Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1897-02-18

The Senate having refused to con-
firm the appointment of Gen. Hartsuff
to be inspector-general of the NJ. N. G..
Gov. Pingree has named Lieut-Col.
Fred ii. Chase, of Three Rivers, for
the position. Col. Chase has served 20
wears in the state militia and rose from
a private TO lieutenant-colonel, yet the
Senate is preparing To turn him down
because of his free silver sentiments as
expressed in the recent campaign.
Two bills passed by the Senate provide
annual reports and acconntings from
executors and administrators; permit
fraternal and beneficiary societies to
deposit guaranty funds In the state
treasury. Senator Westcott has an in
surance bill which will make radical
changes in the present laws. 1t pro-
vides that insurance companies, to
start business, must have 200 holders
of 81 900 policies, stock and bonds to
the amount of . per cent of the total
insurance to be deposited with the
state treasurer; also that no life insur-
ance shall be forfeited until there has
been a non-payment of four premiums
cash value on the policy then To be
paid to the holder; also that life insur-
ance companies must loan at least 40
per cent of the gross annual premiums
collected. Other new bills in the SEN
ate: To provide that appeals may be
taken from the highway commission
er to township boards in his decision
with regard TO making new roads; a
constitutional amendment providing a
5000 salary for members of the legisla-
ture and prohibiting them passes; to
leave the matter of the time of closing
saloons entirely in the hands of COM
mon councils in the cities; to permit
hunters to kill only one deer per year.
Beside Rep Atkinson's bill to bring
the Lake Shore and Michigan Central
railroads to time on the fare question
he has one which provides that the
people themselves may vote on the
question OF granting franchise TO a
street railway in any city in the state
after the council has made its decision.
A great many important measures
were presented to the House, among
them bills: Allowing state institu-
tons to use only Michigan products;
providing for the branding of pure
and adulterated beer, ale and porter;
giving township boards power to fix
the time for closing saloons in their
townships; to compel the stamping of
imitation leather; to permit damages
to be collected where one employee is
injured by the negligence of another;
| providing that all constitutional amend
ments must be submitted to the vote of
the people on a separate ballot; to al
low stockholders of a corporation to APP
ply for a receiver, even though it is
solvent, when the management is going
wrong; to make the first Tuesday, in
stead of the first Monday, of Septem-
Der Labor day and legal holiday; TO
require foreign beneficial fraternal So
cieties doing business in the state to
make a surety deposit with the state
treasurer.
A Joint session of the Senate and
| House, together with several hundred
spectators. assembled in the hall of the
representatives to listen to Gen. n. NJ.
Curtis, in opposition to capital punish
ment. He was heartily applauded.
! Senior Quesada, charge d'affaires for
Cuba. at Washington, made an impas-
stoned appeal for the recognition of
the belligerency of Cuba by the United
States. The applause which followed
| lasted fully three minutes and a reso-
| luton was unanimously adopted de-
claring it the sense of the joint assem-
| bly, that Cuba should be free and indie
pendent The Senate was in session
| but ID minutes and but three bills
were introduced. the most important,
fixing the salaries Of Legislators at 5000
per session and doing away with rail
voad passes. at the same time allowing
but five cents per mile mileage for
necessary journeys; appropriating $780,
900 for the state prison at Jackson.
The principal new bills in the House
are these: For the relief of the Onton-
agon fire sufferers; providing for a
| fore woman to have charge of female
convicts in prisons; providing that real
estate seized on foreclose of mortgage
or execution cannot be sold for less
than two-thirds its appraised value; TO
repeal the geological survey law and
thus save the state $4,000 per year; to
permit the sale of game brought from
other states; providing that prisoners
of county jails shall be placed at work
at hard manual labor and not be per-
mitted certain classes of legislature or
| liquor or cards; 10 compel the educa-
ton of blind children between the ages
of Z to 10; to enable townships to Ii
/ censc peddlerS