Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-04-02
From the State House.
A Quiet SENATE and TaiIKing House
District COurts-The Rights of Woman.

BosToN, April 1, 1872.
The house orders of the day contained over
hundred bills, resolves and reports, and but
little more than one-third of this formidable ar
ray of business was advanced at ALL The cause
OF this accumulation is lack of judgment on
the part Of committees, by which an undue share
OF important questions have been presented first
in the popular branch. 1t is apparent however,
that the house is rather addicted to talk and that
the senate is unusually exempt from the
cacaethes loquendi. This afternoon the upper
branch disposed of everything before it
in less than an hour, and throughout the ses-
sion, in fact, longer sittngs than this have been
quite rare; yet the business proves to be as well
done as usual, and recOnsiderations have been
found necessary, but seldom. In point of doing
business quietly and quickly the senate is in-
deed model body, and if the house will shake
off the incubus now upon it, the session can be
closed before even the first curing of hay in the
State house yard.
This legislature will be remarkable for cstab-
fishing district courts, if for nothing else No
less than four of these bills were before the SEN
ate to-day, one for central Middlesex, another
for eastern Hampden, another for southern
Worcester Second district, and fourth for
central Hampshire. All but the last named re-
ceived favorable action, and that is the first to
be rejected of the multitude which have come
up.
The question of the annexation of Brighton
to Boston received its quetus in the senate this
afternoon, by the unopposed acceptance of the
adverse report of the committee on towns
There was little fight in the house over the
report of the committee on roads and bridges,
on the order concerning the repeal of chapter
1871 Of the acts Of 1863, which authorizes the
county commissioners TO construct a bridge over
the Mystic river. The committee thought it in
expedient to repeal the act, bur Colonel Taylor,
of Somervle, thought it inexpedient to build
the bridge, and therefore offered bill as sub
titute for the report. He made the best of his
case against the committee and got good follow
ing but the committee carried the day.
The committee on woman suffrage put into
the house report in which the majority, in
GLIDING the three senators, recommended that
all the papers before the committee relating to
the right of women to vote for certain officers,
offices, be referred to joint special committee
consisting Of the judiciary committees of the
two branches. The minority, headed by the
humorist of the house, dissent, expressing the
belief that "the questions of law involved are
not sufficiently abstruse to Justify any grave APP
prehension as to the ability of the committee
to grappe with them successfully" And so
here is another bone Of contention.
was wrong in my allusion to the bills rea-
ting TO divorce nisi yesterday The house com.
mittee on the judiciary is about equally divided
on the question, but agreed to report the bill
leaving each member to act for or against il as
he should see tit. The committee on education
have taken similar action on the bill granting
100000 TO Amherst college. A portion of the
committee are opposed to recommending such
an appropriation, and although the bill will be
reported, they reserve the privilege Of working
and voting against 1t in the Legislature.
The bill TO regulate the hours of labor in man