Morning journal and courier., 1881-04-09
rspeoinl to ths JounnA1. Axp couarEn.l

ISpec1AI GO the JOURNAL AND IOUAAEA.1
 An earnest desire to dispose of the remain ing business before the Legislature was ap- parent in both houses to-day. The most inn portant matter in the Senate, and That which oreated the most discussion, was aths bill changing the charter of the Hartford Life and Annuity company, the result of which is given in our summary. The friends of 'tan- nexation" were again present in force and the enemies of the scheme were also in at tendance, but not in large force. As will be seen by the proceedings in the House which follow, the bill passed through that body by & large majority and the opponents of the bill were correspondingly chop-fallen. They have strong hopes, however, of defeating the scheme in the Senate when it comes up next week, but the others feel quite as confident that the Senate will concur with the House. The vexed question will no doubt be decided on Tuesday next. @ a
 The old law regarding dredging in New Haven harbor was repealed in the House to- day. and by this repeal both steam and sail vessels will be allowed to dredge in the fu- ture The Senate will no doubt concur.
 The New Haven city charter will come up next Tuesday and will no doubt pass as rec commended by the committee
 Following is summary of the business transacted to-day. .......
 The Senate assembled at 10 o'clock, Lieu tenant Governor BuIkeIey in the chair.
 Prayer was offered by Chaplain Sage. Under suspension of the rules the bill to provide for the payment of costs in civil ac- kir,,,x, rooccn1
 The Senate adhered to it's former action in rejecting the bill authorizing the selectmen of Bridgeport to appoint truant officer, which had been passed by the House.
 Bill regulating the taking of oysters in the towns of Milford and Stratford passed in concurrence.
 Bill regulating the foreclosure ot liens 1; passed in concurrence. .-.-
 Bill requiring town clerks to return to the Secretary of State lists of justices of the peace in their respective towns; passed in concur renee. z.s.. a1l-se-
 Bill relating to the service of processes on corporations; passed in concurrence.
 Bill providing that no person shall acquire right of way over property of another un- less he has had an uninterrupted passage for fifteen years; passed in concurrence.
 Resolution appropriating $400 in favor of Wm. A. Goodwin for compiling legislative statistics passed.
 Business on the calendar was disposed of as follows
 Bill requiring the Secretary of State to com pile the laws of the State relating to the as- sessment and collection of taxes (except the laws relating to taxes paid by private corpor- ations), emitting all repealed portions and causing all sections and chapters amended by subsequent acts to read as amended verbally amended and passed. ..5 ...zs
 Bill authorizing the city of New Haven to purchase certain property of the New Haven Water company; passed.
 When the resolution relating to the Hart ford Life and Annuity company was taken up Senator Bradstreet moved to substitute the minority report of the Insurance committee The most important provision in the minority bill was that which hereafter prohibited the company from making and issuing any con- tract for policy of insurance upon lives, or based upon, connected with or appertaining to life risks, except contracts which shall con- tain definite promise on the part of the company to pay fixed or certain sum to the beneficiary, under such policy or con- tract, and for the payment of which the capi- tai and assets of the company shall be liable
 Senator Bradstreet made a lengthy speech in which he advocated the minority report and urged that the only thing the report re- quires is that in future the company shall write it's policies for fixed amount and for a fixed price. He disclaimed all intention to attack the cooperative plan of insurance as followed by the Masons, Odd Fellows and other kindred societies.
 Senator Mills in rising to reply, said:
 MT. President-Had been aware when this resolution was first introduced what was it's purport, we would not now be consider ing it, for I should have objected to it's re- ception, and one objection would have kept 1t from going into the committee, for when 1t was presented the time for business had ex- pired. My objection would have been based on the ground that this is not really an in vestigation against the Hartford Life and An nuity Co., but goes much further in that, disguise it as you may, it is aimed at all of the cooperative benefit associations in this State. Why, if the resolution was only di- rected against the Hartford Life and Annuity company, was it not introduced at the begin ming of the session The answer is plain :; the bill which it was really intended to press was that introduced in the House during the early part of the session, and which open ly attacked all benefit and aid associ- ations. It was only when the opposi- tion to that bill became so great that no one who had the slightest regard for the wishes of his constituents would dare vote for it. Therefore the committee re- ported it adversely and it died. In pressing that original bill the insurance companies found that they had undertaken a bigger contract than they could carry out. But op- position does not frighten the men who con- trol the millions in the treasuries of the old life companies, and when they failed in their direct attack they began an indirect one, and that is how this resolution came to be intro duced. If the minority report of the Insur- ance committee should pass 1t is the opening of the door for attacking all benefit associa- tions, and these attacks will come from year to year, slowly, cautiously and insidiously, until the benefit associations are wiped out. I mean all of the associations, whether be- longing or connected with secret societies or not Is there a man in this room who be- ieves that this resolution to investigate the Life and Annuity company would ever have seen the light Of day had not the bill striking at all benefit associations failed Now, Mir President, why do the old insur- ance companies object to this style of doing business? It is.simply because the system is simply SO much more simple, cheap and safe than that which they follow that they know they will soon have to abandon their old and expensive way of doing business, with it's marble palaces and enormous salaries to the officers and come down to the modern cheap and safer way.
 From examinations that have been made in the Congressional library at Washington it has been found that 70 per cent of ordinary life insurance companies have failed. The commissioner of insurance in Massachusetts, in a report made to the Legislature of that OLdG0, ShyS 1OiG GO 1OCO O1 A1Gy-Sl4 companies organized in that State in that brief period fully half have retired from the field, and most of them in hopeless insolven- cy.
 Now, what is the evidence in regard to the permanency of the cooperative associations?I quote from a statement that appeared in the seventh annual report of the Masonic Mutual Benefit association, submitted at New Haven last January. Mir. Mills here read state- ment showing that but few of the co-opera- tive companies had failed in this country.
 Now, has this company, said the Senator, the right to insure on the cooperative plan under it's charter? MT. Stedman, the in- surance commissioner, says that it undoubt- edly has. When asked being sh own pol icy, is that proper contract, according to the charter of this company, he replied, cer- tainly it is; anybody could tell that who reads the charter and understands the Eng fish language.
 MT. Mills continued his remarks at consid- siderable length, which space does not per- init us to publish.
 On the conclusion of Senator Mills very able remarks Senators Coe and Seymour ad- yocated the minority report and Senator Brewster opposed it.
 When the vote upon the substitute resolu-