Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-01-05
The Legislature.
Reelection of the Old Omcers.

among those who were old acquaintance, and
the introduction of new members to each other.
The members were generally in season, and an
hour or so was spent in social intercourse before
the time for organization. There were fewer
spectators present than on many former occa
Sions
SENATE.
The senate was called to order promptly at
ten O'Clock by Hon George Z. Eliot of Billerica
senior member of the sixth MiddleseX district, a
member in 1867. Messrs. Bird of Norfolk, Rich
ardson of MiddleseX, and Collins of Suffolk
! were appointed committee to wait on the gov
ernOr and council and inform them that quo
| rum Of senators were present and ready to be
| qualified. The governor and council soon after
came in, when the oaths of office were admins
tered and subscribed 10 by the several senators,
and the governor and council withdrew.
A committee, consisting of Messrs. Halves of
| Bristol, Crosby of Hampshire, and Boardman of
Suffolk was appointed to receive, sort and
count the votes for president Of the senate. The
committee reported the whole number of votes
TO be thirty-eight, all of which were for Hon.
! Horace II. Coolidge. The president, on being
conducted to the chair addressed the senate as
| follows:
REMARKS OF PRESIDENT COOLIDGE.
Senator's, For this distinguished mark of
| your confidence and consideration, tender TO
| you my heartfelt thanks. 10 be called upon by
such a vote as you have given to preside over
the senate of Massachusetts is high honor;
my earnest hope is that | may prove myself
worthy of it.
We have been called by our fellow citizens
| from the various avocations of life to come up
| here to serve the state, and the honor that has
| been conferred upon us demands Of us CORE
! spending services. We must see TO it that at
our hands "the republic receives no detriment."
| Every idea Of personal honor or personal gain
| must he sacrificed to the one great idea, that the
/ m he served and we'll firmly and hon.
estly served. The state demands still more, that
| the service shall be prompt earnest decisive and
| speedy. / do not here propose to dilate upon
the importance of a short session. The expert
cnce of the past has taught me that the inaugu'
raj addresses of presiding officers can do little
| to effect that much desired result, yet you will
| pardon me if | suggest to you one or two meas
| ures or considerations which an experience of
several years in the legislature has suggested to
my mind as practical means of accomplishing
| that which is so much desired by our constitu-
| entS.
The first is, that in the revsal of the rules of
the senate it should be provided that the passage
Of bill to the third reading should be its only de-
batabe stage, and that it should pass Its several
| other stages by order and without debate, and
| further, that upon all motions to reconsider
! senators should he limited to fivc-mnute
| speeches. BY the rules as they now stand there
are eight debatabe stages Tor a bill, and as the
| attention of the senate is not concentrated upon
any one, the result has been want of decisionand
| sudden changes Of opinion by no means credit
| able to this body. If II is suggestion shall be
imboded in the rules its effect will be to rally
| the friends and opponents Of every measure
| upon its crucial stage, and the result will be
| fuller attendance and more animated and cX-
| haustiye debate. The right to reconsideration
being retained, any error or mistake can be cor
reeted, but the senate will not be subjected TO
| repetition Of arguments already listened to.
| And, lest any one should fear the danger of
| blSfV lpUigia finn | NVpnlb remind him tl1t the
| general rule, which will doubtless be retained,
| that all rules may be suspended by n twO-thirdS
vote, vote which could always lie obtained
when good reasons were given, is Il sufficient
! safeguard.
So much for matters brought before the SEN
| ate for consideration, but the work of the legS-
lature is not so much in this hall or the other as
in the committee rooms And here let me say
that great responsibility rests upon senators.
The chairmanShips of all the Joint committees
belong to them, and before those committees is
the great work of the session done, and upon
the chairmen depends in a great measure the
manner in which it is done They should see TO
it that all hearings are promptly held, speedily
finished, and the results communicated to the
respective branches ut as early period as posi-
bic, and so divided between the two branches
that both shall be well occupied and neither be
Obliged TO wait for business from the other. The
responsibility for the faithful performance of
this work, senators, rests upon you. You have
the honorS; let me urge upon you to see 10 it
that you perform the corresponding duties.
