Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1899-03-20
LEGISLATIVE AFTERMATH.
The Optic Representative 'stiIl
There i'm Search of Facts >
Some Lost Bills.
c0rrsspondsuss q rsr Optic.

oAN1A ~ mottu GVs-An ukutiiik'
| up the gross results of work done By
the 33rd general assembly Of New Mex
leo. it appears that so of the nearly 500
bills introduced in both houses became
laws. OF these fifty two originated in
the council and twenty-eight originated
in the lower house, Besides these
eighty laws enacted there were twenty
| four resolutions and memorials Of all
kinds. Several other bills passed both
houses. but what has become Of them
NO ONE ON THE OUTSIDE
seems to know. Whether they'sufferbd
a pocket veto In the executive Office, or
whether, in the closing hours. they
failed to reached his aexcellency an
proper form is hard @ say - - :
| The loss of one Of the measures will
be very much regretted. that, is II. B,
No. 1873, known as the pdbAc good
roads BILL A great amount of time
was spent by leading men in both
nousest in trying to get q good road law,
Finally Mr.. Wharton, Of Lincoln coIn-
tY, introduced this measure which, with
slight amendments, passed the houses
Afterwards the committee Of both
houses agreed on the measure, and re-
ported to their respective houses, and it
was passed. That this bill has failed
to become a law is greatly to be re-
gretted. Another bill
I'll LOST IN THE SHUTTLE,
after passing both houses, is one which
provided for certain geological re-
searches, and provided for the levy of
Il of asmill on all of the taxable prop
erty of the Territory to create fund.
for that purpose. The loss of this
measure, however, is not to be regretted,
as it is understood this bill was an an
mex to the public land bill, and its pro-
motefs istesded to have the useof this
tax levy to hook up and locate the valu-
able land, which. when set apartby the
land commission for the use of the pub
lie institutions of the Territory, they
could purchase from thes'public land
board 1t is further understood that
one of the members of the legislature
has already been sent to Gallup to
search for valuable coal lands, the in
tention of his employer beingrto get.
hold of them when located through
the investigations of this land
board. They ordinarily have tospay the
government $40 per acre for this class
of lands, and, they figure, if they can
get hold of them at from 80 to.$5 per
acre from the land board, they will be
strictly in it. So, it is plain that the
loss of this measure Will mot be- re-.
gretted, particularly by those who have
the educational interests sof the Terri
tory at heart. fgsSt'H III
That more bad legislation was at
tempted at this SESSION of the assembly
than ever before there can be no doubt,
and that a considerable part of it was
enacted into laws experience during the
next two years will show. AS l have
ihtimated before, if there was really
bad piece of legislation proposed in the
house that did not go through, LIDO not
remember it; and as have also said,
only a bare majority in the council pre-
vented it from becoming part of our
lew. "A great many times the vote on
these house measures was 6 to 6. An
other bad looking feature of the whole
legislative proceedings was the fact
that nearly all this -
REALLY BAD LEGfsf KTIdN VI
proposed was. in every instance, sup
ported in both houses by those nearest
the executive, several of whom In both
houses receiving appointments atIhis.
FhRnd. l am sure when these laws are
| Published good many enactments will
be a surprise to very many. / may here
refer to one of these, which is honses
substitute for G. B. No. so, an act
Regulating the selection and qualiica-
tion of jurors. The committee, when.
preparing this substitute, after making
the usual exclusions from jury service,
provided that taxpayers, etc, were
eligible for jury service, Mr.. Guittier-
rez, one of the leading Spanish-Ameri-
can members, offered an amendment
and advocated it, that none but per-
sons owning real estate within ths7Ter-:
ritery, should be eligible to sit on juries.
| The bill SO amended was concnrred In
BY the council, and became law This
was very strange proceed ing. az at
the 32nd general assslhbfylt heard the
matter discussed, and that legislature
even repealed the law that prohibited
any but tax payers sitting as jurors.
AS the law now stands no one but
| AN OWNER OF REAL ESTATE
Ican sit on = jury even IN justice of
the peace court. e - i. ss1''s;S b
| Another question comes upas to Mr..
Barsum being eligible TO hold the Office
OF euperintendentof the penitentiBfy
L 5 contended that this was made a
ITsTritorial Office by act Of this legisla-
| tdre; for the new act states that. the
office Of superintendent OF penitentiary
Iis hereby created" etc, etc. Prior to
/ this act the superintendent was not Q
Territorial Office, being neither appoint
| cd BY the governor nor confirmed BY the
council, but was an employee of the
board Of penitentiary COMMISSIONER
Just whether any one will object to
Bhrsum taking possession the FIRST spf
the month or moi, ,on dccodntf Of thespfo.
hibition of the original act, am not
advised.
Il @rxz = - - - - 49,. - -