Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1876-09-08

tuition.
The people will note and remember
the difference.
THE TIMES ARE HARD-SAVE
YOUR MONEY.
Tie second article of the CO1stitu
ton relates directly to the Legislature
and is affected by only two of the
amendments. as the others that concern
1T, serve only to strike out dead matter
about elections already past and gone
- that is to say those that occurred In
1870.
The first change requires the Legis
lature to meet on the first Wednesday
after the first Monday in January, next
after the election, instead of the third
Monday in November as heretofore.
The reasons for this IRE obvious to
any one familiar with the course OF
Legislative bodies whose sessions cover
the Christmas holidays and New Year
following. Both business and pleasure
make almost every man desire to be at
home from Christmas to New Year.
So generally is this true that with the
increased facilities for travel, offered
by the many railroads in operation,
the public service has suffered. If
the amendments be ratified the MEM
bers Of the Legislature will be able to
remain at home during the busy time
before ard after New year and then
with minds free from care about pri
vate matters Gan go to Raleigh and
attend to public affairs. The amend
ment plainly tends t. the prompt and
intelligent and economical dispatch of
public business.
The other change in the second
article relates to the per diem and
mileage of members of the Iegisla~
ture. It fixes the pay of members at
four dollars day and ten cents per
mile of travel by the nearest route,
but members cannot draw pay for
longer than sixty days of a regular
and twenty days of special session
The ordinance proposing the amend
ment was adopted by vote of SO yeas
to 81 nays. No Democrat voted
| against it, while ~ Radicals opposed
it-precisely as many as favored it.
1t will be we'll to consider for a mo-
ment how much money this single
amendment will save the State.
The Legislature of 1869-'69 cost in
per diem $176, 12O.
Special session of 1868 -'69 cost in
per diem $4,000.
The Legislature of 1869-'7O cost in
per diem $159, 400.
The Legislature of 1S70-'71 cost in
per diem 1877. $50.
The Legislature of 1S71-'72 cost in
per diem $63, $50.
The Legislature of 1872-'73 cost in
per diem sos, 900.
The Legislature of 1S73-'74 cost in
pei diem 1861, 200.
The Legislature of 1874-'75 cost in
per diem $85, 900.
If the amendments be ratified no
| regular session o. the Legislature can
hereafter cost more than 81 900, aud
no special session can cost more than
$14, 900, for per diem for its members.
THIS is certainly good start. The
saving in this one amendment alone in
one single year. compared with the
average cost of Legislatures since the
adoption of the Constitution, will very
nearly. if not quite, pay the cost of the
convention twice over. The average
cost of regular sessions of the Legisla-
ture since the impos' ton of the Candy
Constitution has been over $101 900 for
per diem alone for each session; but if
the amendments be ratified that cost
cannot possibly be more than 81 ZOO.
In other words, the money saved by this
change, that is to say over $50, 1000,
in the first session alone, will pay
for the entire second session and half
the third session after the ratification
of The amendments. Is this money
worth saving to our impoverished peo-
pile? We think SO and we believe they
think so too. The only special session
of the Legislature that has been held
since 1868 lasted fifty five days and
cost sixty-fve thousand dollars in per
diem to it's members. If the amend
ments be ratified no special session
can ever cost more than fourteen thou
sand dollars in per diem.
Is all this money worth saving, we
again ask, to our people, who, let
them work as hard as they may, still
find it almost, and many of them alto
gether impossible. to make enough to
feed and ciothe their wives and little
ones and pay taxes?
By all means then, let the amend~
ments be ratified.