Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1864-07-27
From the Lewisburg Chronicle of July 18th
ALL THE AMENDMENTS.

/ proposeC amendment TO our State Consti-
| tuition, confirming the right of the Soldiers
| to vote. But there is much danger from
using that expression. There are three A
mendments, to be voted upon separately.
| A vote ''for the Amendment" is no vote at
! all-it will be cast out. and not counted. If
YOU wish to aid Soldiers in the use of the
elective franchise, vote the ticket headed
| First Amendment" and containing, with
! in, the words For the Amendment.
| Nor will voting For the Amendments, IN
| a lump answer-each amendment must be
voted for or against by itself, to have the
vote cast of any avail
The First Amendment is for the Soldiers,
to he voted on accordingly.
| The Second and Third Amendments are
| designed TO aid in proper Legislation, to
| the frauds and trickery practiced by some
men, in and out of the Legislature. They
are therefore very important
The Second Amendment is as follows
No bill shall be passed by the Legisla-
g ture containing more than one SUBJECT,
'tohich shall be clearly expressed IN the title,
except appropriation bills.
| The exception is the only Objectionable
| feature III this section-for money IS some
| times voted in an appropriation bill, which
could not pass IN bill by itself We be-
lieve the Executives the Judiciary, the Leg
| islative, and other Departments, the Char
| ity donations, and all Laws, should be pass
ed in separate bills, at different times; so
that each one should stand upon its own
merits, and not, as now, be smuggled In,
and allowed to pass upon the spur of neces-
| sity, by log rolling, at the end of the ses-
| sion.
| To show the deceptions practiced by bills
relating to different subjects, and under un-
| satisfactory titles, we notice few on our
| last Senate file:
San act to authorize the sale of certain
real estate Where? and whose? are
| reasonable inquiries, not answered by this
| title, and for all public benefit the bill might
as well have had no title. If the act was
proper, why was not the title full and fair
IAN act to change the venue in certain
| case" Whose case ? what county Very
many, having suits in Courts, would be a
Harmed by such a nugatory yet annoying
heading ola bill.
''An act for the promotion Of anatomical
science, was to give certain bodies for sur
gical dissection, and might as well have said
| so at once.
In the House, San act to lay bounty
tax, referred to one township only, but one
would suppose might cover the State. Why
not say what township it concerned, for the
OI UiidU UcWilSI1lD, dliu " SCG dli
the rest of the State at ease
A further supplement to an act relating
to Sheriffs, does not refer to Sheriffs at all,
but gives the Commissioners of Carbon
county power to pay So per week for
boarding prisoners, past as well as prospec-
tive. Instead of relating to sheritfs, the
bill should have read IAN act TO confer a
special favor upon one Sheriff by raising the
usual compensation for boarding prisoners,
In his case only.
''An act to repeal Sec. 4, of an act rela-
tive to certain election districts, approved
April u, 1853. Why not say what the
verbiage to hinder Legislators from knowing
what it was-for who wants to hunt up old
law books uselessly ? or who has time in the
usual hurry of legislation
An act relating to passenger railways,
repeals the law against running them on the
Sabbath
Another act favorable to public morals,
as one would suppose by the title, had exact
ly the opposite meaning in the bill, III our
opinion.
There are t,co bills reported, entitled
IAN act relating to aoaste. " Waste of
what?
IAN act relating to Allegany county
raises the salary of one officer to S4, 500, an
other 20 $4,000 &c.
''An act relating to a certain alley" But
what about the alley And is the alley in
Philadelphia, Reading, Pittsburg, Harris
burg, Centerville, Lewisburg, Erie, or
where?
There are perhaps dozen bills passed,
each year, headed "a further supplement
to the act incorporating the city OF Phlia-
delphia, on all imaginable subjects---raiss-
ing salaries, legislating men out and IN Of
or
incompatible with others, and closing streets,
alleys, &c. No 1926, III. r., embraces
three or four different subiects-not one of
which is indicated blythe BILL some of which,
of course, deserves to be considered and de-
cided by itself.
Now, is it not manifest that in common
honesty, and for the protection of the mass
of the people in legislation, the object of
bills should be fairly seen on their face, and
that every subject matter should stand or
fall on its own merits? No fair man, 1t
seems to us, should hesitate to vote, on
''Second Amendment-For the Amend
ment.
The Third Amendment reads:
s'No bill shall be passed by the Legisla-
g ture granting any power or privileges In
q any case where the authority to grant
"such powers or privileges has been or may
g hereafter be conferred upon the courts OF
this commonwealth.
This, also, is obviously just, and polite.
Very much of the time of the Legislature
is occupied upon corporations which could
and should be uniform in their character.
and the propriety of granting, which could
be much better and more fairly determined
by the Court Tor Judges and Grand Jurorsl
of their respective counties, than by l53