Year: 1874

Remarks Of Mr.. LOthrOp Of Somerset,
In Senate Feb g. on bill an act relating to the set


tement Of paupers.


Mr.. LoTHROP said


Mr.. PRESIDENT Having had the hon
or to introduce the bill under considera-
ton, it may not be improper for me to
state briefly few reasons for making the
proposed alteration in a law of 80 long
| standing upon our statute books. Its
| antiquity dates back to a period in time
| long before the existence of steamboats,,
railroads. or telegraphs, when men were
little disposed to change their location, but
clung to the old homestead, or its vicinity,
and if one should occasionally stray away.
it was not very difficult to trace back his
path to the family altar. About all fol-
lowed the trade or business of their faith
ers. But since that period, many and
great changes have come ever the spirit
of his dreams. The telegraph gives swift
intelligence of what is passing in almost
every part of the world, often holding out
inducements to 60 from place to place to
| find something more profitable or con-
genial to our tastes, and the locomotive or
steamboat stands ready to convey US to
the desired haven hence the staid habits
Of our fathers are entirely ignored, and
our population is upon the wings of the
wind, going here. there and everywhere,
almost continually changing. Let any
one who has left his native place, and
been absent for dozen years OF
| so, go back to his former location,
and he will find himself comparative
ly among strangers. The fact is, that
class of our population who are the most
liable to become paupers, are the most
frequently changing their location. The
child early strays from the fathers home.
and after changing his location to perhaps
twenty different towns, and raised up
quite family, falls into distress and is
| furnished relief; and then commences the
struggle to find the settlement under the
| five year rule. The overseers begin the
enquiry, and after tracing him through
some dozen towns, find he has gained no
settlement in his own right, then turn to
find the settlement of the father, and after
tracing him through as many towns, may
| find he had no settlement in the State,
unless it was gained by the Act of March
2lst. 1921, and if not thus gained, the
mothers settlement must be ascertained.
and that most generally will have to be
traced back to the grandfather.


Now, Mr.. President, this is no fancy
sketch; every member at this board who
has had any considerable experience in
| the management of pauper affairs can
bear me witness that these statements are
not overdrawn; that after some travel,
and much enquiry and writing, and much
perplexity he finds the question of settle
ment still in doubt, or if he has become
satisfied in his own mind where the set
tlap 20 rho., ho
or defending may be satisfied the ques-
must decide; and in case of protracted
trial, after much delay, neither the plain
tiff or defendant town will be likely to get
out of it, without being minus to the tune
of $500 or $1,000. In fact, Mr.. President,
have been assured by some Of our most
careful and experienced men in these
matters. that the cost tofinvestigating, of and
establishing by course of law, these pau
per settlements. was fully equal to the
expense Of supply.


| Look at the multiplied decisions in our
law reports, almost all Of them growing
out of the complications of this five years
settlement rule, but those decisions do not
embrace tenth part of the cases growing
out of the questions of fact as well as law.
arising in the main from that rule and its
complications-and these are yearly in
creasing g,-hence it does seem to me that
| if anything can be done to lessen the
burthen Of towns in that regard, 1t should
be done without hesitancy or delay. The
almost universal declaration is, that some-
thing should be done. Some suggest one
thing. some another, but from the most
experienced in these matters, it has been
urged to limit the time to gain q settle
ment to a very short period, and the time
fixed in the bill two years. Others think
shorter time better. 1t is hardly worth
while to cavil much about that point.
Let the change be made to that point, and
if not the most satisfactory, it will be very
easy to make an alteration by subsequent
legislation in response to experience, and
in fact if the trial proves failure it will
then be easy to repeal and 60 back to the
old mode, but believe if the experiment
of the change proposed was once tried,
towns would travel far and wide before
they would return to the ruts of that old
groove There is, there can be, no fiction


in this proposition the expense OF support
cannot bear any more unequally under


the two year rule than under the five year


rule, and my conviction is fully established


that the perplexity and expense ofinvesti-


CATION and litigation, will be almost en-


tirely removed. 1t is a question in which


the whole community is interested, a ques.


ton to tighten taxation, and surely if ever


there was time the people needed to have
their burthens lessened, the present is OF
that class. could have no other motive


or interest than what is common to
every member of this board, and if the
right method is not hit upon, let us rea-
son together and seek that which is right
and just in the premises. There is, there
should be, no antagonism in matters Of
this kind. The experiment to get relief in
this direction cannot be dangerous or an


unsafe one, and believe none should fear


to try it; if at fault, the steps can be re.


traced, without serious loss or danger.


am aware Mr.. President that the as


sertion has been made that to change the


five years settlement to two years resi-


dence will not be likely to lessen the liza
! bility to lawsuits, but believe such asser-
tions are too often made without careful


consideration of the subject, and some-


times without reflection or experience.
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