Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1901-01-25
VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE.
EXTRA SESSION OF GENERAL
ASSEMBLY.
The Constitutional c Conventional
Division of Sentiment as to
Allowing General Legislation.

hAShLhOuu, va, January 21.-The
General Assembly of Virginia Will NEE,
next wednesday at noon I'm extrao,xsi-
nary session. One or two members are
ALREADY here. Several will come IN
morrow and nearly all of them win be
mere q DAY or two in advance. The
SESSION. promises to be the most inter
esuns held since the exciting DAVIS OF
REIMBURSEMENT, when the late General
William Malone came to the FROM as
the most important factor in vir.,,ia
ponucs. The Legislature is conveneS
% @ne SPECIFIC purpose of arranging for
the constitutional Convention. uhica
the people have ordered to be held -
revise the organic law of the State
The time and place for holding enc
convention viii be fixed and the basis
or representation will be decided unon
IL is an open question how much 9th i,
ieglSlation will be undertaken. There
VIII De as usual, a great number Of
private bills, and there is such q divi-
sion OF sentiment with regard to allow
ing general legislation to be consideresl
as 10 make ii impossible to forecast
what will be done
The proceedings of the extra session
VIII be of special interest because nj
the bearing they will have on the work
CT the constitutional Convention. The
prevailing opinion is that the conven-
tloa snail only have 100 or 40 member,
at most, and in the natural order of
thlngs a large percentage of these
VIII be members of the Leg
lsiature. Nearly all of the Senators
ana delegates have an ambition to sit
In the convention, and a large per.
centaSe or the law makers win be Sent
he Il,
business and professional men Of ability
who are not identified with party poll.
ucs or the State government in the
convention, but there will hardly be
more than mere sprinkling of these
Lawyers and lawmakers with practi.
cal political managers will undoubt-
edly dominate the body. The question
of supreme interest with which the
convention Will deal will be that of re.
st1cting illiterate negro suffrage In.
ueed, the supreme object OF the con.
Venuon is TO eliminate the negro as
factor in Virginia politics, and the men
VINO control and direct the Democratic
FORCES OF the State will in all likeli-
mood dictate the line uDon which the
convention shall deal with this matter
Inc extra session may be quite
short one or it may extend through
the run constitutional period of forty
I'VE days for which the members are
paid whether they serve one week or
a month anu n half. This will depend
upon whether general legislation is
taken UP or not An effort will bo
made TO settle this question as soon IA
the caucus meets IL the bars are let
aown k~r lie consideration of bills of a
general nature there viii be such a
hood OF them that they can hardly be
disposed of in the full period Of forty
five days, while If il is determined TO
me ae-se
lions for the convention and the pas
sage or private bills adjournment may
be reached in two or three weeks. The
chances at this writing seem to favor
the longer session.
Personal expressions and letters re-
celVed here from perhaps half the
members Of the General Assembly in
dicate that the convention will be held
IN June and that the election CT dele
gateS win occur at the Spring election.
the fourth Thursday in May. The
convention Will hardly consist of more ..
than loo members, which is the size of |
the House OF Delegates. in the hall of |
whlch the body viii meet. The con-
Nention will draft an entirely new
Constitution, The suffrage question |
and that OF lessening the number of |
ofilces VIII be the most interesting ones i
TO be dealt with. An earnest effort win
DC made to reduce the cost Of the gov |
eminent and the criminal expenses OF
the State.
One of the first things done by the
Legislature VIII be TO elect a successor
10 the late John w. Riley as Judge of
the supreme Court of Appeals. The
friends or Judge Phiegar, Governor
Iyler's appointee, seem to feel confident
thst he Will be elected, but as to this
there is absolutely no certainty. The
claims OF Judges Mann, Whittie and
iprRnffG hafpr gt-
each seems hopeful The caucus viii
probably be held next week Senator
George w. Morris will have to be re-
lected Juuse Of the CORPORATION Court
II Charlottesville, as he failed to quail
y IN order that he might sit at the exz
IA session, consressmen-elect May
lard and Flood will serve in the Senate
through this session and then resign =
IL was learned here to-day on relia-
PIE authority that Hon. IL. Tain Irvine.
y Wise county, will not be q candidate
or the Democratic nomination for At1
orney-General before the next State
air. IRVINE did contemplate
'eing a candidate at one time, but ac-
'ording 10 latest information. he has
bandoned the idea, and Will not enter
he race.
Mr.. Irvine. however. stated 10 q
rlend while in the city on Monday 10
ttehd the meeting OF the Electoral Col
sse, that he had under advisement the
uestlon OF standing for the position of1
eutenant-Governor. having been So
clted by his friends to do so. While he
as reached no conclusion in the mari
En- u IS thought that he win probably
e IN the race for the latter position.
The plan of Hon. E. c. FOXES. one Of
ne Richmond members of the House
have gubernatorial primary on the
ourth Thursday in May, when, in ali
reliability delegates to the Constitu
onal Convention will be chosen. is
eng widely discussed. 1t does not
'eet with much favor among the party
'aders, noe is II believed the candi-
ates would like 1t. MI. Montague is az
dvocate or primary nominations, but
us matter has not been considered bv =
he people and the time. between now =
I'D the May election is very short. for :
canvas OF the State. II Mr.. Folkes
roposes his plan in the Legislature or z
le caucus it win be defeated. q