Democratic Sentinel, Volume 3, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 March 1879 — INDIANA LEGISLATURE. [ARTICLE]

INDIANA LEGISLATURE.

Monday, Maxell 10.—SfcNATfi.—The House resolution allowing the reading cldrk of each hotise $1 per day extra was adopted.... .The House Iloinestead and Exemption bill was taken up, and, after considerable discussion, ■was laid on the table and ordered printed .... The Governor’s proclamation convening K special session of the Legislature to-hiorrow was read The following is the amount paid to members of the Senate: For mileage and per diem, $20,214; to employes, $8,688.50. t ... At 5 o'clock the Senate adjourned sine die. House. —Several attempts were made to vote money to employes, but all motions of that kind were rejected... .A concurrent resolution

- was adopted allowing SSOO for the pay and mileage of witnesses in attendance upon the State- .House investigation.... .New bills were -introduced; Fixing the method of collecting tbcJlpK from fast freight linos; compelling tlipAuditjr of State to pay all insurance rhea Intothe treasury, and abolishing the techrrtcii-motion for a Venire de n0v0... .The BpeKltef'made a report of all Warrants drawn by him. The amount paid to members, sot per diem and mileage, is $40,081, and to employes for per diem, $9,956... .At 3 o'clock Gov. Williams sent in a proclamation convening the Legislature in special session, beginning tomorrow at 9 o’clock... .The House then adjourned sine die. Tuesday, March 11.—Senate.—Lieut. Gov. Gray called the Senate to order, and ail the Senators responded to their name) except Messrs. Davenport, Moore, Streight, Weir and Winterbotham... .A resolution, ottered Ly Senator Reeves, continuing the officers of the regular session in their respective positions, was adopted with but little opposition. The iu’es of the regular sestion were asso adopted... .The Senate took up the House amendments to the State House bill and concurred in those reducing the tax levy to two cents and appropriating $200,(K0 for this year. The amendment appropriating SIOO,OOO for next year was not concurred in, and a committee of conference was asked f0r.... The House bill concerning settlements between county boards and county, township and school officers, was taken up... .Pending discussion, the Senate proceeded to the Hall of the House to hear th a Governor’s message read. House —The House was called to order by Secretary of State Shanklin. The members were sworn in by Judge Niblack, of the Supreme Court... .Business was then resumed. A bill was introduced requir.ng the Auditor of State to pay 75 per cent, of all fees received from the insurance department into the treasury. .. .The Senate bills amending the Divorce law and making it a misdemeanor to c< n :eal morigaged prope.tyand the Home b lis authorizing towns to kvy a tax for tho purpose ur ligtniug me oixoot., ameuding the Code and amending the Road law were passed. The Message.—The Governor’s most age was read before the two houses in joint < onvenlion. Below are the points of the document: ‘-Eighteen Senate and twelve House bills makeup the list presente 1 to me, and by these the labor of the session would have been

judged had it not been for the opportunity afforded by the extra session. An examination of these acts suggests that modern ideas comtemplate a special session and the devotion of a large portion of the regular session to setting right the eirors of agents of the people, r< lieving sureties on official bom's, changing jud ci< J circuits to accommodate prejudices, fixing the times of holding court to accommodate the few at the expense of the many, and enacting undei the forms of general laws acts which are necessarily special and local, leaving the interests of he whole State to fall into confusion.” The message then common s on the legalizing acts, which propose to legalize a number of ordinances of a town, but so drawn as to leave ten of them to be legalized two years hence. By one act the Legislature appropriated $125,00 J for its own expenses and by anct :er created two new Clerkships. Ho also comments on the other laws pas ed. The Legisla ive Apportionment will receive the hearty apprjbitioa of the Executive as being j ast and fair to all affected by it. The message also notices the growing disposition to increase the ministerial duties of the Executive by conferring on him different appointments, leaving I the Legislature nothing to burden their peace of mind. Ho urges the pan age of a fair fee aid salary bill, the appropriation bills with j revisions for the complet on of the new insane asylum and cell-houte at the H uthern prison. He a'so refers to ho importance of appropriating 502,000 to save the grounds of the State Board of Agriculture, and protect the turn already invested by the State. An appropriation for carrying on work at the new State House is asked for. The fees of expert witnesses are recommended to be fixed by liw. The law allowing each county two free : c ioo'.ships at the State University should be repealed. The subject of a board of p trdons is again referred to, and the message concludes wit i an emphatic suggestion that the t ession be brief.

Wednesday, March 12.—Senate. The Lieutenant Governor announced that the standing committees of the regular session would be reappointed... .Senator Wood offered a joint resolution requesting the Legislature of Illinois to adopt some measure for the removal of the dam over the Kankakee at Momence, which was referred to a special committee.... A bill was introduced and passed, under suspension of the rules, repealing and reenacting the act establishing an asylum for feeble-minded children. This was made necessary that an emergency clause might be added, which was omitted from the oiiginal bi 11.... The House resolution asking Congress to pay the Morgan claims was pas-cd... .The S'* e House Appropriation bill was finally disposed of on report of the conference committee, which recommends the following: A tax levy of 2 cents, appropriating $200,000 for this year and SIOO,OIO for next year, if there be so much in the treasuiy unappropriated, and that State officers be authorized to issue bonds to p%y any portion of the existing debt of the State that may become due.... The following bills were passed: C)anting towns power to is.-ue liquor license; prohibiting oftiei tis from being interested in any manner in public contracts; amending the Justice act.... The bill making a stockholder liable for twice the amount of stock held by him, and icgulating the practice of medicine failed for want of constitutional majority, and the bill abolishing the office of B.ate Geologist was laid on the table.

