Mr. Armstrong of Grundy submitted the following: WHEREAS there appears to be some diversity of opinion upon the proper construction of that part of section 13, article 4 of the Constitution, which reads as follows, to-wit: "And no law shall be revived or amended by reference to its title only, but the law revived or the section amended shall be inserted at length in the new act." Therefore, Resolved, That the insertion of the proposed sections, as amended at length, in the bill proposing such amendment is a sufficient compliance with said constitutional provision, without copying also the original section in said bill. Which was referred to the committee on judiciary. Mr. Wicker submitted the following: WHEREAS, We the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, being mindful of the wants of commerce, and satisfied that our great State is, and that all the States of the Northwest are in commercial trouble, because of the want of a sufficient circulating medium to do their business, the amount of such circulating medium authorized by Congress being inadequate to the wants and requirements of the business and commerce of the country; and whereas the Congress of the United States, many years ago, did assume power to control the issue and limit the volume of the paper money to be used in transacting the business of the nation, since which time the settlement of new Territories, with a greatly increased population, has so widened and extended the boundaries of the Government as to render an increase of currency in either national bank or legal tender notes an absolute necessity, to the end that the citizens of the United States, as a whole, may successfully maintain their commercial influence and prosperity, and thus aid in the development of the great agricultural and mineral resources of the country; be it, therefore, Resolved, 1st. That our Representatives and Senators in Congress be and they are hereby respectfully requested to use their influence to obtain from Congress the passage of an act authorizing an increase of legal tender notes or national bank paper of not less than $100,000,000. 2d. That in the opinion of this Legislature a resumption of specie payments at the present time would be disastrous to the commercial, manufacturing and agricultural interests of the Northwest, and believing that the nation is not prepared for a return to specie payment, we respectfully urge upon our Representatives that they oppose any such measure. 3d. That a copy of this preamble and resolution be forwarded to each of the Senators and Represent. atives of our State at Washington. On motion of Mr. Swan, The resolution was referred to the committee on banks and banking. Mr. Wicker submitted the following: WHEREAS the President of the United States, in the interest of cheap transportation and the view of the growing commerce of the Great West, has called the attention of Congress to the importance of constructing ship canals from the West to the East for better and cheaper transportation of the surplus products of Western granaries; Resolved, That this Legislature most cordially indorses this feature of the annual message of Presi dent Grant, believing as we do that the early construction of a few such canals would be a great source of relief to the rapidly increasing commerce of the States of the Northwest. On motion of Mr. Snow, The resolution was referred to the committee on federal relations. WHEREAS, at a meeting of farmers held in convention at Bloomington, on January 16th, 1873, the following resolution was adopted: "Resolved, That this convention, and those whom it represents, desire to be kept fully informed of the proceedings of the Legislature by which our interests are largely affected, and an opportunity to know the precise action of our immediate representatives on the important subjects on which legisla tion is to be had, and therefore respectfully request that the Legislature will cause full reports of their proceedings to be published;" Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the committee on contingent expenses of the House of Representatives be and is hereby instructed to consider the subject of reporting the proceedings and debates of said House of Representatives, and to report thereon as early as practicable. Which was referred to the committee on contingent expenses. Resolved, That the commmittee on the judiciary be instructed to inquire into the propriety of abol ishing the grand jury in all cases, and that they report by bill or otherwise. Which was referred to the committee on judiciary, together with a report of the county clerk of Crawford county relating to the same matter. Mr. Oleson submitted the following: Resolved, That the Secretary of State be and he is hereby authorized and required to furnish to the House committee rooms which are not yet suitably furnished, the necessary furniture, upon the order of the chairmen of such committees, indorsed or certified by the chairman of the committee on contingent expenses. Which was referred to the committee on contingent expenses. Mr. Bishop of McHenry submitted the following: In view of the growing power of monopolies of this country and the great desire of the farmers and mechanics of being relieved from the same, and the demand that comes from every hamlet of the Northwest asking for said relief, and believing that the public lands should be kept for actual settlers, Resolved, That we would respectfully request our Senators and Representatives in Congress to vote against all appropriations of the public land or the loaning of the bonds of the nation for the benefit of private corporations, and that a copy of this resolution be sent by the Speaker of this House to each Senator and Representative of Congress from this State. On motion of Mr. Wicker, The resolution was referred to the committee on federal relations. Resolved, That the resolution passed January 22, 1873, which directed the Secretary of State to furnish the chairman of each committee with the necessary stationery for such committees, be and the same is hereby rescinded. Mr. Cullerton moved to refer the resolution to the committee on