Middletown transcript., 1891-04-23
LEGISLATIVE NEWS.
COMMISSIONER BILL BE
COMES A LAW, BUT WILL NOT
TAKE EFFECT UNTIL 1898.


The Legislature is busy this weei
irving to get up with business which
has been in the hands of committees
! 4 ore,t deal Of routine work has tc
10 dona and measures of small impor.
+ance have to be disposed of; this
motos if look to an outsider as if the
members were not working. 1t is
true that little of Importance has
haon done during the session, nearly
all bills of great value have been al
lowod to die in committee. The con-
vantion bill is the only important one
which got through in good time. On
Tuesday the Senate passed eleven di-
vorce bills, thus breaking the record
II was expected that the Five Com
missioners' bill would come up on
Tuesday, but the committee was not
ready to report until yesterday, at
which time the bill as amended was
passed with only one dissenting vote.
The bill was so amended that the
commissioners are to be elected at the
general election in 1899; this was
satisfactory to the Republicans who
were catching at straws of any kind.
The bill does not displace any officers
except County Treasurer and County
Collectors, but it cuts off all the politi
cal mowers of the Levy Court SO that
the only really hard work the mem
hers will have will be in getting their
nav. A receiver of taxes who shall
also act as Treasurer, and a Comptrol-
Ter. are to be appointed by the Cover
nor within ten days; a rebate is al
lowed on taxes promptly paid on
those not promptly paid an increase
of five per cent. is provided for. The
Commissioners are to be elected by
districts the Receiver will collect all
taxes up to a certain time, when col
lectors of delinquent taxes will take
charge. The Comptroller must ex-
anime all bills and if correct he will
SO mark and thus authorize the Treas
urer to pay them, but any bill which
! the Comptroller refuses to SO mark
shall be returned to the Levy Court,
which body may then order it paid
when bill is SO returned by the
Comptroller he is relieved from all
further responsibility for it. The bill
is a good one and the amendments
are satisfactory to the majority.
Everyone seems to be thankful that
the fate of this bill is settled, but it
would have been much better had it
been settled in February !; nothing
has been gained by the delay, but as
a consequence Of that delay the bu 81
ness of the county has become de-
moralized.
A committee of the Levy Court
which had been appointed to attend
to matters relating to certain road
bills now before the Legislature, was
given hearing yesterday and many
persons supposed that they came
down to protest against the passage
of the Commissioners bill, but such
was not the case; after they had
finished their business with the COM
mittee thoy took seats in the Senate
lobby and heard the bill read. When
they found that the whole thing was
settled, which fact they discovered |
when Mr.. Pilling congratulated the
Democrats upon the fairness of their |
decision and said that he was ready |
to vote for it, they got ready to take
the train for home; none of them
seemed to be at all worried over the
thing except Mr.. Clark, the member
from Red Lion hundred, who made
the remark when he left the State
House that "when our people get in
here two years hence they ought to
put out every id Democrat who
is found in office in the State of Della
ware.''
The Eisenbrey bill which fixes the
pay of members of the Legislature at
$500 per session is still in the hands
of the committee +; the father of the
bill said yesterday that it would pass
if that part prohibiting the accep-
tance of passes on the railroads should
be stricken out, but he also remark
ed that he would vote against it him
self if that should be done.
The mortgage bill should have
come up yesterday but those who
were to be heard against it did not
get a hearing. This bill is one of the
important ones and consequently ]
should receive the careful attention
Of every member of the Legislature
it should never pass in its present
shape, more of the money can be col
lected by a sale Of the roads concern
ed.
BY chartering the Delaware Termi-
nal Company the Legislature will
make the 100000 mortgages worth
their face value; this bill will go
through all right if Senator Richard
son can see that it is not speculat-
ing scheme or that the charter will
not be sold to the Pennsylvania rail-
road company; of this there is no
danger because the bill will be so
amended as to revoke the charter if |
It Is ever sold to competing line.
The incorporators are men of the |
highest standing and would not coun-
tenance such proceeding. BY the
passage OF this bill the Legislature |
will secure for the State the only
means of protection which is possible |
under existing circumstances. With
the passage Of the mortgage bill and
the killing of the new charter the |
people Of lower Delaware lose their
last chance of freedom in railroad |
matters and the State will lose a
greater portion of a well secured |
debt.
Mr.. Fulton's bill for the equaliza-
ton OF taxation has been superseded
by the Ridgely bill, providing for the
taxation of investments. The Ridgei
II T..