The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-01-31

The house session yesterday was ex-
ceedingly brief 1t had met, prayed,
read the journal, cleared the table of
all the business upon it and adjourned
at 3:15.
Nothing transpired during the short
sitting to disturb the tranquility of
transacting a small amount of purely
routine business, not even a metaphor
ical roast of audacious senators.
Towards bill to provide wives with
property and maintenance when de-
serted by their husbands. was passed
without opposition, and one bill was
introduced 1t was by DR.. Condor.
and was drafted by the secretary of
state 1t prescribes the manner of col
lecting fees by state. county and city
officers, and the disposition of the
funds derived The bill is designed
to take the place of H. B. No. 5, which
was vetoed by Governor Wells, and
is so constructed as to meet the OBJ
iections embodied in the veto to that
measure.
H. B. No II, Ferguson's bill making
eight hours legal days work for
specified classes of labor. was set as a
special order for Monday at 2:3O.
THE PROCEEDINGS.
A message from the governor in
forming the members that H. B. No.
80, providing for the contingent eXpen-
ses of the session had received execu-
tive approval, was the first matter to
engage the attention of the house af-
ter the opening ceremonies yesterday
A senate communication announced
that the senate had rejected substitute
for H. B. No. II, permitting justices OF
the peace in cities of the first class to
hold court at any place in the city, and
that it had approved H. c. r. NO o.
providing postage for members.
A petition was presented by Wilson
from sixty-four occupants of school sec
ton 36, West Jordan. setting forth
their long residence thereon; that from
being a barren tract when settled upon
it was now a productive region; that
settlement had been made in good
faith, not knowing it to be school lana
and that to be compelled to vacate
now would work great hardship upon
the settlers. T hey accordingly ask
for fayorabie legislation. Gibbs pre-
scented another petition from residents
of Bear River precinct signed by John
P. Holingren and sixty others, pray
ing for the enactment of a law direct
ing that all school lands improved or
occupied prior to statehood be sold at
the maximum government price-$2. so
per acre-and that all unoccupied
school land be sold at public auction.
The house went into committee of
the whole to consider committee re-
ports on house bills II and Sc, the re-
suit of which sitting resulted in the
adoption of a recommendation when
the committee arose, that bill Al be
passed, and that the report of the COM
mittee on ways and means that bill Sc
be rejected oe not adopted but that the
bill lay over until the chairman of the
committee rendering the report could
be present and state the committees
reason for recommending such action.
This course was adopted upon the sug-
gestion of CritchIow, who thought that
some such mea sure, placing a tax upon
the estates of deceased persons, should
be passed.
Critchlow desired to know what dis
position had been made of H. B. No.
II fixing eight hours as a days labor,
which had been laid over the day pre-
vious to be printed Upon motion of
Curtis the bill was made a special or
der for Monday at $50.
On first reading the following bill
was introduced and on second reading
was referred to the judiciary commit
tee: