The Portland daily press., 1876-02-16

Maysville was taken from the table. Senator
Swasey moved to indefinitely postpone Mr..
Donwortk advocated the resolve on the ground
partly of liability of the state and the necess-
ties of the case. Senator Haskell said he was
glad that the discussions had taken place. He
was also glad that the valuation of the county
went up into the millions Aroostook is the
hope of the future of the state. To be sure
they are very numerous, but all the appropria-
@ Iions 1or the past few years amount to only
$4,000 A general discussion ensued, the motion
TO Indefinitely postpone was lost and the resolve
passed 10 be engrOsSed.
Another resolve in favor of Frenchville to
appropriate 5000 for road was indefinitely
postponed.
A resolve to appropriate $1,000 for bridge
across the Megalloway River came from the
House Indefinitely postponed The Senate
voted to non-concur and passed the resolve to
be engrossed. Adjourned.
HOUSE.
Senate papers were disposed of in concur
renee.
Mr.. Porter of Burlington presented bill re-
latng TO the settlement of the public lands,
which empowers the land agent under direc.
tion of the Governor and Council, to sell any
settling lands held by the state at twenty cents
an acre, in quantities not over 16O acres, for
which the purchaser shall give notes payable
in one and two years, in road labor within the
township where the land is. Printed.
MI. Cleaves of the Legal Affairs Com mittee
reported bill to prevent the division of ac-
counts to bring successive suits upon them by
creditors.
The bill to close up the affairs of the Land
Office was read twice and assigned for Thurs.
day morning
The bill authorizing the Camden Village cor
poration to build hall was assigned for We'd
nesday afternoon.
Mr.. Cleaves of Portland called up the bill to
repeal the act Of the last legislature declaring
that no disabled soldiers of the late war shall
be deprived of the right of suffrage by reason
of having received aid from the town in which
he lives. Mr.. Cleaves moved to reconsider and
called attention to the law it proposed to re-
peal. Mr.. Powers of Houlton explained the
action of the Judiciary Committee on the bill.
They were required to examine into the consti.
tutionality of the present law, and after exam.
ination were clearly of the mind that it is ua-
constitutional aud conflicts with the pauper
laws. Mr.. Powers said he would gladly vote
for constitutional amendment conferr ing up
on the veterans of the late war the right of suf-
frage in all vicssitudes; he was not in favor of
in very forcible manner. He said that good
lawyers in the last legislature reported ths bill
which is now law. Why did they not detect
its defect at that time? Why does this Legis-
lature assume the prerogative of the judiciary
department of the government by declaring an
act of other legislatures unconstitutional? Let
the courts decide the matter Let the coun-
try's MANNED veteran, now dependent upon
charity because he was stout hearted and true
in the hour of the nations dire necessity, have
his day in court. 1t was said that the school
mill tax was unconstitutional by our best law
yers, but the Justices of the Supreme Court
find otherwise. In the light of this experience,
let US not go on and assume powers belonging
to other departments of the government. He
also referred to the act of 1864 granting aid to
the families of soldiers in the field, which also
contained declaration that receiving such aid
should not render the recipient a pauper. Mr..
Talbot of Machias favored repeal 1t was un-
constitutional Ho would have the constitu-
tion so changed as not to deprive poor persons
of suffrage but those who had committed infa-
nous crimes. Mr.. Bass favored indefinite
postponement, but while he was speaking the
hour arrived which had been assigned for the
capital punishment abolition bill, when the
matter was tabled.
The capital punishment measure, reported
| by part Of the Judiciary Committee, was TAX
| en- up, the pending bill being that prepared by
| Mr.. Frank of Portland. An arrangement for
| division of the time, made, and Mr.. Pow
| ers gave his first half hour to Mr. Fr,nk, who
| spoke against the death penalty with much
] earnestness and effect. He showed conclusive
/ ly by reports from several states and foreign
countries and the events in our own state that
the argument OF the necessity of the gallows"
is grOundless. Mr.. Eastman of Saco defended
the death penalty. He urged that the death
penalty is not prompted by desire for retrbu-
| tive justice; it was simply society protecting
itself. Mr.. Hobson advocated his amendment,
| which gives the jury the right to say whether
i the punishment for murder in the first degree
shall be death or Imprisonment for life. Mr..
