Bridgeton pioneer. (Bridgeton, N.J.) 1884-1919, 1896-04-02

SOME NEW LAWS.
Not More Than One Hundred Passed
This Session.

Not More Than One Hundred Passed
This Session.
After eleven weeks work, the MEM
bers of the Legislature go home, and the
record will stand as one of the best ever
made by Legislative body in this State.
The Republicans have kept every prom
ise made during the fall campaign. The
legislation has been all in the interest of
reform, and there has been absolutely no
craftsmanship injected into the work of
the majority party.
The good work of the representatives
from this county is generally conceded.
Senator Stokes in the Senate continued
as leader of the majority party, andsome
of his speeches were printed in full
throughout the entire State.
In the lower house Messrs. Minch and
Austin were always upon the right side
of Questions interesting the people at
large. Mr.. Austin, as Chairman of the
Committee on Engrossed Bills, had an
important service to perform, and did it
we'll.
There were in all 666 bills introduced,
and of these probably not more than 100
will become laws. Last year 397 laws,
were enacted. The list of new laws for
1896 is the smallest in generation, and
this is directly due to Governor Griggs'
emphatic declarations against "unneces-
sary legislation"
The first bill received and signed by
f1,n s,,%, ~
Senator Voorhees,, and marked No. on
the Senate calendar. 1t provide simple
style of drafting bill by dropping the
old Roman Introductory letters on the
superfluohs words, "And be it enacted"
at the beginning of each paragraph. Be-
sides saving labor and time, this measure
saved the State several hundred dollars
in cash in the printers bill.
The Voorhees, bills to pay the Supreme
Court and Chancery clerks $1,000 each
have each become laws. So has the bill
abolishing the Lay Judges of the county
courts.
measure of the greatest interest to
the thousands of election officers through
out the State is that offered by Senator
Perry, which was signed by the Cover
nor. 1t fixed the compensation to be
paid Boards of Registry according to the
vote registered. Heretofore the pay has
been S. day for each member of the
Board of Resistry, irrespective of the
number of votes cast, and rs there are
five members of the Board, the expense
to the city or county was $25 day, even
though, as it frequently occurred, only
twenty citizens appeared to register. In
the country there are districts having
only twenty-five or thirty voters. Sem
ator Parry's bill says that where not
more than $50 votes are cast the expenses
of the Board shall not be more than Sis
a day. When more than $50 votes regis
tered the pay shall be $40, and for over
300 it shall be $25 day.
One of the fights of the session and
something that the South Jersey farmers,
irrespective of politics, have been pray
ing and fighting for ten years, was the
repeater of the charter of the West Jer-
sey Game Protective Association, OF
Philadelphia. Senator Stokes introduced
the bill.
The bicyclists Jared well in this Legis-
lature. The Francis bill, empowering
all voters in the State to vote to raise
money to construct bicycle paths, was
the first of their bills to become law.
This measure, the wheelman say, will
enable them to build a bicycle path from
Trenton to the seashore.
Senator Johnson's bill providing for
uniform municipal regulations for bicy-
cles is also among the laws.
Mr.. Bradley's Asbury Park Music bill
will please the seashore. visitors, and ii
will not be burdensome to the tax payers,
as it appropriates only one mill on the
dollar of assessed valuation to pay for
the entertainment.
Mr.. Coddington's bill, authorizing
cities to appropriate money for free pub
lie libraries, is also one of the new laws.
Senator Bradley's bill prohibiting the
granting of liquor licenses on lands
owned or controlled by camp-meeting
associations will forever protect Ocean
Grove and similar family and religious
resorts.
The vital provisions of Rullock's bread
bill and the one providing for the semi
monthly payment of wages were des-
troyed. The bill for the manufacture of
cigarettes and the sale of them, was kill
ed. Thetwo cent ferliage bill also failed
of passage.
Many Commissioners of Deeds.
The Legislature in joint session APP
pointed 81 Commissioners of Deeds. The