Nor do | forget the duties that rest upon my
self. Everything that | can do in the way of
eXpediting business shall be done. The most
important of all duties will be the appointment
of committees and tor its performance | crave
your kind consideration. ! come TO the chair
free from every promise or pledge, direct or ill.,
direct and with the sole desire to serve the state
as best may in this important duty, ltwould
be pleasant to crafty every senator, but that is
impps siblR | Cpn b1tfp ON If ,Jrt,, kafo
e, and that Is, to the best Of my Judgment to
see that the state is well served. That / may
| offend many in the performance of this delicate
duty cannot but fear, but, with Luther, | say,
81 stand here; can do no otherwise; may God
help me-
And now, senators,we are about to enter upon
the service of the state. Let us do so with a
pure, earnest desire TO serve her well.
While now speak to you there comes to us
over the water the marble image of that great
governor who served her SO truly and so we'll,
whose warm heart went out 10 each one of her
citizens, who never hesitated to say or do what
he thought was right, by reason of misreprc-
| sentation, obloquY or reprOach. II may be a
part of our grateful and reverent duty to place
the counterfeit pTesCntment Of that noble man
beneath the dome Of the capitol where his
mighty work was done, and as we pass and re-
pass before that noble presence shall we not
each be inspired to do the right regardless of the
consequences, to be true TO our own sense of
humble way, with the same spirit with which he
served her SO grandly and gave his immortal
name to her glory2
Senator's, again l thank you for the great
honor you have paid me, and invoking Gods
blessing on our deliberations, / accept the office
you have conferred upon me.
MessrS. Pierce OF MlddleSeX, IenneY of Essex
and Packard of Hampton, were appointed
committee to receive, sort and count the votes
TOR clerk OF the senate. The committee reported
Nxb how e 20, ho Ill.
were for Stephen A. Clifford of DuxbuTy.
Messrs. Fox of Suffolk Clark of Franklin, and
liaWes OF Bristol were appointed q committee
TO inform the governor and council of the or
ganlzauon OF the senate and MesSrs Collins Of
Suffolk, Goodman Of Berkshire, and BarthOlo-
NEW of Worcester, to communicate the same in
formation to the house.
Messrs. Rhodes of Bristol, Thayer of Berk-
shire and Park of Suffolk were appointed n
committee to receive, sort and count the yotes
for sergeant-at-arns. The committee reported
the whole number of votes 10 he 80, of which 81
were for John Morrssey, and 2 for O. +. Minis,
Mr.. Pierce of MiddleseX, was appointed to in
form the house of the election of John MorIissev
as sergeant-lt-arms on the part of the senate
The returns for senators in the several sena-
tOral districts were referred to q special com
mittee, consisting of Messrs. Thayer of Worces-
ter, Boardman of Suffolk, Wilcomb of Essex.
Fletcher of AliddleseX, and Thayer of Berkshire.
and a petition of George NJ Sleans of Chico
Chase, of the second Hampden district, was re-
ferred TO them.
The hour of meeting on Thursday, and until
otherwise ordered, was fixed at II A. NJ
After the transaction of some routine bust
ness, the senate adjourned to hear the election
sermon.
HOUSE.
At eleven O'Clock Hon. William S. Robinson,
the clerk Of last year. announced that Hon.
John |. Baker, Of Beverly, was the senior mem
Der present having served in the house of rep
resentatives in 1910, and that gentleman called
the house to order, after which he called on Rev.
Dr. Hill, OF Waltham, to offer prayer
A committee was then sent to the secretary of
the commonwealth that the house had been
called to order, and this committee subsequent
~ reported, bringing in list Of the members,
when committee, consisting of 0ber of Bos-
ton Cogswell of Yarmouth, Arnold Of North
ampton, Brownell of Westport and Bower of
Lawrence, was appointed TO collect the creden-
tials OF members. report being made that a
quorum was present, an order was offered by
Mr.. Train, of Boston, that a committee of FIVE
be appointed to wait ON the governor
and inform him that a quorum was