Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1858-12-23

else to do. 81 much for what the assembled
wisdom did do. As to what they did not do,
more Nigh be said.
The town Of huntington was visited on the
81 Of July with II shower OF rain that amour
ted to a delugo, destroying their crops OF grass
and grain, carrying away their fences, laying
waste whole fields and meadows by washing
away the soil, or heaping rubbish and stones
upon them. Every mill was carried away
every bridge was demolished, and miles of high
ways were torn up and rendered impossible.
the loss to the town could not be told by hun
dreds, nor thousands, bat by hundreds Of thou
sands of dollars. The town asked the Legisa-
tnre to remit to them their State tax for three
years. The bill for their relief WAS ably dis
cusstd but the discussion failed to convince the
majority Of the claim. We have only to say
that less worthy claims were allowed by the
same men who refused to hear the town of Hun
tington.
rhr bill for the relief Of the St. Adams Bank
shared the same fate, notwithstanding the ex
traordnlry Efforts made by its friends to secure
its passage. We hope they may have better
success next time, not in attempts to evade the
consequences Of noncompliance with law, but
in avoiding the breakers which an over-wcening
desire to be rich might lead them into.
| Some weeks were spent on the circus bills, for
thele were several introduced. We suhold com
mend the House for refusing to admit such nui
sances in the State, did We not happen to know
that the friends of the measure killed it by their
own Encouragement. We confess to great as
constituent that 81 many could be found in the
House to favor such bill. We are aware that
the usual plea of s. the wishes Of our constitu-
ents," the - wants OF the people," was made
by those who did not dare to advocate it on
their own account; but that is a plea the peo-
pie will never endorse If those who favored
| the circus bills wished to put money in their
pockets by advocating such measures, or to graf
ify the depraycd appetltes of their wives and
daughters, they should be honest enough to say
50, and not pirate about the g wants Of the pao-
pie, or the demands of their constituents.
Then there was the appropriation bill for the
completion Of the State House the bill to dis
grace Hon Tomas L. Powers the supcrintend-
ent Of that work, and the bill providing for
holding the next session Of the Legislature at
Burlington. These all failed; the first by the
two Houses dislgreeing as to its provisions, the
last by there heing suiicient good sense in the
Senate and the bill in effect removing DIR.
| Powers failed, not us is asserted by cot1mpo-
rtry, " because the legislature had not the OPP
tortuntity' to act on it. but for other and
better reasons. The bill as reported by the COM
nittce came before the House the last night of
the session. at late hour we will admit, but
it's friends were on hand, and the argument was
used outside that notwithstanding it might fail
in is passage thro' the Senate for want Of time
yet if it could be passed through the House, the
moral effect would be the same the DR.. would
be humililted, and the discarded architect would
be reinstAted, and the Rev. "F. W. Olmstead
for the majority would be exhonerated Yet
on motion to dismsss the bill the yeas were in
"A majority of near twenty. We could hardly
account for this vote after looking over the acts
Of the House on that night, but then good
hearted men sometimes find themselves led a
little too far and in this case the inquiry natu-
rally arose, what shall we not be asked to do
next? The refusal of the Legislature to com.
plcte the State House unless at the expense of
Montpelier, we consider as unprecedented in the
annals of legislation. 1t must be looked upon
by other States as niggardly and selfish in the
extreme.
These remarks will not be considered harsh
when it is remembered that from the first we
have repudiated the idea of any town rebuild
ing the capitol These were our views express.
ed before and at the time OF the extra session.
Weneyer had the remotest idea that any town
ever should or ever would be required to build
u House for the State.
Much has been said about certain bond. hut
we would away with all this talk as unworthy
language to be put into the mouth Of sover-
eign state, and the Legislature has belittled it.
self in jockeying with IL town--insisting that il
shall build house for the use of the State. OIL
even in assisting in the completion Of that work
1t is no honor to Il maa to be able to say that
he was member OF the legislature of 1858,
unless he can at the same time produce record
of the votes to prove that he voted for an appro
priation to be made by The Stat OUT OF ITS OWN
FUNDS to finish the House. We are proud t
state in tins connection that every member from
Orleans County voted right. If the last act OF
the extra session had been to consume g that
Bond in the dying embers of the old capitol
that act would not only have been wise, bu
eminently just, for there the vexed question
would have been settled, and they who own thC
house would pay for it, We regret the cours,
pursued by the Legislature On hisqueston, anC
more because we do not believe it was met on
its merits alone. In support Of this we again
refer to Burlington paper. In an article in a
recent number OF the Times, speaking of the
lasting vote of the President of the Senate, on
the appropriation bill, it says " We have n,
fault to find, he VOTED GEOGRAPHICALLY" Her,
the whole thing Is out at once. The question o
completing great public work in geograph
ical one, claimed 50 by those who are the disap
pointed party-considered so by the section VIII,
would most naturally incline to make it 50. !,
feeling Ct disappointment peryading the entir
west side of the mountain, it was easy enough
for men to create a public sentiment. so tia
when their representatives come up to the capt
tol they could say that the people demand tina
Montpelier should rebuild the capitol. or w
will remove the Legislature to Burlington. Rut
land, and to rs many other places as may asl
for it in exchange for Il vote, when the truth is
that had II votebeen taken at any time previou,
to August last the State would have voted b
an overwhelming majority to build their owl
house, let he built when it might
That this has become a sectional question
apparent from the fact that the opposers of
State appropriation are found in the same sec
ton, in the same town, IN which the friends {
} rebuilding at Burlington or Rutland were found
Then again, the opposers of an unbranded ~
preparation gained an accession to their nun
barS by the management 60 secure the passage
the bill toamend the charter of the Vt & Cana
} da Railroad, and thereby the area Of the " we.
sde" was extended, Then again, member
We're found in all parts Of the State. who e
one reason or another would like to s.c d.
Powers dsgraced, for in g hewiug to the line
the DR.. has not only made his strong friends b.