be

all-night licenses and the sale on Sunday, excepting in hotels, prohibited; local options in towns only; licenses must posted in saloon windows; saloons prohibited within 200 feet of church or school, or exclusively dwelling-houses, unless with consent of two-thirds of the property-owners in the latter case; courts allowed to review applications and petitions for revocation of licenses. Hotels must have ten rooms to obtain license.

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court handed down a decision on April 24 that the Raines Liquor Tax law is constitutional. In brief, the Court decided that it was enacted in the exercise of the police power of the State; that it is purely a matter of State Government, and as such the action of the Legislature was proper; that it is a general law in the full sense of the term, hence does not violate the constitutional provision regarding the classification of cities; that the contention that the law provided for unequal taxation was not well founded, because its primary purpose is not gather revenue, but to regulate the liquor traffic, and that, it not being a special city bill, it was not necessary to submit it to the Mayors. The Court of Appeals, on May 26, decided that the law is constitutional, the decision being on the case appealed from the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.

to

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HORSESHOEING.-In accordance with an act of the Legislature of 1896, Governor Morton appointed, on September 30, the following Board to have charge of the examination of horseshoers in cities of over 50,000 inhabitants: Thomas M. Quinn, of New-York City; Robert Keenan, of Brooklyn; Thomas Carroll, of New-York City; Homer A. Gove, of Rochester, and Charles W. Kirk, of Albany. Hereafter no person may practise horseshoeing as a master or journeyman in any city having a population of 50,000 or more in this State unless he is duly registered in a book kept for that purpose in the office of the County Clerk. person is entitled to register without presenting a certificate of satisfactory examination before the Board of Examiners. The qualifications for examination are that the applicant has served an apprenticeship at horseshoeing for at least three years. Any person who had been practising as a master or journeyman horseshoer in any such city of this State for not less than three years preceding the passage of the law may register within six months after the passage of the law upon filing with the County Clerk an affidavit to that effect, and be exempt from an examination. Any person who has been practising as a master or journeyman horseshoer in any place outside of such cities for a period of three years upon presenting satisfactory proof to the examiners will be exempt from examination. The examiners will receive as compensation a fee of $2 for each person examined. A County Clerk may exact 25 cents as a registration fee.

OHIO.

The law relating to registration of land titles, which went into effect on September 1, 1896, is permissive only. After the title is registered, transfer of the land be

comes almost as easy as the change of ownership of a certificate of stock. Upon the death of any owner of real estate, the property passes to his personal representative, so that registered land becomes assimilated to personal property in many respects.

The Smith Anti-Lynching bill, which makes any county whose officials permit a lynching to occur liable to the family of the victim for damages, became a law on April 8, 1896. The law takes its name from H. C. Smith, a colored member of the Legislature, and is the result of several lynchings of colored men in Ohio in the three years preceding.

The Electrocution law went into effect July 1, 1896.

GOVERNMENT BOND ISSUE.

It appears from the published statement of J. P. Morgan that he was invited to a conference at Washington on December 26, 1895, and arrived at the belief that the Administration was bound to maintain the gold reserve, that "the Executive Department preferred to secure $200,000,000 of gold in order to avoid any possible necessity for a similar negotiation before the meeting of the new Congress in 1897," and that no financial relief would be obtained from Congress. Mr. Morgan immediately issued a circular inviting subscriptions, and James Stillman, president of the National City Bank, and James T. Woodward, president of the Hanover Bank, two personal friends of President Cleveland, agreed to take a quarter of the entire issue. The subscription closed at 3 p. m. on Tuesday, December 31, with bids for $175,000,000 from the United States alone, the old terms being expected, 4% per cent premium to Government, and 5% per cent to others than J. P. Morgan & Co. Messrs. Woodward, Stewart and Bacon, of the subscribers, were at the first official dinner of the President on January 1. On January 3 Senator Elkins, in a tenminute speech, called attention to his resolution that no bonds should be sold except after public notice and competition, and the Senate by a vote of 48 to 6 laid aside all other business and took up the resolution. On January 4 (Saturday) Mr. Morgan wrote to the President stating the offer he was in a position to make, and urged that a contract be made with the syndicate for the full amount of $200,000,000 in gold, adding that if the President should hesitate to make a private contract and prefer a public issue, he would pledge every effort to make the negotiation successful. At midnight on Sunday, January 5, Secretary Carlisle issued the call for public subscriptions for $100,000,000 four per cent gold bonds, which was published throughout the country the next morning. The lowest bid accepted for any part was that of J. P. Morgan and associates, at 10.68 per cent premium.

