Democratic Sentinel, Volume 5, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 March 1881 — INDIANA LEGISLATURE. [ARTICLE]

INDIANA LEGISLATURE.

Saturday, March s.— Senate.— The B«ate passed a number of bills of inferior importance, and spent some time in considering the House bill on taxation. A night session was held for the benefit of the Engrossment Committee and the Governor. As the formal motion to adjourn was being put, the Governor remarked: “ Gentlemen, you are at liberty to state that I shall issue a proclamation on Monday morning for an extra session to begin at 9 a. m. on the following day, Tuesday.” House.— The House passed the Medical bill and flittered away several hours in idle motions and vexations delays of the regular order. The afternoon was marked by an exhibition of the fun-making powers of the body, which was very demonstrative and noisy. At the night session there was another exhibit of lawlessness, not so pronounced, however, as marked the proceedings of the afternoon. Monday, March 7.—Senate.— The Senate worked to-day on the House bill on taxation, and a multitude of amendments were suggested. the majority with reference to the phraseology of the separate sections rather than the subject matter. An effort was made during the afternoon to pass a joint resolution condemning the contemplated improvement of Meridian street with wooden blocks, but eventually the. matter was referred to the extra session. A resolution complimentary of the presiding officer was passed, after which the President declared the Senate adjourned sine —The House was in session only an hour, and did nothing beyond passing customary resolutions of thanks. Tuesday, March 8. — Senate. —The General Assembly convened to-day in extra session, and an organization was effected without difficulty, but with some slight change from the caucus programme. Instead of Hearthwate, of Lake, the Senate Republicans put forward William H. Schlater, of Wayne, for Principal Secretarv, and the same resolution named Robert B. Sears, of Vermillion, for Assistant. and Dick Huncheon, of Laporte, for Doorkeeper. Sears is a Greenbacker, and Huncheon a Democrat. Three Democratic Senators, Benz, Yoyles, and Woods, joined in passing the resolution, while the remaining Democrats, with Poindexter and Davis, voted for the old organization. The new Doorkeeper appointed William Langstaff, of Clinton; N. M. Wilson, of Scott; Joseph Hoffman, of Lake ; William H. Pfrimer, of Harrison ; J. G. Campbell and J. Berz, assistants. The Secretary reported no changes for the present. The morning session of the Senate was sul sequently given to propositions looking to the advancement of measures in the special session, and it was decided that the succession of business from the regular to the special should be the natural succession of unfinished business. In the afternoon the Senate resumed consideration of the Tax bill.

House. —The House reorganized by a regular ballot and strict party vote, the Republi aus continuing the old organization, with the exception of the substitution of Jim Woods, of Warrick, for Doorkeeper, instead of Capt. Evans, of Henry. The Democracy voted for Hou. H. 8. Cauthorne for Speaker ; C. O’Brien, of Marion, for Clerk, and William Benham, of Crawford,. for doorkeeper. A resolution passed requesting the retention of the employes of the regular session. Bills were introduced allowing the loan of school funds at 7 per cent., or less, and regulating toll on plank and macadamized roads ceded by the Federal Government to the State. The House committee, composed mainly of doctors, reported a substitute for Senator V *We &overnor transmitted the following message to both houses : Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives : The constitution provides that the Governor shall from time to time give to the General Assembly information touching the condition of the State, and recommend such measures as he shall judge to be expedient. My official duties since my inauguration, during the late regular session, have been onerous, and your opportunities to acquire a knowledge of the condition of the State through your investigating committees and through other means have been so considerable, that I do not regard myself as being possessed of any information relating to the condition of the State of which you are not in possession; also, some of the measures which I had the honor to recommend to you in my inaugural address have been adopted. An adoption of the others has been proposed in pending b 11s, and they are now in a condition to be considered by you. I renew my recommendations of these pending measures. I especially urge the passage of the bill, with whatever changes or additions may be deemed expedient, providing for ascertaining the best way of reclaiming the vast body of lands, the material means for the drainage of which is through the Kankakee river. The important bill concerning taxation ought also to receive your early attention, so that there may be no failure to pass the clauses providing for taxing the receipts of telegraph, telephone, express and fast-freight companies, etc., instead of taxing merely their visible property. The exigency which has rendered it necessary for me to call you together in special session could not well have been averted. The extraordinary labor imposed upon you by your undert iking critically to consider the vast body of legislation proposed to you for adoption by the commission appoint d by the acts of 1879 to compile and revise existing statutes has required you to occupy much time in the committee-room and upon the floor on that work, which otherwise would have been spent in considering ordinary legislation. Many important changes of existing laws have been proposed by the commission. It is proper that those shall receive careful attention, in order that they may, so far as they shall be adopted, not represent what is deemed best by the committee merely, but reflect the deliberate judgment of eaoh hou-e. In the progress of the further consideration of these proposed enactments, amendments doubtless will from time to time be found necessary. I venture to suggest, with the most respectful deference, that hasty amendments will be not less likely to work harm than a too inattentive consideration of the enactments proposed. Even the commissioners will not always be able to perceive at the moment their entire scope aDd effect, nor how far they may introduce inconsistencies and ambiguity, which will leave the meaning of the law uncertain until it shall be determined by the Supreme Court. There is a subject which at first view may be deemed of little comparative importance, to which I wish to invite your serious attention. In referring in bills to the title of acts meant to be amended there have been frequent instances during the regular session in which these titles have been recited incorrectly, and at some stages of not a few bills .passages or words have been omitted, or words have been changed, the effect of which has been in some cases to alter or to obscure the sense, and in others will be to convey the idea to uninformed readers that the measure has been imperfectly considered. Such faults in lawß are ever a fruitful source of legislation and of consequent expense. The way of avoiding them is easy, and is familiar to such of you as have had previous experience in legislative bodies. It is earnestly hoped that a diligent effort will be made to guard against those faults in the passage of bills at the present session. It is hoped that every proper effort will be made to finish the work which you have in hand in less than tho forty days allowed by the constitution for a special session, and that a constant desire will be felt to restrain expense where it is not obviously proper. While not withholding appropriations where they may be necessary for the public welfare, it should be your constant effort to make the burden of taxation as light as it can be made consistently with the wise administration of the affairs of the State.

