Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1870-03-03
Relative Wholly to Legislative Mat
tiers.
MADISON, Feb. 25, 1870.


that many of the members come here
with the idea that in order to retain the
goodwill of their constituents, they
must in sene way create sensation, or
by the Introduction of many bills, get
their names in the papers, in great CAPT
tai letters, so that sail who run may
read"--or words to that effect. He who
is noisiest is not necessarily the most ef-
ficient nor influential legislator. On the
contrary, the old saying applies here as
well as elsewhere, that the still swine
oe,s the svilln 31o5 .xiHUai
Three-fourths of the bills introduced
are entirely local, and about one third of
the whole number will probably never
pass the house in which they were in
.troduced. A joint resolution is before
the senate providing a remedy for too
much local legislation, which reads as
follows: vrD m Vry1r
Resolved 5y the Senate tie AssemJly con.ur
rtng, That article " of the constitution OF
this state be amended by adding thereto an
other section. as follows:
Section 81. The Legislature are hereby
prohibited from passing any special acts for
Changing the namcsof persons or constituting
LAYING out. opening aud altering highways,
except in cases OF state roads extended into
more than one county, and military roads, to
aid i'm the construction of which lands may
be granted by Congress, or for authorizing
persons to keep ferries across streams at points
wholly within the state, or for authorizing
the sale or mortgage of real or personal prop
erty of minors or others under disability. or
for locating or changing any county seat, or
Cor assessment or collection of taxes, on for
granting corporate POW eis and privileges ex-
Cept to cities, or for authorizing the apportlon
ment of any part of the school fund. or for
incorporating any town or village or amend
ing the charter thereof: but all acts of the
Legislature oscary out,the above mentioned
objects, shall be general in their character
and uniform ia their operation throughout
the state.
Should this resolution meet the appro
baton of both houses, it will then have
to be voted on by the people, suppose,
before change can be effected in the
constitution. ..laseg ,t.F .z.afa Es8a.lt
Wednesday morning, assembly bill
" No. L." which passed that house week
before last, was taken up in the senate,
and after little preliminary skirnishing
was refused third reading by the FOL
lowing vote. Ayes-Baldwin, Clark,
Deuster, Haz ,lton, Joiner, Morgan, Pet
tct, Reed, Rice, Schan,z, Walker, Wood
man,-l2. Noes-Burchard, Butt, Da
Wis, Fisher, Hall, Kershaw, Krouskop,
Pratt, Price, Stevens, Strong, Taylor, C.
G. Williams, Nelson Willians,-l4. 1t
will be seen that seven senators failed TO
place themselves or record on this ques.
tion-scme because Of absence, and 9TH
ers for varioss excuses of more or less
weight. Senator Taylor has introduced
q bill which will doubtless be more ia
vorably received. Its provisions are
very similar to those of assembly bill
No. 10. synopsis Of which l gave in a
former letter. A change of some kind
must be made, as l beievesthe Supreme
Court has declared the present system un-
constitutional in some of its provisions.
: Senator Ives has introduced bill "to
amend section Z, of chapter 1872 of the
private and local laws of 1869, entitled
an act TO authorize the judges of the
county court of Pierce county to hold
said court at the city of Prescott, in said
county" The Senator's bill to protect
the people against "patent right sharks"
was .stilEborn--being virtually killed by
the committee to whom it was referred,
which recommended that it be indefin-
itely postponed. The bill provided that
hereafter no note, bond, bill or any writ
ten promise to pay, given for patent
right, should be received in any court Of
justice in this state rs evidence of debt.
Who in Pierce county is trying to legis-
late himself out of financial difficulties (!
A bin has passed the senate which ex.
empts disabled soldiers of our late war
from paying poll TAX or hawker's and
peddler's licenses. This smacks of jus.
tice, and 1 hope it will pass the assembly
also. Senator G. G. Williams has in
troduced ia the Senate q memorial to
CoDg,a ss, asking that our state may be
divided into two judicial districts, the d.
vision to be made SO that the counties of
Rock, Dane and Columbia, and that
portion of the state west of these coun-
ties and north of the Wisconsin river
shall constitute the new district. This
memorial is in opposition to one intro
duced which makes the division further
west, and would probably. give seat of
justice TO La Crosse, which would be
much more convenient for the western
portion of the state tlan Milwaukee or
Madison will be.