The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1883-03-15
Continued from Second Pase.l
FIrty-First Days Proceedings.
HOUSE on REPRESENTATIVE.

House met at $50 a. m, Speake
Gibson and a quorum present:
Prayer by the chaplain, Rev. Dr
Poindexter
Reading of the journal dispensed
with.
At the request of Mr.. Parsons house
bill $40. to amend the act creating the
county of Rockwell, which was ere
Nited out of the county Of Kaufman
was taken up, but, on account OF the
absence of Mr.. Rushing, of Kaufman
was postponed.
House bill 40, to amend the act
amended by act, to create the office OF
public weigher. 1t provides that he
shall subscribe to oath and give bond
in the sum of 5000, and be liable for
damages for failure to properly per-
form the duties of his Office. There
are % be five public weighers in Gal
weston.
Mr.. Taylor moved to print and
make special order for 8 p. IN. Mon
day. Carried.
The house refused to concur in SEN
ate amendments to the bill reorganiZ-
ing the fifth, seventeenth and thirty
first judicial districts.
The act to create the county of
Upton. amended John Upton, passed
to engrossment.
House bill ll6, to detach portion
of Milan county, and attaching same
to Lee county, was finally passed.
House bill 80. to amend article I43
of the penal code, relative to receiving
stolen or embezzled property. Senate
amendment, to insert the word FRAUD
uiantlv" WAS cOncurreQ in
The house refused to concur in SEN
ate amendments to house bill 81,
amending the Sunday law.
BY Mr.. Tilson: Resolution to dis
charge all committee clerks of the
house from this date.
Mr.. Nash spoke against keeping the
clerks at 50 per day, when the men,
bers were now only getting 81.
Mr.. Upton offered substitute to
empower the speaker to discharge
them when he deemed proper.
Mr.. Labatt said there was no reason
to discharge the clerks, even if the
members of the house were now pau
pers getting but 81 a day. The ex-
cessive economical spirit manifested in
these little matters was like balloon,
the higher it got the smaller il looked.
Mr.. Chenoweth said he had pre-
pared a substitute but Mr.. Upton's
was sufficient.
Mr.. Upton's substitute was tabled,
and the question recurring on Mr..
Tilson's resolution.
Mr.. Chenoweth offered amendment
except two clerks to be designated by
the chief clerk" Amended by Mr..
Traylor to insert speaker instead of
chief clerk.
Amendments carried and the reso-
luton as amended adopted.
THE RAILROAD BILL.
Mr.. Cochran in the chair, stated
that the pending question was the
amendment Offered the day previously
by the gentleman from Fannin, Mr..
Chenoweth.
The amendment was adopted. 1t
requires the commissioners to furnish
at the next session of the legislature
a complete freight classification and
schedule of reasonable maximum
rates for the transportation of freight
and passengers of each railroad ope-
rated in this state, and that copies be
furnished to each member of this leg
islature.
Chair-The question is now upon
the adoption of the substitute offered
by the gentleman from Ellis:
SPEAKER GIBsoN's BILL.
Mr.. Hill of Polk, argued that it
would take as much time to perfect
the Gibson substitute as it did the
original bill of the committee. Be
sides, the latter had been so far per-
fected as to be preferable to that of
the gentleman from Ellis, as he aimed
to show by a comparison of the two
measures. The substitute, as far as
the appointment of state engineer
goes, was copied from the statutes
which he read. In the matter of
economy as to the salaries of the en-
gineer and clerk and those of the
trifling instance of but $1,000, q small
ENkatter in questions of such import
anee. The committee bill, he con-
tended, would prevent pooling; the
substitute would not. The substi-
tute really presented no substantial
advantages over that of the
ed and comparatively perfected.
AS to the committee bill, the only
close vote was ON the adoption of the
first section by vote of 40 to 10. but
the amendment had been adopted by
such majorities as showed that the
bill was satisfactory.
Mr.. Durant, of Leon, said he could
not afford to support the substitute
after the house had labored so long in
their efforts to perfect the original
bill. He hoped the house would now
settle question, or lay the foundation
for future legislation.
Mr.. Ayres said there was time
when he was disposed to offer sub
stitute, but his ideas had been almost
realized in the bill, though there were
some changes still that were desira-
bile. The question could only be set
tiled on basis of justice to all, to be
determined after the fullest informa
tion that could be obtained. Section
10 of the substitute, he argued, would
impose duties on the attorney general
impossible for him to perform, with
the other duties of the office. No man
on the floor would go further in met
ing out justice to the railroads than
he would, unless it was some one att
ing solely in their interests.
He impugned no mans motive, but
ut the same time the substitute was
admirably devised to defeat legisla-
tion on this subject.
Mr.. Upton moved the previous
question on the adoption of the sub
stitute.
The substitute, as introduced the
day previous by Speaker Gibson, is as
follows:
A Bill to be entitled "An act to fur
ther provide for the regulation of
railroad and transportation lines in
the state of Texas, and to provide
for the creation of the office of. and
appointment of u state engineer and
his secretary, and their salaries and
duties; and to prevent unjust dis
elimination and extortions in the
rates charged for transportation OF
freight and passengers In this state
and to prescribe a mode OF proce-
dure In relation thereto
SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the
legislature of the state of Texas, That
the governor shall appoint, by ant
with the advice and consent OF thu
senate, an engineer experienced IN tht
construction and maintenance OF rail
ways, who shall be state engineer
who shall hold his office for two years
or until his successor is qualified, but
shall be subject to removal by thu
governor at any time. In case of re
m0vM the governor may appoint
successor until the meeting of tn,
next legislature, when said appoint
ment shall be submitted to the senate
for approval.