Weekly Calaveras chronicle., 1868-02-08
LETTER FROM THE CAPITAL.
SPECIAL Correspondence OF THE cHnos1c1,
SACRAMENTO, Feb. 9TH, 1868.
THE WEATHER.

THE WEATHER.
hensive enough, no adjective sufficiently
strong and expressive, to convey anything
like an adequate idea of what the weather
really is; to say that it is delightful but
reiterates what every body repeats thousand
times day magnificent is entirely too weak
and insipid to use as descriptive adjective,
and glorious falls short of any thing like a
comparison. In the language of John Phe-
nix can but say that the weather is '99 fine
and preposterously delightful" and you may
be assured that nowhere are all its beauties,
glories and delights more fully appreciated
than by the citizens and sojourners in this
most execrable. muddy city. Everybody en-.
joys its delights and endeavors to derive the
greatest possible pleasure from it. All Sac
ramento is out Of doors-not quite out of
doors. either, for it is not at all prudent to at
| tempt to leave the side walks, unless per-
son desires mud bath by way of change
but the sidewalks are in a reasonable. be-
coming condition for promenading. and there
are two blocks that person can, with con-
siderable degree of safety, drive upon. All
this fine weather has rather demoralizing
effect upon
THE LEGISLATURE.
A majority of the members have hitherto
been accustomed to active outdoor life, and
it is very trying to their nerves to sit cooped
up in the dark chambers of the Capital, from
eleven till five o'clock every day, listening to
the discussion of every imaginable subject
from the granting to John Doe franchise to
keep a toll bridge on some dry ravine to
questions of international law, and the in
alienable right of governments to control the
person of the citizen, when everything is so
pleasant and inviting without, and the result
is that legislation drags. and but little busi-
ness of general interest is transacted.
BRIBERY.
The whole of last Friday was consumed
by the Assembly in discussing the proposition
10 recede from its former amendment to the
Senate Resolution calling for a joint COM
mittee of both houses to investigate the
charges of fraud and bribery in the Senatorial
election. After a tedious debate, in which
all hands joined and much bad blood
and i'll feeling were evinced the House re-
fused to recede from its amendment, and a
committee Of conference was appointed but
the committee have not yet reported and the
matter rests exactly where it was two weeks
ago. In the meantime Gen. Howard has
failed to make any specific charges against
any member of either House, and the i'm
preston now generally prevails, that all his
wide mouthed charges of fraud were only
intended to frighten few of the more timid
members and compel them to use their in
fluence to fix up place for him in order to
keep harmony in the party; and some ex-
press the opinion that his pamphlet was only
sharp dodge on his part, resorted to as
means of reimbursement of his expenditures
in the contest.
THE FIRST VETO
of the Governor was sent to the Assembly
last evening, at the afternoon session. where
in he assigned his reasons for not signing the
Bill granting to Hutchings and Lamon, the
land in the Yosemite Valley on which they
have been settled for number of years. At
the session of Congress of '66. that body
granted to the STATE of California a large
tract of land embracing the Valley and Falls
of the Yosemite, with the expressed condition
that the State should hold it for public use
resort and recreation, and that it should be
inalienable for all time. Hutchings and
Lamon had. however, long prior to that date
settled m the Valley and held each claim
of one hundred and sixty acres under the
possessory law of the State, and the Legisla-
ture, deeming their claim just and equitable,
donated to them the land on which they had
settled and improved but it seems the Gov
ernor desires that the State should strictly
adhere to. and comply with the terms and
conditions of the Act of Congress, and there
fore refuses to sign the bill on the ground
that it alienates portion of the land granted
to the State.
REPEAL OF THE SUNDAY LAWS.
For some days a bill reported by the
House Committee on Public Morals, for the
repeal of all existing Sunday laws, has been
pending before the Assembly, and in the
meantime petitions from all parts of the
State, numerously signed, favoring and pro-
testing against the repeal, have been coming
in and were referred to the Committee on
Morals. This morning the Committee re-
ported that all the petitions had been care
fully examined. and that twelve thousand
eight hundred persons had asked for the
repeal, and eight hundred and fifty had
protested against it. What effect these pc
titions will have, am unable to say, but
give it as my opinion that all laws for the
better observance of the Sabbath, will be
repealed.
A TEMPERANCE MOVE.
A rather singular bill passed the Senate
last Friday. but not without strong opposi-
ton. 1t vests in the Board of Supervisors
the exclusive right to say who shall. and
who shall not vend liquors at retail, and
leaves it to the discretion of the Board to fix
the rate of tax a person shall pay for the
privilege of "keeping BAR. am inclin-
ed to favor some features of the Bill, but
must hold to the opinion that it would be
rough on fellow who likes his toddy, if we
should, by any possible chance, ever get
Board of Supervisors so strictly temperate
and old fogyish, that they would not grant
any one license to sell whisky.
MENTzEL's BILL,
allowing the counties to retain the whole
of the license collected from Foreign Miners,
came up in the Assembly to-day, on engross-
ment, and was very ably discussed at length.
by Bugbee, Gildea, Dwinelle and Brown,
of Tuare. who favored its passage. and Ry-
land, Moore and Frisbie, who opposed it.
1t finally passed to engrossment by a vote
of 46 ayes to 27 nays. A motion of Rollins.
to suspend the rules, consider the Bill en-
crossed and place it upon its final passage,
was lost, it requiring two-thirds vote to
suspend the rules. 1t will be reached to-
morrow or next day on the general file, and
its friends are now sanguine of its final
passage by both branches. During its dis
cussion. which was the most elaborate that
has occurred in the House during the ses-