con tingent expenses. On motion of Mr. Wicker, Mr. Washburn's resolution was laid on the table, ayes 58, nays 26— the ayes and nays being demanded by five members. Those voting in the affirmative are: Messrs. Alexander of Crawford, Alexander of Montgomery, Armstrong of Grundy, Armstrong of LaSalle, Bishop of Edgar, Booth, Bradwell, Bryant, Bullard, Casey, Carpenter, Chambers, Darnell, Dement, Dolan, Efner, Ferrier, Flanders, Golden, Granger, Grant, Gridley, Harvey, Hawes, Hoiles, Inscore, Jessup, Lietze, Mann, McGee, Moore of Marshall, Moore of Adams, Neville, Oakwood, Oleson, Orendorff, Peltzer, Penfield, Pollock, Race, Rankin, Rice, Savage, Scanlan, Scott, Senne, Stewart of McLean, Swan, Taggart, Thornton, Warner, Wayman, Webber, Westfall, Wick, Wicker, Wood—58. Those voting in the negative are: Messrs. Bishop of McHenry, Collins, Cronkrite, Cross, Dunham, Hart, Herrington, Herting, Hopkins, Kann, Lane of Hancock, Loomis, Marsh, McLaughlin, Middlecoff, Moffit, Oberly, Ramey, Ray, Rountree, Sheridan, Sherman, Shumway, Snow, Washburn, Mr. Speaker-26. So the resolution was laid on the table. Leave of absence for an indefinite time was granted Messrs. Bushnell, Grey, Hite of St. Clair and Hite of Madison. On motion of Mr. Loomis, At 11 o'clock A. M., the House adjourned. THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 1873. The House met, pursuant to adjournment. The journal of yesterday was read. Mr. Armstrong of LaSalle presented a petition from the farmers of LaSalle county, asking for such legislation as will give precedence be fore the courts of all cases prosecuted by the people against railroad companies; which was referred to the committee on judiciary. Mr. Bullard presented a petition from a number of tax-payers of Livingston county, asking for an appropriation sufficient to carry out the provisions of an act establishing a Board of Railroad and Warehouse Commissioners; which was referred to the committee on appropriations. Mr. Sylvester presented a petition from a number of voters of the thirty-second representative district, asking an appropriation sufficient to prosecute and bring to a decision certain suits pending for violation of the law prescribing the rates which railroads may collect for carrying passengers and freight; which was referred to the committee on appropriations. Mr. Cassedy presented a petition from a number of the citizens of McLean county, asking for an amendment of the present school law; which was referred to the committee on education. Mr. Hay, from the committee on judiciary, submitted the following report: To the Speaker of the House of Representatives: The judiciary committee, to whom was referred House bill, No. 108, for "An act to regulate the means of egress from public buildings," having had the same under consideration, have directed that the same be reported back to the House, with the recommendation that it be referred to the committee on miscellaneous subjects. The report of the committee was concurred in, and the bill was referred to the committee on miscellaneous subjects. Mr. Hay, from the committee on judiciary, submitted the following report: To the Speaker of the House of Representatives: The judiciary committee, to whom was referred House bill, No. 111, for "An act to regulate the practice of medicine in the State of Illinois," having had the same under consideration, have directed that it be reported back to the House, with the recommendation that it be referred to the committee on miscellaneous subjects. The report of the committee was concurred in and the bill referred to the committee on miscellaneous subjects. Mr. Hay, from the committee on judiciary, submitted the following report: To the Speaker of the House of Representatives: The judiciary committee, to whom was referred House bill, No. 89, for "An act to amend an act to prohibit domestic animals running at large in this State," having had the same under consideration, have directed that the same be reported back to the House with the recommendation that it be referred to the committee on agriculture. The report of the committee was concurred in, and the bill was referred to the committee on agriculture. Mr. Hay, from the committee on judiciary, submitted the following report: To the Speaker of the House of Representatives : The judiciary committee, to whom was referred House bill, No. 5, for "An act to amend an act entitled 'an act for the assessment of property and the levy and collection of taxes,' approved March 30, 1872," have had the same under consideration, and have directed that it be reported back to the House with the recommendation that it be referred to the committee on revenue. The report of the committee was concurred in, and the bill was referred to the committee on revenue. Mr. Hay, from the committee on judiciary, submitted the following report: To the Speaker of the House of Representatives: The judiciary committee, to whom was referred House bill, No. 71, for "An act to repeal the registry law, except in towns and cities casting two thousand or more votes," having had the same under consideration, have directed that it be reported back to the House with the recommendation that it be referred to the committee on elections. The report of the committee was concurred in, and the bill was referred to the committee on elections. Mr. Hay, from the committee on judiciary, submitted the following report: To the Speaker of the House of Representatives: The judiciary committee, to whom was referred the preamble and resolution to rescind a former resolution of this House, directing that five thousand copies of the Governor's message be printed in the German language, and two thousand copies each in the Swedish and Norwegian languages, be rescinded, have had the same under consideration, and have directed me to report the same back to the House, with a recommendation that said resolution be amended by striking out the words "and the Clerk is instructed to strike the same from the journal of this House," and that the same preamble and resolution, as so amended, be adopted. Mr. Rountree, from the committee on judiciary, submitted the following as a minority