New-York tribune., 1880-06-13
THE OLD SYSTEM OUTGRowN.

quirements."
THE OLD SYSTEM OUTGROWN.
THE AVERAGE LEGISLATOR UNFIT TO HANDLE THE
QUESTIONS WHICH lie HAS 10 DEcIDE-MACHlS-
ERY THAT is ANTIQUATED-THE CHANGE THAT
MUST COME-SUG0EsT1oNs.
TO the Editor Of The Tribune.
SIR: "a State Legislature is an amusing spec
tacle" said to me- recently literary gentleman OF
foreign birth, "most of the members are 80 very
honest so cry ignorant, very well-meaning, and
so very silly" Doubtless every State Leg
slature contains some members to whom these four
epithets might be applied with tolerabe accuracy;
although only when measured by some ideal stand
ard of excellence are we disposed to believe
that the phrases can be Descriptive OF
"most of the members" of the Legislature
of any particular State. There have been occa-
sions, indeed we are forced to recoect, when even
the above judgment, dcpreciatory as 1t seems
would have been altogether too mild If we can
believe many things that certain Western Congress
men have at times said about one another. the
word honest" would have to he eliminated from
any Characterization of the majority Of the mem
bes of the Legislatures of their respective States
During the excitements of Granger legislation, and
other epidemics of transient madness. more
over we question if well-meaning' could
have been retained in the verbal pic
lures of several Legislatures. But l have
reason to believe that the gentleman from whom
quote is more familiar with New-England Legsla-
lures than with those OF any other part OF our
country; and as the conversation between ns oc-
CURED in Boston, just after the adjournment
of the Massachusetts Legislature with the pro-
ceedlngs of which / know that he was well
acquainted. it is but fair to suppose that the Legs-
lature of this immaculate State not wholly ab-
sent from his mind when he spoke. And when l
add the fact that he was habually careful in his
choice Of words. an uncomfortable suspicion Is
naturally begotten that his opinion may be nearer
the exact truth than we like to admit.
The Massachusetts Legislature has recently ad
jOurned, and bearing the above words IN mind
desire to make its proceedings the text for some OBJ
servations concerning tho character OF our
Legislatures and the kind of work they
habitually perform. Almost any State Legislature
might serve as a handle for what have TO say, bnt
the last Legislature of this State is peculiarly
serviceable because it was in all respects an ord-
nary, that is thoroughly representative, Leglsla-
ture. Ii was not reform " Legislature it was
not elected to pass any particular bill or consider
any particular subject. No important repeal meas
ures came before it, nothing which excited great
deal of public attention; no great speeches were
made in it lit transacted ordinary amount OF
business in something less than the ordinary time.
with perhaps a trife moro than the ordi-
possesses no salient points for description By which
to distngulshit from any of the Legislatures which.
year after year, excepting in of unusual
excitement with regard to special persons
Massachusetts sends up to the State House.
Correct differences from the character of its men,
bers and their work, therefore, would be equally
correct, with the notifications required by special
circumstances when applied to nearly all other
State Legislatures.
THE VAST NUMBER OF SUBJECTS DISCUSSED.
The most obvious fact to lookrr-on is the
extraordinary number Of subjects brought bo-
fore a Legislature and tue amazing diver
| sity in their character and Importance. The
| mental conceptions involved in the conSid-
Grafton of a petition to permit James Brown
to drive a pedlers wagon without payment of the
regular license fee cannot have many lines of assO
citation with the prescription of the qualifications of
member IF the Board of Overseers Of Harvard Col
lege but granting that the same man is competent
to determine the Just disposition Of these
two subjects by what feat of mental gymnastics
shall he next solve the problems pertaining to the
taxation of mutual life insurance companies, and
then pass Immediately to the questions of woman
suffrage aud the sale of oleomargarlne And of this
sort of hodge-Dodge the numbers rose above eleven
hundred in the calendar of each house.
Roughly divided from one another, there were
five classes Of subjects considered. The first per-
tanned to the wide embracing and always important
affairs of political economy and turis-
prudence questions Of taxation, incOrpOra-
ton, court jurisdiction. the government of
counties constitutional amendments, usury
laws liquor laws etc. Kindred to these and often
of primary interest came next bills relating to edu-
cation divorce labor, the practice OF medicine, the
care of convicts, fOundlinGs, tramps. etc. A
third class included all commercial en-
terprises-railrOads, steamships, tho fisheries
aud manufacturing corporations. very
! large class embraced such heterogeneous
matters as the protection of ancient burial grounds
the ceutal system Of weights the printing of bal
lots Mt elections the pensioning Of fremen, smOk-
ing In the public streets, the setting of forest
| fres ETC. And a final class was mado mp of
private bills and trivial or fantastic subjects Under
| this class have copied from few pages only OF
the Secretary's imprinted minutes OF the House the
| following: bill concerning dealers in junk and
| old metal another, concerning tho use Of broad
| rimmed wheels by heavily-laden teams; petit
| ton to place the herring in Cbappaquansett
Pond under the control Of the voters of Tisbury;
petiton asking Congress to call convention to form
National constitution; bill to prevent the taking
| Of eels by traps in the waters of Muddy Con
| River; q petition to increase the close time
| for certain kinds Of ducks; petition to
l1dssolve a lithograph company; aud bill or petl-
tiOn to require certain Ianu o"neEs III the Asidhu VI
Tuckernuck TO fence in their own cattle. But
enough for the present Of bills and petitions.
few words must be given to the who are elected
| to consider them.
| EDUCATION IN RURAL NEw-ENGLAND
Something over year ago. in communication
| TO THx TRIBUNE discussing the influences which
led almost one-half of the voters of Massachusetts
| n approve the visionary schemes OF Butler,
! T Vns OBLIGED to put the emphasis upon
,ba deporable condition" Of education in
rural New. England. OF course when the ordinary
voter is not well educated the representative whom