Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1898-03-12
The Record of The General Assembly
Just Adjourned.

"Could the people of Virginia know
the difficulties that beset their rep
resentatives when an effort is made
to cut down the expenses of the State
government, / know in my heart
they would judge us charitably, and
credit us with having achieved
much
The speaker was member of the
Senate. What follows are his
thoughts in another's words.
The General Assembly, whose ses
sion ended Friday, did not do all the
people expected it to do. No legisla
tive body ever did everything that
was expected of it by it's constituents.
These two facts should always be
placed together: otherwise injustice
is done the mon to whom the
people entrusted the enactment OF
their laws. 1t is very fashionable TO
make the State Legislature the butt
of many joke. 1t is so all over the
Union There are many who really
think them legitimate subjects OF
newspaper comicalities, and that the
furthest extent to which this is car.
ried is but slight exaggeration OF
reality. Upon the other hand, there
is large class that takes Leglsla-
lures with the utmost seriousness
that has great confidence in their
wisdom, and is slow to admit their
weakness and shortcomings. The
medium-the battle-ground is the
correct view. The Virginia General
Assembly has received a great deal
of censure; it has been ridiculed, and
il has received some praise, and de-
served more.
Retrenchment was demanded by
every voter in the State in the last
campaign, and promised by every
candidate who asked their suffrages
Fulfiliment was only partial. Ultra
retrenchers, and those who judge
without a clear knowledge of all the
difficulties in the way of radical cut
ting down of State expenses, blame
law makers for not living up to the
full measure of their obligations
Those who judge them most lenlently
are those who best know all the cir
cumstances.
It is easy for one to think that
which he has long possessed is his OF
right inalienable. 1t was found i'm
possible to convince men who had
long been receiving generous salaries
from the State that every dollar by
which their compensation was re
duced, was not taken from them
without right.
The same was true of institutions
Their officials felt themselves Justly
entitled to the same appropriately
from the Public Treasury which hac
been granted them for years. The
consequence was that the men who
sought to have salaries and appro
priations reduced were regarded al
enemies of the institutions, and what
more natural than that the men wht
received salaries, and those who rep
resented public institutions, shoult
make common cause against the gen
eral foe?
| The result was that the legislator
who undertook the struggle for re
trenchmenU and who had constitu
ent in a State office, found him array
ed against him and if he had public
institution in his county found op
posing him every official connected
with it. They would have been yer,
much less than human had they re
fused to listen to pleadings and per
suasions, and threats. And as it wa
natural for officeholders to unite TO
| their common defence, so was /
natural for their representatives tt
unite for their protection.
This must suffice to explain, should
| the people demand why reduction
was not greater.
But they must not forget that thu
present appropriation bill is less, by
| 500, 900, than that of the last Legisla
ture. They must also remember tina
while this reduction is more or lesl
] speculative, being based largely OF
anticipated reduction in criminal eX
penditures, that this Legislature
made it possible to expect such re
auctions by reason of Legislation
enacted during the session jus
ended.
The patron of the bill allowing fee
to only three witnesses in mlsde
meanor cases in Justices courts, esti
mated that the act would result in az
annual saving to the State of proba
bly as much as $4,000 a year. The
lowest estimate was $35, 900. The bill
materially reducing the fees of Jaller
is expected to effect considerable say
ing, while that giving only one-hal
fees to officers in cases where the
costs are borne by the Common
wealth. is regarded as worth many
thousands of dollars to the State
every year. These bills seem to make
it reasonable to think the Finance
committees justified in assuming thai
criminal charges would be considera.
bly, less during the next two years
than in the last two.
In addition to the distinctively re-
trenchment measures enacted, foul
bills to increase revenue were made
into laws, which, it is confidently
asserted, will immensely add to the
States annual income.
The first of these is the Parks bill
recurring evidences of debt. such as
notes and bonds, to be listed FOL
taxation before payment can be en-
forced. The remaining three chiefly
affect those engaged in the fish and
oyster industry. Probably the most
important is that requiring all float
ing propertY-Water craIC Oh every
character-to be listed by court ex-
aminers for taxation. 1t is said that
this law will add $6,000,000 worth Of
values, upon which nothing is paid
at present to the property bearing its
portion OF the burdens Of taxation
The third law is that creating the
State Board of Fisheries, which is to
have complete control of the oyster
industry. Senator LeCato, OF Acco-
mac, probably the best authority in
this country on anything relating to
oysters, is of the opinion that under
the operation of the law creating this
board, the States revenues from the
oyster industry will in few years be
trebled. The last of these three laws
is that which taxes fish nets, which
have not before been taxed. This
will greatly add to revenue, but how
greatly cannot be said.