Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-03-30
From the State House.
A Multitude of New Matters in Roth
Branches-ReIief for the shanIys-Mai.
Jones' CIRIm-Thc State POlice-Re-
port of the Liquor Committee.
RnsrnN March 90 1879

SthNt iHHiOeino anu hdi DOi lCh u11 iphFSi
is necessary TO make up the decision of the com
mittee The committee on mercantile affairs,
which shares with the house judiciary and rail-
way committees the honor of having done the
most work of all the committees has few mat
tiers before it still unfinished The committee
on rediStrcting the state being composed of gen
tlemen who are all members of other important
committees, cannot well make up their report
until the middle of next week.
In view of these facts the house, at the sug-
gestion of Messrs. Cogswell and Potter, adopted
an order to begin the holding of two sessions
| daily on the 9th of April. There is really no
need of hurrying us up to come here earlier for
find by looking at the files of last years ses-
sions that two sessions daily were held for only
one week previous to the final adjournment, and
there seems to be no reason why, if morriing
sessions are held after the 9th, we may not pass
our last bill and bid the governor goodbye by
the 10th. Indeed, do not see how the session
can be prolonged much beyond that time. The
| legislature will get through quite as soon by
taking matters easy next week. The house has
large amount of accumulated business before
it, and what with the rest Of the reports to.mor-
row, that body will be a full week behind the
the senate on Monday. The house is, however,
some l 50 orders ahead of what the legisatureof
last year was at corresponding date
| Such of the committees as were ready relieved
themselves of very large number of matters
to-day. The finance committee sent in multi
tude of bills on VIII ich they had passed Judgment.
The judiciary committee did likewise, and fairly
overwhelmed the reporters desks with their
| documents. First of all came an immense list
of names of corporations, some six hundred in
all, with few lines of statutory language before
and after, signifying that they are all to be
| dissolved. Among the names of defunct, or
soon-to-be-defunct, corporations, noticed "Wor-
| cester county brick manufacturing company"
| Worcester gold and silver mining company
| and Worcester horse shoe company" Whether
these mOribund concerns are of early or recent
date in the annals of Worcester, | have not at
tempted to find out, but it is worth something
| to know that you have had gold and silver
mining company, even if it existed only in
name. A large batch of the reports from
this committee referred to matters in and
around Boston, giving the street commissioners
power to assess betterments, limiting the num-
Der of coroners to seven, &c. Among the list is
an act authorizing cities and towns to protect
the stomacbs of the people by appointing
inspectors of provisions. The committee on
railroads gave us only one general bill, which
relates to the crossing of highways by railroads.
The bill was suggested, or apparently sprang
from the petition OF the citizens of Lancaster for
an act to compel the Nashua and Worcester
railroad to alter the location of its tracks, and
| Wt6t thpir no
| ported an act to change the method of voting
| in fire insurance companies.
Mr. KimbalPs plan for Getting up" on the
Messrs. Shanly, the Hoosac tunnel contractors,
| which has received the endorsement of the COM
| mittee on the great bore, was submitted in due
order. 1t provides for the release to the Shan
| lys of one hundred thousand dollars of the half
| million now held back under the contract, and
| as security the state will take mortgage on the
machinery at the tunnel, and take five per cent
| interest. As Mr.. Stanley is now paving
nine per cent. interest on this sum which he is
carrying-his total interest payments amounting
| to some $4,000 each month-this will afford him
considerable relief. Furthermore the governor
and council TO have power to issue to the con-
tractors certificates of Indebtedness for all the
reserved fund now held as security for the final
completion of the contract These certificates
will bear no interest," but can be pledged as
as collateral by the contractors. Then
as the work progresses, if it is fully up to the
| terms of the contract and is satisfactory to the
| governor and council, they may cease the reser-
| walton OF the twenty per cent which the con-
| tract provides for and pay the contractors in
| full. This is very favorable measure, and, if
it is not all they asked, is quite as much as they
could reasonably hope for.
The invaluable 10th rule, which forbds the
admission of new business except by three
fourths vote, was suspended for the first time to-
day, to allow the Introduction of bill author
izing the construction of Gilmore's huge
coliseum on the waters of the Back Bay This
is to get over the law forbidding the erection of
wooden buildings inside the city limits, which
will be enacted before the sills of this immense
structure are fully laid. We had our usual pro-
longed debate this afternoon, the subject being
the resolve reported by the committee on claims
| to allow State Constable Jones five hundred
dollars for his legal expenses, said legal ex-
penses being his attorneys fee for defending him
before the investigating committee last year.
That investigation it will be remembered,
was instigated by Mr.. Loyejoy, who
alleged that the whole constabery was
about as rotten as it could be- He
brought up witnesses to swear unlimited
corruption and bribery on the part
of the subordinateS, but did not charge the
major himself with any personal malfeasance,
and did not succeed very well in conducting his
case. Major Jones, to keep his own skirts clear,
procured a first class lawyer in Mr.. Aldrich of
your CITY, who worked hard and well for him,
and charged him something over $780, The
major Immediately put in a claim to the legisla-
ture, and this winter made out his case before
the committee But his friends in the house TO-
day were unable to make it appear that it was
necessary for him to have employed counsel at
all, and that bad precedent would be eS-
tablished by the payment of even the five hun |
dred dollars which the committee allowed him. |
1t was claimed by Mr.. Kimbal and others that |
he should first have secured the authority of the
legislature before investing in such a costly de- |
Tense, and that as he was before committee of
his friends he did not need the defense at all.
The vote rejecting the resolve was so to 112
The house did nothing else of Importance. all
the importants reached being put off The ses
sion woundIup after parliamentary snarl over
the question of adjournment at half past five.
Mr.. Whitfield of Fairhaven had the floor for the
last hour of the session, and propounded never
so many conundrums to the speaker about some.
body's pond down on the cape, which is to be
drunk up by the incorporate water drinkers of
New Bedford.
The bill reported by the Judiciary committee
yesterday to authorize your city to take the site of
the First Parish on the old common, provides that
the city council may take the land after the serv
ing ola proper notice on the society. The damages
are to be settled by commissioners, to be ap-
pointed by the superior court, and ifether parry
is dissatisfied with the award, they may call for
trial by jury. The society may occupy its
church for year after theIseryng of the munic.
ipa notice on the parish The act must be ac-
cepted by a majority vote of the citizens at
special election before it can 20 into operation
10 the senate something was accomplished in