Lansing

Lansino, March 28, 1879. This is the thirteenth week and eighty-seventh day of the Legislative session, and the day of final adjournment is still in the dim and distant future. The llood of petitions continúes, without sign of abatement. Some of them for or against the passage of bilis which were long since disposedof, and others for bilis which have not been, and of course could not now be introduced, however much the legislators might wish to coniply witli the wishes of the petitioners. Many of these petitions are evidently made to order by partios who have axes to grind, or are signed by partiea out of courtesy to the petition eircnlator rather than out of any irrepressible desire that his petition may be granted. Any one who lias ever had occasion to try it knows how easy it is to get up a petition for almost any purpose, good or bad, and anybedy who has ever served a term in the Legislature knows how little effect the average petition bas in shaping legislation. Except the hour occupied eacli morning in receiving and reading the titles of petitions, but little further attention is or can be given to them. A FEW FIGURES. Owing to the inconvenient manner in which the records of these petitions are kept, I cannot give the number and character presented up to date but avail myself of some statistics gathered by Senator Hodge which brought the record up to and including the 18th inst: Total number of petitions received in the House 1,689; in the Senate, 048 ; total, 2,337. Total number of names signed to petitions for a Reform School for Girls, 18,312; respecting the liquor traffic, 40,686 ; against altering the present tax law, 5,845 ; for local opposition, 2,051 ; for reducing the test of illuminating oils, 8,311; to reduce the rate of interest on money, 6,107 ; respecting schools and uniformity of text-books, 1,532; for boards of three county school examiners, 1,479 ; for more equal taxation, 1,430; prohibiting appeals from justices' courts for sums less than $100. 5,126; for the admission of girls to the Agricultural College, 1,572 ; for the Detroit boulevard, 1,128; against it, 1,364; for drainage laws, 957 ; for a chair of eclecticism in the University, 756. The whole number of bilis passed to date is not fafrom 200 in each House, while the whole nuniber defeated scarcely exceeds a dozen. Representative Moore, of Wayne county, is the champion introducer of bilis, bein? the father [of no less than 43, enough to make a goodsized volume by themselves. Representatives Bradley, Green, Grimes, Moe, jSToeker and Thompson have introduced no bilis. NEW COMPILATION. Speaking of volumes of laws, reminds me that the Senate has passed a bilí for a new compilation of the statutes. The last compilation was made some seven years ago by Judge Dewey of Pontiac and the edition is exhausted. The Senate bilí provides that the compiler must be elected by the Legislar ture but authorizes the appointment by the Governor, of two commissioners to examine the compilation, at a compensating of $350. The bill authorizes the printing of 12,000 copies, of which 3,000 are to be retained for future sale and use, and 9,000 to be deposited in the office of the Secretary of State for distribution to officials. The measure if carried out will cost about $40,000. WAENING TO RESURKECTTONISTS. The Senate has also passed a bill for the punishing of grave robbers. It flxes the penalty for this offense at not more than 10 years imprisonment in the State Prison, or not more than one year in the county jail, or a fine not exceeding $5,000, and also authorizes a reward of $50 to any person furnishing information by means of which conviction is secured in any case. SCIIOOL CIIILDKEN. The bill relative to school children non-resident in the districts where tliey attend, has now passed both Houses and awaitsonly the Governor's autograph to becom e a law. It amends the old law so as to make it provide that any person who psys school taxes in a district in whieb he does not reside, shall have an equal right with the residenta to send scholars to a school in such district i'or such lengtli of time as the amount of school taxes. whicli lie pays is proporttanate to the amount per acholar oi the cost of supporting 'the school : the anunmt per scholar to be deterrained by dividing the amount of cost of maintaining the school by the number of ohildren in the district betwecn the ages of 5 and ■20 years, as given in the annual report of the di rectors for the preceding year. THE AMENDED GAME LAM'. The amended game law stands substantiiilly as iollows : No person shall lnint deer in the Upper Península f rom Sept. 1 to Dec. 15, or in the Lower Península from Oct. 1 to Noy. 15. It also forbids hounding deer in the Upper Peñinsula at any time during the year. No person shall kill wild turkey except during October, November, or December of e:ich year. Killing of wood-cock is allowed only betvveen September 1 and January 1. Shooting prairie chiekens, partridge, grouse and wild ducks only allowed between September 1 and January 1. Other wild water-fowl or snipe to be killed between September 1 and May 1. The amendment forbidding the hounding of the deer by the worthless eins kept for that purpose, which was by iar the most important amendment proposed, was rejectedin theSenate bv a vote of 11 to 15.