PENNSYLVANIA. 



715 



flee under this Commonwealth," the objection 

 was raised to the bill that this was a civil office 

 in order to settle the matter for the future. The 

 Speaker decided the point not well taken, as 

 this was not a civil office, but an additional 

 duty imposed upon certain members of the Le- 

 p>l;iture, and was clearly constitutional as 

 much so as the serving upon an inaugural com- 

 mittee or any other committee. 



A bill was reported favorably to reestablish 

 a local-option law in the State. An unfavor- 

 able report was made on the bell-punch bill. 

 It was urged that the contrivance in Virginia 

 had proved to bo a fraud. Neither passed. 



A bill to protect religious liberty and to pro- 

 vide for the relief of persons who observe the 

 seventh day of the week as the Sabbath, and 

 to exempt them from the penalties of the act 

 of Assembly passed April 22, 1794, was dis- 

 cussed in the Senate aud failed to pass yeas 

 21, nays 17, which was five less than the ma- 

 jority required by the Constitution. The bill 

 Las thus been defeated for four sessions, gain- 

 ing, however, five votes on the last occasion. 



The women gained a point at this session by 

 the passage of a bill to remove the disability or 

 disqualification of married women from acting 

 as corporators or officers of any association 

 incorporated heretofore, or that may be incor- 

 porated hereafter, for purposes of learning, be- 

 nevolence, charity, or religion. Another bill, 

 to authorize the appointment of women as pris- 

 on inspectors, passed the House. In the Senate 

 it was reported negatively ; but a motion to 

 place it on the calendar was passed yeas 37, 

 nays 7. It failed to become a law. 



A vagrant act was passed, which declares 

 that any person going about from place to 

 place begging shall be deemed to be a tramp 

 and guilty of a misdemeanor, and on convic- 

 tion shall be sentenced to solitary confinement 

 at labor, or in the county jail or workhouse, 

 for not less than six months nor over eighteen ; 

 provided, that if he can prove that he does not 

 make a practice of going about begging he shall 

 be discharged ; also, that any tramp who shall 

 enter a dwelling-house against the will of the 

 occupant, or kindle a fire in the highway or on 

 the land of another, or be found carrying any 

 dangerous weapon, or do or threaten any in- 

 jury not amounting to a felony, shall upon con- 

 viction be sentenced to solitary confinement at 

 labor for not over two years. 



A bill called the " store-order " bill was 

 passed. An amendment on its passage in the 

 Senate provided that it should be a misdemean- 

 or for an employer to sell to au employee any 

 merchandise at a higher price than the cost 

 price of said article in the same neighborhood, 

 and declaring that any person convicted of such 

 misdemeanor should be punished by fine or im- 

 prisonment, or both. The object of the bill was 

 to secure to operators and laborers in mines and 

 manufactories of iron and steel the payment of 

 their wages at regular intervals in lawful United 

 States money. When it reached the Governor, 



it was vetoed. U5s objections were, that the 

 bill was special and within the constitutional 

 prohibition. The Governor urged that if the 

 act was general, it would be open to valid ob- 

 jection as being contrary to the genius of our 

 free government, and as based upon a theory 

 subversive of the true principles of the State 

 Constitution, in that it denies the laborer the 

 right to sell his labor to whom he pleases and 

 for such prices and on such terms as seem good 

 to him, without molestation, hindrance, or re- 

 striction. Another objection urged was that 

 the bill interfered with the free employment 

 of capital, arbitrarily controlled trade, substi- 

 tuted legislation for the laws of supply and de- 

 mand, and was the beginning of a system of 

 paternal government at variance with our po- 

 litical institutions, which always proved when 

 tried injurious alike to the employed as well as 

 the employer. 



The subject of the State receipts and expen- 

 ditures was one of the most important before 

 the Legislature. A special communication from 

 the Treasurer stated that the fiscal year begin- 

 ning on December 1, 1879, would open with a 

 deficiency of $2,219,036. This deficiency he 

 ascribed to decreased revenues and the extraor- 

 dinary expenses of the riot of 1877. In conse- 

 quence, a considerable amount was due to the 

 schools, and also to the charitable institutions 

 under an appropriation of which only a small 

 amount had been paid. 



A most important revenue measure adopted 

 was the act to tax corporations, which makes 

 some special additions to the existing law. 

 Every corporation is compelled to register in 

 the office of the Auditor-General its name, 

 date of organization, place of business, offices, 

 and the amount of capital authorized and paid 

 in. Every corporation doing business in the 

 State, except banks, savings institutions, and 

 foreign insurance companies, is required to file 

 a report with the Auditor-General in Novem- 

 ber of each year, showing the amount of stock 

 authorized, number of shares issued and amount 

 paid on each share, amount of capital paid in, 

 and the date, amount, and rate of every divi- 

 dend paid during the year. When a company 

 fails to declare a dividend of less than six per 

 cent, npon the par value of its stock, the trea- 

 surer and secretary of the company shall make 

 a sworn estimate of the actual cash value of 

 the stock, not less, however, than the average 

 price for which such stock sold during the 

 year, and not less than the value as measured 

 by the dividends paid. If the Auditor-General 

 or State Treasurer is not satisfied with this 

 valuation, he is authorized to make a valuation 

 for the purpose of assessment, and the com- 

 pany is allowed an appeal as provided by ex- 

 isting law. In case of failure to furnish the 

 report and appraisement, a penalty of ten per 

 cent, is to be added to the tax of the company 

 for each year such failure occurs. In case a 

 company shall intentionally fail to make report 

 for three successive years, the Governor of the 



