St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-01-04
NEW YORK LEGISLATURE.
Gov. Hills Message Said to be the
Briefcst on Record.


Briefest on Record.
ALBANY, n. Y, Jan. 3.-The New
York legislature was opened to-day.
Gov. Hill in his message says that he is
determined to make that document the
briefest on record, because he realized
that he who gives his suggestions with
cOnciseneSs and brevity cOnfers no
small gift upon active men in this busy
age. Among the recommendations
which the governor makes are the pas
sage of an act regulating the employ
ment OF prison labor: a measure prOvid
ing for spring municipal elections in
the city of New York; the creation of a
commission to revise the charter of the
city of New York: an amendment to
the statute which limits the amount of
recovery to $1,000 in the case of the
death of person caused by negligence
OF another person or of a corporation,
and increasing the amount of damages
that may be recovered in such actions to
100000; a statute making railroad COM
panieS absolutely liable for all damages
by fire set by their locomotives, and
measure for some capital punishment
other than hanging. In recommending
the passage of an act abOliShing the
power of confirmation on the part of
the senate in all those cases where it is
not required by the constitution itself,
the governor says: "While under the
provisions of the constitution the execu-
tive alone is empowered to suspend GER
tain state officers, although elected by
the whole people. yet so carefully have
the prerOgativeS of the senate been pro-
tected by legislation, that he is power
less to disturb, for cause, any official, no
mo hoy 1tnf 1,n l,n
appointment is dependent upon the
confirmation of the senate unless the
senate consents to such suspension.
There should not exist divided re-
SpOnSibility in reference to such APP
pointments. Either the senate or the
executive should be vested with the full
power and responsibility. 1t is a notO-
rlOuS fact that for many years nominal
lions sent to the senate have not been
acted upon at all, OF their disposition
determined upon partisan or factional
grounds. UneXceptiOnable nominations
have been chung up'' without any
action whatever. Excellent men have
been rejected. Good nominees have
been refused confirmation solely because
OF political considerations. Officials,
whose terms had expired for
many years, have been retained
without justification or reasonable
excuse, simply because they were in po-
litical accord with the senate, OF with
faction of the senate. The confirming
power has virtually usurped the APP
pointing power by a refusal to consider
nominations upon their merits" The
governor makes another appeal for
enumeration and apportionment, and
says: ''It is generally conceded that an
enumeration, followed by an honest APP
pOrtionment, would unquestionably re-
suit in a change in the political COM
pleXion of the legislature of the state
A single glance at the present Ubiquitous
apportiOnment disclOSes a motive and
purpose in the neglect or refusal to per-
nit an enumeration. In the great DEM
Ocratic counties of New York and Kings,
there is an average of over $4,000 popu-
latiOn to each assembly district, while
in eight Republican counties which have
over one assembly district, the average
population in each district is scarcely
half that number, and in five other Re-
publican counties having more than one
district, the population hardly averages
$4,000 in each district" Freeman Cole
was elected speaker of the assembly,
and II r Low president of tho sonata