The Lake County star., 1877-05-24

nnaa On ga,a; th;sS = ls has, tl,sss ~
taken- eonseryatiye Dteps. made con.
ce4si0n after concession, and pro.
\ fessed .the, greatest desire to avoid
fwaf@ail tile wnfie continuing hel
war preparations. At the same
I time she has Insisted inexorabiy
a. she had q right to do, that the
proper guarantees should be given by
Turkey for the protection of her Chris
tian citizens. Turkey has madly re
fused this proper demand, and thu
result is that Russia stands justified
before Europe and the world in thu
war which she rs now waging.
on s.u7l. A.l q nLgsl..-.l.L--E
LENGTH IN i1,t'l' III = THE HE" SESSION. sis On
From the Lansing Republican, May Is. a
P The length of the Legislative session
of 1877 win be l40 days, counting uE
to the final adjournment, which In
cludes four-days after the members dis
perse, for the clerks to finish theil
work and the president Of the senate
and speaker Of the house to Sign en-.
rolled bills. This Is, the longest ses-
sion held In the State, and 1t may
form the topic of some criticism. Be-
fore newspapers pitch I'm wildly and
demagogues raise loud Outcry, they
should consider all the pertinent facts.
For the purpose Of comparison we
take session 26 years ago, and anot h.
er of 12 years ago, or about midway.
The session of 1851 lasted SO days, and
that of 1865 lasted IS days. Of course
the immense growth of the State and
the development of it's varied interests
has brought up u wide class OF new
subjects for legislation. The regular
session of 1873 and the extra session OF
1874 together amounted to 141 days. II
no extra session is held in 1875, the pres
ent legislature will nearly equal that
following the presidential election OF
1872 in the length Of its sessions. ~
INSTRUCTIVE COMPARISONS.
The session of 1877 will be about SO
per cent longer than that OF 1860 and
137 per cent longer than that of 1851.
But in 1851 Michigan had less than
one-third, and in 1864 she had but lit
tie more than one-half, of her present
population. Reckoning upon popula-
ton, the session might this year be
about 100 days long and not outrun
1851 or 1856. a.. il, A.rl, ..jahl.h ~.
Furthermore, in 1851 our total popu-
lar vote cast was only one-eighth, and
in 1864 1t was less than ,One-half, as
large as In 1876. ss.l
The. acreage of improved land in
Michigan increased between 1851 and
1864 about IA per cent. and from the
latter year to 1874 about. 81 per cent.
The number of acres of land set down
as taxable In 1851 was less than one
third, and in 1864 it was not half as
large, as in 1875. }a sshxql. 20 ra.o
The number of acres of wheat har-
vested in 1851 was less than one-half,
and in 1858 1t was less than two-thirds,
as large as in 1875. d.J9d sa
The equalized valuation of the as
sessed property of the State was not
quite one-twentieth as much In 1851,
and less than one-half as much In 1866,
as in 1876.
In 1861 We, had only three cities
teasing the legislature to tinker their
charters; in 1864 there were 20 cities,
and 1876 there were Al. Everybody
knows that weeks of Legislative time
are spent over city charters.
The miles of railroad in Michigan In
1851 were only one-ninth as many,
and in 1854 but little more than a
quarter as many, as in lS76.T,nl
The production of salt, iron, copper,
plaster. stone, lumber, ETC., was inn
mensely greater in 1876 than in either
of the previous years selected for COM
parison. We cannot give the figures
complete because they are nowhere
compiled; but the quantity Of salt was
almost two and one-half times as great
In 1876 as in 1884. 49," @h'i"
The amount ofspecific taxes received
into the State treasury in 1896 was less
than two-fifths as much as in 1876.
The appropriations for the various
institutions were less than one-six-
teenth as much in 1851 as in 1864, and
1876. - III
There was only one Incorporated
bank in the state in 1861, while in 1854
there were @ incorporated banks, and
in 1876 there were q banks incorpor-
ated under state law, besides n national
banks, not one of which existed 26
years ago. 49, 3et
Banking, railroad, and manufactur-
ing capital require great deal of leg
islatioil, or at least they hatch out q
great many bills to be considered.
The number of pupils in the COM
mon schools in 1851 was only one
third, and in 1864 ii was less than two
thirds, as large as in 1876.
The number of university graduates
In 1851 was 10; in 1854 1t was 175; and
in 1875 1t was 334. Thus, there were
almost double the number last year
that there were IL years previous, and
more than 20 times as many as In
1861. Let 1t be remembered, just here,
that while the people of Michigan are
proud of their university, and it Is our
glory abroad, yet 1t costs much money
In the way of taxes, and in the fire.
auent windy speeches OF those who are
sent to the legislature and think they
must glorify the university by their
eloquence; also, in the Investigation
and criticism which Is justified and
| demanded by the Taxpayers In regard
| to wrong-doing at that institution. be-
fore they pay more taxes to support 1t.
| Consider another point: the local
bills, which have consumed q great
deal of time, were not so early intro
duced, as o general rule. that they
could be acted on when but little else
stood in their way. Bushels OF them
were showed in at the closing moment.
| During the two last days of introduc-
ing bills the journal shows that 489
were presented, being almost half Of
the whole number at this session.
Had the localities or the parties, ask
ing for legislation got their bills, pre-
pared and introduced early In the ses-
sion, they might have gone through
| committees or been, disposed Of long
ago. The session might have been
shortened q month In this way; but
the localities and parties who Jagged
behind, merit the criticism, and not
the legislature, which cannot stir In
regard to measures until they come uI
legitimately. Some of the hottest and
most protracted fights have taken
place over these lingering local bills.
If we have not, shown reasonable
ground for the prolongation Of the late
session, in our comparative facts gath
cred from the best statistical sources
then let some of the members explain
further. Probably they could tell ex.
! citing stories Of the. time and vigilance
required to kill off bad bills. OF which
there was an extraordinary crop al
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