At The Capital

In accordance with the cali of the govarnor the legislatura met in extra session one week ago to-day, and, white there has been necessarily considerable waiting, one house for the other, quite a large amount of work, and some of it very important, has been done in this flrst week of the special session. It was found that only one vacancy had occurred among the members of the two houses, caused by the the death of Representativa Kendrick, of Lapeer; and three or four among the senate offlcers. These latter were soon filled, and having no committees to wait for, the two houses went at once at the work for which they were convened. The special session had been anticipated as an inevitable result, but the unforseen dispensation of Providenee had really placed upon the law-makers of this state, a duty more urgent and imperative if not more important than either of the subjects that were expected to engross the time and attention of the extra ses3ion. The flrst bill of any great importance was the FIRE RELIEF BILL, which passed the senate on the lst, and which, from its importance and the large amount of its appropriation, is worth reproducing. It is entitled "a bill making an appropriation for the relief of sufferers by the great fires of 1881, in several counties of this state," and is as follows: Section 1. The people of the state of Michigan enact, That there shall be and hereby is appropriated out of the state treasury the sum of two handred and fifty thousand dollars, or so mucii thereof as may be necessary, to be expended for the following parposes: In furnishing subsUtence either ia provisions or money to the sufferers by the reat fire of elghteen hundred and eighty-one, in Sanilac, Tuscola, Iiuron, and other counties affected thereby; in f umishing subsietence for teams of said sufferers during seed time; in procuriug seed for spring crops for said sufferers, and in payiug tne tixes for the year eighteen hundred and eighty-one of said sufferers, and in reimbursing thoee who have already paid their taxes for that year. Sec. 2. Ihere shall be and 1b hereby appropriated out of the state treasury the suin ot fifteen thousand dollars to be expended in assistinti to rebaild or pay for the rebuiiding of scbool-houses in the several school district in this state in which school-houees weredestroye j by the great tires ol eighteen bundred and eighty-one. The commissioners hereinafler mentioned shall pay to the assessor of each of said districts the sum apportioned their respective districts, to be used in rebui'ding schoolhouses, which sum said assessors shall place to the credit of the bnilding fund of their respes tive districts. Sec. 3. Ihe several appropriations made by this act shall be expended or disbursed as the case may require by the relief oommission heretofore appoiated by the governor of this state, consisUne of Hon. Henry P. Ealdwin, chairman, A. H. Dey, D. C. Whitwood, George C. Codd, F. W. Swif t, C. T. Gorham and Omer D. Coager, who are hereby constituted a commission for that purpose. Sec. 4. The commission herein prqvided for may from time to time make requisitions upon the governor of this state for euch sums of money out of tbe appropriations üerein made as they may deern necessaey for tbn several purposes herein provided for, submitting witli ach requisitions all information iu regard to the necessity of using said appropriations which the commission shall from time to time obtain through its agencies, and shall, on or before Jan. 1, 1888, report to the governor in detail their expenditures. Sc 6. The governor, upoa examlnaüon uf the requisitions, and Information presonted to him, uuder the provisión of section four of thi8 act, may from time to timo by hls certifícate in writing, require the auditor-general to draw hiB warrant on the state treasury for Buch sams ot the money hereby appropriated as he may deern neceseary from the Information submitted to him. And the auditor-general is hereby authorized and required upon presentation of the governor's certifícate to draw hia warrant as therein required, payadle to the chairman of said commission. Sec. 6. There shall be awessed upon the taxable property of this stat j in the year eighteen hundred and eighty-two the eum of one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars, and id the year eighteen hundred and eighty-three the fnrther surn of one hundred and forty thousand dolíais to be aesessed and levied in llke manner as other state taxea are by law assessed, levied and paid, which tax when collected stiall'be credited up to the general fund to reimburse to the same the suin to