BEHRING SEA SEAL FISHERIES. A treaty between the Governments of the United States and Great Britain providing for the settlement of the claims presented by the latter against the former, on account of seizures of Behring Sea sealers,

was promulgated on June 11, 1896. The following are the articles as agreed to by the convention:

Article I-The high contracting parties agree that all claims on account of injuries sustained by persons in whose behalf Great Britain entitled to claim compensation from the United States and arising by virtue of the treaty aforesaid, the award and finding of the said Tribunal of Arbitration, (see Almanac of 1894) as also the additional claims specified in the fifth paragraph of the preamble hereto, shall be referred to two commissioners, one of whom shall be appointed by the President of the United States and the other by Her Britannic Majesty, and each of whom shall be learned in the law. (Appended to this convention is a list of the claims intended to be referred.)

Article II-The two commissioners shall meet at Victoria, in the province of British Columbia, Canada, as soon as practicable after the exchange of the ratifications of this convention, and, after taking an oath that they will fairly and impartially investigate the claims referred to them and render a just decision thereon, they shall proceed jointly to the discharge of their duties. The commission shall also sit at San Francisco, Cal., as well as Victoria, provided either commissioner shall so request, if he shall be of opinion that the interests of justice shall also require, for reasons to be recorded on the minutes.

Article III-The said commissioners shall determine the liability of the United States, if any, in respect to each claim, and assess the amount of compensation, if any, to be paid on account thereof-so far as they shall be able to agree thereon-and their decision shall be accepted by the two Governments as final. They shall be authorized to hear and examine, on oath or affirmation, which each of said commissloners is hereby empowered to administer or receive, every question of fact not found by the Tribunal of Arbitration, and to receive all suitable authentic testimony concerning the same, and the Government of the United States shall have the right to raise the question of its liability before the commissioners in any case where it shall be proved that the vessel was wholly or in part the actual property of a citizen of the United States. The said commission, when sitting at San Francisco or Victoria, shall have and exercise all such powers for the procurement or the enforcement of testimony as may hereafter be provided by appropriate legislation.

Article IV-The commissioners may appoint a secretary and a clerk or clerks to assist them in the transaction of the business of the commission.

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Article V-In the case, if any, in which the commissioners shall fail to agree, they shall transmit to each Government joint reports stating in detail the points on which they differ and the grounds which their opinions have been formed; and any such differences shall be referred for final adjustment to an umpire to be appointed by the two Governments jointly, or, in case of disagreement, to be nominated by the President of the Swiss Confederation as the request of the two Governments.

Article VI-In case of the death or in

capacity to serve from sickness or any other cause of either of the two commissioners, or of the umpire, if any, his place shall be filled in the manner herein provided for the original appointment.

Article VII-Each Government shall provide for the remuneration of the commissioner appointed by it. The remuneration of the umpire, if one should be appointed, and all contingent and incidental expenses of the commission or of the umpire shall be defrayed by the two Governments in equal moieties.

Article VIII-The amount awarded to Great Britain under this convention on account of any claimant shall be paid by the Government of the United States to the Government of Her Britannic Majesty within six months after the amount thereof shall have been finally ascertained.

Article IX-The present convention shall be duly ratified by the President of the United States of America, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof, and by Her Britannic Majesty; and the ratifications shall be exchanged either at Washington or at London within six months from the date hereof, or earlier if possible.

