The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1884-10-22
Legislative Notes.


ONLY fourteen senators were present on
Monday.
THE governor signed the first house bill
yesterday.
Mr.. CIRCUIT OF Derby presided in the
house for time Thursday morning.
Ex-SENAToR f. ID. BLoDGETT of st. Johns
bury was at the state house last Friday.
THE eighth report of the State Board of
Agriculture was distributed to the members
last Friday
THE Connecticut River railroad has de-
cided to give free return checks to members
of the Legislature.
REPORTER PALMER of the house was called
away Thursday by the death of an aunt. He
returned on Monday
GOVERNOR AND MRS. PINGREE spent Sun
day at West Randolph, the guests of Hon.
and Mrs w. ii. Dubois
EX-SENATOR BRAINERD of st. Albans and
Hon. Charles Thatcher of Bennington were
at the state house yesterday.
Hon. F. T.. ALFRED of Newport OF the
firm of Crane & Alfred, was upon the floor
of the house yesterday morning
So many senators are away serving on
visiting committees that that body presented
a lonesome appearance yesterday
Mr. ID. SHERwIN of Jamaica was appointed
a member of the general committee, but by
as printed.
a LARGE number of children from the
school in Waitsfeld of which Miss S. M.
Thompson is teacher were in the galleries
yesterday morning.
REPRESENTATIVES, hall was filled Thurs
day evening with an attentive audience to
hear Mr.. Henry w. Tewksbury's lecture on
the Battle of Gettysburgh.
THE first bill to receive the governors
signature and become a law was S. 13, in
troduced by Senator Jones, relating to the
duties of town clerks, which was signed
Friday.
THE dissatisfaction with the Judevine
highway law has found expression in the
introduction of bill restoring the old dam
age act, with all of its most Objectionable
features.
THE question of prohibiting the sale of
tobacco to minors will agitate the house
again this session. All of the old members
will remember the famous struggle on this
point in 1882.
THE judges of the Rutland county court
are preparing bill to present to the legisla-
ture for a special tax on the county to raise
money for needed repairs and improve
ments of the county court house.
AMONG the visitors at the state house
Thursday were DIR. S. j. Allen of White
River Junction, one of the supervisors of
ID. M. Camp of the Newport Express.
Mr. SMITH of Stockbridge convulsed the
house Friday morning by the free and easy
way in which he said Mr.. Speaker, If
you will hold on a minute" Mr.. Speaker
held on to him, by announcing that he was
out of order.
THE committee on the revision of bills
have shown excellent judgment in appoint
ing Mr. Ashton r. Willard as their clerk
A IN of Nuil pf-
ten save the state much expense in the way
of litigation.
THOSE who went to the state house yester-
day expecting to hear some eloquence on
the question of appropriating money for the
| representation of Vermont at New Orleans
! were disappointed, as the matter was put
| over until Thursday.
BY request of Mr. f. NJ. Butler, counsel
| for Mr.. Cliff, who claims the seat OF Mr.
| Dyar Leffingwell, the returned member
| from Middletown, the case will again be
heard by the committee on elections this
| "wednesday afternoon.
SENATOR EDMUNDs was at the state house
| Wednesday, and received a very cordia
greeting from many friends Mr.. EdmundS
| expressed himself as much pleased at the
| result in Ohio and thought the outlook fol
| November very encouraging.
| THE Joint committee on the insane went tC
| Brattleboro Monday, TO visit the asylum al
| that place. The committee on the reform
| school visited that institution Tuesday, anC
| the committee on the state prison will go tC
| Windsor to-day Wednesday,.
| ONE of the representatives, whose name
we withhold out of regard for the towr
| which sent him, had an experience Friday
| night which he would not care to have de
tailed in print. Will he learn wisdom by
| this little occurrence? Eggs-actlyl
| PETITIONS are in circulation to ask the
| legislature to make an Appropriation for {
| monument at the grave of Hon. Theophilus
| Harrington, one of VeTmonts early judges
in Clarendon, similar to that erected by the
| state at the grave of Hon. Nathaniel Chip
| man in Tinmonth.
The joint special committee on the New
Orleans Exposition have reported a bill ap
| propriating $1,000 to aid in having Vernon
| properly represented at New Orleans A
| the managers will furnish an equal amount
this will place $4,000 at the disposal of thu
commissioner if the bill is passed.
THIRTY-sIx petitions for a law prohibit
| ing the sale of oleomargarine or any form o
adulterated butter have already been re
| ferred to the committee on agriculture
| The signatures aggregate over twelve hun
dred. Tunbridge leads with petition I,
| which is appended one hundred fifty names
THERE were more visitors at the stat,
house Wednesday than on any previous occa
sion this session. Among them were flln
Chamberlain, Esq, of Bradford, G, j. Bel
| of Walden, who represented his town II
| 1882, II. w. Oakes, superintendent of thu
| state prison, A, Messer of Rochester, wh'
| edits the Patrons Rural, George w. Wales
and Robert Roberts of Burlington.
PATRONS RURAL: "When the time come,
the mortgage question will he warmly dis
cussed by the legislature. What the resul
may be cannot now be foretold, The grang,
has always advocated change in the Law
| which will give the poor man relief from
| taxes on what he does not own. The move
ment has many warm friends in the legisla
ture who will push it TO the extent of thei
ability"
| TH0UGH the session of 1882 was the occa
| sion of much trouble to Rev. Theodore A
| Hopkins of South Burlington, yet il is du,
to him to say that he came off triumphantly
| victorious over il all. He was attacked il
reference to one of the dearest rights to al
| American freeman-the right to place hi,
home where he pleased, without being
| hunted down for so doing. The committe,
| of sixteen, before whom he then defended
himself decided in his favor, fourteen tC
two, and the attack was repealed.
| BRArrLEBoRo PHOENIX: Undoubtedly
| the most important measure of general legis
lation which has been presented to the gen
| eral assembly at this session is the bill in
troduced by Senator Holton establishing d
| state railroad commission of three members
who are to have oversight, in behalf of tn,
people and their interests, of the railroad,
49, q tl,ne tafa thatr q