be drawn therefrom as provlded in this act This will no doubt pass the house bef ore the close of thia week. THE TAX BILL - which is the next subject inimportance, and perbaps some would be inclined to think of greater importance to the interests of the state than any other, has occupied most of the time of the house during the week, they having considered it in committee of the whole, section by section and day after day, with the members of the tax commission (who framed the bill) in attendance and frequently speaking either in explanation of disputed and misunderstood points or against proposed ainendments that did not meet with approval. On the lst instant its consideration was finally completed and this af ternoon the bilí carne up on its final passage and was passed by a vote of yeas 80, nays 15. It is now thought that it will be put through the senate by the middle of next week without material alterations. While the house made quite a large number of small changes to the bill as presented by the commission, they didn't make two that were very strongly f ought f or by a small minority of the members. One was to change the word "may" in regard to swearing to statements of property by property owners to "shall," and the other was in regard to the taxation of church property. Neither proposition had strength enough to give it any special signiflcance. The third subject of special importance, the CONGBESSIONAL RE-APPORTIONMENT, has excited much discussion, and much scheming on all sides, but until this morning uothing had been done beyond the iatroduction of a few bilis in each house. Each house has a special committee on apportionment that in the senate, consisting of two from each congressional district and that of the house, Of three from each district. It is understood that the house committee cannotagree upon any scheme, and have about decided to report a bilí leaving the first seven dlstricts as at present constituted, and thus throw the responsibility upon the house of rejecting it, as that body will surely do. The senate committee this morning reported a substituto for all the bilis on the subject in its possession, which will come up forconsiderationin committee of the whole to-morrow. It isn't very seriously objected to as a whole, but there is no possibility of its passage without amendments. It is as follows: First district- Wayne. Second district- Monroe, Lnawee, HUlsdale and Washteüaw. Third district- Barry, Eaton, CalhouB, Jackson, and B ranch. Fosrth district- Kalamazoo, St. Josepta, Berriea, Cass, and Van Buren. Fifth dlsirict- Allegan, Ottawn, Kent, ana lonia. Sixth district- Oakland, Livingston, Ingliam, Shiawassee, Clinton. Seventh district- Huron, Sanilac, Lapeer, St Clair, Macomb. Eighth district- Saginaw. Genesee, (iratiot, Montcalm. Nintn rtistrict- Tuscola, Bay, Midland, Isabella, Clare, Gladwin, Ioeco, Ojfemaw, Boscommon, Missaukee, kalkaska, Crawford', Oscoda, Alcona, Alpena, Montmorency, Otsego, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, and Emmet Teath di-itrict-Muskegon, Newaygo, Mecosta, Oaceola, Lake, Oceana, Mason, Manistee, Wexford, Grand Traverse, Leelanaw, Antrim, Charlevoix, and Maniton. Eleventh district- Upper Península. SIISCELLANEOUS NOTES. Both houses have passed a bilí appropriating $10,000 for building additional workshops at the Ionia house of sorrection, in order that the unemployed convicts may all be employed. Both houses have also passed a bilí appropriating $8,600 for repairs and improvements upon the buildings and grounds purchased by a bilí passed at last session, in this city, for a school for the blind. Governor Jerome yesterday nominated and the senate conflrined the following ofiieers, they having been appointed since the close of the last session: Trustees of the eastern asylum, James A. Brown and Jacob S. Farrand of Detroit, Norman Geddes of Adrián ; trustee of the Kalama zoo asyluni, George Han na of South Haven; member of Detroit pólice board, H. M. Dean; Warden of Ionia reformatory, E. C. WatkinB: managers for same, J. íi. Eseott, A. H. tíeorge VV. Backingham; inspector of Jackson Btate prison, T. B. Cutler of St Johns. Memorial services were held in the house this afternoon on the death of ltepresentative Kendrick, of Lapeer, who died since tbe last session. Eulogistic addresses were made by six or eight of Mr. Kendrick's fellow niembers, and the exercises were interesting as well as sad. The Governor is beiug constantly urged to present this or that subject to the legislature for its action, but it looks as though the work now on hand could not all be finished in a twentyaays' session. Bohemian.