The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1883-02-26
AUGUSTA.
Final Adjournment Probable Next
Week.
THE FATE OF THE CAPITAL PUNISH
MENT BILL DOUBTFUL.
The Majority and Minority Reports ON
Legislative Apportionment.
/ Special DESPATCH to the Press !

Especial Despatch to the Pressl
| AUGUSTA, Feb. 25.-Members of the Legis-
ture, especially those from distant sections of
the State, are getting uneasy, and begin to talk
| about final adjournment Orders have already
been introduced excusiug several members
from further attendance, and directing the
clerk to make up their pay to the end of the
session. The committees have nearly all
| cleared their dockets. Even the judiciary
committee will be ready to make up their final
report this week, if necessary. The first after
noon session was held on Friday, and now that
the committees are clearing up their dockets
afternoon sessions will soon be held almost
every day. When the lawmakers get in
earnest, they can despatch work in short
metre. The prospect Of final sdiournment
the latter part of next week, seems very bright
CAPITAL PUNIsHMENT.
The House talked three days last week on
Judge Halls bill to restore the death penalty,
and has assigned Tuesday at one O'Clock as the
hour for voting on the pass ,ge of the bill to be
engrossed. Eleven members have already
spoken on the question, and there are 40 more
to be heard from. The most notable speeches
thus far have been made by Judge Hall of
Rockland and Mr.. Hale of Portland in favor of
the bill, and by Mr.. Powers of Houlton in op-
position. 1t is claimed that canvass shows a
majority in the House in favor of restoring the
death penalty, but regard the fate of the bill
as doubtful. The opponents of capital punish
ment are active, and profess confidence that
the bill will be voted down in the House
Should it go through the lover branch, it would
pass the Senate by large majority DR..
Eaton of Camden, on Friday, moved to amend
SO that chloroform shall be administered 10
those about to be executed. There are men
in the House cruel enough to suggest that it
would have been boon to the Legislature if
the genial doctors propensity for speech
making could have been cbloroformed early in
the session.
PRESERVATION OF BALLOTS.
Senator Bragdon of Hancock has presented
a bill which provides that all ballots cast at the
September election sor State and county off.
GERS shall be carefully preserved by the clerks
of the various Cities towns and plantations in
the State, for two years, subject to the reqnisi-
tion of the Governor and Council or the Legis-
lature. In case of a dispute the ballots shall
Do dvC0pt0u dc pftHtU JuCte 0Vlu6HC5s bau
such law been on the statute books in 1879,
the conspirstors who so nearly succeeded in
their attempt to overthrow the will of the
people would have been confronted at the out
set With an insuperable obstacle. Mr.. Brsg-
don has vivid recollection of that memorable
and disgraeeful chapter of Maine political
history, as some expert fusion penman, by a
deft stroke of that little instrument which in
the hands of those entirely great is mightier
than the sword, metamorphased the middle
initial of his name, P. into B. Had the
ballots been preserved and presented as evi
dence, il would have been a still colder day for
the gentlemen who were engaged in the con-
genial task Of Counting OUT Republican
majority. The bill has been referred to the
committee on legal affairs.
LEGISLATIVE APPoRT1oNArENT.
Both reports of the committee on Legislative
apportionment have been printed and will be
sent to the Senate tomorrow. The majority
report has already been published in the
PRESS. The minority report, signed by Sena-
tor Lord of Cumberland, Messrs Thompson of
Brunswick, Rogers of Bath and Drew OF Fort
Fairfield, differ from the report of the major
ity of the committee only in the appoT ton
ment of Representatives The counties af-
fected are Cumberland, Sagadahoc, Kennebec
and Somerset. Cumberland is given 81 repre-
sentatives by the minority report Gnstead of
20) the additional representative being assign
cd to Brunswick. Sagadahoc gets five repre-
sentatives Gnstead of four) the extra man GO
ing to Bath Kennebec and Somerset counties
each lose one representative. The matter of
Legislative apportionment is likely to create
considerable discussion, but the probability is
that tho report of the majority of the COM
mittee will be adopted.
sEMI-ANNUAL STATEMENTS OF CORPORATIONS.
Maine ihas of late years become Botany
Bay for all insolvent and irresponsible cor
poratons. Its laws so liberal that corpora
tions that cannot organize in any other New
England State come here and form. One is
surprised, in looking over the books at the
Secretary of States Office, to see how many of
these corporations there are. Under the pro-
visions of section chapter 4S of the revised
statutes all manufacturing, mining and quar-
rying companies incorporated under the laws
of the State are obliged to publish twice
year in some newspaper, statement of their
affairs This is the only information the
public has as to the status of such corporations
It is considerable trouble to legitimate
manufacturing company, doing constan
business, to prepare these semi-annual state
ments, and legislation is asked relieving them
of this burden. Some law will probably bs
drafted amending the present section which
will discriminate in favor of corporations
which have been actually engaged in business
for term of years.
Personal
People down in Waldo county evidently
have exalted idea of Senator Rust, in spite
of his political idiosyncrasies A short time
ago, during the recitation of the class in Eng
lish literature at the Eastern State Normal
School at Castine, one young lady, who resides
in town near Belfast, was asked to name