Litchfield enquirer., 1880-03-18
LEGISLATIVE.

SENATE.-On Tuesday of last week, res- olutlon passed in concurrence, declaring that the legislature will receive no further bus mess from committees after that week-Com- mittee reports were made favorable to appro- priating $2, 900 for display ot manufactures, &c., Tn the Melborne worlds fair and au- thorizing county commissioners to charge for more than 100 days services, follow ing bill passed regarding highway repairs:
 l. Towns may at each annual meeting author ize the selectmen to appoint and supervise surveyors of highways, whose duty it shall be to repair the highways in their respective dis tricts for the ensuing year.
 Z. They may at each annual meeting elect surveyors of highways, whose duty it shall be to repair the highways in their respective dis tricts for the ensuing year.
 5. They may at an annual town meeting appoint commissioners, not less than three nor more than five ln number, whose duty it shall be to contract in writing for the repair of the highways for periods of not less than three nor more than five years, and whose iod for which they let out the highways.
 4. They may at each annual town meet ing elect commissioner, whose duty it shall oe to repair the highways for the ensuing year.
 9. They may repair the highways in any single district or section within a town by either one of the above modes, as the town may direct.
 6. All contracts heretofore made by the towns for repairing highways are hereby rat flied and declared as valid as if entered into after this act may take effect.
 2. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed. '-.- The bill regulating the contracting of con- vict labor then came up, and was disussed at length by Senators Brewster, Peet, and others.
 On Wednesday the convict bill was again debated, amendments rejected, and passed. Bills passed providing that no fees should be taxed to States Attorneys in criminal cases; allowing clerks of court 50 cts per record in all cases; compelling insolvent debtors to disclose in superior as in probate courts lay ing State tax of 13 mills; allowing erection of cottages at state reform school for stubborn criminals; requiring insolvent debtors to file names of creditors, residence, etc., regarding buildings for town records; allowing consta- bles only, to kill unlicensed dogs; taxing separate property of married women in their own names; restoring forfeited rights to Abi- jan Morey-A number of bills were rejected on adverse report.
 /. On Thursday bills, etc., passed validating election of school district officers in Plymouth; for purchase-of Fishers Island; suspending IdACs Ou SOuu. W CStCTu TdllTOau 6ppfOTldt- ing $500 for portrait of Gov. Buckingham; exempting $1000, property of soldiers and sailors; providing that towns may instruct their selectmen to have bushes and branches of trees within twelves of middle of highway cut each year.-Bills were favorably reported giving members of convict labor commission B a day, and of oyster commission, $5 day..
 On Friday a new joint rule was adopted re- garding rejected bills.-Time was extended for committee reports on a few specified mat ters.-The petition of 5, 800 women for a pro- hibitory law was continued, with like matters, to the next legislature. Bills; etc., passed ap- propriatlng $3, 900 for repairs at state prison and remitting taxes on New Canaan railroad. A bill was debated and passed extending the field of savings bank investment so as to permit investments in the bonds of the states of Indiana Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska; and in the bonds of the cities of Syracuse, Utica and Rochester, in the state of New York; in Philadelphia, in the state of Penn sylvanla; Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati, in the state of Ohio Detroit in the state of Michigan; Chicago, in the state of Missouri and in the first mortgage bonds of dividend paying railroads situated in the states whose bonds are permitted as an invest ment and which have paid dividends upon their entire stock of not less than per cent per annum for period of not less than five years prior to the date of purchase and in the