The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1879-02-15
ILLINOIS LEGISLATURE.

a.
ILLINOIS LEGISLATURE.
There having been some sixty members o
the senate and house absent during the weel
on a Legislative jamboree" over the state un
der the pretext of visiting the different stat,
institutions as committees both houses have
been left with bare quorum, and no impor
.ant business is acted upon ont of Difference t.
the sbscntccs. These sixty committee men
many with their wives or other female com
panions, took Pullman cars on Tuesday morn
ing and proceeded in body to Lincoln, Bloom
ingon, Joliet, Chicago &c The jaunt is tc
include Elgln, kankakce, Champaign, Jones
boro, Chester, Jacksonville, &c. and will occupy
the present and most of next week. The state
pays fares and board bills, but no Expenses "
1t Is u shameful abuse and calls for emphatic
expressions of popular Indignation AS the only
means to squelcl it,
The senate after several days discussion, on
Thursday adopted Hamiltons resolution to
} raise Joint committee of senators and 5rep
resentativcs to revise the revenue laws of this
state. The house has not yet adopted the reso
LUTON, but will probably do SO. If The commit
tee are required to report at the present session
il is believed there can be no adjournment be
fore June.
\ resolution offered by Frew was adopted
10y the house on the 18th to investigate the Jack
sonylllc insane asylum on account Of alleged
IcruclteS. As the wages and salaries at the
same asylum amount to $4,000, being Is PEI
cent of its total expenses, Il resolution was
adopted requiring the superintendent to repor,
in regard to those expenditure, in detail
The house agreed on Wednesday to appoint
Mr.. Snyder Il committee of one to ascertain on
what terms the state can purchase the library
of the late Justice Sidney Brecsc
Mr. Changers bill to regulatethc telegraph
ing business IN this state brought an offer T.
each member from the Western Union oftic,
in these terms: we Will with pleasure send
free your family and social messages within
the state The Telegraph Company doubtIes,
make pretty fair estimate at what price thu
members can DC bought.
, Attorney General Edsall has given an opn
, ion hat it Is competent for the legislature tC
regulate the charges Of sleeping cars within
the state.
! The secretary of the State Board of Agricul
) ture sent report to the house on Saturday that
there was no cattle disease in this state
There beng no quorum in the house on
Thursday, nor likely to be for a week, that
body adopted resolution to adjourn over to
next Tuesday The senate rejected the reso
luton, though it had grapted enough leaves
of absence to leave it also without a quorum
after Friday yesterday
The house on Thursday killed a bill to re.
peal the present tramp law.
The senate rejected the proposal Of the
printing committee to pay Lusk $25 a day for
1000 copies Of his Legislative Register.
Very little has been done yet on the subject
of the canal beyond appointing Il committee
to hatch up proposition to sell it out to the
general government.
| The canal committee, however, is kept busy.
1t is stated in the papers that on Monday ii
pretty strong canal lobby arrived from the
north and on Tuesday and Wednesday they
had hearings before the canal and river i'm.
provemcnt committee. G. W. Armstrong, We
are told, made Il strong plea in behalf Of leg
lislallvc provision to protect the canal against
threatened destruction by the conspiracy Of
the railroads Mr.. Thomas, superintendent oi
the canal, also appeared before the senate com.
mittee on Wednesday, land argued rs Il Times
reporter states it, that whereas the canal had
in the past eight years paid more than $500
600 into the state treasury IL surplus earnings,
lthis sum should be returned for use as % sink
ing fund.- to be used only when the revenues
of the canal are insufficient for its manten-
GNce. py his mc@rs he claimed the PEOPLE
would regain confidence IN the enterprise. Mr.
Thomas also recommended the abolition of
the state inspection law, by which he alleged
the state was robbed of $4,000 per year and
went on To charge thicvery IN wharfage rates
at Chicago and unjust discrimination IN
freight rates on the part OF Tie railroads com
peting with the canal. The committee dccid-
ed to institute an Investigation of Nil Thomas
Sweeping assertions" It is also stated that
the committee has agreed to report Il bill 10
create u contingent fund oI 100000 for the
benefit of the canal.
l.
! Whatever may be said of the industry and