Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1883-02-08

facilitate the preparation and Issuing of the
annual report of the State superintendent OF
common schools; an act to amend chap. 81
of the revised statutes relating to actions by
or against executors or administrators.
PASSED TO BE ENGRossEp.
An act to amend the charter of the Ocean
Insurance Co. an act to make valid the do
ings of the Skowhegan Village Corporation /;
an act relating to taxes on personal property
an act additional to chap. "A of the public
laws of 1878 relating to insolvency; an act to
amend sec. chap. 60 of the laws of 1851 in
relation to the registry of deeds; an act to
amend sec 81 part first chap. ii of the revised
statutes of 1871 relating to the hiring of teach
ers; an act to authorize the land agent to exc
cute in behalf of the State release deeds IN
certain cases; resolve in favor of the Passa-
maquoidy Tribe of Indians; resolve to cor
rect a clerical error in the State valuation of
Township Z, Range IL, Piscataquis county
resolve in favor of John NJ. Thurlough; re-
solve in favor of the town OF Nattamiscontis !:
resolve in favor of School District No. 3 in
the town of Madison; resolve in favor of an
appropriation to build bridge across Mac
wahoc stream, in Macwahoc plantation,
county of Aroostook.
PASSED TO BEsENACTED.
An act to authorize the sale of the Bel
grade Westinghouse at Belgrade in the town
of Belgrade; an act to authorize the erection
and maintenance of piers and booms in the
AroOstOok river at Fort Fairfield;
an act to vest the franchise and
property of the proprietors of the ''middle
bridge" so called, on Eastern river in the town
of Dresden; an act to authorize the erection
and maintenance of booms at the mouth of
fha I ink, a1a raska Lob in Tour nsh;p *
Range 4, Aroostook county; an act relating to
the Maine Wesleyan Seminary and Female
College; an act to incorporate the Bangor
and Brewer Steam Ferry Co. an act in rela
ton to the salary of the Judge OF the Supe
rior Court for the county of Cumberland;
an act to incorporate the Merchants Marine
Railway Co.
Mr.. Heath of Augusta, called up the bill for
the apportionment of the State for representa-
tives to Congress. and proceeded to explain
its provisions. lie said all had been fairly
and equitably represented on the committee
thatreported the bill. The public hal been
given all the opportunity it could ask to APP
pear and give their views. A large majority
of the committee had reported the bill. be-
lieving it to be fair. impartial and just. The
law eEacted by Congress in regard to the
matter requires that congressman shall be
eicCteu W uistTIcts COlupOseu VI Contiguous
territory. This requirement had been fully
adhered to by the committee, without evasion
or trickery of any kind las would be seen by the
report. The counties were as contiguous as
it was possible to make them under the cir
cumstances, and no man could raise an objec-
ton upon this score. They were also made
to contain, as nearly as practicable, an "equal
number of Inhabitants Another element of
practicability referred to in the law and which
faced the committee was the breaking up
of county lines. The intent of the
law is ut this State shall apportiOn
her four representatives. without breaking
up its government unity. whatever it might
be. whether counties or townships. 1t had
been the underlying principle that the State
would violate the spirit of the United States
statute If it broke up the unity of its govern
ment. No man would question the statement
that in this State the county is the unit and
not the towns. The first proposition met is
that Congress requires an equal number of
inhabitants for each district if it can be had
without breaking in upon government unity.
The next proposition is that the county is
the unit in this State. This brought the
House to the proposition that it had no moral
right to break in upon the unit of the State
government, which is the county. The
Speaker then took up consecu,ively the four
districts provided for in the bill. and argued
from statistics and the circumstances
attending each district that the com
mittee had cOnformed to the spirit of the law
in the apportionment they had made.
He also maintained that the plan submitted
by the committee was a fair one politically.
He was not going to stultfy himself by say
ing that he, as a republican proposed to sub
nit to the House an apportionment which
would surrender the control of the State into
the hands of the democracy He had not
been sent here to do that, but to treat that
party fairly and equitably. On the vote of
1880, which he believed to be a fair test, for
all the voters were out, there was a divided
victory. In the lst district as proposed by
the committee there was a republican
majority of 43; in the second. democatic
majority of GA; in the third (Which has Ken
nebec) a republican majority of 7lS; and in
the fourth, democratic majority of 776.
He subm tied that the charge could not be made
that the republican party had used its power to
gerrymander the State. Viewed politically.
on the score OF fairness, he submitted that
better result could not be reached. Viewed
as matter of equality of population, follow
ing the spirit and the letter of the law of Con-
gress in preserving county lines, it could not
be made more equal. When the question
was taken he said he should call for dvi-
sion of it, so that the question might be taken
separately on each district.
Mr.. Spofford of Bucksport moved to amend
so as to take Washington from the fourth
district and put it with the third, and also
to take Somerset from the third and put it
with the fourth. This he said would make
the third consist of the counties of Washing
ton, Hancock, Waldo and Kennebec, and the
fourth of AroOstook, Penobscot, Piscataquis
and Somerset. He presented his amendment.
he said. not in the interest of any clique, or
individual aspiring to political power; but he
had looked the matter over carefully and be-
lieved it would make more equitable ap-
portionment, both as to contiguity and lines
of communication. although he admitted that
the lines of communication of the fourth
would not be as good as those of the third.
His main reason for offering the amendment
was that he thought the division of the popu-
lation was more equal than any other plan he
had heard presented.
Mr.. Bearce of Norway said he was nomi-
nally a member of the committee that had
the matter in charge but the bill had been
formed by some other power than that exer-
cised in the committee room, and presented
to the committee. not for their consider
alton. but for their signatures only. His
first objection to the bill was that he did not
believe it to be in accordance with the law
or shirt of the law under which the Hon o