Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1897-04-15
MICHIOAN's LEGISLATORS.

i as he TOOK MS seat he WAS dppiduutu-
presumably for his part in helping to
elect Mayor Maybury, of Detroit, and
thus turn down Gov. Pingree. Then a
resolution was sent To the clerks desk
praying that the anniversary of the
spring election be a perpetual holiday
to be known as Maybury day. An
other resolution requested the presi-
dent of the Senate To recognize Mr.
Thompson's acute attack of joyous
eXuberance contracted on account of
the late election in the city of Detroit,
and appoint him chairman of the com
mittee If the whole for the afternoon
session, and then excuse him from act
i've duty for the remainder of the
week" The Senate resembled "A coun-
try school room during recess as Mr.
| Thompson was installed in the chair
ana then they settled down little
and agreed to bill to allow the catch
ing of clubs and minnows with nets in
Les CheneauX channel. During the
day the Senate passed the following
bills: Providing that applicants do not
have to study two years in an attor-
neys office to become eligible to admis-
sion to the bar; providing salary of
$500 for the treasurer of the board of
control of the home for fee BILE minded
The House spent almost the entire da
in committee of the whole and agreed
20 several measures, among the most
important being the Green inheritance
tax bill which provides a tax of per
cent upon the market value of all prop
erty, personal and real, over So, 900 in
amount, bequeathed by will, whether
by resident or nonresident of the
state, or transferred in contemplation
of death, except in cases where the
property goes to father, mother. hus-
band, wife, child, brother. sister, wife
or widow of son or husband of
daughter, in which case no tax is as
sessed upon the Inheritance. The pro-
bate Judge is made arbiter in all cases.
The House passed the following: Au-
! thorizing the village of Sand Beach to
issue bonds for water works; empow
ering judges of probate in certain
cases to license executors, admins
traitors and guardians to borrow
money by mortgaging or pledging the
estates of deceased persons for the pur-
pose of paying debts, legacies, making
repairs to or completing buildings; pro-
viding for the appoin tment Of guard
| ianS for persons who are habltual
drunkards by the use of liquor, narcot-
les or noXious drugs, and permitting
superin tendents of the poor, supervis-
ors or aldermen to make complaints of
such to the probate Judge: providing
that in bigamy cases husband and wife
can testify without consent of each
| other
There was a three hours fight in the
House over the holster anti-con Wet
labor bill and it was defeated. by all
after the enacting clause being struck
out. The title was tabled, however,
and the bill may come up again. The
bill provided that all prison labor con-
4 tracts be annulled; that the prisoEers
be employed in the manufacture of
articles used in the state institutions;
that only hand and foot machinery be
used by prisoners and that prisoners
sentenced for less than life might be
used in working on roads at the re-
| quest of the boards of supervisors
countersigned by the governor, no
more than 20 convicts to be employed
by any one county. At times the fight
was sensational. Reps. Moore and
Atkinson arraigned the wardens of the
various state institutions severely for
lobbying against the measure. Bills
passed by the House were only of local
Importance. The Senate took favor
able action on the following bills: For
the bonding of Sand Beach for water
works plant; changing the name of the
Michigan mining school To michigan
College of Mines, and fixing the tut
ton at $40 per year for Michigan stu
dents and S25 per year for non-resi-
dents; amending the village incorpora-
ton act 10y bringing all villages under
the general tax law relative to the sale
and redemption of land for delinquent
| taxes.
Not being satisfied with knocking
out all legislation which directly af-
fected railroads the legislature is now
trying to prevent the construction of
electric railways where they will COM
pete with steam railroads After hav-
ing passed five bills which had for
their object the authorization of the
granting of the right of way for sys-
tenn of electric road from Detroit, via
Port Huron and Lexington, to Bay
City, with a spur starting from the
main line at Elmer and running north
east to- Sand Beach, the Senate tried
to recall them from the House for the
purpose of reconsideration. Senator
Thompson, of Wayne, was at the bot
tom of this move and succeeded in hav-
ing the resolution recalling them
pushed through. Four of the bills had
been returned to the Senate before
their friends i'm the House saw their
danger and then they induced the
House to refuse to return the fifth.
Senator Thompson had the bills refer
red TO the railroad committee where
they will be smothered. The House
killed Donovan's bill providing for
locking prisoners in county jalls in
separate cells. The Lusk Gordon home
rule bill was made the special order of
the House for April 10. Rep. Kerr
who was reelected in the Second Sagi-
nav district at the recent election was
sworn in. Bills passed by the House:
Amending the law for the prevention
of the spread of disease among fruit
trees: providing that complaints for