The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1901-11-24
All But Four Committees
Have Reported.
MR.. BRAXTON'S PLAN IN FAVOR
Believed by Some That He May Yet Solve
the Problem - MIR. Glass TO Speak
Before Conference Tuesday Night.
Some Important Fights to
Come Up = Convention
Gossip.

The Constitutional Convention is max
ing great strides with. it's work at pres
ent.
The practical completion Of the report
Of the Education Committee in Commit
tee of the Whole yesterday makes no less
than six committee reports that nave
been considered in Committees of the
Whole and are now ready for final aC-
ton by the convention. They ale the Bill
Of Rights, Executive Department, Legls-
lative Department, County government,
Education anu Reduction OF Expenses.
Three other committee-Elective Fran
chise, Judiciary and Public Institutions
have reported, and their reports are now
pending, leaving only four more to re-
port. They are Cities, Taxation, Corpo-
rations and Agriculture.
It appears to be the policy of the con-
vention to consider all reports in Com
mittee of the Whole before any OF them
are finally disposed of in the convention
proper. The report of the Committee on
Judiciary will probably be the next one
taken up, and 1t is going to cause great
debate. Chairman Eppa Hunton, Jr., the
young Fauquier leader. will have charge
of the report and he is expected to call
it up early this week. It will no doubt
bring into the arena of debate The
ablest lawyers in the body, anu number
of important amendments are antlcipat-
ed. The consideration OF tns report in
Committee of the Whole will likely con-
sumo as much as two weeks. Corpora
tons will probably be the next report in,
and Chairman Braxton an,, his col
leagues are working manfully on the
great questions involved.
The other three standing committees
are laboring to make speedy reports
and it is altogether unlikely that there
will ever be another lull in the proceedings
caused by the absence Of committee re-
ports.
While six reports Lave been pra,.i
cally disposed of by the Committee of the
Whole. there are several important ques
tons involved in them, tile final settle
mcnt Of which will cause great debates.
One is the famous Barbour ,Nuarl@S ilutor
ordinance, which will tie reported favor
ably by The Bill OF Rights Committee in
q few days. Another is the section OF the
report of the Committee on the Lcg1S!a-
tive Department providing for quadren-
NAL sessions of the Legislature. Con-
gresham Flood IS the head ana front of
the opposition To This clause, ard he will
make a great fight 10 have ii 50 anerded
as to provide for biennial sessions, as al
present.
He will, however, be met in the arena
by the brilliant young chairman OF tie
committee Hon r. Walton Moore, and
the two able leaders will be warmly ~ p
ported by many of their colleagues
Still another provision, and one which
is contained in the report of the Goa
mittee on the Executive Department,
that will cause a big fight IS th;lI rela:-
ing to the merging OF the land office ard
the secretarysIlip Of the Commonwealth
General Rufus a. Ayers will lead the
fight for an amendment striking out this
innovation upon the present law. and it
will be supported by Ex-Governor William
E. Cameron, chairman of the committee,
and other strong speakers.
There are some other questions OF mure
or less Importance, arising out Of the
pending reports, which are not yet SET
tied.
BY far the greatest problem to re a6
justed is that relating to the election
franchise clause, and no human .e:rg
lives who can say what the result will
be-, The conferences will be resumed on
this important subject on Tuesday night
at s o'clock, and Senator Carte: Glass
will present and advocate The adoption
of his plan. If any one thing mas been
demonstrated as Il result of the past
sessions of the conference, it is the vio-
lent opposition which is developing TO any
form OF an understanding clause. 81 n
ator Glass is at his home, in Lyncnburg,
but will return here Tuesday morning.
| His effort before the conference S e&-
pected to be exceptionally vigorous ard
| logical, and viii probably consume as
| much as three nights.
Mr.. Wysor made a bitter attack upon
| the understanding clause in his speeches
| before the conference and declared that
| the people of this State would never
| accept it in any form. Mr.. BraXton's
| structures upon it may have been more
! elegant but they We're hardly less Sc
| we're. He regarded it in tn eight of a
| public calamity and contended that 1t
would stain the pages of Virsinia's his
| tory forever.
The amended and modified plan OF
Mr.. BraXton, which is printed pelo"'
| is meeting with much favor among the
members of the convention, ana 1t was
On the lips of all his colleagues yester-
day. There are those who believe the
! young Augusta leader is on the right
! track. and that something very similar
/ to his plan may yet be adopted
If the suffrage question could be set
| tied. there would be some way OF guess
| ing when the convention would PROBABLY
c5nn,oleta IT'S work AS it is the matter
is very uncertain though members nope
! RI oct away by the first OF March.
| These were the closing sentences OF Mr.
! Praxtcn's very able argument before the
| Suffrage conference in favor OF his plan:
..Oh, that had the eloquent tongue of
the gentleman from Norfolk or of the gen
+1nman from Ivnchburg! Oh. that I