Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1863-02-12
Notes on the General Court.

| BOSTON, teO. II, 1868.
A daily summary of the doings of the great
general court would be Of little general inter-
est The usual amount of petitioning is gone
| through with; the average number of orders
must be expected as matters of course. The
range of orders is about as extensive as the
subjects of conversation proposed by Talka-
tive in Bunyan: 81 will talk of things heav-
emily or things earthly; things moral or
things evangelical; things sacred or things
profane; things past or things to come;
things foreign or things at home; things more
essential or things circumstantial, provided
that all be done to our profit" The chief
point of dissimilarity is the omission of the
proviso in the case of some of the orders. The
profit doth nowhere appear.
| The legislature has been thus far remarka-
| bly, free from the mania for talking which fire.
| quently affiicts such bodies. Few points have
provoked debate, save the fruitful subject of
herring in Taunton river which called out
quite spirited passage at arms, some of the
veteran members catching the fire of the old
time conflicts, and some new ones breaking a
lance right calamity upon the inspiring theme.
The herring are for the present on the table,
ready to be dished up again when the house
has no other fish to fry.
Yesterday and to-day have again broken
the monotony of quiet and speeches. legis-
lation. The topics uuder discussion were,
yesterday, bill in behalf of families of de-
ceased and disabled vol nteers. To-day. an
amendment to last winters truant law. The
need in both cases is manifestly of an en-
tirely new act, combining the patch
work of former and separate enactments
and making statute which should be simple
and homogeneous. What saving of perplex-
ity to town authorities and to the families of
the brave men who need our aid. In the mat
ter of truancy, notwithstanding some charac-
teristic sarcasm from one who could better
employ his powers than in throwing contempt
upon such a subject, Mr. Mason of Newton
brought itso clearly and ably before the house
as to secure most decided testimony of their
interest init and determination to sustain any
action which aims to repress the alarmingly
growing evil.
On the whole, the house would make upon
any candid observer the impression of body
of men in earnest to do an honest winters
work.
The committees are more than usually busy,
those on railroads and claims of course taking
the lead in amount of work. But the military
committee has no slight task allotted it, that
OF enurely recaSung our military system, and
adapting it to the exigences of the times
The special committee on the agricultural
department of the university, recommended
by the governor, have their hands full in hear
ing claims of rival institutions. 1t is great
subject, and should be most thoroughly con-
Sidered. Another special committee, having
in hand the returns of our public institutions,
will find 1t no slight matter to reduce to sys-
tenn and order what now is so disjointed and
in many instances defective in their statistics
The two travelling committees are pushing
the work of inspecting the prisons and chart
table institutions throughout the common
wealth.
Their visits for the first time in con junction
to the Reform School at Westboro, irdto the
state prison, were most satisfactory. Both
institutions are in their present management
models, and in their results an honor to the
state. The family system which Westboro' is
adopting as fast as possible is working won
ders for the institution. SO that the fire which
hrst induced its adoption was not after all SO
great misfortune YIDI.