Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1901-03-28
CEASED AT MIDNIGHT.
New Jersey Legislature Fin
iShes It's Labors.
ASSEMBLY JOYFUL, SENATE GRAVE
The Governors Last Appointments.
Two Hundred and Nine Laws En-
acted - Bills Vetoed - Review of
What Was Accomplished.


TRENTON, March 20.-Like the Arabs
the New Jersey legislators folded
their tents and left in the night, bu
they did not silently steal away. In
stead, their departure was marked by
scenes that were noisy, almost riotou'
at times and of decidedly horseplal
character. To the credit of the digni
fled senate it must be said that thu
lively festivities attendant upon the
closing hours were confined to the as
sembly, and fun ran riot there fol
three or four hours.
Adjourned at Midnight.
1t was exactly 1874 o'clock Saturday
morning when President Pitney, in tn,
presence of the members of boil
houses and standing at his desk in thu
senate chamber, raped his gavel ant
declared the one hundred and twenty
fifth session of the New Jersey legisla
ture adjourned without day. The ex
uberant assemblymen then broke
into song, and the usually staid and
stately senate chamber resounde(
with the strains of america" render
ed by strong and not unpleasine
chorus. The official time of the sine
die adjournment was O'Clock, the
timepiece in the senate having beer
stopped at 2:50 p. N. and started agar
when the governor had finished his
work and everything was ready fol
the formal announcement by the preSi
dent of the senate.
Governors Last Appointments.
Late in the afternoon on Friday Gov
ernor Voorhees, sent in batch of nom
nations to the senate, the most i'm
portant of which was that of Senator
Edward G. Stokes of Cumberland tt
the office of clerk of the court OF
chancery. Among the other appoint
ments were the following:
President Judge of the Hunierdon Court of Com
anon Pleas-John L. Connect.
Prosecutor of the Pleas of Hunterdon County,
a. Burdett Herr.
President Judge of the Middlesex Court of Com
Pleas-Woodbridge Strong.
Prosecutor of the Pleas of Middlesex County,
John S. Voorhees,.
Trustees of the State Home For Boys.-GervaI
Ely, James NJ Parsons
Member of the State Sewerage Commission
David L. Wallace.
Judge of the New Brunswick District Court
Edward W. Hecks.
Judge of the Cape May County Court.-H. H.
Voorhees,.
Judge of the Bayonne District Court.-Horace
Robertson.
Judge of the Perth Amboy District Court
Adrian Lyon.
u The other appointments included the
board of visitors to the State Agricul-
tural college, state board of education,
commissioners of the New Jersey re-
formatory at Railway, state board of
medical examiners and the state board
Of arbitration, involving a long list.
They were all confirmed in executive
session under suspension of the rules
The bill placing the members of the
state board of arbitration on per diem
allowance failed of passage, and the
five members will receive a salary of
$1,000 a year, as heretofore. The re-
arrangement of congressional districts
new state board of education, and the
old members were reappointed as far
as the new district lines would permit.
Two Hundred and Nine New Laws.
There were POO laws enacted as the
result of the legislatures efforts. OF
the entire number of new laws-14
more than a year ago-the most impor-
tant was the antispring election law,
consolidating the spring and fall cleo
lions in cities. The constitutionality of
this act was decided on Monday by the
court of errors and appeals.
Among the new laws of general in
terest were the congressional redis-
tricting law, dividing the state into ten
instead of eight districts; the assembly
reapportionment act, giving Hudson
and Passaic another district each and
taking one from Warren and Hun
terdon; the Stokes bill, abolishing the
school census and providing for the
distribution of state school money on
q basis of actual attendance in tte pub
lie schools; the Railway reformatory
law. making that institution available
for the care of prisoners: the scheme
to reduce the state school tax by hav-
ing So per cent of the amount paid
from the state treasury; the codifica-
ton of the fish and game laws; the
Lewis pure food act, abolishing the Of
fee of dairy commissioner and placing
the dairy inspection in charge of the
state board of health and codifying
and amending the food adulteration
laws: the act authorizing Hudson coun-
ty to build a system of public parks on
the same plan as that adopted by Es-
sex, and the bills appropriating $4,000
for the Palisades park and $27, 800 for
the states display at the Pan-Ameri-
can exposition.
The Constitutional Amendments.
Initiative steps were taken toward
securing constitutional amendments
provfding for biennial sessions of the
legislature and reorganization Of the
state courts. The other amendments
proposed to allow of the enactment of
special legislation to create The office
of lieutenant governor, to elect assem-
blymen by districts and United States
senator's by the people were defeated.
The judicial and biennial sessions
amendments will have to be favorably
considered by next years legislature
and then adopted by the people at an
election before they become effective
The appropriations committee also
set aside the amount of ST, 900 to wipe
ont the last of the old civil war debt.
and with the payment OF that sum on
Ian. / next the state will be free from
bonded debt SO years after the close of
the war. and the state therefore can
be congratulated on being entirely debt
free in its government
Perhaps the most important question
upon which the legislature failed to act
favorably was the Morris canal aban-
donment scheme, which proposed al
lowing the Morris Canal company to
dispose as 1t pleased of all the water
and property rights and privileges
without regard to the rights of the
original owners. The bill saw its birth
in the senate, but did not get out of
the committee on corporations. The
principal opponent of the bill was
President Pitney, and his efforts killed
the measure. The bill providing for a
commission to investigate the subject
and report next year upon plan for
allowing the canal to abandon naviga-
c