(See Almanacs for 1894, 1895 and 1896 for arbitration proceedings, etc.)

FUR-BEARING ANIMALS.

An international arrangement having been made for the protection of fur-seals, as a result of the decision of the Tribunal of Arbitration under the convention concluded February 29, 1892, which prohibits the killing of seals at any time within a radius of sixty miles around the Pribyloff Islands, or during May, June and July of each year, in that portion of the Pacific Ocean, inclusive of Behring Sea, north of latitude 35 degrees north, and eastward of longitude 180 degrees east, until it strikes the water boundary described in Article 1 of the treaty of 1867 between the United States and Russia, and following that line up to Behring Straits, President Cleveland on April 14, 1896, proclaimed that the act of Congress of February 21, 1893, has become operative. The proclamation also declared that section 1956 of the Revised Statutes is applicable to the waters above mentioned. This section prohibits the killing of fur-bearing animals in Alaska and the waters of Behring Sea, in the dominion of the United States.

PRESIDENT CLEVELAND'S IM

PEACHMENT.

Representative Howard (Pop., Ala.), on May 23, 1896, presented to the House the following charges against President Cleveland, which, however, the House refused to consider by an overwhelming vote:

"I do impeach Grover Cleveland, President of the United States, of high crimes and misdemeanors on the following grounds:

"First-That he has sold or directed the sale of bonds without authority of law.

"Second-That he sold or aided in the sale of bonds at less than their market value.

"Third-That he directed the misappropriation of the proceeds of said bond sales.

"Fourth-That he directed the Secretary of the Treasury to disregard the law which makes United States notes and Treasury notes redeemable in coin.

"Fifth-That he has ignored and refused to have enforced the 'Anti-Trust' law.

"Sixth-That he has sent United States troops into the State of Illinois without authority of law and in violation of the Constitution.

"Seventh-That he has corrupted politics through the interference of Federal office-holders.

"Eighth-That he has used the appointing power to influence legislation detrimental to the welfare of the people. Therefore, be it

"Resolved, by the House of Representatives, That the Committee on the Judiciary be directed to ascertain whether these charges are true, and, if so, to report to the House such action by impeachment or otherwise as shall be proper in the premises. And said committee shall have authority to send for persons and papers."

PRESIDENT OF THE U. S. The act of Congress approved January 19, 1886, providing for the performance of the duties of the office of President in case of the removal, death, resignation or inability both of the President and VicePresident, is as follows:

"That in case of removal, death, resignation, or inability of both the President and Vice-President of the United States, the Secretary of State; or, if there be none, or in case of his removal, death, resignation of inability, then the Secretary of the Treasury; or if there be none, or in case of his removal, death, resignation or inability, then the Secretary of War; or if there be none, or in case of his removal, death, resignation or inability, then the Attorney-General; or if there be none, or in case of his removal, death, resignation or inability, then the Postmaster-General; or if there be none, or in case of his removal, death, resignation or inability, then the Secretary of the Navy; or if there be none, or in case of his removal, death, resignation or inability, then the Secretary of the Interior shall act as President until the disability of the President or Vice-President is removed or a President shall be elected; Provided. That whenever the powers and duties of the office of President of the United States shall devolve upon any of the persons named herein, if Congress be not then in session, or if it would not meet in accordance with law within twenty days thereafter, it shall be the duty of the person upon whom said powers and duties shall devolve to issue a proclamation convening Congress in extraordinary session, giving twenty days' notice of the time of meeting.

"Sec. 2. That the preceding section shall only he held to describe and apply to such officers as shall have been appointed by the advice and consent of the Senate to the offices therein named, and such as are eligible to the office of Presi

dent under the Constitution, and not under impeachment by the House of Representatives of the United States at the time the powers and duties of the office shall devolve upon them respectively."

CENSURE OF T. F. BAYARD. The House of Representatives on March 20, 1896, adopted the following resolutions by a vote of 191 yeas to 59 nays:

Whereas. Thomas F. Bayard, Ambassador of the United States to Great Britain, said in a public speech, delivered in Boston, England, on August 2, 1895, as follows: "He (the President of the United States) stands in the midst of a strong, self-confident and oftentimes violent people-men who seek to their own way, and who need to have that way frequently obstructed, and I tell you plainly that it takes a real man to govern the people of the United States"; and,

have

Whereas, Thomas F. Bayard, Ambassador of the United States to Great Britain, said in a public speech, delivered in Edinburgh, Scotland, on November 7, 1895, as follows: "In my own country I have witnessed the insatiable growth of that form of State Socialism styled 'protection,' which I believe has done more to foster class legislation and create inequality of fortune, to corrupt public life, to banish men of independent mind and character from the public councils, to lower the tone of National representation, blunt public conscience, create false standards in the popular mind, divorce ethics from politics, and place politics upon the level of a mercenary scramble than any other single cause. It

(the said policy of protection) has unhesitatingly allied itself with every policy which tends to commercial isolation, dangerously depletes the Treasury, and saps the popular conscience by schemes of corrupting favor and largess to special classes, whose support is thereby attracted, Thus it has done so much to throw legislation into the political market, where jobbers and chafferers take the place of statesmen"; therefore, be it

Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that Thomas F. Bayard, Ambassador of the United States to Great Britain, in publicly using the language above quoted has committed an offence against diplomatic propriety and an abuse of the privileges of his exalted position, which should make him the representative of the whole country and not of any political party. Such utterances are wholly inconsistent with the prudent, delicate and scrupulous reserve which he himself, while Secretary of State, enjoined upon all diplomatic agents of the United States. In one speech he affronts the great body of his countrymen who believe in the policy of protection. In the other speech he offends all his countrymen who believe that Americans are capable of self-government. Therefore, as the immediate representative of the American people, and in their name, we condemn and censure the said utterance of Thomas F. Bayard.

Resolved, further, That in the opinion of the House of Representatives, public speeches by our diplomatic or consular officers abroad which display partisanship

or which condemn any political party or party policy or organization of citizens in the United States are in dereliction of the duty of such officers, impair their usefulness as public servants, and diminish the confidence which they should always command at home and abroad.

GREATER NEW-YORK.

The Legislature in 1890 created by special act a commission of eleven men to inquire into the expediency of consolidating into one great municipality the city of New-York and various towns composing its suburbs. A bill was prepared by the Commission, and introduced in the Legislature of 1893, to submit the question to a vote of the people of the various cities and towns proposed to be consolidated. The bill failed to reach a vote before the Legislature adjourned; it was reintroduced in the session of 1894, passed both houses, and received the Governor's approval. The ballot was taken on November 6, 1894, with the following result:

*Was a separate bill, not a part of the original one.

Following the above action the Legislature in 1895 passed a bill, which was approved by the Governor, annexing West Chester, East Chester, Pelham and Wakefield (formerly South Mount Vernon), territory containing about 20,000 acres, to New-York City.

On January 6, 1896, a bill was introduced in the Legislature providing for the consolidation of the counties of NewYork, Kings and Richmond, the towns of Jamaica, Newtown and Flushing, and that part of the town of Hempstead westerly of a straight line drawn from the southeasterly point of Flushing through the middle of the channel between Rockaway Beach and Shelter Island. Various amendments, including one granting a referendum to Brooklyn, were voted down. The Senate passed the bill on March 11, by a vote of 38 to 8, with four absentees. (Of the 38 in the affirmative 10 were Democrats; 3 Democrats voted in the negative.) The Assembly passed the bill on March 26, by a vote of 91 to 56. (Of the 91 in the affirmative 27 were Democrats; 36 Republicans voted in the negative.) The bill was then sent to the Mayors of New-York City, Brooklyn and Long Island City, who gave public hearings on it. On April 9 Mayor Wurster of Brooklyn in a message to the Governor, disapproved of the bill. Mayor Strong returned the bill to the Governor on the same day with his disapproval, but his message was not made public un

til April 14. Mayor Gleason of Long Island City returned the bill with his approval, and expressed the hope that the Legislature would pass it over the vetoes of the Mayors of New-York and Brooklyn.

The Senate passed the bill over the vetoes on April 15, by a vote of 34 to 14, as follows: Yeas-Republicans: Ballantine, Brown, Burns, Coggeshall, Daley, C. Davis, Ellsworth, Ford, Harrison, Higby, Humphrey, Johnson, Krum, Lamy, LexOw, Nussbaum, Page, Parsons, Raines, Seibert, Stewart, Stranahan, White and Wilcox. Democrats: Ahearn, Cantor Featherson, Foley, Grady, Koehler, Martin, McNulty, Munzinger and Sullivan. Nays-Republicans: Brush, Chahoon, G. A. Davis, Higgins, Malby, Mullin, Pavey, Sheppard, Tibbits, Wieman and Wray. Democrats: Coffey, Gallagher, McCarren. Absentees:

(Dem.).

Brackett (Rep.) and Guy

The Assembly passed the bill over the vetoes on April 22 by a vote of 78 to 69, as follows: Yeas-Republicans: Ablett, Adler, Allds, Anderson, H. T. Andrews, Armstrong, Austin, Bates, Bedell, Bondy, Braun, E. Brown, B. D. Brown, Brownell, Budd, Burr, J. Clark, C. C. Cole, M. N. Cole, Costello, Cutler, Downs, Dudley, Eddy, Eldridge, Forrester, Goodsell, Gorham, Graves, Gray, Gregory, Hana, Harrison, Hughes, Husted, Keenholtz, Kelsey, Kern, Livingston, Lounsbery, Mackey, McGraw, McNaughton, Messiter, Miles, Murphy, O'Grady, Peevers, Rogers, Sanders, Saunders, Scherer, Schmidt, Sears, Sheldon, C. J. Smith, Springer, Springweller, Stewart, Sweet, Taylor, Tupper, Van Keuren, Warner, Weed, Wells, A. C. Wilson, Winne, Witter, Fish. Democrats: Barth, Eutts, Cain, Ebbers, Guider, Mittnacht, Newman, Stahl. Nays-Republicans: Audett, Babcock, Brennan, C. J. Clark, Cromwell, Degraw, French, Hill, Hobbie, Honsinger, Horton, Ives, Koster, Laimbeer, Marshall, Matteson, Miller, Nixon, Perkins, Post, Robbins, Rounds, Sanger, C. Smith, Steele, Steiner, Storm, Wagstaff, Waldo, G. W. Wilson, Zimmerman. Democrats: P. J. Andrews, Barry, Corrigan, Coughlin, Cullen, Davidson, Delmour, J. A. Donnelly, T. F. Donnelly, Embley, Enders. Finn, Fitzgerald, Fritz, Galligan, Gledhill, Goodman, Green, Hart, Hoffman, Kelly, Kempner, Kinne, Lennon, Leonard, MacCabe, McClellan, McCoy, McKeown, Meyer, Meyers, Norton, Rudd, F. Schmid, Schulum, Stanchfield. Trainor, Zurn. Absentees: Blaisdell and Carlisle (Rep.), Malone (Dem.)

The Governor approved of the bill on May 11, and it became a law. Among other provisions was one authorizing the Governor to appoint a commission composed of Mayor Strong of New-York City, Mayor Wurster of Brooklyn, Mayor Gleason of Long Island City, State Engineer Adams. Attorney-General Hancock, Andrew H. Green, president of the Commission appointed in 1890, and "nine other persons residents of the localities under consolidation" to frame and report a charter on or before February 1, 1897. to be adopted by the Legislature of 1897. The Governor appointed the following as the additional Commissioners on June 9, 1896: Seth Low, General B. F. Tracy.