The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-06-27
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
THE MORE PERMANENT IMPROVE
 MENT OF PUBLIC ROADS.

MENT OF PUBLIO ROADS.
 The House Passes the Bill by Large Ma
 Jority-The Features of the Bill-H. E
 Benton of This City Chosen School Fund
 Commissioner-New Haven County Jai
 Again-An Important Liquor Bill, Etc.
 Hartford, June 26.-The most import.
 ant bill considered in the house to-day
 was in relation to more permanent i'm
 provement of public roads. It was dis
 cussed as the special order, and was
 passed by large majority. It is in
 tended to make a beginning on better
 roads, and is likely to lead to import
 ant changes in the highways of the
 state. It was amended to provide for
 building any class of roads, instead of
 limiting the expenditure to Telford roads. The sum of $75,000 may be ex-
 pended the coming year. The bill is
 substantially as follows
 Section 1--There shall be appointed
 by the governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, three highway
 commissioners who shall hold office from the first day of July, A. D., 1895, for the respective terms of two, four and six years, and until their success ors are chosen and qualified, and there after biennially the governor shall, within sixty days of the organization of the general assembly at it's regular ses- sion, appoint, with the advice and con sent of the senate, one highway com missioner, who shall hold office from the first day of July next succeeding his appointment for the term of six years and until his successor is chosen and qualified.
 Section 2--At least one of the com missioners shall be capable and exper- fenced civil engineer. Each member oi the board shall receive eight dollars (S) per day and his actual expenses while officially employed.
 Section 5-Whenever the selectmen of any town in this state shall by reso- lution have declared their intention to cause any public road, or section thereof, within such particular town to be improved, under the provisions of this act, such selectmen shall cause all necessary surveys to be made and specifications to be prepared
 The specifications shall require the construction of macadamized road, or a telford, or other stone that will, at all times of the year be firm smooth, and convenient for travel; shall be so prepared as to call for bids from which an approximate estimate of the cost can be ascertained, and shall state the amount of security that will be re- quired of the bidder. After such spec ifications shall have been prepared they shall be submitted to the high way commissioners. And if majority of the highway commissioners shall approve them it shall then be the duty of the board of selectmen to advertise in two daily newspapers circulating in the county, for the period of two weeks, for bids to do the work according to the specifications prepared. Such ad- Iertisements shall state where bidders can find the specifications, and shall name the place where the selectmen will meet to receive bids. Every such bid shall be accompanied with the bid der's bond in the sum of $1,000 or more, with security satisfactory to the se- lectmen, conditioned that if the con- tract shall be awarded to him he will, when required by the seectmen, execute an agreement in writing to perform the work according to the specifications All bids then received shall be inn mediately and publicly read, and the selectmen may reject all bids if, in their l opinion, good cause exist therefor, but | otherwise they shall award the contract l to the lowest bidder, who shall give l satisfactory evidence of his ability to | Ja1r ever that the estimated contracts | awarded in any one year by any board l of selectmen shall not exceed one-half | of one per centun as assessed by the | board of assessors of the town, for the last proceeding year. When the con tract is executed by the board of se- lectmen, and by the bidder a copy of | the contract with the estimated costs of the work shall be forthwith filed with the highway commissioners.
 Section 6-When any road shall be constructed under this act, one-third of the cost of said construction shall be | paid out of the state treasury, provided l that the whole amount so paid by the l state shall not, in any one year, exceed 1 the sum of $75, ,000; one third of the cost shall be paid for out of the treasury of the county within which such road is constructed, and one-third of the cost shall be paid out of the treasury of the town within which such road is con- structed.
 After a road shall have been con under this act, the town in which said road has been constructed shall provide all money necessary to keep such road in proper state of re- pair, and may if there be no money on hand that can be lawfully used on such | 'epairs, borrow therefor on temporary oans, until the next annual taxes shall nave been assessed, collected and paid )ver to the said town.
 Section 7-It shall be the duty of the ] highway commissioners to supervise z III the work and contracts and the con- t 'truction of all roads under this act; hey shall require provisions of the con- racts and specifications to be strictly ( ldhered to by the contractors and the I electmen. AN IMPORTANT LIQUOR BILL. There was a long debate in the house + ver a liquor bill that was favorably o eported by the committee on temper c nee The bill WAS eXp1ained hv Soma | @