The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1869-03-08
The session Rrekcn I'D.

Since Che question OF approving the
Constitutional Amendment making
suffrage universal, proposed by Con-
rreSs. has been pending In our Legis-
lature. the Democrats have manifested
a decided disposition to defeat it at
all hazards. If it had not been for
the law which makes boiling a
misdemeanor. and Furnishes 1t with a
fine OF a thousand dollars, they would
have bOlted." As it was. they could
make their opposition e~ffectual only
by resigning, and yesterday morning
they resigned. The Amendment was
made the special order for half-past
Two o'clock In the afternoon, but the
Democracy cared nothing for a half
day, and resigned In the morning.
Seventeen Senators and thirty-seven
Representatives thus deprived the
State of services they had drawn pay
for rendering. Their names will be
found in the Legislative report. They
left both Houses without a quo
rum, and consequently legislation
for this session is ended. The
General and Specific APP
preparation bills, the tax bill, and
Dearly every other item of necessary
legislation, are dead. There will be,
as there was In 1863, plenty of money
in the Treasury, but not a cen can
he obtained to carry on the State
! Government. This is the work Of
| the Democracy at this session, and it
is all they have done. They have
taken the responsibility of leaving
the State without money for every
necessary purpose, to prevent a chance
of the Legislature accepting universal
suffrage. The people have paid $500
for the business of the session, and
the Democrats have wasted the whole
OF it in an hour. If they had re-
manned, a great deal of important
legislation could have been completed,
for it was fully mature1, and all nee
essary legislation could have been
effected. But they have defeated it
al in a lump. They accept the re-
sp%onsibitity, and 1t is now for their
const ituents to judge of their con-
duct.
They resigned yesterday morning,
and the Constitutional Amendment
could not come up till the middle of
the afternoon. The General Appro-
priation bill had passed the House.
/ anu WAS III b1O va VI IL OCAhbC
Committee on Finance. Il could
easily have been reported back and
passed before oon if the Democrats
had remained, and thus the one IN
d~ispensable provision for the support
Of the State Government have been
secured, which might have obviated a
special session. Bat the Democracy
were too eager to show their hatred OF
/ IL - - --~-EA !. knlE A.r +.
work to save the Treasury SIS, 900, or
thereabouts. for the expense of an
extra session. They wouldn'C remain
and pass the Appropriation bill, and
the consequence is, the Governor must
cali another session, and order a
special election to fill the vacancies
created by the designations.
This is a necessity. They have left
the Asylums, the Penitentiaries. the
Safe debt, and a score of important
interests, without any provision what
ever. Unless a special session is call
ed the insane will have to be sen to
the county poor houses, as they were
by the Democratic administration oil
Governor Willard in 1857; the blind
aud deaf mutes will have to be taken
home or turned into the streets; the
penitentiaries may not be entirely
closed, because one at least is self
supporting, but If any accident should
happen them they would have no
remedy. and no means of repair; the
State debt would remain unpaid, un-
less Governor Baker borrowed money
on his personal credit to pay it. as
Governor Morton did in 1868; the
Honse of Refuge would have
to be closed, and the inmates
let loose ON society again; the
Soldiers Home would be emp.
tied into the roads and fields, and its
heroic relies of the war left to beg to
tscape the starvation which Demo-
cracy thinks a cheap way out of the
danger of letting decent negroes vote
as well as indecent white men. These
are evils that outweigh the expense OF
an extra session. So great are they,
that the Sentinel of 1868 denounced
Governor Morton with unmeasured
severity for refusing to call a special
session of the Legislature to remedy
them. though it knew, as well as the
Governor did, that its friends would
not allow any appropriation bills to
pass till they had taken the govern
ment out of his hands and turned the
State into an ally Of the rebellion.
Now, we suspect it will denounce
Governor Baker for calling a session
as severely as it denounced Governor
Morton for not doing it.
The consequences of a special ses-
sion, thus made necessary by the
Democrats, are worthy the attention
Of all the State. and especially of their
constituents. First, it compels a spe-
cial election, which the Governor has
ordered to be held on the 23d instant,
to fill the vacancies. This will cost
each county not far from 81, 600.
Forty six counties have lost their re-
presentation. The cost to them will
aggregate $45, 900 to $4,000. Second,
an extra session will cost the whole
State from 100000 to $10O, 600. Thus
this Democratic operation has had
added to the tax of every county
which must hold a special election
about $1,000, aud has caused an utterly
unnecessary expense of probably $75,-
OOO to the State.-Ind. Journal.
I GraEa0nH nut uIu-u- man