Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1864-10-14
~ BP WALTON
THE LEGISLATURE.

THE LEGISLATURE.
On Thursday the 18th the General Assem-
bly, will convene, and it may we'll be hoped
that the men who are to compose it will come
up to the constitutional acquisitions, since
there will be ample opportunity for the exer-
else Of wisdom and virtue" Saying nothing
Of questions of local or corporate interest,
railroads and the like, there is the College
Question, which seems TO be envroned with
new difficulties and promises to excite much
and warm discussion. One Of the new diff
fcuties looming up is sectarianism. and it is
one that cannot be successfully met without
great deal Of wisdom. IT. however, the
clergymen--(of whom there are several in the
House and one in the Senate do get by the
cars, we trust the lay members will be sufi-
cient for the occasion.
The Militia Question is another Of great
interest, often whistled down, indeed, but not
likely to be kept down long in that mode 49,
The real difficulty in the way Of an efficient
organization Of the militia is the burden it
will bring upon the people, and that is for
mjdabIe obstacle 10 this day Of heavy taxes.
We have seen a statement that The expense
Of arming and equippiug will be borne by
the General Government. If that be so, we
anticipate a vigorous effort for a military or
ganizaiion. 1t is well to remember that our
ueishbors over the border lin Canada are
organizing and although the London Times
scouts the pauciiy Of the Canadian militia
and warns Canada that Great Britain cannot
ard her with land forces adequate to meet
mics like Grants or SheImans, (poor old
John Bull :! yet Canada with small organ
lied force, Is not to be despised by Vermont,
so long as she has none At all.
We re not aware Of any important changes
to De proposed in the statutes, which have re-
Gently been revived and ought to be let alone
most severely. Still it is possible that the
exigencies Of the treasury may be such, or the
burden Of taxes SO great, as TO call for
search for ways and means in new modes Of
taxation or a revival Of the so called listing
laws but we are not aware Of any scheme
in this direction We may Of course expect
propositions Of importance connected with
Vermont's relations TO the Army.
Politically, the session will unquestionably
be harmonious. There is no difficulty to be
apprehended in the organization, except per-
baps the embarrassment Of too many good
candidates This, until now. has been likely
to occur in respect to the clerkship Of the
House but we learn that Messrs. Clark OF
Montpelier and Hinckley of Chelsea decline
to be candidates, and that remaining candid
ates are Mr.. Stewart Of Derby and Mr.. Fagg
Of Wilmington, both Of whom are gentlemen
of good character, abilities, and experience
Mr.. F2ggs friends are very confident OF sue
cess as we'll as very zealous,-urging Of
course, the argument Of rotation, while Mr..
Se~art's doubtless adopt the maxim ." let
well enough alone They are both worthy
young men, and the House has only to settle
the question Of justice between them
For once, we think, the people Of the state,
the members of the Legislature, and the
boarding house keepers will unitedly pray for
a short session. The latter must strike
somewhere between the high cost Of pro-
visions and the low rate Of pay Of the mem
bers, aud we do not zee how the average can
possibly fail to be either too low for the
providers OF too high Tor the boarders.