The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1889-02-02
The Liquor Law.

islative committee on temperance last night.
He said that in three lines which he could
put into the prohibitory liquor law he could
shut up every grogshop In the State, to ac-
complish which he would suggest an amend
ment by which, upon the first conviction for
sale, the fine should be $1,000 and costs and
year in Jail, and that liquor cases should not
be continued from term to term.
Lawyer l.. I. Carleton, county attorney of
Kennebec, presented the following change
in the present law, which he explained and
which provides that ''any hop beer or other
kind of beer containing more than two per
cent of alcohol by volume shall be deemed
intoxicating liquor" so that Is per cent of
liquor law shall be paid to the county attor-
ney and 10 per cent to the person furnishing
the evidence of conviction. The regular
term fee, as in civil cases, shall be
taxed in the bill of costs in every
indictment under the liquor when
judgment is had for the State, and paid by
the clerk to the county attorney as soon as
collected He would amend Sec 2, chap. II,
so that, when court having jurisdiction
shall md any place to be liquor nuisance,
1t shall direct an officer to shut up the place
and take possession, and shall publicly de-
stroy. all liquor and appurtenances for its
sale found there, and upon conviction, the
owner or keeper shall be fined not exceeding
$1,000 Any citizen of the county where
such nuisance exists may maintain an action
in the name of the State to abate and per-
petually eujoin the same, the Injunction to
be granted at the commencement of the ac-
tion, no bonds being required. Any one vio-
lating the terms of such injunction shall be
punished for contempt of court by a fine of
$500 and so days in Jail. When judgment is
rendered for the plaintiff, the court shall
render judgment for a reasonable attorneys
fee In such action in favor of the plaintiff,
and such fee shall be added to the costs.
Mr. Carleton also spoke of the need of al
lowing druggists to sell for medicinal pur-
poses.
George E. Bracket, secretary of the Grand
Lodge of Good Templars, offered the follow
ing amendments to che liquor law, drawn up
by the committee appointed for that purpose
by that organization: That the sales by a
town agent shall be confined to the town or
city for which he is appointed; making
knowledge on the part of the corporation
employees that the law is broken sufficient to
prove knowledge on the part of the corpor-
or evidence which shall convict viOlat0r of
the law shall be allowed one fourth of the
fines collected; that the appointment of one
or more State constables, with State jurisdic--
Council, be authorized; that the COM
plainant in cases before in
ferior courts be allowed to obtain
sufficient legal aid to sustain their case,
and that such counsel be paid $40 and travel
by the State; that the nuisance act shall be
amended so that the supreme court. on infor-
nation by the county attorney or petition OF
the voters, may issue an injunction in equity
abatiDg any such nuisance.
N. 4. Woodbury., a prominent Good Temp
ment, which produced considerable com.
ment: mo person who is in the habit OF
drinking intoxicating liquor is competent to
sit as juror In any case involving the man
ufacture, TRANSPORTATION or sale OF lnt0xicat-
ing liquor, and when information is COM
municated to the court that member OF any
panel is of drinking habits, or believed to be
so. the court shall inquire of the juryman,
and II he so admits, or declines to answer, he
shall be relieved from service in that and fu-
ture cases as juryman."
MackereI Seining.
The bill relating to the mackerel fisheries
on which the fish and game committee will
make TWO reports, relates to an old matter Of
controversy. In 1879 there was an amend
ment made to the law striking out the word
"mackerel" from the list of fishes-herring
shad, alewives, etc.-which might not be
seIned In any bays, or rivers the mouths of
which are less than three miles wide. In
1880 another attempt was made to amend by
inserting the word "mackerel" This failed
In 1883 the statutes were revised and In the
revision tne WORD mackereP' was put in, by
some error. The revision being accepted the
amendment became law The majority re-
port OF the committee now recommends the
striking out of the word 'mackerel." !" putting
the law as 1t was in 1879 and up TO 1883, Mr.
Whitten of Portland, leads the majority of
the committee In favoring this, while Sena-
tor Hinekley VINO has always opposed strik-
ing out the word, leads the minority.
WashIngton's Inauguration.
The President Of the Senate appointed to-
day Senators Heath of Kennebec, Sleeper
of Androscoggin, Lord of York, Hunt of