610 



PAUL, JOSE J. 



PENNSYLVANIA. 



Eivarola for President, and Cuyo Miltos as 

 Vice-President. The Cabinet appointed con- 

 sisted of: Miguel Palacio, Foreign Affairs and 

 State; Eufino Fahodda, Interior; J. B. Gil, 

 Treasury ; Salvador Jovellano,* "War and Navy ; 

 Jos6 M. Collar, Public Instruction and Wor- 

 ship. 



A new constitution was also adopted, which 

 provides for freedom of worship, the encour- 

 agement of immigration, and the protection 

 of immigrants, and for the summary punish- 

 ment of any one who may attempt in the 

 future to make himself dictator. 



The Indians on the river Paraguay were 

 committing all sorts of depredations. They 

 attacked several river-craft, among which was 

 an Italian sloop, containing ten persons, slaugh- 

 tering the men and burning the vessel. 



PAUL, Josls JESUS, a Venezuelan statesman, 

 born at Caracas, Venezuela, in 1825 ; died at 

 Washington, D. C., March 7, 1870. He was 

 the son of an eminent lawyer, who was for 

 many years Chief Justice of the Supreme 

 Court ; was himself educated for that profes- 

 sion, and held the position of judge when he 

 was chosen Secretary to the House of Repre- 

 sentatives. He was soon after elected to a 

 seat in the House, which, however, he did not 

 take, as he was appointed Minister of the In- 

 terior in President Tovar's Cabinet. When the 

 revolution drove Tovar out of power, and 

 placed Falcon at the head of the Government, 

 Sefior Paul retired for a time to agricultural 

 pursuits, but his active mind would not allow 

 him to rest, and, believing the people to be 

 ready for a change, he visited the different 

 States, conferring with the leading men, and 

 advised them to rise and overthrow President 

 Falcon. Those who dissented he succeeded in 

 winning to his views, and the seed thus sown 

 by him soon reached fruition in the revolution 

 which resulted in the downfall of- Falcon. 

 Monagas, the present President, then came into 

 power, and Sefior Paul was appointed to a 

 judgeship, in which position he acquitted him- 

 self ably, until his appointment as minster to 

 the United States. Sefior Paul was a man of 

 great firmness and extraordinary ability. 



PENNSYLVANIA. The session of the Le- 

 gislature of Pennsylvania opened on the 18th 

 of January. That body was engaged in con- 

 sidering many subjects not of general im- 

 portance, but nevertheless passed some valu- 

 able bills ; among the principal of which 

 were the following : one providing " that 

 whensoever any husband, from drunkenness, 

 profligacy, or other cause whatsoever, shall for 

 two successive years desert his wife, or neglect 

 or refuse to live with her and provide for her, 

 she shall, as to, every species and description of 

 property, whether real, personal, or mixed, 

 owned by, or belonging to her, have all the 

 rights and privileges of femnie sole, to purchase 

 or sell and convey the same, as if she were sole 

 and unmarried ; " and " that it shall be lawful 

 for any married woman, as aforesaid, to sue and 



be sued in her own name upon all such contracts 

 as aforesaid, heretofore made or to be made, 

 and to sue in her own name her husband, to 

 recover the possession of her real estate, or the 

 value thereof, as if she were sole and unmar- 

 ried." 



Another, which passed without debate, pro- 

 vides "that all proceedings in partition of 

 the real estate of intestates, heretofore had in 

 any court of the Commonwealth having juris- 

 diction of such proceedings, shall be valid to 

 all intents and purposes, if the writs, rules, and 

 notices required by law shall have been duly 

 issued and served upon, or service shall have 

 been accepted by, such person or persons as the 

 court shall have directed notice of the inquest 

 to be served upon ; and if any person entitled, 

 having elected to take land at the valuation 

 fixed by the inquest, shall have entered into a 

 recognizance in the name of the person or 

 persons,- so as aforesaid designated by the court, 

 to secure to the other owners their distributive 

 shares, his title to the said land shall be as 

 good and indefeasible as if the recognizance 

 and all the proceedings had been legal and 

 regular, and all writs, rules, and notices had 

 been personally served upon all parties in in- 

 terest, and their legal representatives." 



Another act allowed husband and wife to 

 be witnesses on their own behalf in divorce 

 cases where personal service of the subposna 

 is made on the opposite party, or said party 

 appears or defends. 



The Avondale disaster (see vol. 1869, pp. 566) 

 led to the passage of an act providing for the 

 safety and health of persons employed in coal- 

 mines; and also to one incorporating "The 

 Avondale Belief Association," which provides 

 that the Corporation shall be represented by 

 13 trustees, who were empowered to invest the 

 money contributed for the sufferers, which fund, 

 on March 28th, including contributions and in- 

 terest on investments, had amounted to $140,- 

 794.61. The trustees receive no compensation, 

 and all property held by this board is exempt 

 from State or county tax. 



An important measure was passed, entitled 

 " An act to allow writs of error in cases of 

 murder and involuntary manslaughter." The 

 first section provides that a writ of error " shall 

 be of right, and may be sued out upon the oath 

 of the defendant or defendants, as in civil case." 

 The second section makes it the duty of the 

 judges of the Supreme Court, in all such cases, 

 to review both the law and the evidence. This 

 law was vetoed by Governor Geary, and dis- 

 approved by the Supreme Court of the State, 

 as its effect would be to change the whole doc- 

 trine of the criminal law, and give too wide, a 

 legal license to the guilty. It was intended to 

 apply to the case of Dr. Paul Schoeppe and 

 similar cases, and, notwithstanding the objec- 

 tions to it, was again debated at length, and 

 finally passed. 



Another act also became a law, which by its 

 provisions will stimulate investments and skill 



