The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1877-02-09
OHIO LEGISLATURE.


January 20, and very little business was
done;;...ln the House, bills were intro
duced: prohibiting persons connected with
pupnshlng hrms from serving as School
| Examiners; to authorize the City Council
OF columbus to levy tax and build a police
station; to authorize the sale of certain
submerged lands about the Mercer
County Reservoir; authorizing the pay
ment OF three dollars per day extra COM
pensation to County Auditors while acting
as clerks to County Commissioners. On
motion of Mr.. Hitchcock, the report of the
| Special Committee on Revision and Cod
ihcatlon of the Statutes was read and
follows: "We recommend that the bills
for the consolidated statutes should be
Just as few as possible; that we
should, If practicable, introduce the four
| different parts as four bills, and, at the
least, never less than the full title. In any
event, we should begin the work at once on
| part four. 1t may be best to make three
bills of part four. We recommend that the
portion already received of part four be at
once introduced in the House. We recon-
mend the reading of the first and second
times, as usual, but without further print
| ing, and then, on the second reading, a
| reference to the Committee of the Whole
House, or Senate" The remainder details
the method of discussing and engrossing.
In the Senate, January 80, Mr.. Stanton s
Senate bill to authorize County Treasurers
to receive compensation for their collections
on the duplicate, was passed. A resolution
was adopted appointing special committee
to prepare rules for the government of
! the Senate during contested elections.
The Special Committee reported set of
rules for the government of the Senate
| during the trial of the contested election
case, which were discussed at some length.
| ohn taA of VuSf
Welch appeared, escorted by the Sergeant
| alarms, and was conducted to a seat beside
| the President. The President was then
formally sworn, and after him, all the SEN
ators but two, TO well and truly try the
case of Joseph Cox VS.. Judson Harmon.
The Senators who affirmed" " were then
| qualified according to the Constitution.
The Senators having been sworn, the ques-
ton as to time to be allowed attorneys ex-
| cited discussion. 1t was finally decided to
allow each side one hour and half. Hon.
Benjamin Butterworth addressed the Senate
his allowed time against the constitution
ality of the law making the Senate Court
to try election cases. All the Senators, half
| the Representatives, and a large number of
vlsiters were present on this occasion ........
In the House petitions were presented for
laws to compel school directors to select a
set of textbooks, and to retain them in use
| for the specified time. Twenty-three bills
were read the second time. Bills were intro
duced, by the Committee ON Codifeation, a
bill to revise, amend and consolidate the
statues relating to crimes and offenses. AS
the bill consists of eighty-six printed pages,
its reading occupied all the morning.
! In the Senate, the following bills were
passed: Johnston's Senate bill compelling
officers of militia and fire companies to
| report the names of the members Of their
organizations to the Township Trustees, so
they may be exempt from jury duty; Mr..
Harrison's Senate bill to compel corpora
tions to pay wages to their employees on or
before the last day of each month, and to
give employees, except officers, the first lien
upon the property of the corporation
! for wages due them; Mr.. Entrekin's House
bill, for the relief of E. j. Nuckolds, Treas
urer of Paint Township, Ross County; Mr..
| Beatty's bill, to authorize County Commits
| sioners TO build bridges and culFerts along
public roads, the same to be paid for out of
the county bridge funds, and to issue bonds,
| when necessary, in anticipation of taxes to
pay for said improvements. Mr.. Brown, of
Lucas, introduced bill to amend the act
to prevent trespassing, so as to compel land
| owners to distinctly mark the boundaries
| of their property, and to provide penal
| ties for tearing down the notices. ........
In the House, Mr.. Kessler's bill to extend
the time for taking testimony in contested
| election cases was reported from the Com
mittee on Privileges and Elections, with a
series of amendments, intended to make the
bill more explicit. One amendment pro-
vides that, whenever any omission, deficit
or error shall occur in the proceed
ings of any officer in declaring or
| certifying that any person or persons were
| duly elected to any office under the laws of
| Ohio, such omission, defect or error, upon
proofs or oral testimony offered, at the trial
or any preliminary proceedings Of the case,
hall t~a fnI Tha
agreed to, and the bill was read a third time
and passed. A motion to reconsider the
vote by which the bill was passed was
| defeated.
In the Senate, February 1, MIR. Curtiss
| offered resolution to rescind the res solution
providing for the ad iournment of the Senate
next Friday, and to provide that the adjourn
ment shall occur one week from next Fri
| day. After cor siderable discussion the reso.
luton was laid on the table. AT o'clock
the Senate went into session as Court, to
hear the argument of counsel in the con-
tested election case OF Cox against Harmon,
and spent all afternoon in that capacity.
In the House, Mr.. Stanton's Senate bill,
allowing County Treasurers fees for collec-
tions on tax duplicates, restoring the act of
1872, was passed. Owing to the absence of
three committees, number of bills which
had been set for a third reading,
were postponed until next week. Mr..
Williams's House bill to prohibit teachers
and Superintendents of Schools from
serving as School Examiners in cities of the
second class, and villages having twenty
five hundred inhabitants and upwards, was
passed. Mr.. Entrekin's bill authorizing the
Commissioners of Ross County to build a
Jail and issue bonds therefor, was passed,
with the amendment that the project be first
submitted to the voters of the county. Mr.
Converse's bill to appropriate $4,000 to the
erection of fountains in the State House
yard, was defeated by "a nays to 80 yeas
Mr.. Oglevee, from the Standing Commit
tee on Penitentiary, submitted a report in
regard to poisoning cases in the peniten
tiarry, recommending that the report oi
Norton's special committee, with all the
evidence obtained by it, be printed hnc
laid before the members. The report wa:
adopted.
In the Senate, February 2, the House Join
Resolution providing for an adjournmen
t next Friday, until the following Tuesday
and on every third Friday thereafter wa
adopted. This change was made so as t.
l bring an adjournment in March, so as t.
: allow the members to be present at the Pres
= idential Inauguration. Thirteen bills wer
read a second time. Mr.. Oglevee's Hous
: bill to allow County Commissioner
! to issue bonds to build and supper
, Children's Homes in anticipation o
II taxes, was passed. Mr.. Warnock's Senat
e bill to authorize the incorporation of camp
l. meeting associations and associations TO
planting trees, was passed. A resolution b.
> Mr. Ransom, that " common honesty to tn
:. taxpayers, the letter and spirit of the con
e tract under which the great body of its in
;, debtedness was assumed by the Unite
IL States, and true financial wisdom, each an
it all demand the restoration of the silver do
lar to lis former rank as lawful money" wa
:, referred to the Committee on Finance......E
u the House, after disposing of routin
n business, Mr.. Hostetter's House bill to at
n thorize the transfer of turnpikes to count
=. commissioners, without consideration, upo
lr the consent of three-fourths of the stocE
Is holders, was passed. Mr.. McLain offered
n. resolution reciting that one hundred an
sixty Of the present inmates of the Soldier
II and Sailors Orphans Home, are frol
n- Greene and Montgomery counties, and d
w recting the Trustees of the Home to di
' charge portion of the inmates from thes
se counties, and admit an equal number I
n- children from other counties, who al
now heinp cared for in chiIdren's home