NEW JERSEY. 



537 



The question of the validity of the lease 

 made by the United Eailroad Companies to the 

 Pennsylvania Railroad Company (gee ANNUAL 

 CYCLOPAEDIA for 1872), which had been carried 

 on appeal to the Court of Errors and Appeals, 

 was decided in July. The court reversed the 

 decision of the Chancellor by a nearly unani- 

 mous judgtuent, and decided the lease to be 

 invalid. 



The Legislature adjourned on the 4th of 

 April. No election for State officers was held 

 in 1873. Fifteen members of the State Senate 

 held over, and elections were held in only six 

 counties for Senators, for terms of three years 

 each. The entire number of members of the 

 House was elected. The political complexion 

 of the Legislature is as follows: 



The present State government is as follows : 

 Governor, Joel Parker, Democrat; Secretary 

 of State, Henry C. Kelsey, Democrat; Assistant 

 Secretary of State, J. D. Hall, Republican ; 

 Treasurer, Josephus Sooy, Jr., Republican; 

 Controller, Albert L. Runyon, Republican ; 

 Attorney-General, Robert Gilchrist, Democrat; 

 Chancellor, Theodore Runyon, Democrat; 

 Vice - Chancellor, Amzi Dodd, Republican ; 

 Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court, Mercer 

 Beasley, Democrat; Justices of the Supreme 

 Court, Joseph D. Bedle. Democrat; V. Dal- 

 rimple, Republican; George 8. Woodhull, Re- 

 publican; Edward W. Scudder. Democrat; 

 M'Tinet Van Syckel, Democrat; David A. De- 

 pne, Republican; Superintendent of Public 

 Schools, E. A. Apgar, Democrat. 



The commissioners appointed by Governor 

 Parker, in April, to draft amendments to the 

 State constitution, assembled in Trenton, July 

 8th. Of those originally selected, Chancellor 

 Zabriskie had died, and Chief-Justice Mercer 

 Beasley, Martin Ryerson, and Chancellor Rnn- 

 yon, had resigned. The vacancies thereby 

 caused having been filled, the commissioners 

 were as follows : District I., Benjamin F. 

 Cooper, Samuel II. Gray ; District II., Phile- 

 mon Dickenson, John C. Ten Eyck ; District 

 III.. Robert 8. Green, John F. Babcock; Dis- 

 trict IV., Joseph Thompson, Jacob L. 8 wayze ; 

 District V.. Augustus W. Cutler, Benjamin 

 Buckley ; District VI., John W. Taylor, George 

 Ferris : District VII., D. S. Gregory, Robert 

 Gilrbrist. Ex-United States Senator'Ten Eyck 

 was elected president. The labors of the com- 

 mission were concluded on the 23d of Decem- 

 ber, when the report of the committee on final 

 revision was submitted and adopted. 



The portion of the first article, relating to 

 the taking of private property for public use, 

 us amended, declares that private property 

 shall not be taken for public use without just 

 compensation, property - owners having the 



right of trid by jury, and that when property 

 is taken by any incorporated company no de"- 

 duction from the compensation shall be made 

 for benefits to the property. Paragraph 20 

 declares that no county, city, borough, town, 

 township, or village, shall give any money or 

 property, or loan its money or credit to, any 

 individual, association, or corporation, or be- 

 come security for or be the owner of any 

 stock or bonds of any association or corpora- 

 tion: also that they shall not incur any in- 

 debtedness, or impose any tax, except for State, 

 county, city, township, or village purpose. The 

 debt of counties is limited to two per cent, of 

 the valuation of their taxable property, and 

 that of towns, boroughs, and townships, to 

 four per cent. ; the debt of cities is limited to 

 eight per cent., except for water-supplies. 

 Paragraph 21 provides that "no donation of 

 land, or appropriation of money, shall be made 

 by the State, or any municipal corporation, to 

 any society, association, or corporation what- 

 ever." 



In the article defining who shall be entitled 

 to vote, the word " white " is stricken out, and 

 it is declared that no elector in the actual mili- 

 tary service of the State, or the United States, 

 shall be deprived of his vote by reason of ab- 

 sence from his election district, and it is pro- 

 vided that persons convicted of bribery in 

 legislation may be deprived of the right to 

 vote. 



The distribution of the powers of the gov- 

 ernment remains unchanged. It is also pro- 

 vided that all bills and joint resolutions, in- 

 stead of simply being read three times in each 

 House, shall be printed before they are re- 

 ceived or considered, and read throughout, 

 section by section, on three several days, in 

 each House, before the final passage, the read- 

 ing of the title only never to be taken as the 

 reading of the bill. The compensation of the 

 members of the Senate and General Assembly 

 is fixed at $500 as an annual salary, with a 

 sum not exceeding $25 for incidental expenses. 

 The provisions concerning the appointment of 

 members of the Legislature to civil office have 

 been amended by the following substitute: 

 " No member of the Legislature shall receive 

 any civil appointment within this State or to 

 the Senate of the United States from the Gov- 

 ernor, the Governor and the Senate, or from 

 the Legislature." 



The provision relating to appropriations for 

 public schools is amended by adding clauses 

 providing for the establishment by the Legis- 

 lature of public schools for the instruction of 

 all persons in the State between the ages of 

 five and eighteen. 



The following new paragraphs were added 

 to section 7 of Article IV. : 



12. No trust funds shall be invested in the bonds 

 or stock of any private corporation, unless finch in- 

 vestment be authorized or directed in the instrument 

 or by the person creating the trust. 



13. No act of the Legislature shall limit the 

 amount to bo recovered for injuries resulting in 



