The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1899-02-09
THE LEGISLATURE.
[Continued from First Page.

Committee on Salaries and Fees and
there adjusted so as to meet all objec-
lions.
Judge Conner thought it might be
done, but added that the House had ar
rived at place where time is valuable.
goldsmith somewhere tells of man
whom Parliament was trying to help.
He needed clothing, and he froze to
death before enough red tape could be
unwound to secure an appropriation to
buy him pair of breeches. And much
to the same effect is the case of our
Congress, which, it is said, once spent
days debating about how to have de-
feet in the capitol repaired. Before
they settled it practical carpenter
went there one night and fixed the
hole. Next morning the Congress
found Its occupation gone"
From this Judge Conner argued that
the House could take the bit in its
CCctu aIlO S0tV1O tulo 1uCoIiOu "iGuOut
so much waste of time referring and
re-reierring to committees.
| Mr.. Alexander, OF Rutherford, and
Mr.. Boushall, OF Wake, favored the
passage of the bill, urging that it was
only a question OF fees and they
thought the reduction a just one and
such as the people demanded and ex-
pected.
With this half a dozen counties that
had only few minutes before asked
to be excepted were Withdrawn and the
bill came up on its passage as originally
amended.
| The word;w somehow passed around
| to vote down all amendments that stood
in the way OF making the law a general
one, and it was done.
Brunswick first went by the board
then Clay, Currituck and so on till the
Macon amendment bobbed up. This
brought Mr.. Ray to his feet. He tackle
ed the bill with gloves off and lambast-
ed the House for its policy of riding
over members who didn't want the re-
ductlon to apply to their counties. 1t
seemed to him that some of the mem
hers were assuming to themselves to
know more about his own county and
its wishes than he did himself. He
thought he ought to be allowed to man
age bis own affairs.
The larger counties, he said, could
have this reduction If they desired, but
the registers salary in Macon Is very
email and he didn't think it right to
further reduce it.
F.! Judge Aiien-"Dldn't you say tie
other day that there were no such
things as agricultural liens in your
county-that you never saw one?"
Mr.. Ray admitted that he did, blu,
argued that there were many small
counties In which this was not true.
On the vote on his amendment Mr.
Ray called for division. The clerk
announced 26 for and 81 against it.
Mr. Ray questioned the accuracy o.
the count. He said there was one mar
who voted ON his side of the question
that wasn't counted. He wanted the
vote taken again.
The chair (Mr. Foushee) refused t.
take it, saying that the House hae
voted, the vote had been counted and
announced.
This Mr.. Ray denounced as unfai
aud contrary to the rules.
MIR. Allen: "The gentleman from
Macon has no right to thus address
tbs chair"
The Speaker "The chair has de
cided and the decision will stand unles
the gentleman from Macon appeals an,
the appeal is sustained"
:: Mr.. Ray: Il appeal"
The vote on the appeal stood: 9
for appeal and Sc against.
The Dare county amendment suffer
ed the same fate, though there was n
fight on it.
jackson county. AS Mr.. Moore aros
to speak in favor of this amendmen
his eyes were red as If from weepln
over its impending fate and his volc
had a watery timbre that somehow 60
under your shirt on the lett side.
Mr.. Ray had come as warrior boil
to snatch his amendment as bran
( from the burning, and failed to get it
Mr.. Moore assumed the martyred al
y of injured innocence. He wanted tn
t House to be consistent but he did NO
want it to be cruel.
] "The best consistency is justice
This bill is unjust to my people. The
don't want it. They have sent me her
as their representative. alone am re
: sponslble to them. I ask you to tax
! them out of this bill, and I believ
you'll do it. I have never failed t
vote with other members here VIII