The daily gazette., 1883-02-09
ABOUT LOCAL OPTION.
TEMPERANCE MEN BEFORE
THE LEGISLATURE.
THE AMENDED PILoTAGE BILL.
The Regulation of Weights and Measures
"A Fat Job IN Prospeet-General Legis-
lative Proceedings.
.sDeeial correspondence OF the t,.aer,e.i


DOVER, Feb. p.--The temperance people
who compose the State Temperance AL
lance, were given an audience by boil
Houses last evening In the Representative
hall. An earnest plea was made In favo
Of local option by the Rev ]. II. Caldwell
The meeting was attended by the member
and number of people of Dover, many 0
whom were ladies, and lasted from o'ciocl
until after o. OF course every thing wa
very earnest and pathetic and eIoquen
appeal was made 10 the members to pas
prohibitory law, but, as your CORES
pondent has already indicated, the TEN
perance men would do better TO save theil
breath. A local option enactment by the
present legislature Is the forlornest hope
n gentleman to-day said the meeting re-
minded him of two of Sbakepeare's plays
Much Ado About Nothing" and 'fLove'i
Labor Lost" and, while the principle Of
prohibition might be good one If secured
In some other way, it would stand no show
at the present session. / can recall but
three members in the House who are likely
to vote for local option bill II one comes
up. Two of these are from Kent and one
is from Sussex. In the Senate there are
three who are looked upon as not positively
opposed to local option and one of them
is Senator Belts, who, 1t is to be expected,
will vote for the bill as he voted for 1t at
last session. So local option may be set
down as among the improbabilities.
THE PILoTAGE BILL.
The Senate yesterday afternoon passed the
Pilotage bill and 1t was read once in the
House. The bill is not likely to receive any
opposition in that body. The provisions
that pilots may be entitled to conduct YES
sells back to sea having taken them into
port, and that no pilot shall hereafter be
licensed under the Delaware law unless he
shall hold Delaware license at the time of
the passage OF the act, or serve u full ap-
premiership on Delaware boat, are good
ones and intended to protect our pilots from
the Philadelphia port wardens, while that
relating to the legal proceedings either
against captains OF. owners of vessels is to
meet legal technicalities which may arise.
Captain John s. Virden, of Lewes, a son
of that veteran pilot, Captain Virden, who
is also one of the Pilotage Commissioners,
is here in the interests of the bill. He is
popular and gentlemanly young fellow and
takes great interest in seeing that the Del
aware pilots rights are respected and upheld.
Your correspondent asked him Yesterday
about the bill which Congressman Bingham
of Philadelphia introduced in the House on
Wednesday, and he said that in his opinion
national legislation would not work unless
Congress took the whole matter of pilotage
into lis own hand. The bill Is clearly
blow at the Delaware pilots, and its pro-
visions are given as follows: ''No owner,
agent, master, or consignee OF any ship or
vessel shall, by virtue OF the laws of any
State, be compelled to take, employ or pay
a pilot not voluntarily employed, ON enter
ing or departing from any port or harbor,
or entering, passing through, or leaving any
channel, passage or strait within the waters
of the United States"
The House in the afternoon did a most
remarkable thing-almost miserly economi-
cal in its nature. 1t defeated Joint resolu-
tion to pay $500 to the Robbins Hose Com
pany, Dover's local fire organization. The
State House is worth about $50, 900 aside
from its contents, and the library could not
be replaced tor any amount. OF course
there is ample insurance on the building
and something like $4,000 ON the library,
The fire company is new organization, and
in case of fire could do much toward saving
the building. To get a suitable lot and
erect building will cost $4,000, and 1t
asked the State to pay $500. A vote of to
killed the resolution, those voting against
it being Messrs. Comegys, Sutton, Craw-
ford, Dukes, Barlow, Lewis, Frasher,
Watson and Temple. Mr. Cooch took an
earnest stand in favor of the resolution.
The Senate in considering the bill pro-
viding Tor the regulation of weights and
measures, struck out section s, which re-
quires any person offering measures for
sale to have the same tested and stamped,
and If he shall sell unstamped measures he
shall be indicted and pay from $5 to $40
The bill was made a special order for Thurs
lay at IL o'clock. The bill has many OBJ
jectionable features, and Is likely to be de-
feated. The bill provides for a regulator
of weights and measures for each county,
whose duty it shall be yearly to 20 to ali
stores, houses, offices, and other places of
business, OF all makers, yenders and propri-
etoFs of beams, scales, weights and measures,
In each of the several counties for which
they may be appointed, aud test and adjust,
all weights, beams, scales and measures, and
stamp the same. The bill provides that for
the trials and adjustments the regulators
shall demand and receive from the proprie-
tors or owners of all such weights and
beams, and scales and measures, the follow
ing fees, to wit: For the trial and balancing
Of every set OF scales, 10 cents; for every
patent balance Is cents; for every set of coal
or hay scales $l.50 each; for every set of
platform scales which draws five hun
dred pounds or under sevensy-iive cents,
and an additional sum Of five cents for every
one hundred pounds, not exceeding two
thousand pounds, and any platform scale
drawing over two thousand pounds shall be
classed as coal or hay scales; for every yard
measure three cents; for every bushel
measure ten cents; for every half bushel
measure seven cents; for every peck and
half peck measure five cents; for every
quarter peck measure three cents; for every
gallon and quart measure three cents each:
for every pint measure or less two cents: for
every weight of twenty EIGHT pounds or
more eight cents; for every weight less than
twenty-elght pounds two cents; and an
additional charge for lead and other
material for adjusting said weights, scales,
beams and measures, at The current value
of the lead and material furnished.
The bill also imposes heany penalties, and
Is a very stringent affair.
YESTERDAYS PROCEEDINGS.
In the Senate bills were passed to incor-
perate the marlborough marsh, and clear
ing up ambiguity In the law on the inheri-
tance tax, DR.. Houston gave notice of an
amendment to the game law, concerning
seine fishing in Indian river, and Mr. Cooper
of an act to allow the court to use discretion
in sentencing youthful criminals to the
post. Mr.. Belts presented the
claim of Adjutant General Postles for
$410.40, expended for transportation to the
Yorktown Centennial, which was read,
House bills were read a first time as follows
Authorizing Wilmington to borrow SIC, 900;
incorporating the Capelle Hardware Co:
allowing the Levy Court to satisfy the bond
of deceased collectors at their option: con.
cerniug the residence Of voters; TO divide
North Chrlstiana hundred; to straighten the
road from Dover to Smyrna.