The Hartford herald., 1880-01-21
Notes from the Capital.
FRANKFORT, Jan. II.

FRANKFORT, Jan. IL.
Editor Herald:
The Legislative mill grinds slowly
but regularly on. The iedres fall thick
and fast on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Petitions come up for and against,
from every section of the State. Claims,
ddinfmtun, ARE being presented on every
hand, propositions and grievances are
making grievous the time for the appro-
plate committee. Retrenchment and
reform is everybody's platform. Inter
nal improvement is nearest the heart
of the gentleman from Franklin. The
gentleman from Clay weeps daily over
his unfortunate fellow men in the State
prison. The Louisville delegation, of
course, want little amendment to the
city charter. When read, the little
amendment, is found to he larger than
the constitution of the United States.
The mountain men want new counties
and county seats and Mr.. Quinby prays
the Legislature to have the COnstitu-
ton of the Nation so amended as to
permit woman suffrage. This is his
tory in general, we nov give some de-
tails.
\ bill has passed both Houses author
sizing the Trustees of the old Hartford
ieminary to dispose of the property, &c.
The Senate has passed joint resolu-
tion authorizing the Sergeant-at-Arms
of the two Houses to furnish two daily
newspapers at the expense of the State,
in which we think the House will not
concur, as the resolution on that subject
had been voted down once by both
Houses.
t... Ii
I ly all the Criminal Courts. and transfer
the records to the Circuit Courts.
| The special committee, appointed to
redistrict the State into Judicial Dis
tricts, reported resolution, declaring it
| to be the sense of the General Assem-
bly, that the Constitutional inhibition,
| i'm regard to the formation of Circuit
Courts, no longer existed since the pop
ulation now exceed one million and n
half. This was substituted by resOlu-
tion declaring that under the constitu-
tion, not more than one Circuit Court
could he made every four years, and
further instructing the committee to
redistrict the State into eighteen Judici-
al Districts, and abolish the Criminal
and Chancery Courts except i'm Louis
vile and COvington.
Judge Hord's river bill, giving the
United States Government the right to
acquire by purchase or condemnation
sites for locks, dams and necessary
buildings, and to have concurrent juris-
diction with the State, whenever Con-
gress appropriates money for the inn
provement of the rivers of the State has
been passed by the Lower House, and
will certainly pass the Senate.
A bill has passed the House reducing
the pay of Petit Jurors from to dol
lar per day; there was also bill offered
To reduce the per diem and fees of mag
istratcs which, on motion, was recon-
mitted. This looks, to your correspOn-
dent, like retrenchmeift and reform
'cith renge0nce, beginning at the little
end. .HI
A resolution was then offered, instruct
ing the committee on Retrenchment
and Reform, to bring i'm a general bill
to reduce the salaries and fees of all the
officers of the Commonwealth begin
ming mt the highest and going To the
lowest; this received tie vote, conse-
quently was lost. This cOnvinces us
that the cry of "retrenchment and re-
form" is a hollow mockery with great
many, and our opinion is that the ef-
forts will be to reducethe pay of of some
of the inferior officer and leave the sala-
ries of the Judges, Commonwealth At
tOrneys and others, until the latter part
of the session, when it will he crowded
out and fail.
The people cannot afford to listen to
such reform as this,and should so speak.
A bill has been introduced to create
new court to be styled the Superior
Court of Kentucky, superior to the Court
of Appeals. This, we think, would
make fat positions for more hungry Of
flee seekers, at a salary of 1000 dollars
per annum, whilst all their decisions
would go to the Court of Appeals.
The gentleman from Clay, Mr.White,
Ex-Congressman from this district, evil
IDENTIFY desirOus of stealing thunder
! from the Democratic party, delivered
grand scatter-gun speech, the other day
on IA motion to reconsider vote on
some measure. He seemingly aimed at
everything i'm sight and brought out
lively responses from Messrs. Perry and
Rudy.
Senator Berry, ofCampbell, has intro
duccd bill i'm the Senate, calling
Constitutional Convention, and provid-
ing for the election of delegates to same
at the next August election.
This, We are inclined to think will
not pass it evidently being independent
and contrary to the constitution.
.rtutl .5a OBSERVER.