Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-12-04
The Leglslature--Extra Session.
Old South Again Insurance speeuIa-
GiOnss


Boston, Tuesday, Dee. 8.
The senate, to-day, by vote of 20 to 8, voted
to refer to the next legislature the bill authoriz-
ing the Hartford and Erie and other railroads to
extend their tracks into the burnt district of
Boston. Senator Torey Of Fitchburg urged
that the Union Freight railroad chartered
last winter could furnish all the accommoda-
tions of this character needed. Mr. TarboX of
Lawrence said he would like to refer the whole
business of this session to the next general
court, but this bill he considered one of the
most important which had been presented. The
Union Freight had not the cars and equipments
to do the work, AMI it should not have a mo-
nopoly of this business amy more than the Bos-
ton, Hartford and Erie.
The senators voted themselves mileage to the
amount of 1852, and after brief session adj
journed to make way for the members of the
electoral college, who assembled in the senate
chamber at three o'clock, and, after organizing
by the choice of E. lockwood Hoar president
and w. T. Davis secretary, adjourned till to-
morrow, when the voting for president and vice
president will take place. 1t is understood that
Geo. S. Merrill, secretary of the state commit
tee, will be designated to bear the dispatch to
Washington.
The house gave up the entire session to a fur
Their discussion of the bill granting the Old South
society of Boston leave to lease their church.
Mr.. Winslow of Newton protested against the
manner in which the Old South church and its
trustees and members were treated in the dis
cussion yesterday by those who opposed the
lease. Col Goldman Of Boston opposed the bill,
saying that the OldSouth is the richestProtestant
ecclesiastical corporation in the United States,
except Trinity in New York, and the latter had
not felt it necessary to remove their church, near
Wall street, where week day and Sunday the
voice of prayer and praise is heard. The Old
South, he said, is rich enough to-day to build
church on the Back bay and at the same time
maintain the Old South as a great free church.
The debate was continued at great length,
Messrs. Washburn, Palmer, Newell, Quincy,
Kimball, Shaw of Boston, Perry of Agawam,
Hoyt of Athol, Sayward of Ipswich, Laughlin
oil Lowell Thompson of Gloucester and others,
expressing themselves freely on the subject, a
majority favoring the bill, and many of them
talking about anything but the question before
the house. MIR. Palmer, who made perhaps the
best speech of ALL characterized the question as
one Of archaeology against theology. He paid a
deserved tribute to the great worth and rare
scholarship OF Rev Drs. Blagden and Manning,
the senior and junior pastors of the Old South
Mr. Newell quoted scripture with extraordinary
freedom, and addressed the house as if it were
Sunday school convention. Mr.. Laughlin, who
was born in ireland, said but little his chief
point being to make alluson to Froude the
historian as chat British fraud" True, this
has nothing to do with the Old South Mr.. Hoyt
spoke plainly, practically and to the point in
favor Of the bill.
In the course of the debate Madame
Norton, who gave her garden as a site for
this church. was the subject of extrayagant
eulogy, one speaker abiding to her as q saint,
another said the Old South society ought to
| build a chapel and give it her name. Rev. S.
| Manning, Avery Plummer, Loring Lothrop,
| Linus NJ. Child and other prominent gentle
men Of the Old South church were on the floor
| Of the house interested listeners to the debate.
Possibly the pastor, who in mental power and
scholarship stands at the head of the Congre-
gatonal clergymen of Boston, was interested in
the fppant speech of one member who said the
reason the Old South church was not crowded
| on Sunday was because they did not have HUe
preacher, meaning, of course, one of the sensa-
tional type.
Late in the afternoon an unsuccessful attempt
was made to force the previous question and
thus close this useless debate, but the house said
no decsiyey and the debate went on, and the
insurance bill was not reached.
The bill introduced in the senate yesterday by
Carroll u. Wright of Reading was laid before
the legislature in print to-day, 1t provides for
state official fire insurance company, with
capital OI 0O,UUUjUUU, ana I state guarantee OF
| Sl0,O0O,O0O, which is not to be touched until the
capital stock and assets are exhausted. Policies
may be issued whenever 50, 200, 900 of the capital
shall have been subscribed, but dividends shall
be declared only on the actual amount sub
scribed and paid in The dividends are not to
exceed ten per cent per annum. The net
earnings oil the company are to be APP
| piled to the accumulation of its guarantee
| fund, which shall be first exhausted in
| case of loss, and is to he invested
as It accumplates. The officers are to be elected
| by the stockholders, and confirmed by the gov
ernor and council, The state is to be repre-
| sented on the board OF directors but the state
| directors are not to be stockholders. Stock
| may be put into the market at niletysiVe, and
| dividends on the capital stock only may be in
| creased as the Gompany's guarantee fund ac-
cumnlates, say one or two per cent for every
| million accumulation. There is also a proviso
thatnO risks shall be taken within forty rods OF
| any locality where risks of S5OO0,000 on con-
| tiguOus property have been taken.
| Persons interested in the order relative to COM
binations by insurance companies to raise rates,
| came before the Joint special committee to-day.
| Mr. Abbott of Maiden advocated the passage of
| bill, which he presented, providing that for
| every policy issued in this commonwealth by
| such combination, or any portion of 1t, which
| he proposed 10 suppress, whether issued by local
| companies or agents OF foreign companies, the
| same shall be liable to penalty of 500, to be
that he had heard that one agent in Boston since
the fire had received SIS 900 in commissions in
| one day, outside Of premiums, aud another
| had received $4,000 in the same business.
| The foreign insurance companies had raised
| their rates since the fire. under the same old
| combinations, and now it was clear that these
| parties were conspiring against the common.
| wealth, and the commonwealth, having char
| tered them, was as much obligated to follow
| them up as in the case of combination to raise
the price Of -four coal and other necessaries of
| life. He objected to the discriminating rates
which were established on particular buildings
| by this combination and said the rules of the
| companies in this combination were to cancel
| policies taken under the established rates, and
| discharge the agent. He claimed the system
was fraud, that the stock companies were in
league with the mutual companies and that this
was an imposition on property owners. He
| said he believed that a policy of insurance
| ought to mean something beyond a simple
| promise to pay; that when an ornamental board
of directors was advertised, parties we're apt to
insure their property in an Office where the
directors were wealthy men, but when crash
came they found they could only get an amount
| equal to the capital of.the concern. He thought
the joint stock companies were curse to the
| state, and that they ought to be crushed out,
the only true syste m being the mutual,
| A Terrible NitrO-qsIycerIue FxnIosyou