The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1870-12-30
Harrisburg Correspondence.
HARRISBURG, Dec. II, 1870.

shall be employed at the seat of Gov
ernment, in the performance of their
Legislative duties."
"Each Legislature shall fix, by law,
the daily pay of the mt mbers of the
Legislature next following it. The
yeas and nays shall be called, upon the
passage of the aforesaid law and shall be
published in at least one newspaper
printed in each county of the Com
monwealth during the week immedi-
ately preceding the following general
election"
1t is to be hoped that the adoption of
this proposed amendment, will bring
back the sessions of our Legislature to
that degree of stability and permanent
cy necessary to calm investigation of
the grave matters submitted to their
consideration, and that the representa-.
tives of the people instead of twice in
each week appearing in the streets of
| Harrisburg, in the nomadic character
of travelling railroad menageries or of
wandering tribes of carpet baggers,
will resume the sober and respectable
department of American citizens, EN-
gagged in the performance of the high
est and most responsible duties which
could be entrusted to them by their con
fiding fellow citizens.
The Senators and Representatives be.
ing, by the above amendment, paid by
the day, it will become necessary to
limit the duration of the Legislative
| sessions, as follows: "The regular
sessions of the Legislature shall termi-
nate on the 31st day of March, in every
year, unless sooner adjourned by joint
resolution of both Houses" In order
to cure our Representatives of the er.
ratio habits they have acquired, un-
der the corrupting influence of free
railroad passes, | would suggest the fol-
lowing amendment to the 18th section
OF the first article of the present Con-
stitution. "Neither House shall, with.
out the consent of the other, adjourn
for more than one day nor to any other
place than that in which the two Huus.
es shall be sitting" To secure economy
and to put stop TO the annual creation
of numerous sinecures by each House,
to reward partizan loafers, would pro-
pose the following amendment to the
1lth section of the first article of the
present Constitution, to wit: "Each
House shall choose its speaker and 9TH
er officers and the number Of officers to
be employed in either House shall be de-
tern'ined, the yeas and nays being GATED,
6y not less than t,OO thirds of all the
members constituting the body Of the
House, and the Senate shall also choose
a Speaker pro tenn when the Speaker
shall exercise the Office of Governor"
Not one out of thousand who lives
at distance from the seat of Govern
lnent can realize the number of Legisla.
tive sinecure5 which this amendment
is intended to wipe out. Besides the
Sergeant at Arms and door keepers for
each House, there seems of late no
other limit to the number of their as
sistants than the claims of hungry
partizan expectants. The same may be
Post Masters and their assistants. Then
comes the grand army of pastors, with
nothing to paste and those valiant and
incorruptible patriots whose invaluable
services at the polls entitle them to the
dignity of guards at the doors of Cloa.
cina's Temple, where, with tissue paper
in hand, they humbly minister to the
ease of their magnificent Legislative
benefactors, for the moderate sum of
seven hundred dollars per session Then
to fill up the measure of Legislative
munificence, follow, rank on rank,
the battalions of washer women, useful
in more ways than one, and sufficient,
in point of numbers, to bestow a
snow white purity, not only upon the
most secret recesses of the Capital, but
upon the cOnscienceS of its numerous
inmates! There is a redeeming spice
of charity in the very liberal payment
of these hordes of poor women, which
imparts to the Capitol a certain poor
house appearances, very suggestive of
the future condition of the Common
wealth under the persistent legislation
of our modern solons
The Senators and Representative be-
ing paid by the day, it will be necessary
to limit the duration of the Legislative
sessions, to wit: "The Legislature
shall meet on the first Tuesday of Jan.
uary in every year, unless sooner con-
Upnp6 IA
inmate its sessions on or before thirty
first of March following"
The following three amendments are
intended to put an effective check upon
the local legislation which has become
the main source of corruption in our
State Legislature:
1.-The Legislature shall not have pow.
er to enact laws annulling the contract
of marriage in any case whatever"
mo corporate body shall hereafter
be created, renewed or extended, or the
charter thereof amended, without six
months previous public notice of the
application for the same, in such man
ner as shall be prescribed by law, and
the said notice shall contain a copy of
the charter or amendment to the char,
ter to be applied for"
"No local law shall be enacted by the
Legislature except upon the petition of
not less than two-thirds of the taxable
inhabitants residing within the district
for which the law is asked the said pc
tition shall be certified correct by the
President Judge of the Court of Quar-
ter Sessions having Jurisdiction over
the district aforesaid"
The twenty-third section of the arti-
Gle of the present Constitution should be
so amended as to require tioo thirds of
all the members constituting The body of
each House to pass bill over the Gov