The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1877-02-13
MAINE AND VERMONT LEGISLATURES.

The legislature OF Maine adjourned, Fri
day, after a session of thirty-eight days,
one of the shortest in her history. Time
was when Vermont was blessed with these
short sessions of the general assembly. In
deed, down to 1851, we never had, with
one exception, legislature that continued
in session as many days as the recent one of
Maine. Our last legislature adjourned
after session of fifty days-a length of
time which has been exceeded but three
times In our history. The legislature of
1858 was in session ffty-six days, but the
house was not organized, by the election of
speaker until the sixth day the governor
was not chosen until the fifteenth day
and the lieutenant governor was only
elected on the sixteenth day. The session
of 1862 lasted flfty-six days, but this was
on account of the general revision of the
statutes. The legislature of 1872 was in
session fifty-seven days, aud those of 1870
and 1874 lasted fifty days each. Ard these
may be accounted for in the same way that
we account for the length of the last ses-
sion-the members didn't want to go home
to stay till Thanksgiving.
Thus it appears that while the legislators
of Maine are practicing economy by hold
ing short sessions of the legislature, our
Vermont legislators are going to the other
extreme, and take fifty days to legislate for
three hundred aud thirty thousand people,
while in Maine, it only requires thirty-eight
days to legislate for six hundred and TWEEN
ty-seven thousand people. The excess of
the cost of the Vermont legislature oyer
that of Maine-on the supposition that the
same per diem compensationis paid in each
state-is somewhere from ten thousand to
twelve thousand dollars. Is not this sum
worth saving? Proportionately to the pop
ulation, the legislature of Vermont should
have been in session only about twenty-five
days-and in this time, ell needed legisla-
tion could have been had-and thus cav
ing of at least eighteen thousand dollars
more have been effected. Such a session
of the general assembly would not have
been a novelty in Vermont, for at least
thirty-four sessions have been only of that
length or less.
The Maine legislature, in its session of
thlrty-eight days, found time to pass two
hundred and eighty-four acts and resolu-
tions-a number more than sufficient, in
Vermont, to remedy all the defects in pre-
ceeding legislation and to pass all laws ne
cessary for the immediate future. The
Maine legislature was enabled to do all
this business in thirty-eight days, because
it's members did not think it necessary to
adjourn nearly every week, virtually, from
Friday until Tuesday, 80 that the members
might go home and see the babies. This
paternal affection, 30 wonderfully develop
ed In our Vermont legislators, is, certainly,
very commendable. We all delight to see
it exhibited at proper times and on pi oper
occasions, but we question whether it COM
ports with the highest degree of political
morality to charge to, and receive from,
the state three dollars q day for three or
four days OF the week, for six weeks, for
time spent, not in the service of the state,
but in fondling the babies at home.
These Maine legislators, like those of Yer
mont, passed dog law, so that 1t was not
the discussions on the dog law that made
our legislature linked sweetness long drawn
out. We are inclined to think that it was
member OF our last legislature that fooled
one of our "locals,' the other day, into
stating that Vermont had one dog to each
seven inhabitants. II this was the fact,
how 1t would excuse the length of the SEES
sion What mint Of money would accrue