The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1879-01-16
in excess thereof should be paid into

n
in excess thereof should be paid into
the county treasury. 4e..a - al
An addition should be made. that
the General Assembly shall pass laws
so as to reduce any such surplus, by
lowering the fees, for the benefit of the
people. A joint resolution (No. 55)
proposing such a constitutional amend
ment is now pending In the Senate.
which. it is claimed, will make q re-
duction Of 5000, 900 in these fees. The
time is opportune for the people to
consider questions affecting their local
State interests, and hope this matter
will receive your favorable considera-
ton, and that the pending amendment
may be put in such shape as to sub
init the question to the voters of the
State, at the ensuing election in Octo-
Der, to settle the matter definitely.
oa CANADA CLAIMS.
On the 10th of June last received
communication from w. M. Evarts,
Secretary of State of the United States,
with inclosure of letter from Sir Ed
ward Thornton, British Minister at
Washington, to Mr.. Evarts, and other
accompaniments, in regard to claim
of Mr.. S. TOmlfnson, a civil engineer
in the Canadian service, for expenses
incurred by him in January, 1877, In
attending the coroner's jury which
passed upon the Ashtabula railroad
disaster. Mr.. Tomlinson had been re-
quested by my predecessor, Ex-Gover-
nor Hayes, to perform this service, and
it would appear from the correspond
ence herewith submitted that his
claim was received about the time Of
the adjournment of the session in May,
1877, and assurances returned by the
Governor that the matter would be
brought before the General Assembly
last session. OF this, however, I had
no knowledge until the receipt of the
lettsof the Secretary of State referred
to above. There being no provision
for any cIeinQf this kind, addressed
Mr.. Ev4 <lesired him to advise
the q hat the claim would be
adjust q by the necessary appropria-
~ at the next session of the General
Assembly, which would convene in
January, 1879. need hardly suggest
the propriety of providing for the inn
mediate, payment of this small claim,
already too long delayed.
BOUNDARY LINE Confession.
I'm compliance with an act "in re-
gard to the boundary monuments on
the line between the States of Ohio
and Pennsylvania" passed by your
honorable body May 8, 1873, I appoln-
ted and commissioned Joseph M. Rick
ey, of Steubenville, Henry B. Perkins,
of Warren, and James Mackey, of
Youngstown. Early in October the
joint commission met at Pittsburg, and
proceeded at once to the discharge
of the duties assigned them. In pro-
crossing with their work they have en-
countered some difficulties in the prop
er construction Of the law relating to
locating of monuments that have been
rem Ned, and the placing of additional
ones. I forwarded to them the con-
struction placed upon the law by the
Attorney General. If any further leg
islation should become necessary in
order to final adjustment of the whole
matter will communicate the same
to you in due time. 81 s.sct
ue, REVISION OF STATUTES.
+ An important duty devolving on the
General Assembly during the adjourn
ed session is that which relates to the
revision of the general laws of the
State. / congratulate the State and
the Commission that was appointed to
revise and consolidate the general
statutes on the results already accom-
plished by it. At the first session of
the present General Assembly, and ut
the adjourned session of your imme-
diate predecessors, seven hundred and
fifty-five statutes on the important
subjects of crimes; procedures, civil
and criminal; taxation, municipal af-
fairs, were consolidated into eight
statutes, arranged according to a we'll
defined and logical order. If as is ho-
ped, the joint work and action Of the
commission and the General Assembly.
at this session, succeed in reducing the
unrevised statutes (sOme thirteen hum
dred or fourteen hundred in number)
them with those already revised into
one complete code, great work will
have been accomplished, the impor-
tance and value of which can hardly
be overestimated. This will still re-
quire much patient labor in the mat
ter of a complete and accurate index.
with annotations; but the result in
presenting the statute law Of the State
as an orderly and Ineligible whole
will be ample compensation for the at
tention bestowed and the time and
money expended in attaining it.
CONCLUSION.
Having as briefly as practicable call
ed your attention to such matters as
conceive to be important, allow me, in
conclusion, to wish you harmonious
session, and to assure you that you
shall have my earnest cooperation in
endeavOring to promote all the great
interests of our State.
RICHARD M. BISHOP.
COLUMBUS, O., January 6, 1879.
UP AMONG THE PLANETS.
Neptune, the most remote of the
planets in the collar system, IS about
| 2,7OOO. .OOO,OOO miles from the sun. 1t
is supposed that Mercury has noun
tains higher than our Himalayas, and
volcanoes in state of activity. Out
of all the myriad lights in the heav-
ems, the earth is only visible to the
moon. Mars. Mercury and Venus.