CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTIONS. The following resolution, presented by Mr. Thompson, January 12, 1887, was taken up for consideration and read, viz.: Resolved, That Burt Ijams is hereby appointed Page upon the floor of the Senate; together with the following amendments thereto: Amend by adding the name of "Willie LeCrone; also, Amend by adding the name of "Walter Welch." Mr. Thompson moved to refer the foregoing resolutions and pending amendments thereto to the committee on expenses of the General Assembly. Which motion prevailed. On motion of Mr. Crawford, the following joint resolution, presented by him January 19, 1887, was taken up for consideration and referred to the committee on judiciary, viz.: Resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring herein, That a convention is necessary to revise, alter or amend the constitution of the State of Illinois, and that the question of calling a convention to revise, alter or amend the constitution shall be submitted to the electors at the next general election. The following joint resolution, presented by Mr. Cochran January 20, 1887, was taken up for consideration and read, viz.: Resolved by the Senate, if the House of Representatives concur, That section five (5) of article two (2) of the Constitution be amended so as to read as follows: Section 5. The right of trial by jury, as heretofore enjoyed, shall remain inviolate, but the trial of civil cases before justices of the peace by a jury of less than twelve men may be authorized by law and a jury trial may be waived by the parties in all civil cases, and in misdemeanors, in the manner to be prescribed b law. A verdict in all civil cases may be determined by the concurrence of three-fourths of the jurors. Resolved, if the House of Representatives concur, That the foregoing amendment be submitted to the electors of this State for adoption or rejection at the next election for members of the General Assembly, and that in conformity with section two (2) of article fourteen (14) of the Constitution, the said proposed amendment be published in full for at least three months preceding the election. That at such election, on the ballot of each elector voting upon the proposed amendment, shall be written or printed the words "For proposed amendment to section five (5) of article two (2) of the Constitution;" or "Against the proposed amendment to section five (5), article two (2) of the Constitution.” And on motion of Mr. Johnson, was referred to the committee on judiciary. The following resolution, presented by Mr. Bacon, of Will, January 26, 1887, was taken up for consideration and read, viz.: Resolved, That the whole number of pages for this Senate be reduced to seven, in order to comply with the statutory provisions of law. Mr. Thompson moved to refer the foregoing resolution to the committee on expenses of general assembly. Which motion prevailed. The following preamble and joint resolution, presented by Mr. Hill January 26, 1887, was taken up for consideration and read, viz.: WHEREAS, Our able and faithful representative in Congress, Hon. Richard W. Townshend of Illinois, has introduced a joint resolution which is pending for consideration in the Congress of the United States proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, providing for the election of Senators by the votes of the people of the States, be it Resolved by the Senate, the House concurring, That we most earnestly request our representatives in Congress to urge the passage and adoption of the Townshend joint resolution now pending in the National Congress, as the most satisfactory means of choosing our United States Senators; Resolved, That the Secretary of State is hereby instructed to forward a copy hereof to each Senator and Representative in Congress from the State of Illinois. On motion of Mr. Thompson the foregoing resolution was referred to the committee on federal relations. The following resolution, presented by Mr. Cochran January 26, 1887, was taken up for consideration and read, viz.: WHEREAS, The application for appropriations to be made by the Thirty-fifth General Assembly are unusually large; and WHEREAS, A very considerable part of the money asked is designed to be used, if granted, in making further provision for the insane of the State; and WHEREAS, The number of insane is said to be rapidly increasing and the present facilities for taking care of them wholly inadequate, therefore, Resolved, That it is the sense of this Senate that the joint visiting committee on State charitable institutions should take the earliest practical opportunity to inquire into the consideration and needs of these institutions on the one hand and carefully guard the best interest of the people of the State on the other: Resolved, That leave of absence be given to Senate standing committee on State charitable institutions for the purpose of accompanying the joint visiting committee in order to determine, if possible, whether a necessity exists for additional buildings for the insane and if so, whether the same should be provided in connection with existing institutions or on other and different sites, and to report at an early day their conclusions and recommendation on the whole subject. On motion of Mr. Cochran the foregoing resolution was referred to the committee on State charitable institutions. The following joint resolution, presented by Mr. Yost January 26, 1887, was taken up for consideration and read, viz.: Resolved by the Senate of the State of Illinois, the House of Representatives concurring herein, That