Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-01-04
HILLS MESSAGE.
What the Governor Had to Recommend to
tho New York Legisiaturs.


tho New York Legislature.
ALBANY, N. Y, Jan. The New York
Legislature opened to-day. Governor
Hill in his message recommends the pas
sage of an act regulating the employment
of prison labor, a measure providing fer
spring municipal elections In the city OF
New York, the creation OF q commission to
revise the charter OF the city Of New
York, an amendment to the statute
which limits the amount of recovery to
$4,000 in the case of the death of q person
caused by the negligence Of another per-
son or Of a corporation, and increasing
the amount of damages that may be re
covered, making the rsilroad companies
absolutely liable for sll damages by fire
set by their locomotives, and measure for
some method of capital punishment other
thar hanging. The Governor makes an
other appeal for enumeration and appor-
tionment, and says:
SIT is generally conceded that an emu
meretion followed by an honest apportion-
ment would PROFESSIONALLY result in q
change in the political complexion OF the
LEGISLATURE of the state. A single glance
at the present Ubiquitous apportionme MT
disclose motive and purpose In the neglect
or refusal to permit enumeration. In the
great Democratic counties OF New YORK
and Kings there is On average over 5O. 0o0
population to each assembly dlstrlcr,
while in eight Republican counties which
have only one assembly district the aver
age population In each district Is scarcely
halt that number, and in FIVE other Repub-
Iican counties, having more than one dis
trict, the population hardly averages 35,-
900 in each district"
In recommending the passage OF an act
abolishing the power of confirmation on
the psrt of the Senate in all those cases
where it is not required by the constltu-
ton itself, the Governor says:
"While under the provisions OF the con-
stitution the executive alone Is en-
powered to suspend certain state officers
although elected by the whole people, yet
80 carefully have members OF the Senate
been protected by legislation that he is
powerlees to disturb or cause any Official
no matter how direct he may
be whose appointment is dependent
upon the confirmation OF Senate unless
the Sanete consents to such suspension.
There should not exist divided respon-
sibility in reference to such appointments.
Either the Senate or the executive should
be vested with full power and RESPONSE
biIity. 1t is notorious facs trst for
many wears nominations sent to the SEN
ate have not been disposed OF upon their
| merits. They have either not been acted
III on at all o. their disposition determined
upon partisan or factional ground. Tn
exceptionaole nominations have been
re lected without any action what.
ever. Excellent men have oeen
rejected. Other nominees have been
refused confirmation solely because OF
political considerations. Ofi;i.ls whose
terms had expired for many years have
been returned without justification or
reasonable excuse, simply because they
were in political accord with faction OF
the Senate The confirming power mas
virtually usurped the appointing power
by a refusal to consider nominations
upon partisan grounds"