Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1873-02-06
IOWA LEGISLATURE, Etc
FROM OUR SPECIAL coRREsroSpESr
Dies MONIES, Feb. /. 1879

uncertainty ofthings, is creating much
speculation and not little excitement.
1t is no more nor less than telegram
to- day received from I. p. Roberts
stating that he had found among the
college papers, bond from Rankin
dated May 4, 1870, in the sum of one
hundred thousand dollars. 1t covers,
of course, the present deficiency, and
1t is broadly rumored that j ohm A. FL
liott is one of the signers. How such
a thing exists, considering all the cir
cumstances attending the defalcation,
is something of q problem. or course
the bondsmen would have no anxiety
for the discovery Of such document
but how 1t came to be SO totally for
gotten by the board of trustees? how
they had such profound ignornacc OF
itsvery existence is matter an cxpla-
nation of which we will not ATTEMPT,
1t is probable, however, that it being
among the papers of the old Secretary
of the College, who left in June, 1870
the present Secretary knew nothing al
such transaction until perhaps pro-
tracted search among papers accumu.
lating for years revealed it. Still, in
the face of all this, the query comes
up: Did not the College Board, by
taking Rankin's property, legalize his
deficiency and discharge him from
further liability, his bondsmen includ-
ed, by such acceptance?
Tho bill on compensation of officers
was finished to-day in the House with
few additional changes:
The mileage of physicians examin.
ing insane persons was reduced from
ten to five cents per mile.
The compensation for printing de-
linqucnt tax lists was reduced from 20
to 10 cents for each tract.
Jurors fees before Justices shall be
taxed as part of the costs.
A bill relating to criminal procedure
was before the House, and with few
alterations, was postponed for Mon
days considerations.
The right of the defendant TO chal-
lenge the panel of the Grand Jury, was
abolished and an amendment passed
securing to the State the right to chai-
lenge individual jurors.
The Senate has under consideration
to-day several bills, on which the
House had previously worked i'm
portant amendments TO, were all con-
CURED in. Otherwise little work was
done, except abolishipg the right of a
county Auditor to take acknowedg-
ment of deeds. Much debate was oc-
casioned by motion to limit the
value of homestead exempt from
judicial sale, to 5000, bat the motion
did not prevail.
PATRONS OF HusBANDRy.
The Patrons of Husbandry are still
in session, though many of them have
returned to their homes. They have
adopted q new code for their own gov
eminent, and have done great deal
Of work for better completing their
and making it more eff
fective. together with much more of q
secret nature.
DIES MONIES, Feb. 3.
Very commendable progress has
been made in the House thus Ear, upon
the consideration OF the Code. The
entire revision, us reported by the
Commissioners to whom the work was
referred last, consists of twenty-six
titles. In accordance with a mutual
agreement, the House commenced
work upon the odd numbered titles,
!, 8, 5, etc., the Senate looking up the
even numbered ones, 2, 4, 8, etc. The
House to-day finished title 18th, Of
criminal procedure.
One rather important amendment
was incorporated into this Chapter.
1t provides that insanity may be urged
in a plea before any court in extenua-
ton ola criminal offense, but if the
person is found insane at the time OF
committing the crime, he shall be in
carcerated in lunatic asylum.
The chapter on evidence" received
a few unimportant amendments. One
worthy of mention, is that in criminal
proceedings, no evidence of the accus-
ed can be used either for or against
himself.
Title twenty-five is the longest one
in the Code, having in the neighbor-
hood of sixty chapters, and occupying
the attention of the House during the
greater part of the day.
How to put money into the Treasury
of Iowa, has been perplexing ques.
ton during the winter, TO the Legisla-
ture of the State. Ii has not yet been
satisfactorily solved. Looking to such
an end, was a resolution introduced in
the Senate and referred to the Com
mittee on Ways and Means. The pre-
amble stated that the appropriations
made by the General Assembly, had
greatly exceeded the needs of the
State, and that as great deal of the
appropriations were yet undrawn
they could be diverted TO this purpose
and thus save the interest upon the
now unpaid Auditors warrants. II
was resolved in view of all this, that
the committee on Ways and Means be
instructed to examine into and report
upon the expedicncy Of delaying the
payment Of these undrawn nppropria.
tons and further, upon the cxpedien-
cy of recommending the State to stop
the construction Of public buildings
not demanded by absolute necessity.
Title Fifteen, on domestic relations
has been before the Senate nearly all
day, but nothing more of importance