House.—Bills passed: Permitting felonies to be prosecuted on information when the Grand Jury is not in session, compelling railroad companies to destroy Canada thistles, on the line of their roads; amending the act creating Horse-Thief Associations; permitting forprotection of sheep; and Senate bills permitting townships to levy tax to keep up a library donated to the township; permitting husband and wife to testify for and against each btl er. ... .The report of tie conference c unmittee on the State House bills was concurred in. eign corporations to redeem property told for taxes; making a jury in civil casos consist of six members; giving laborers’ claims a precedence in cases of voluntary assignments; giving defendwti in libel cases the right to prove facts, but forbid ling the proving oi inti-ors; amenuing the D.ten laws: fcr i..« Thursday, March 13.—Senate—The following bills, which were passed at the regular session but not presented to the Governor in time for him to act upon them, were reintroduced and passed under a suspension of the constitutional rule: To prevent foreign corporations from removing causes against them to Federal courts; defining libel; amending the act for elections for Supervisors of Highways; authorizing cities of less than 7,000 inhabitant to surrender their charters; exempting wages bf laborers from garnishment for a period of one month; making laws governing October elections applicable to November elections in case the constitution is amended; legalizing the acts of the Common Council of Huntington, and the Lye Creek Drainage Association; regulating the use of human bodies for purpose of dissection, and preventing grave robbing; abolishing one of the Marion Superior Courts... .The bill prohibiting the admission of children under 7 years to the House of Refuge passed... .The

General Appropriation, bill occupied the remainder of the day. —The committee to investigate into the Auditor’s rffice reported. The majority report states that Auditor Henderson has no illegal fees from insui ance cd’wpanies, and that he is Entitled to all he has i-Crtived. The minority re'pfM’t recommends that the Attorney General’ ascertain what amount of fees have been collected by lhe Attditor and not paid .Mothe treasury, anil commence a suit on the offi cial bond of the Auditor to reccn«r the same. The minority report was adopted../.The following House bills, which failed to ffweh the Governor hi time for bisac’ion during the revw tar session, were introduced and passed uno.’*’ asuspension of the constitutional rules; legalizing the acts of the town of Edinburg; legalizing «e purchase of lands by the Commissioners of inton county; legalizing the town of Auburn; authorizing the city of Evansville to cirrtrgp' itH name to Lamasco; for the incorporation or cemeteries; requiring school trustees in toWyU to have the authority of town trustees before* issuing bonds for the ereetion of school-houseS, and several relief bi 115.... The Senate bills which passed the Senate this morning were taken up and passed by the House under a suspension of the rules. FAiday, March 14.—Senate.—No business or importance was transacted, only a short session being held. House.—The bill passed making it lawful for barbers to perve customers on Sunday. Nothing more of interest or importance occurred. Satubday, March 13.—-Senate. —A resolution to adjourn sine die next Saturday was dobaled ard voted down.... The House sent hr aboti a dozen Lils, all ’• galizing a and the rules were at once tn peud -d and luO j-il » pissed.... The whole d;y was exl.a’Uded m rm.tlers of no ger e: al interest, tbo .J-* import nrt thing being ordering the General Appropriation bid to be eiip.r. ■■ 50d.... !i e balance of tl.e day w s occupied in debating the repeal of Saving • Bank law. iloUsE—A bill was introduced to indict additional punishment in cases of rape.... Tho bill requiting all passenger tialb to stop at ail incorporated towns f.dk.d to .Several legalizing biUsTv- so iutioducid am p:w-ed.... About noon a nutub r of members w< o. wanted to adjourn mail Mu? day commenced filibustering, and the result was that a quorum Waa broken, and, after several calls of the House bad bcoa made, the doors were locked anti the absentees sent for. About 2 o’clock a qr.orum was got together, and the House adjourned until Monday.

Brother Gardner Speaks Out in Meetin’. Brother Gardner looked down upon the ballhead of Sir Isaac Walpoffi for a long minute, and then began : “Gem’len, dey say dat ebery man’s house am his castle, an’ I'm de las’ one to bring up a brudder’s domestick matters in dis club; but de tears of a wife an’ de hungry wails of children am crowdin’ me to say a few words nt dis meetin’. Las’ night de wife of Brudder Simcoe Davis knocked at my cabin doah. I kicked out de dog, chased out de cat, frew de bootjack under de bed, an’ my boots under de table, an’ toled her to come in. She was ■weepin’ like a green bay tree. My ole woman helped her to sot on de aige of de wood-box, an’ arter de fust convulsions of grief had passed away do ole woman tole us dat she an’ de chill’en hadn’t had a bite to cat in two days, an’ de cook-stove was as cold as » crowbar. Brudder Simcoe Davis was at home an’ in the bes’ health, an’while de chill’en were cryin’ for bread hewaslyin’ on de floo’ perusin’ de ‘ Life of Kit Carson ’ an’ stoppin’ to spell out all de big words. I went ober dar an’ seed it all wid my own eyes. I doan’ say dat he has broken any of do laws an’ rules of dis club, but I do say dat a nigger who will lump down on his back to read a novel when de liah am out an’de cupboard empty am not fit to sit heah ’longside of hard-workin’ men.” “Hear! Hear!’’came from all parts of the hall, and in about two minutes Simcoe Davis was divorced from the club by a unanimous vote.— Detroit Free Press.