Talbot opposed the amendment on the ground
that it is Unconstitutional. Mr.. Hussey of No.
Berwick opposed capital punishment on the
ground that it is in violation of the precepts of
/ the New Testament, which should be the basis
of all good laws. Mr. Pillsbury of Pennington
next spoke in favor of the bill, land was followed
| by Mr.. Floyd of Winthrop. Gen. Anderson
| then spoke against Mr.. Franks bill, He said
| that it was incumbent upon those opposed to
/ capital punishment to show that their proposed
| system is better than the present policy. Gen.
Anderson explained the law as it now is. He
| then proceeded to show that the murder record
| in Maine, as given by Mr.. Frank, is incorrect.
He then gave the action of the opponents of
capital punishment in the Thorne case. He
then considered the question of the sacredness
| of human life. He said it was an instinct of
| mans nature to defend his life. Was it mur.
| der if, in the defense of life one takes the life
of another? Is it murder when society takes
| the life of a murderer in self-defense? He said
that great many men in his own party be-
lieved in the late war that the North was the
| aggressor. Whether or not that was the case
he did not propose to discuss. They so believed
| Yet they were drafted and sent to the war and
there killed men. Were they murderers? No,
they were simply obeying the laws and orders
| of those in power. Gen. Anderson alluded to
| the intelligence and progress of the 10Th centu-
| ry. He doubted whether the state was any
higher in its civilization than 100 years ago,
| taking into consideration the influx of foreign
| population in our cities. He doubted if the
laws were wiser than 100 years ago or the men
better. We have better schools, more learned
| men, more expensive system of government
more liberal culture, but he doubted if, as
| whole, the people are more conscientious more
observant Of the Sabbath and the old moralities
| or have higher and truer civilization than
| those who lived century ago. He next con-
| sidered the Bible argument and quoted the case
of Annanias. He said that this question
| should not be decided upon any appeal to SYM
| pathy. He closed his speech with an appeal to
let the law stand as protection to the weak,
which was greeted with applause. Mr.. Powers
| of Houlton defended the bill and opposed the
death penalty He examined the arguments of
the gentlemen on the other side AMI made
most effective speech The hour having arrived
for taking the vote, it was first put on the
Hobson amendment, which was lost, yeas 45,
nays 81. The vote was next taken on the Frank
bill abolishing capital punishment and resulted
| in yeas 70, nays 6S.
Yeas-Messrs. Aldrich, Allan of Dennysville, Allen
| of Wellington, Alexander Ballard, Bean, Banch-
| ard of Falmouth. Brown of Odtown, Burnham
Burpee, Carleton, Chase OF Standish, Clifford, Con-
| nor, Cooper, Currier, Davis of Jefferson, Davis of
Portland. Dwina, Dyer, Farrar of Buckfeld. Farrar
of Turner, Fellows, Fletcher, Floyd Foger, Fowler
Frank, Goodrich, Gould, Haley, Hamilton, Hayford,
Haynes, Hobson, Hopkins, Hopkinsou, Hume, Hussey,
Keatng. KeegaD, Leavitt, Libby ,Linnel, Locke Man
tor Martin of Sebago Morrill, Norton Parcher, Pills
bury, Porter Powers, Reed of Boohbay, Reed of Tre
mont, Rowe, Salley, Sargent, Sawyer, Shepherd,
Sherman, Story, Sweetser, Tenney, Thompson, True,
| Thayer, Wagg, Warren, Weymouth White of Orono,
| Wiggin, Woodsum, Wyman, Young of Hiram-75.
| Nays-Messrs. Allen of Waldoboro Anderson, Ba-
ker, Bass, Blalsdell, Blanchard Of Yarmouth, Brown
of Brownville, Chase of Bridgton, Cleaves, Colby
| Cook, Cumston, Dearborn, Dennson, Drisko, Dun
| ming, Dutton, Eastman, Gay, Goldthwalt, Goodwin,
| Grant, Greeley, Haskell, Hutchins Kimbal, Lam.
son. Lttlefeld, Lord of Bluehill, Lord of Lebanon,
| Lynch, Marden, Martin of Camden. Maxwell, Mea-
| der, Murcb, Nadeau, Nealey, Nelson, Nowland,
/ D.,