Morning journal and courier., 1889-04-17

W May Affect che Swift Case if Acted on ' Before He Hangs-The Railroad Com. | mltree Hearings.
 HARTFORD, Conn.,, April 16. : Especial Correspondence of the JOURNAL AND CoUR IER.1
 It has become apparent that until Swift is hung the Connecticut legislature can do no business of importance. The whole day has been wasted so far as any public benefit is concerned. The Senate passed the day fight ing over a bill that would have been disposed of in five minutes were it not for the remotest of remote probabilities that Swift's case might be affected thereby, and at the end of the days discussion, which became 50 heated that language was used which West or South would mean gore, the whole matter was tabled. It was the bill favored by the judiciary committee reconstructing the board ' of pardons and giving the board power to commute death sentences by 8 two thirds vote of it's members.
 The important sections of the bill, which is an outgrowth of the Swift agitation, are as follows
 An act amending act concerning the board of Section l. Section s,s69, of the general stat utes Is amended to read as follows: The Cover nor the chief justice of the supreme court of TOTS. and four persons, one of whom shall be a physician, shall constitute board of pardons for this State, provided that in said chief justice or any judge of the supreme or superior courts, ees aGs oe e aP1 1I of Said IF who has publicly or privately expressed an opin- such case, but in case of disqualification from | either of said causes or from any other cause
 the Governor shall designate some judge or judges ! of the superior court to act in such case on
 said board, and it shall be the duty of the clerk | of said board to keep a record of such appoint |
 Section 2. Section 8 270 of the general statutes
 is amended to read as follows: The Governor shall
 biennialy appoint two members of said board with the advice and consent of the Senate, who shall
 hold their office for the term of four years. from
 and after the first Monday of June next succeeding their appointment. Not more than two members
 ot the said board so appointed shall he members of the same political party Any vacancy in said board which may occur when the General Assem-
 until the second Wednesday of the succeeding ses- sion of the General Assembly.
 is amended so as to read as follows: The jurisdic tion for granting communications of punishment and releases, conditional or absolute, from the State prison and also communications of the penalty of death shall be vested in said board.
 amended to read as follows: The board hereby es tablished must all concur in order to make their prison operative but in cases involving the commu-
 or sas 0f fss commute said punishment of death. It shall hold sessions at Hartford on the first Monday of June and December in each year, at the supreme court room in said city, and 1t may hold special sessions when and where occasion may require. Said board shall have power to appoint a clerk and may
 fix by rule the mode of procedure before it, and the to effect.
 The principal contest was between Senator Hall, chairman of the committee on judicia- ", and Senator Coffin. As soon as it was decided to consider the bill today Senator Twitchell sent up the following amendment:
 This shall not apply any case Ehers general assembly in favor of any one convicted.
 Senator Clark said there seemed to be something fin this, and the senators were afraid to touch it. Senator Hall said;
 That amendment voices the sentiment of passes in it's present form amended, it does provide tribunal to which the Swift case could be referred under certain circumstances that is, if the general assembly chooses to send the case to the board of pardons, after the pending bill shall have passed both houses. received the governors signature and a reprieve have been ordered, all in forty- eight hours. If the legislature chooses to pass this subject for the board of psrdons- shouldn't 1t have the right to send the case therei If there are disqualified persons on the board, the governor would have to fill their places by selections from the judges of the Supreme and Superior court benches. Senator Twitchell's amendment was re- jected and the bill was taken up as @ whole, after Senator Sprague had offered an amend ment which nulli6ed the bill and which he said met the views of a Superior court judge.
 Senator Cleveland wanted to know what judge it was who drafted the amendment He should vote for the bill.
 Senator Coffin, who contested with Senator Hall most strongly, said: The senator from the First will do so that he may be consis- tent with all the votes he has cast on this whole matter. On the other side, it was de- sired from the first to send this case to the board of pardons, but our suggestions were refused and disregarded. But the history of the case after it left the Senate was not what was desired, and now we are asked, in order to accomplish the original purpose, that we shall vote for this bill. l am not prepared to vote to discredit the present board of pardons. It is abundantly qualified to deal with any case coming before it.
 Senator Corbin said am in favor of 8 bill something of this sort, but am opposed to passing the bill to-day because it can be used to reach the Swift case. That is the plain English of my position. It was perfectly plain yesterday that there was something un- erdlaying the bill-that it was organized and arranged solely to help Swift. believe that a man who kills his wife with pistol, quiet ly should be hung, and if he beats her to death he shonld be whipped to death. I move to table this bill.
 The bill was then tabled by 12 to 9, and the Senate, on motion of Senator Corbin, at once adjourned.
 The House this afternoon voted to send the Swift resolution to the Secretary of State, which means that SO far as the legislature is concerned, it has given Swift up to the hang man for Thursday next.
 The only thing done in the House of inn portance today was vote not to reconsider the action on the division of Derby, or, in other words, vote to sustain the Speaker in his ruling that, as the resolution had gone I'd hQ6 come 8 law and could not be reconsidered. An appeal from this decision was taken and the Speaker was sustained 90 to 67.
 The question of submitting the prohibi- tory amendment to the people will be the order of the day in the House tomorrow The liquor interests do not want the matter referred to the people to vote upon, although few people believe that prohibition would be carried.
 Arguments on consolidation of New Ha- ven city and town government will be made on Thursday.
 The special committee on safety of build- ings growing ont of the Park Central disas- ter, were to meet to-day but adjourned for g week without taking any action.
 THE RAILROAD COMMITTEE.
 All eyes are now centered on the railroad committee waiting for it's report which is ex- pected every day. Undoubtedly the con- IQltL66 VIII EepOEG bQ1b W0oks 1Q6 TallrOaQ committee conducted the only hearing of i'm portance to-day. It was on the petition of the Consolidated road to build spur track at Niantic to the State camp ground. Presi- dent Clark said that the road desired to build this track for the accommodation of the State alone. To save the State carting, time and expense, at the solicitation of State officers, the railroad had purchased SIG, 900 worth of land in Mantle for spur tracks and room to unload. The tracks at their termini would be sunk far enough below the track to allow the cars to be unloaded on @ level.
 Assistant Quartermaster General Morgan said that in unloading 150 horses and the ar tillery this would be great convenience. At present nearly day is spent carting the luggage from the depot to the camp ground and if it rained, the baggage gets wet. The petition was opposed by the selectmen of Lynn who do not want an apparently useless
 iss T.