662 



PENNSYLVANIA. 



character was considerably modified and im- 

 proved, compared with those of her earlier 

 career. She was " a good hater," and her pen, 

 gentle and mild enough when pursuing con- 

 genial themes, was pointed and galling when 

 engaged in the chastisement of vice, cant, or 

 snobbery. She had a fierce hatred for every 

 sort of hypocrisy, and, with the inevitable 

 tendency of one who pursues these subjects 

 with pertinacity, she sometimes drifted into 

 extravagance and uncharitableuess. As a 

 writer of brief sketches and essays for the 

 weekly press, she excelled ; and in the produc- 

 tion of these she was indomitable in industry, 

 fertile in resource, and boundless in patience. 

 She showed her struggling sisterhood what 

 woman could do with the pen ; for, in spite 

 of numberless obstacles, she won herself a 

 place in current literature, a generous income, 

 and many honest friends and admirers. Her 

 life was not always sunny; but its closing 

 years were unclouded, save by bodily ills; 

 and, after a long, busy wrestle with life's prob- 

 lems, she slept well. 



PENNSYLVANIA. The legislative body 

 of this State adjourned sine die on the 4th of 

 April. During the session, which was about 

 seven weeks shorter than in 1871, nearly two 

 thousand acts were passed, mostly of a private 

 or local interest. It was estimated that " sev- 

 eral among the members, representing mining 

 and manufacturing districts, had over 150 of 

 these private bills each," and that hundreds 

 of such bills, it being impossible to give due 

 attention to them, are passed without any one, 

 except those immediately interested, knowing 

 any thing about them." To remedy this evil, 

 by providing for the enactment of general laws 

 concerning manufactures, mining, transporta- 

 tion, and the formation of stock corporations, 

 is regarded as one of the chief subjects of or- 

 ganic reform needed in the State. 



On the day next preceding the final adjourn- 

 ment, a measure of consequence, as it affects 

 public order, passed both Houses, "by reading 

 the bill by its title," under a suspension of the 

 rules. It repealed " the conspiracy act," 

 which was passed to restrain the miners, and 

 prevent disturbances on their part, during the 

 so-called strikes. By the repeal of that act, 

 the miners are again allowed "to combine to- 

 gether for such purposes as they think proper, 

 without the fear of an indictment for conspir- 

 acy, enforced by the State militia." 



Among the laws of a public character passed 

 by this Legislature, was "an act to reorgan- 

 ize the congressional districts of Pennsylva- 

 nia in accordance with the act of Congress 

 approved February 2, 1872." It passed both 

 Houses at the close of the night session of 

 April 3d. The opponents of the bill denounced 

 its passage as " the consummation of a grave 

 injustice." The President of the Senate, on the 

 contrary, in his address to that body at the 

 time of adjournment, congratulated its mem- 

 bers upon the business transacted during the 



session, and referred to this measure in a par- 

 ticular manner, saying: "The congressional 

 apportionment invariably a work of groat 

 difficulty and labor has been made in a form 

 which has received the approval of a decided 

 majority of this body, and the mixed vote on 

 the final passage of the bill is sufficient evi- 

 dence that we have risen above partisan con- 

 sideration in its construction." 



The passage of the House bill entitled "An 

 act to revise and amend the constitution of 

 Pennsylvania," seems to be the most impor- 

 tant measure enacted. The chief provisions 

 of the act are as follows : 



The said convention shall consist of 152 

 members, to be elected in manner following: 

 Twenty members thereof shall be elected in 

 the State at large as follows: Each voter of 

 the State shall vote for not more than ten can- 

 didates, and the twenty highest in votes shall 

 be declared elected, and the other 132 dele- 

 gates shall be apportioned to and elected from 

 the different senatorial districts, as formed by 

 the apportionment act dated May 6, A. i>. 

 1871. It shall be the duty of the delegates, so 

 elected, to assemble in convention in the hall 

 of the House of Kepresentatives, at the State 

 Capitol in Harrisburg, on the 12th of Novem- 

 ber. 1872. One-third of all the members of 

 the convention shall have the right to require 

 the separate and distinct submission to a pop- 

 ular vote of any change or amendment pro- 

 posed by the convention. Nothing contain- 

 ed in the act shall authorize the conven- 

 tion to change the language, or to alter, in any 

 manner, the several provisions of the ninth 

 article of the Constitution, commonly known 

 as the "Declaration of Eights," but the same 

 was excepted from the powers given to the 

 convention, and declared to be and remain in- 

 violate forever. The convention was forbid- 

 den to create, establish, or submit any propo- 

 sition for the establishment of a court, or 

 courts, with exclusive equity jurisdiction. 



George Connell, the State Senator-elect from 

 the Fourth Senatorial District of Philadelphia, 

 having died on October 26, 1871, a special 

 election to fill the vacancy was held in that 

 district on the 30th of January, 1872. Alex- 

 ander K McClure and Henry W. Gray were 

 the candidates. Mr. Gray was declared elect- 

 ed, and installed in the vacant seat, the re- 

 turns of election showing that he had received 

 a large majority of votes over his competitor. 



Certain statements having then been circu- 

 lated, and doubts arising as to the legality of 

 the election-returns in behalf of Mr. Gray, a 

 number of citizens resident in the said district 

 petitioned the Senate for an official investiga- 

 tion of the matter, that justice might be done 

 to Mr. McClure, in case the facts charged were 

 proved true. Long and animated debates en- 

 sued, as to the Senate's right to receive the 

 petition, some members denying it on t 

 ground that, by an express provision of the 

 constitution, the application to contest the 



