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MAINE. 



M 



MAINE. The Legislature of Maine assem- 

 bled on January 2cl, and continued in session 

 fifty-one days, adjourning on February 22d. 

 It passed 178 acts and 99 resolves, and appro- 

 priated $1,295,652. This is less than the ap- 

 propriations of the previous year by $64,848. 

 Some of the measures adopted were important, 

 although chiefly of a local nature. One of the 

 first bills considered related to tramps. A con- 

 vention of the sheriffs, jailers, and county com- 

 missioners of the State had previously discussed 

 this and other subjects, and adopted the fol- 

 lowing resolutions : 



Resolved, That the dictates of humanity and of a 

 proper civilization demand that a professedly Chris- 

 tian people should properly care, not only for the vir- 

 tuous poor, hut for the vagrant or vagabond classes. 



Resoived, That the number of vagrants or profes- 

 sional tramps in Maine has increased in the last few 

 years, and from present indications there will be 

 little or no abatement of the evil only as it may come 

 through the wisdom of our people in dealing with 

 these classes. 



Resolved, That in the opinion of this Convention 

 it is expedient that our State Legislature should enact 

 a law by which suitable provision shall be made in 

 connection with our largest county jails whereby 

 this class of men can be secured and properly cared 

 for, and made to work at some trade, to aid in de- 

 fraying the expense of their board and clothing. 



Resolved, That this Convention recommend that 

 for the welfare of these unfortunate men, as well as 

 for the protection of society generally, a change be 

 made in our statutes so that our present thirtv days' 

 penalty against vagrancy shall be not less than six 

 months, and sixty days shall be not less than one 

 year, and for all subsequent oifenses two years for 

 each ; and that the expense of said confinement and 

 support be paid by the State. 



The act of the Legislature subsequently 

 passed contained the following provisions : 



SECTION 1. No person not a resident of this State 

 shall travel from town to town, or from place to 

 place in any town, begging for food or shelter; nor 

 shall such person sleep or lodge in any barn or other 

 building without the consent of the owner thereof. 



SEO._2. Any person violating the provisions of tha 

 foregoing section shall be deemed a tramp, and on 

 complaint of any resident of this State, made before 

 any trial justice or municipal or police court, may 

 be arrested on a warrant issued therefor, or may be 

 arrested by any constable or other officer and de- 

 tained not exceeding twenty-four hours until such 

 warrant can be obtained ; and upon trial and convic- 

 tion, such justice or court may sentence him to pay 

 a fine of twenty dollars, and in default of payment 

 he shall be sent by said justice or court to the near- 



st county jail having a workshop attached, to be 

 there confined at hard labor not less than four months 

 lor the first offense, and for any subsequent offense 

 not less than six months. 



A resolution was passed in the Senate di- 

 recting the Joint Standing Committee on Fi- 

 nance to consider the expediency of the ap- 

 pointment of a commission consisting of five 

 persons, members of the present Legislature 

 or otherwise, whose duty it shall be to sit dur- 



ing the recess and "to ascertain whether all 

 forms of individual and corporate property 

 within the State are now bearing their equal 

 shares of the public burdens ; also to suggest 

 new sources of revenue to the State, and to 

 recommend to the next Legislature some plan 

 of legislation by which the assessment of the 

 State tax may be made equitable. It did not 

 succeed in the lower House, although the suc- 

 cessful action of Massachusetts and the impor- 

 tance of the matter were urged in its support. 

 A resolution instructing the Representatives in 

 Congress from Maine to support the resumption 

 of specie payments was passed in the Senate 

 with only one dissenting vote. The vote in 

 the House was yeas 117, nays 21. Of those 

 voting in favor of the resolve, 91 were classed 

 as Republicans, and 26 as Democrats. Of 

 those voting against it, 17 were classed as 

 Democrats, 2 Republicans, and 2 Independents. 

 An insolvency bill was passed by the Legis- 

 lature, which constitutes the probate courts as 

 courts of insolvency, and the judges and regis- 

 ters in the former are the same in the latter. 

 It is similar to the law of Maasachusetts, which 

 has been in force since 1838. Involuntary 

 proceedings are provided for as follows: 



"When two or more creditors of a debtor shall 

 make application under oath, by petition by them 

 signed, to the judge of the county within which the 

 debtor resides, setting forth that they believe their 

 aggregate debts provable under this act amount to 

 more than one fourth part of the debts provable 

 against such debtor, and that they further believe 

 and have reason to believe that said debtor is insol- 

 vent, and that it is for the best interests of all the 

 creditors that the assets of such debtor should be 

 divided as provided by this act, and it shall be sat- 

 isfactorily made to appear to the judge that the alle- 

 gations contained in such application are true, and 

 that such debtor is insolvent, it shall be the duty of 

 the judge to issue his warrant and cause such other 

 proceedings to be had as are provided in section 

 fourteen of this act. Upon the issuing of such war- 

 rant the register shall cause an attested copy of such 

 application and warrant to be served upon the debt- 

 or, or such other notice as the judge may order to 

 be given, who thereupon may appear, and upon his 

 request a hearing shall be had upon such application 

 by the judge, who may thereupon revoke such war- 

 rant unless such allegations are proved. 



Some bills were introduced into the Legisla- 

 ture to increase the stringency of the temper- 

 ance laws, but no change was made in them. 



The ice market of the State has become so 

 important that the first act of the session was 

 to provide against injury to that article, as fol- 

 lows: 



Whoever willfully and maliciously cuts, injures, 

 mars or otherwise damages or destroys any ice 

 upon any waters within this State, from which ice is 

 or may be taken as an article of merchandise, where- 

 by the taking thereof is hindered or the value there- 

 of diminished for that purpose, or whoever willfully 

 and maliciously incites or procures another so to do, 



