ILLINOIS. 



391 



SOUTHERN INSANE ASYLUM. 



Amount of appropriation $60,000 00 



NORTHERN INSANE HOSPITAL. 



Completing north wing and land $38,585 26 



Rear building 48,500 00 



Heating apparatus 26,800 00 



Expenses of patients 33,750 00 



Miscellaneous 24,500 00 



Total $172,135 26 



ILLINOIS ETE AND EAR INFIRMARY. 



Board of pauper patients $10,000 00 



Total appropriations $1,251,94440 



A bill to appropriate funds to complete the 

 State-house at Springfield occasioned a vast 

 deal of discussion, and was complicated and 

 embarrassed by a proposition to remove the 

 capital to Peoria. The amount already ex- 

 pended on the new State-house was $883,121.- 

 87, and it was estimated that nearly $2,000,000 

 more would be necessary to finish it. A bill ap- 

 propriating a considerable portion of this sum 

 was under discussion, when a memorial was 

 received from the City Council of Peoria pray- 

 ing for the removal of the capital to that city, 

 pledging indemnity to the State for any loss 

 on account of work already done on the build- 

 ing at Springfield, offering ten acres of land 

 for the site, and inviting the members of the 

 Legislature to visit the city. A number of 

 citizens of Peoria pledged themselves, under a 

 bond duly drawn, to repay the amount ex- 

 pended on the State-house at Springfield, in 

 case the change was made. The proposition 

 created quite a stir not only in the Legislature, 

 but throughout the State, and the discussions 

 and deliberations were drawn out at great 

 length. Charges were made to the effect that 

 the work was not well done at Springfield, 

 but commissioners, appointed to make investi- 

 gations, reported that these charges were un- 

 founded. The invitation to Peoria was ac- 

 cepted. The members enjoyed the entertain- 

 ment furnished by the citizens, and the bill for 

 the removal of the capital was kept under 

 debate until the adjournment; but no provi- 

 sion had then been made either for the re- 

 moval or for the completion of the buildings 

 at Springfield. 



The adjournment, which took place on the 

 17th of April, was not final. Much important 

 legislation still remained to be done, no provi- 

 sion having been made even for raising reve- 

 nue for the ordinary expenses of the govern- 

 ment. A petition had been received from the 

 corporate authorities and many citizens of 

 Chicago, asking that an adjourned session of 

 the Legislature be held in that city, and guar- 

 anteeing that ample and suitable provision 

 should be made for their accommodation with- 

 out expense to the State. A resolution was 

 immediately offered proposing to accept this 

 invitation. It occasioned considerable debate, 

 many being of opinion that the Legislature 

 had no power to hold its sessions elsewhere 

 than at the capital. The resolution was, nev- 

 ertheless, adopted, and the Legislature voted 



to take a recess and reassemble at Chicago on 

 the 15th of November. Protests against this 

 action were put on record in both Houses, that 

 in the Senate, being signed by nineteen Sena- 

 tors. 



Immediately after the adjournment of the 

 Legislature, the question arose as to whether 

 the Governor had authority to call an extra 

 session during what was nominally only a 

 recess in the regular session. Governor Pal- 

 mer practically solved this question by issuing 

 his proclamation on the 3d of May, directing the 

 members to assemble on the 24th of the same 

 month at the capital, to attend to certain legis- 

 lation which seemed to him imperatively to 

 require their attention. In the first place, no 

 provision had been made for the payment of 

 the current expenses of the government. The 

 management of the penitentiary, which had 

 been the subject of much discussion, had been 

 left without change, and required attention ; 

 provision should be made for the completion 

 of the new State-house, and various other 

 matters ought to be disposed of without further 

 delay. The Governor submitted a message at 

 the opening of the new session, urging these 

 matters upon the attention of the Legislature. 

 An attempt was made, at first, to carry through 

 a joint resolution declaring that no " extraor- 

 dinary occasion had arisen" to justify the gov- 

 ernor in convening an extra session, but it met 

 with little support. Measures were imme- 

 diately set on foot to provide for the expenses 

 of the different departments of the govern- 

 ment, and the necessary bills were passed. 

 The bill providing for the continuance of the 

 work on the new State-house was referred to 

 the Finance Committee, and two reports were 

 made, the majority of the committee recom- 

 mending that the bill pass. A good deal of 

 discussion followed, but the bill finally became 

 a law, and virtually settled the question of 

 removing the capital. It appropriates $600,- 

 000 to continue the work of building the new 

 State-house at Springfield. An act was passed 

 providing for an investigation of the discipline, 

 management, and financial condition of the 

 State Penitentiary, and various other bills 

 were considered, but none of special importance 

 were carried through. The session came to 

 an end on the 21st of June, nothing further 

 being done with regard to the Chicago meet- 

 ing. Among the measures urged upon the 

 attention of the Legislature by the Governor, 

 but not acted upon, were those " to fix the 

 compensation of officers of the Executive De- 

 partment ; " " to fix the fees, salaries, and 

 compensation of all State, county, and township 

 officers, and to regulate the costs and expenses 

 of parties in courts of justice ; " " to regulate 

 the exercise of eminent domain ; " " to amend 

 the laws for the assessment and collection of 

 the revenue, and to provide for the sale of real 

 estate for non-payment of taxes," etc. There 

 was such a conflict of views among the mem- 

 bers on these subjects, that they could not be 



