The Portland daily press., 1880-01-21
THE LEGISLATURE.
FOUR FUSIONIS rs TAKE
THEIR SEATS.
Wallace r. White Asks an Inves-
tigation.

AUGUSTA, JAN. 20. Both branches met at
10 a. m.
The joint standing committee on Judiciary
was announced as follows:
Senate-Messrs. Bradford of Washington,
Berry of Kennebec, and Strickland of Aroos-
took.
House-Messrs. Hale of Ellsworth Strout of
Portland, Hutchinson of Lewiston, ingalls, of
Wiscasset, Wilson of Orono, McKusick Of
Calais. Bradstreet of Bridgton.
Tie committee on legal affairs, on the part
of the House is:
Messrs Verrill of Portland, Partridge of
Whitefeld, Powers of Houlton, Parker Of
Addison.
A communication was receive in the House
from w. R. White of Winthrop, asking for
the fullest and freest investigation of the
charges of bribery that had been brought
against him, and expressing desire to meet
both Swan and Hartman before a committee
authorized to enforce its precepts. A select
committee of five was appointed with Mr..
Hutchinson of Lewiston as chairman, with
power to send for persons and papers.
The House committee on elections has Mr..
Hutchinson of Lewiston for chairman.
Messrs Hill and Moulton, Fusion members,
appeared and took their seats in the House.
Messrs Rafter and Benner, also Fusionists,
had already taken their seats, refusing to act
with the Fusionist House.
The following passed both branches:
Whereas, The 59th Legislature of the State
of Maine as elected by the people of the State
at its last annual election, has met and legally
organized with full quorum in each House,
under the opinion of tlieJustices of theSupreme
Judicial Court, and has duly and legally pro-
ceeded to the election of Governor. Executive
Council and other State officers, all of whom
have been duly qualified and have entered up
on their respective duties in the customary
places in the State House where the business
of the State is transacted; therefore be it
ResoIced By the Senate and House of Rep
resentatives of the State OF Maine in Legisla-
ture assembled, that the Senate and House of
Representatives will forthwith proceed to leg
isletive business touching the varied interests
of the people of Maine, their finances, their
courts. their public schools, the fisheries, the
adaptation of Laws to the new constitutional
amendments, the fixing of just and fair basis
for the coming valuation of all the property in
the State so that taxation may fall justly and
fairly upon the people, and other subjects as
may naturally and fittingly come before the
notice to all of the people of the State that any
bodies or collection of men outside of the Leg
islature duly and legally assembled and organ
lied as before mentioned, who may meet in
any place, claiming to act as the Legislature of
the State of Maine, are wholly without right
or authority to SO act, and are proceeding in
violation IF the Constitution and laws of the
State.
In offering this resolution in the House, Mr..
Hale spoke as follows:
I offer this resolution, Mr.. Speaker, because
it seems to me fitting, as we are duly organized
and ready to proceed to business, that some
action indicating that should be taken to go
out to the people of the State, that it may be
for once and forever settled that the business
of the Sta so far as affected by legislation,
is to be done here and in the hall of the SEN
ate. That it may be known that the House
and / can only speak for lt-that the House
proposes to proceed to business upon the roll as
fixed on the day of the organization until the
House shall change that roll That ROLL Mr..
Speaker, embraces the names OF some sixty
gentlemen Il don't remember the exact Num-
ber) who are not present here. They have
presumably for some good reason i'll their
minds absented themselves thus far, but the
State knows and the country knows that their
seats here though vacant are ready to receive
them whenever they may deem it Justlfiable,
wise and advisable to come in. There has
been no attempt to interfere with that, but
tho business of the State should not wait on
the pleasure of any gentlemen, whether here
or declining to come here. That 10 matter
that must 60 on. January is DOW on its last
half, and the practice OF late years mas oeen
and SO it will not do for us to delay business
much, if any longer. OF course, the RESPONSE
bility of not being here and not attending to
the interests of their various constituencies
upon the subjects which have named IN the
resolution and other subjects which will come
m ,ouet rest with these gentlemen
MI Hale concluded by saying: wish to de-
monstrate by the yeas and nays this morning
the presence of such number of legal Repre-
sentatives land in the other body OF Senatorsl
as shows that it is impossible that a quorum of
legal Representatives and Senators can be
present anywhere else. Gentlemen will at
once see the force of that point. Not that it is
necessary to establish our legal organization,
but that it is another step showing the made
auacy of any other attempted or so-called Or
ganization And SO l hope that when the
yeas and nays are called the gentlemen will be
found in their places, and L am sure that all
who are in town will be found here voting, SO
that we shall demonstrate that there is no
possibility of legal quorum anywhere else.
The resolution was passed UNANIMOUSLY In
both branches. When the yeas and nays were
called in the House the vote was 50 in the al
firmative. Subsequently Mr.. Goss OF Bath
who was absent at the passage OF the resolu-
ton came in and had his vote recorded in the
affirmative. Messrs. Benner OF Waldoboro
and Rafter of Damarscotta, two fusion mem
bers were found in their seats and voted for
the passage of the resolution. Afterwards
Mr.. Hill, the fusion member from Corinth,
came in. took his seat and accepted position
on ono of the committees to which he was as
signed by the Speaker.
al 1, racolnfiOp Offarp1
Yesterday respecting the loss of the State seal.
He remarked that the Secretary OF State has
proceeded as is his right and duty to open
the safe. 1t had been found that all valuable
papers had been stolen and carried away The
seal was gone, and complete exploration OF
the Secretary's office had shown that 1t had
been stolen and carried away, thing unpre-
cedente1 in the history OF the State.
The following orders were then passed;
Ordered That the committee on judiciary
inouire whether and what legislation is neceS-
sary to prevent and punish the unauthorized
abstraction, retention and use OF the State
seal, State records and other property belonging
to the office of the Secretary of State, or the
doing Of unauthorized acts III the name OF the
State, and report at once. ;.
Ordered That the Secretary OF State be d.
rected to procure suitable seal which snail De
of the same form and device as the seal last In
use and acknowledged as the seal of the State;
and that said seal when completed be placed
i'm the office of the Secretary of State, and this
same shall be the seal of State.
A committee was appointed to contract with
some suitable party to do the State printing
for the current year.
order was passed that the committee Oh
judiciary inquire into the expediency of codi-
fviug the election laws for the use OF town
officers.
HAYDEN, will undouhtedlY be released on