Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1867-03-08
Tho General Assembly.

Tho General Assembly.
The General Assembly, after All adjourn
ed session of forty-two days, closed its la
bors on Monday morning last having &C
complished an amount of work heretofore
unknown in the history OF our Legislative
bodies. 1t has been somewhat popular fol
few of the presses of the State to e1pend
copious supplies of very poor wit at this
body, which has reflected more upon them
selves than upon the Legislature but we
are prepared to affirm from a personal at
tendance upon many, and an ottlclal con
nection with several, that q more patriotic
and industrious body never assembled with
in the Halls of the Capitol, and while there
NAV be an unusual absence Of The names
of those who have heretofore distinguished
themselves in the political annals Of ou1
State, still the intelligence and ability Of
the Legislature has been manifested IN very
In the general demorallzed condition Of
the country, it was not to be expected thai
the legislation Of the General Assembly
should be entirely free from infection, and
the wonder rather IS that it did not partake
more of radicalism upon certain matters Of
State policy than was the fact Some bills
have been passed that the more consider
ate of oilr people will doubtless deplore,
while other measures failed, which will be
Il source ofregret hereafter but upon the
whole the Legislature which has just ad-
journed has left a record of which its mem
bers have no reason to be ashamed.
It has been our endeavor by publishing
the daily reports of the proceedings, letters
upon the most interesting subjects before
the two Houses, and the more important
acts passed, to keep our readers fully adj
vised of what their public servants have
been doing, but during the last few days of
the session this has been impossible on &C
count of the very great press of business,
mostly however of an unimportant local
nature.
The Fayetteville and Florence, and the
Cheraw and Coalfeld Railroad bills were
both passed, but the former, with the Sec
tons requiring the Public Treasurer to sub
scribe five thousand dollars of stock paya-
BILE in the second mortgage bonds of the
Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford
Railroad, and the latter with the sections
requiring the Treasurer to subscribe sim
liar amount payable in the stock of the
North Carolina Railroad, stricken out. With
these amendments the bills had no oppo-
nents.
On Saturday Mr.. Leach introduced in
the Senate a bill providing for the call of a
Convention. The intention of the gentle.
man was merely to test the strength of the
question, as there was notat the time of its in.
PRODUCTION enough members in the House tc
pass it, wereal present tovotain the afirma'
tive, two-t thirds ofeach House beingrequired
and barely enough in the Senate. The bill
was rejected in the Senate by vote of nine
against, and twenty-seven in favor of it
thirty-three being required to pass it. II
is, however, worthy Of notice that the Rad.
icals in that body voted in the negative
Others recorded their votes against the
proposition as being unwilling, at the end
of the session, without deliberation and
without consultations with their constitu-
ents, to take step so pregnant with i'm
portant events and contemplating such
radical and fundamental changes.
The Legislature adjourned to meet again
on the third Monday in August, but the
reason for this adjourned session, as we
formerly stated was entirely connected
with matters of State pohty, and i'll no way
connected with Federal politics. What
may take place III the next six months no
one can tell, and whether the present Gen.
eral Assembly will ever meet again, is, we
think, matter of much doubt. We will
not permit ourselves to make any gloomy
forebodings, but trust they may assemble
according to their adjournment, and their
legislation may rebound to the welfare and
prosperity of the State.
We cannot close this article without re-
ferring to the ability and industry of our
county members. The legislation of the
past Fall and Winter will evince better than
we can tell how much our people have
cause to be proud of their immediate rep
resentatives. We surely can make New
Hanover no better wish, SO far as her ma
terial prosperity may be connected with
the action of our General Assemblies, than
that she may always be as well represented
as she was in Coils HALL and CowAH, and
Major MCCLAMlIY.
The StayLaw.
We publish to-day the decision of
Ho0or T11co LII,