Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1858-04-28
THE SCENE CLOSSfS.

scenes of domestic peace and tranquility
far from tho busy arena Of political strife,
and the murky atmosphere Of the State
capital.
/ In reviewing the results Of something
over one hundred days of delilcrNtion
upon the wants of the people Of the COM
monwealth and in devising and enacting
measures to relieve them, by this body,
we really can see little or nothing to be
gratfed with. Some important laws have
been enacted it is true, but they aro, with
but very few exceptions, more important
than salutary The transfer Of the bal
ance of the State canals, which the Penna
Rail Road Company did not extort from
her at the session of 1857, to the Sunbury
& Erie Rail Road Company, seemed to he
the leading measure of the session as the
admission of Kansas has been the leading
measure of our national Legislature
When that object was effected the
adjournment followed almost instauta-
neously'; as if nothing else had been
wanting to ensure the general welfare and
prosperity of the entire state without re-
gard to locality. The policy of the meas
ure so far as the public interest is inyol-
ved remains to be tested The honesty
and fairness of it, or rather the lack Of
those qualities, is without precedent even
in Pennsylvania legislature, and had
these improvem ents been of value to
warrant it, they would never have been
bartered away in the manner they have
been, without an indignant protest from
the great mass of the people of Pennsylva
MIA. But by the sacrifice of the Main
| Line last year, the State had been already
robbed of what constituted the most val
liable portion other public Improvements,
and there was nothing left to make a
stand upon as the question could only
have been one of principle alone, involv-
ing very little Of eXpcdiency or practical
advantage. Perhaps indeed the State
would have done better under all the cir
cumstances, after the dismemberment OF
her improvements, to have disposed Of
those remaining can lis, could she have
done so at fair sale for their full value,
and had the purchase money properly Sc
cured.
! But the deed is done and we have no
disposition to indulge in funeral wall
over it. The State was as deeply dishon-
ored by the manner in which the Main
Line was bartercd away as she could be ;
and this last act in the disgraceful drama
/ which was but the natural consequence
Of those which preceded it, can add but
| very little to its infamy.
A change or modification of the Liquor
and License laws is another of the results
of the labors of the late session, .judicious
or injudicious remains to be seen. There
is one objection which we think we see in
it; the law under which we have been
recently living, has been of very brief du-
ration and we have scarcely had time to
test its merits and thus by continually
altering our laws we never know whether
they are wise or not, before they are q.
mended or repealed. Another objection
is that the new law seems to place no linn
it to the number of Licenses granted
While on the otherh we, think we car
see some merit in the new Liquor law, OF
supplement, as it is termed. 1t reduce,
the rate of license to a more reasonabl,
standard and makes it highly penal fol
any person to sell impure or adulterated
!, liquors. But the most imoortant featu r,
of the measure was defeated, which was
an amendment offered in the Senate tc
provide for chemical analysis of all LIQUORS
by competent inspectors with authority to
destroy all poisinous and adulterated lots
in whatever hands found.
! Anew Militia bill 1--we believe has also beer
passed but we have not time to examine
its provisions, and therefore VIC can say
nothing about it.
A bill for the erection Of new iudicia
district out Of the Counties of Clearfeld
Elk, Forest and jefferson passed about
the close of the session but strange as il
may seem the bill failed for want of tn,
signeture of the speaker of the Senate who
gravely announced that as there was nc
time to compare the bill he could not af
fix his signature. This is a new trick o.
Legislation for which we were not pre.
pared; and which throws all other effort,
ut defeating the will Of the majority tha
we ever heard of entirely In the shade
Indeed without fuller information we ar,
scarcely willing to credit the fact.
Numerous other bills passed the durin,