Wednesday, March 9.—Senate. —The Senate passed the day in discussing and amending the House Tax bill, and agreed to meet to-morrow in joint convention to receive from the State Treasurer the paid bonds issued prior to 1841. The Secretary appointed George W. Campbell, of Rush county, Registry Clerk; Burt P. Davidson, of Tippecanoe, Bill Clerk ; Alfred Thornburg, of Morgan, Enrolling Clerk; and Martin L. Bundy, Jr., of Henry, Engrossing Clerk. House.— The House finally finished the Pnb lie Offenses bill and passed it The bill is an elaborate one of 294 sections, and makes some important changes in the criminal law, some of which are the following: The jury, except in capital cases, cannot prescribe the sentence, but this is left to the Judge; fraudulent voting is punished more vigorously; druggists must have proper qualifications ; publio officers may be punished for drunkenness and removed for the second offense j a house cannot be let tot purposes of prostitution, and every

person visiting such a house is made subject to arrest; advertisements for procuring abortions are prohibited ; and members of Council may be fined for intentional absence. A bill appropriating $75,000 for expenses of the special session was passed. The House instructed the Judiciary Committee to propose a bill removing the necessity of organizing tho Legislature under the Presidency of the Auditor and Secretary of State. Concurrence was had in the committee report favoring the passage of the Edwin McDowell Compromise bill, and the measure was subsequently engrossed. The Senate joint resolution was adopted to adjourn from Friday until Thursday afternoon, to give the members opportunity to return home, and vote ou the constitutional amendment The Common School bill was under consideration at the time of adjournment The Clerk named as assistants : W. L. Taylor, of Lagrange, reading clerk ; W. H. Hay, of Marion, file clerk ; O. H. Aborn, of Koscusko, Registry Clerk ; W. G. Bratton, of Huntington. and C. H. Young, of Lake, Enrolling Clerks: J. F. Wilson of Harrison, A. R. Copeland, of Fulton, and G. A. Teale, of Noble, Engrossing Clerks. Thubsday, March 10.— Senate.— The Senate passed the House bill appropriating money to defray the expense of the special session, and a bill was introduced relating to the re-location of county seats. The remainder of the day was occupied with the House Tax bill, and the sections imposing a tax upon foreign companies doing business in this State was whipped into shape. The amendment to the Common school bill, giving the people the right to elect County Superintendents, was made the special order for Tuesday, at which time will be considered the proposition to abolish them altogether. An amendment to the Tax bill was passed empowering A bank to pay tax due from any of its shareholders and retain the amount, with interest, from, the dividend. It was also ordered that foreign insurance companies shall pay taxes semi-annually on receipts. The tax on express companies was fixed at 1 per cent. House. —A resolution recommending the passage of an act forbidding the letting of convict labor for less tha*/70 cents per day was adopted. The following bills were passed: Requiring minors who have sold property to return the consideration therefor upon reclaiming the property after coming of age; requiring railroads to remove and destroy rubbish and other combustible matter along then: lines ; abolishing the offices of Town and City Assessors, and transferring the duties thereof to County Assessors ; also the bill providing for the employment of short-hand reporters in County Courts in the discretion of the Judge. The bill requiring theaters to pay a county license failed for want of ft constitutional majority. The House wrangled for several Lours over the mode of electing County Superintendents—whether by Township Trustees or popular vote —and the discussion finally turned upon the advisability of abolishing tho office altogether, and return to the old method of County Examiners. An amendment to that effect was offered, and, together with the other proposition, was made the special order for Wednesday. The joint convention of the two houses, called for the purpose of destroying the old Wabash and Erie bonds, adjourned without action, it developing that the destruction of the bonds was not intended to be done in the presauce of the Legislature, but by the State officers. Fbiday, March 11. —Senate. —Tho Tax bill was amended so as to tax all tangible property of building, loan, fund, and savings associations. The Committee's substitute for section 91 was adopted. It taxes tbe gross earnings of slecping-car companies 2 per cent. The Committee on Education recommended allowing Prof. M. M. Campbell $1,287 on his $6,600 claim for services as an educator at the Bloomington tbe &£& that it permits households to be entered and searched on the suspicion that some domestic animal is not properly cared for. He also vetoed the bill giving jurors $2 per day. House.— A number of bills were engrossed, and the House Tax bill was pushed forward a stage. An amendment was adopted taxing the gross earnings of sleeping-car companies 2 per cent. The House instructed the Committee to consider the advisability of exempting timbered land from taxation with the view of encouraging the growth of timber, but refused to concur in the Senate resolution looking to the sale of University park in Indianapolis. The bill requiring railway companies to destroy Canada thistles along then- tracks, and three Revision Committee bills relating to decedents’ estates, providing for the consolidation of two or more agricultural societies, and abolishing the offices of District Marshals for the collection of votes at the Presidential elections were passed. The bill creating a Board of Pardons was defeated, 41 to 22. The bill giving landlords lien upon one-half the tenant’s crops failed for want of a quorum. Both houses adjourned at an early hour until Tuesday next.