our Representatives in Congress be instructed, and our Senators be requested to use all honorable means in their power to secure the passage of the "Blair Bill," now pending in the United States Senate, to remove the limitation relating to the arrearage of pensions, and to favor and support any legislation by Congress looking to the removal of said limitation. That a certified copy of this resolution be forwarded to the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives in Congress, by the Secretary of the Senate. The question being, "Shall the foregoing joint resolution be adopted?" it was decided in the affirmative. Ordered that the Secretary inform the House of Representatives thereof and ask their concurrence therein. The following resolution, presented by Mr. McGrath January 28, 1887, was taken up for consideration and read, viz.: Resolved, That C. V. Walls be appointed clerk of the committee on education and educational institutions. Which, on motion of Mr. McGrath, was referred to the committee on expenses of general assembly. The following resolution, presented by Mr. Cochran January 28, 1887, was then taken up for consideration and read, viz.: Resolved, That it shall be the duty of the several standing committees of the Senate to consider and report back to the Senate the respective bills and other matters referred to them within twenty days of the receipt of the same, except appropriation bills, unless further time is granted for cause. The question being, "Shall the foregoing resolution be adopted?" Mr. Curtiss moved to refer the same to the committee on rules, and the yeas and nays being demanded, the motion to refer to the committee on rules was lost by the following vote: Yeas, 14; nays, 25. Those voting in the affirmative are: Messrs. Crawford, Curtiss, Darnell, Evans, Funk, Greenwood, Humphrey, Knopf, Monahan, Organ, Shutt, Southworth, Thompson, Wheeler.-14. Those voting in the negative are: Messrs. Adams, Bacon of Will, Bell, Burke, Cochran, Crabtree, Dean, Forman, Gore, Hadley, Higgins, Hill, Johnson, Leman, Orendorf, Pearson, Reavill, Reinhardt, Seiter, Stephenson, Strattan, Streeter, Torrance, Washburn, Yost.-25 The question being, "Shall the foregoing resolution be adopted?" and the yeas and nays being demanded, it was decided in the negative by the following vote: Yeas, 25; nays, 20; (having failed to receive the necessary two-thirds vote.) Those voting in the affirmative are: Messrs. Adams, Bacon of Edgar, Bacon of Will, Bell, Burke, Chapman, Cochran, Crabtree, Dean, Forman, Gore, Hadley, Higgins, Hill, Johnson, Orendorf, Pearson, Reavill, Reinhardt, Seiter, Stephenson, Strattan, Streeter, Torrance, Washburn.- 25 Those voting in the negative are: Messrs. Berggren, Crawford, Curtiss, Darnell, Evans, Funk, Greenwood, Hogan, Humphrey, Johns, Knopf, McGrath, Organ, Pierce, Shutt, Southworth, Sumner, Thompson, Wheeler, Yost-20. Mr. Cochran arose to the point of order, stating that it required only a majority vote to adopt the foregoing resolution. The President ruled that, inasmuch as the effect of the resolution, if adopted, would be to limit the time in which committees are required to report on bills, whereas now they are unlimited, thereby changing rules 45 and 50, it would require, according to rule 55 of the Senate, a two-thirds vote. The following joint resolution, presented by Mr. Crawford February 1, 1887, was taken up for consideration and read, viz.: Resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring by a two-thirds vote, That the following proposed amendment to section 7, article 10, of the Constitution be submitted to the electors of the State for adoption or rejection in the manner prescribed by law at the next election for members of the General Assembly; that is to say that section seven (7), article ten (10), of the constitution be so amended that the same will, when amended, read as follows: Section 7. The county affairs of Cook county may be managed by a board of commissioners and such other officers as may be prescribed by law. Said county board may consist of a president and fourteen commissioners, who shall each be elected in such manner and vested with such powers and subject to such regulations as may be prescribed by law, either general or special, applicable to said Cook county; provided, that the General Assembly shall have power to provide by law for the gov ernment of the county of Cook and city of Chicago, for the extension of the limits of said city, and for the consolidation of said city and county and all other village, town, township or other local governments within such limits into one general municipal government. No such law shall take effect until submitted and approved by a vote of the electors of said county of Cook in such manner as may be provided by the act providing for such reorganization. If approved on such vote, such government when organized shall supercede the then existing county, city, village, town or townShip governments within such limits, and such organization shall succeed to all the rights and privileges and be subject to the liabilities of Cook county, city of Chicago, and other municipal and local governments within said limits. After the adoption of any act herein provided for, no new act, amendment, or other legislation relating to the subject of this section shall take effect until submitted to and approved by a vote of the electors of such county in the same manner as provided for in the original act. Mr. Crawford moved to refer the foregoing joint resolution to the committee on judiciary. Which motion