report: To the Speaker of the House of Representatives : The undersigned, of the minority of the judiciary committee, to whom was referred the preamble and resolution to rescind a former resolution of this House, directing that 5,000 copies of the Governor's message be printed in the German language, and 2,000 copies each in the Swedish and Norwegian languages, not concurring in the report of the majority, now respectfully submit the following: The preamble of the resolution indicates the reason for the resolution, and from the preamble it is ascertained that the former action of the House in directing copies of the Governor's message to be printed in other than the English language, is sought to be rescinded, upon the ground that such action of the House was inhibited by the constitution of the State of Illinois. No other reasons are assigned for the resolution, and according to the preamble, the only question to be determined is, is the printing and publishing by direction of the General Assembly, of copies of the Governor's message in foreign languages, or in other than the English language, inhibited by the constitution of the State? No question of expediency or necessity is stated in the preamble, but the pure, naked question of constitutional privilege or inhibition. We do not pretend to deny that the Governor's message, as communicated by the Governor to the Legislative Assembly, is embraced within the term "executive proceedings," and to us there seems to be no doubt that it is required by the constitution, that the Governor should use, in whatever communication to the General Assembly he may make, the language defined by the constitution, namely: the English language. That being done, in our opinion the requirements of the constitution are complied with, and the message then being in the possession of the House, is its property, and subject to such disposition as it, in its wisdom, may desire to make of it. The framers of the constitution unquestionably had some design, in framing this provision under consideration. As the constitution of 1848 had a precisely similar provision in considering the question, the constitution of 1848 and the practice under it, can and should be resorted to, in order to fully and clearly comprehend the provision and the reasons for it. It is well known to every lawyer, and every cultured layman, the acts of the Parliament of Great Britain were, for many centuries, framed and enacted in the Latin tongue, and the judicial proceedings of that kingdom were conducted and preserved in the law French, as it is commonly termed. Like the principles of jurisprudence, that custom and practice was a part of the common law of England, and was required and invariably practiced. To that degree was it the law of the land that it required a special act of Parliament, 4th George, 2d chap. 26, enacted A. D. 1730, to do away with the custom, and introduce the language of the country into their judicial and legislative proceeding. It is but natural to suppose that the framers of our constitution were advised of this, and were further advised that under our statute the common law of England to the time 4th James, with the exception of a few enumerated statutes, was declared to be the law of this State in the absence of a legislative enactment to the contrary, and that without constitutional restrictions there was nothing in the law to prevent the recurrence of a like event; and with a wisdom that commends itself to every reflecting mind, being advised of the impropriety of, as well as the disastrous results that must ensue from, the adoption of any foreign tongue in framing our laws or conducting the judicial and executive proceedings of our State, settled for the time that organic act should remain binding upon public officers and authorized public assemblies, all possibility of any laws, official writings, executive, legislative and judicial proceedings, which enter into and go to make up the archives of the government, being framed or conducted in any other than the English language. Having accomplished this, all anxiety upon the subject was allayed. It was the archives of Illinois, the proceedings of the several departments of its government that concerned the framers of the constitution, and their preservation in the English language-the language of the country-was the object they sought to secure, and that was secured by the constitution of 1848, as it is by the constitution of 1870. It would hardly seem probable that had the framers of the constitution intended to inhibit the publication of copies of the proceedings of the several departments of the government, in any other than the English language, that they themselves would have been the first to offer an instance of an infraction of this constitutional prohibition. Yet, if the opinion of the majority of the committee is correct, the very framers of the constitution before the adjournment of the session during which they framed the organic law of 1848, offered to the public the most signal instance and example of its violation, for they directed that 5,000 copies should be printed in the German language, and 1,000 in the Norwegian. (See journal of convention of 1847, page 441. It seems that this is by no means the first time that this constitutional objection has been raised in the legislative assembly of this State, and when raised, has invariably met the same fate that we feel confident it will meet with in this case-its total and entire rejection. In the General Assembly of 1857, this same objection was raised, and by reference to the House journal of that session, page 28, it is ascertained, that with such lawyers as Church, Ingersoll, Eustace, Cullom, Morrison and others of equal note voting in the affirmative, the House ordered 5,000 copies of the Governor's message, printed in the German language, and the Senate at the same session ordered 3,000 copies in German. (See Senate journal 1857, page 25.) In 1859 the House ordered by a unanimous vote the printing of 2,000 copies in the German language. (See House journal 1859, page 30.) In that same year the Senate ordered 10,000 copies in German, 1,000 |