Morning journal and courier., 1882-04-14
House.

! House.
 l Speaker Hall called the House to order at l 10 a. m. Prayer was offered by Chaplain Sage. l Business from the Senate was. disposed of | in concurrence Messrs. Whittlesey, of 1 Washington, and Tomlinson, Of Milford,
 were appointed 8 committee of conference on
 the bill restricting fishing ill Waramaug l lake. | On motion of Mir. Robertson, the temper ance bill was tabled and made the special l order for 2:3O p. m. to-day. l MT. Owen called from the table the bill re- i lating to the annual returns of railroad com- panies, reported adversely from the Railroad committee, and moved that it be tabled for calendar; so ordered. The bill amending the general insurance jaw relative to cooperative company re- serves was explained by, MT. Bishop and passed.
 The bill authorizing the Governor to ap- point a commission concerning children in alnshouses was explained by Mir. Wilson, of Meriden, and passed. The bill provides that commission consisting of five persons, two of whom may be women, shall be appointed by the Governor, whose duty shall be to in quire into the numbers and condition of neg lected, abused or dependent children in the State, who are or should be under the care of the State or of the towns thereof, or who should be otherwise cared for than at pres ent; and to report to the next General As sembly such facts and statistics as they may obtain, and to suggest, by bill or otherwise, such legislation, if any, as they may deem necessary or desirable to ameliorate the con- dition of such children.
 At 1O:35 MT. Paige, of Sherman, called for the order of the day, being Senate bill Mo- 40 for the establishment of board of pardons, and discussed at length the features of the k1.a.. one in which merit does not prevail, but sub- ject to the chances of passion and prejudice. In twenty-seven of the States the power of pardon is vested in the. Governor. But this is not necessarily better system than where the Legislature holds control. The true sys- tenn in his opinion was by the appointment of board of pardons MT. Paige offered amendments providing that in cases where the chief justice shall be called upon to act on petitions from prisoners at whose trial he has presided he shall appoint an associate judge of the supreme court, that the board shall have power to act on petitions from prisoners.in- county jails, and also that the States attorney of the county in which the prisoner was convicted shall appear before the board in opposition to petitions for par don or release
 Mr. Johnson, of Enfield, opposed the pas sage of the bill claiming that the pardoning power should be retained in the Legislature He was also opposed to increasing the num- Der of Boards in the State. The Legislature should not begrudge the time spent in exam ming the petitions of prisoners. There would be less danger of wrong being done by the Legislature than by pardoning board.
 Mir. Northrop, of Middletown, sustained the bill, holding that it was in the interest of good order, discipline and justice. He did not believe that the pardoning power should be retained in the Legislature. He would be glad to transfer it to the Governor or to any Board which should be held strictly responsi ble for the exercise of the power entrusted to them.
 EMr. Stanton, of Stonington, in the chair.
 Mir. Fox, of New Haven, said he had changed his views. with regard to the, bill since coming to the Legislature. He had be- lieved that the pardoning power should be