prevailed. The following resolution, presented by Mr. Crawford February 1, 1887, was taken up for consideration and read, viz.: Resolved by the Senate, That the Auditor of State be and he is hereby directed to ascertain from the records of his office and of the Adjutant General's office, and report to this Senate the names of all the persons enrolled and participating in what is known as General Swift's Cairo Expedition in 1861, and who afterward remained in the State service in an organization known as a Regiment of the State at large, and who do not appear to have received any compensation for such service, and that he also report the amount of compensation which appears to be due to each of said persons. The question being, "Shall the foregoing resolution be adopted?” it was decided in the affirmative. The following preamble and joint resolution, presented by Mr. Pierce February 2, 1887, was taken up for consideration and read, viz.: WHEEEAS, Since the adjournment of the last session of the Legislature of this State, the business interests of the people have been seriously interfered with and greatly disturbed in almost every county, by disagreements between employers and employes, mainy as to the rate of wages, hours of labor, and the relative rights of each in the employment of co-laborers, which disagree. ments and disaffections have, in many cases, resulted in the employes leaving their work and inaugurating what are commonly called "strikes," at the instigation and order, in several instances, of the officers of certain labor organizations, during which it became impossible for the local peace officers to maintain order; and WHEREAS, The sheriffs of several counties were obliged to increase largely their force of deputies, and the Governor of the State, on final appeal, sent regiments of State militia to preserve order and protect property; and WHEREAS, Before peace and quiet could be restored, and the business of the people could continue uninterruptedly, large amounts of property had been destroyed, several lives lost, many workmen maltreated and nearly killed in their attempts to obtain employment in the places of those who were "on a strike," and generally the prosperity of the people of this great State seriously endangered and crippled by lawless and irresponsible parties; and WHEREAS, It seems expedient that this General Assembly should inquire into and investigate the causes which led to the serious troubles above mentioned; now, therefore, be it Resolved, By the Senate of this General Assembly, the House of Representatives thereof concurring therein, That a committee of eight persons be appointed, five from the House, to be appointed by the Speaker thereof, and three from the Senate, to be appointed by the President thereof, whose duty it shall be to investigate and report to this General Assembly the facts and circumstances surrounding the several more important labor difficulties or "strikes" which have occurred in this State during the last eighteen months, and the main causes which led thereto. Said committee shall hold its sessions of investigation in the City of Springfield, and shall have power to subpoena witnesses, send for books and papers, employ a stenographer and such clerks as it may deem necessary. Mr. Crabtree moved to refer the foregoing resolution to the committee on judiciary. Which motion prevailed. The following joint resolution, presented by Mr. Cochran February 2, 1887, was taken up for consideration and read, viz.: Resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring therein, That a committee of three on the part of the Senate, and on the part of the House be appointed to investigate the expediency and practicability of having the school books for the use of the public schools of this State printed at the Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb. Mr. Cochran moved the adoption of the foregoing joint resolution. Which motion prevailed. At 11:20 o'clock, on motion of Mr. Humphrey, the Senate adjourned. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1887-10 O'CLOCK A. M. Senate met, pursuant to adjournment. Hon. John C. Smith, President of the Senate, presiding. The journal of yesterday was being read, when, on motion of Mr. Southworth, the further reading of the same was dispensed with, and it was ordered to stand approved. PRESENTATION OF PETITIONS. Mr. Hadley presented a petition from the legal voters of the Forty-first Senatorial District of this State, protesting against any proposed amendment to the laws of this State having for its object the abolition of the spring shooting of water fowl. Which, on motion of Mr. Hadley, was referred to the committee on license and miscellany. Mr. Funk presented a petition from the Illinois State Grange of Bloomington, Ill., requesting the repeal of the law requiring township officers to publish annually sworn statements of their receipts and expenditures, etc. Which, on motion of Mr. Funk, was read and referred to the committee on county and township organization. Mr. Funk presented a petition from the Illinois State Grange, adopted at its late session in Bloomington, concerning the subject of insurance. Which was read, and on motion of Mr. Funk, was referred to the committee on insurance. Mr. Funk also presented a petition from the same organization asking that women be granted the right of suffrage, etc., which was read, and On motion of Mr. Funk was referred to the committee on elections. Mr. Funk also presented a petition from the same organization asking for a law protecting quail, etc., which was read, and |
