect one of its members president.

The amendment was passed by the Legislature at a regular session which convened at Wheeling on the eighth of January, 1879, and submitted it to the people for ratification or rejection at a regular election in 1880.

The Legislature anticipated the ratification of the amendment by ordering the election for three commissinoers of the county court in each county at the general election in November, 1880, that the court might meet in January in regular session and take up the county work just where the previous county court had laid it down.

The amendment provided that the term of office of the commissioners of the county court should be for the term of six years, after the first election. At the first election (1880), three commissioners of the county court there elected whose term of office should be one for six years, one for four years, and one for two years, and by drawing lots the commissioners elected should determine the length of term each commissioner oŁ the three should serve.

At the regular election in 1882, a commissioner of the county court was elected and at each regular election thereafter a commissioner of the county court was elected for the full term of six years, unless death of a commissioner or resig- nation should cause a vacancy, which vacancy shall be filled by appointment made by the court between general elections. At the regular meeting of the county court in January after each general election, the court organizes by electing one of its members president, whose term of office is two years from the first of the year or until his successor is elected.

At the general election in November, 1880, W. J. Burley, of Washington District; J. W. Bonar, of Meade District, and J. H. Baird, of Sand Hill District, were elected commissioners of the county court.

The three commissioners met on the first clay of January and determined the term of office each commissioner should serve and organized in compliance with the law. The court is a continuous body and is supposed to have two experienced members at all times. The regular meetings of the count court are the third Tuesday in, Jan- uary, April, July and October, and may meet in special session at such times as the president deems expedient, the other two members of the court concurring. They shall receive a compensation of two dollars per day for each day they are in session as a court, to be paid from the county fund.

W. J. Burley, J. W. Bonar, J. H. Baird, the commissioners of the county elected at the October election last, this day met at the court-house and said commiss- ioners having taken the oath of office as required by law, proceeded to draw lots for the two, four and six-year terms with the following results:

W. J. Burley drew the two-year term;
J. W. Bonar drew the four-year term,
J. H. Baird drew the six-year term.

The court then proceeded to organize by electing W. J. Burley president for two years from this date.

The bond of J B. Hicks its sheriff of this county, dated November 8, 1860. with Joshua Burley, Geo. W. Hicks, Lindsey Burley, Henry Parkinson and John A. Hicks as sureties in the penal sum of thirty thousand dollars, conditioned and payable as the law directs, which said bond having been approved by the county court of this county by an order of said court, entered of record on the eighth day of November, 1880, and which said bond was this day presented to this court and, ordered to be recorded.

The bond of T. W. Manning, as assessor of the first district dated November 9, 1880, with Samuel Dorsey and Thomas Finn as sureties, in the penal sum of three thousand dollars conditioned and payable as the law directs, which said bond having been approved by the county court of this county on the ninth day of November, 1880, and which said bond was this day presented to this court. The said bond is this day approved by this court and ordered to be recorded.

The bond of J. F. Parsons, as assessor of the second district, dated December 4, 1880, with A. N. Holmes and Thomas Parsons as sureties, in the penal sum of three thousand dollars, conditioned and payable as the law directs and on which said bond is the following indorsements, signed and acknowledged by J. F. Parsons, A. N. Holmes and Thomas Parsons, the sureties, testified as to their sufficiency and this bond is approved by the court and ordered to be recorded.

Ordered that the sheriff of this county pay to Mahlen Riggs out of Webster District Road levy, forty-five (45) dollars in full for salary as Road Surveyor of said road district to date.

It is ordered that J. W. Bonar be directed and authorized to inspect and if necess- ary to repair the county bridge near Glen Easton. For satisfactory reasons appearing to the court, it is ordered that W. L. Edwards be and he is declared successor to G. W. Evans, Esq., whose term of office expired December 31, 1880, and it was ordered, Wm. Cook, in whose hands the books of said G. W. Evans, late J. P. of Washington District now is, turn over to said W. L. Edwards, justice-elect of Washington District.

It is ordered by the court that the regular stated meetings of this court hereafter be as follows until changes by law or further order of court

1. On the third Tuesday in January.
2. On the first Tuesday in May.
3. On the second Tuesday in August.
4. On the second Tuesday in November.

Ordered that this court adjourn until the eighth day of this month.

W. J. BURLEY.