The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-06-21
FORMER CONNECTICUT
 LEGISLATORS RECALLED Distinguished Officials Who Served Their Fellows
 in Legislature. ENGLISH & INGERSOLL. Reckless Charter Legislation as Old as the Consti-
 stution Itself.
& INGERSOLL.
Special to Journal and courier.)

fore the election of Governor Bucking- ham, that ideal of chief executives, Alexander H. Holley of Salisbury, be- ing in the governors office, Orville H. PIatt was secretary of state and David N. Camp of New Britain, now living at the age of S6, was superintendent of public schools.
 Not a member of the senate of 1857 is now alive. The roll included the names of James F. English of New Haven, when that city was district by itself, Charles R. Chapman of Hartford, Elisha Carpenter and Dwight Loomis, both of whom became members of the supreme court Three members of the house of 1857 are now living. They are Judge Hiram Wiley, who represented New London, Charles H. Briscoe of En- field and George R. Curtis of Glaston- bury. Judge Wiley is nearly ninety years of age and is connected with the law firm of Sperry and Mclean. He was the first mayor of New London and is a native of East Haddam. Mr Curtis Is in the Masonic Home in Wal 1 lingford and is eighty-two years old Judge Briscoe, who is seventy-flve years old. was In the senate in 1861 and was speaker of the house in 1878. Eli phalet A. Buckeley of Hartford. the father of United States Senator Nor gan O. Bulkeley, was speaker of the house Ills colleague was the late Unit ed States circuit judge, Nathaniel Ship man, man of distinguished legal tal- ] arIo ID
 Der from New Haven and o. H. Perry | from Fairfield, Judge Perry was speak, CT of the house in 1859 and 1860. He was | the father of the Hon. John Fl. Perry, ! who became speaker in 1889, forty years after o. H. Perry first held the posi- tion.
 There is another instance by the way, where father and son have held the speakership. In 1861 Augustus Brande- gee of New London was speaker. His son, the present United States senator, Frank B. Brandegee, was speaker in 1899. The city of Bridgeport had only one member in the hosue in 1857, Philo C. Calhoun. who was a manufacturer, | o. H. Parker, the father of United States district attorney, Francis H. Parker was a member from East Had dam He died in 1906 Benjamin sprague l Of Andover, father of Superintendent Sprague of the present capitol, was contestant for the seat from that town, which was held by William Babcock. The contest resulted in the unseating of Mir Babcock One of the Norwich members, Stephen w, Meech, died May 31, four weeks after the beginning of the session. He was merchant and was highly regarded by the members of both houses. His was the only death, while the house remained in Hartford.
 The members of congress, who were elected in April, 1857, at the same time that the state and legislative tickets were elected, were Ezra Clark of Hart ford, father of Charles Hopkins Clark of the Hartford Conrant, Sidney Dean of Windham, Samuel Arnold of Had dam and William D. Bishop of Bridge port, then as afterwards one of Con- nectieut's most honored public men. The first legislative agricultural club, being the forerunner of the Farmers association in the present legislature, was organized in 1857. James T. Pratt of Rocky Hill was the president. The hftieth anniversary of this organiza- ton might suitably be recognized by the farmers now in the general assem- bly,, Of the newspaper men in the two houses, who kept tabs on the pro- ceedinrs. Franklin l.. Burr and Will liam H. Goodrich became widely known through the state. That leader in Con necticut journalism in after years, Isaac H. Bromley was clerk of the house. fellow townsman of MT. Brom- lev, Edwin B. Trumbull of Norwich, was clerk of the senate. The locality argument concerning the clerkships was without footing in the days of 1857. Jo- seph R. Hawley and William Foxon, who was assistant secretary of the navy under Gideon Welles in Presi- dent IIncoln's cabinet, were the state printers. These old time worthies stand out handsomely on the canvas and can be studied with interest and profit, English and mgersoll of New Haven, Bulkeley and shipman of Hartford, Perry of Fairfield and Platt of Meri- den are names that Connecticut will not allow to be forgotten.
 The attempt on the part of Governor Woodruff to restrict special legislation particularly with regard to the grant ing of special charters, recalls the leg islation of a number of years ago, sweeping charters by the hundred out of existence. The legislature was confronted with the special charter problem that had been growing more and more complicated for long time. The granting of these special charters had come to be an abuse. The evil lwas taken up by the legislature and not less than 300 charters were an nulled. The names of the companies : in favor of whom they had been granted were published in the Blue Book, taking up some thirty pages of that time honored publication. It was a waste of paper of course, but 1t had to be made to get rid of the charter lf1ctions which loaded up the vaults of the Secretary of State office The granting of special charters has been Igood naturedly taken to by the Con- lnecticut legislature since the adoption of the constitution in 1918. The cus- tom ran wild seventy-five years ago, when turnpike roads and canals were up for special privileges in every Gen. eral Assembly of that period. The amount of special legislation in pro- portion to population and finances was greater than it is at present. But