NEW YOKE, 



601 



administer an oath to persons offering to vote, 

 as to their qualifications, in case they are chal- 

 lenged. Violators of the law are subject to 

 penalties of fine not exceeding $3,000 and 

 imprisonment not exceeding three years. Pri- 

 mary elections are defined as embracing " all 

 elections held by any political party, conven- 

 tion, organization, or association, or delegates 

 therefrom, for the purpose of choosing candi- 

 dates for office, or the election of delegates to 

 other conventions, or for the purpose of elect- 

 ing officers of any political party, organization, 

 convention, or association." Qualifications of 

 voters at such elections are left to be "prescribed 

 by the association holding the primary or con- 

 vention." A bill was passed providing that in 

 New York city one alderman should be elected 

 in each Assembly district, and one from the 

 city at large, who should be the president of 

 the board. 



A joint resolution, submitting to a vote of 

 the people the amendment of the Constitution 

 abolishing tolls on the canals, and providing 

 for their support by taxation, passed the Sen- 

 ate by a vote of 22 to 10, and the Assembly by 

 a vote of 74 to 44. The following is the text 

 of the amendment affecting the third, fifth, and 

 sixth sections of Article YII : 



SECTION 3. The first aud second sections of this ar- 

 ticle having been fully complied with, no tolls shall 

 hereafter be imposed on persons or property trans- 

 ported on the canals, but all boats navigating the 

 canals, and the owners and masters thereof, shall be 

 subject to such laws and regulations as have been or 

 may hereafter be enacted, concerning the navigation 

 of the canals. The Legislature shall annually, by 

 equitable taxes, make provision for the expenses of 

 the superintendence and repairs of the canals. The 

 canal debt contracted under the section hereby amend- 

 ed, which on the first day of October, eighteen hun- 

 dred and eighty, amounted to eight million nine hun- 

 dred and eighty-two thousand two hundred dollars, 

 shall continue to be known as the " canal debt, under 

 Article VII, section 3, of the Constitution " ; and the 

 sinking fund applicable to the payment thereof, to- 

 gether with the contributions to be made thereto, 

 shall continue to be known as the " canal debt sink- 

 ing fund," and the principal and interest of said debt 

 shall be met as provided in the fifth section of this 

 article. All contracts for work or materials on any 

 canals shall be made with the person who shall offer 

 to do or provide the same at the lowest price, with 

 adequate security for their performance. No extra 

 compensation shall be made to any contractor ; but if, 

 from any unforeseen cause, the terms of any contract 

 shall prove to be unjust and oppressive, the Canal 

 Board may, upon the application of the contractor, 

 cancel such contract. 



SEC. 5. There shall annually be imposed and levied 

 a tax which shall be sufficient to pay the interest and 

 extinguish the principal of the canal debt mentioned 

 in the third section of this article, as the same shall 

 become due and payable, and the proceeds of such tax 

 shall, in each fiscal year, be appropriated and set apart 

 for the sinking fund constituted for the payment of 

 the principal and the interest of the aforesaid debt. 

 But the Legislature may, in its discretion, impose for 

 the fiscal year, beginning on the first day of October, 

 eighteen hundred and eighty-three, a State tax on 

 each dollar of the valuation of the property in this 

 StatCj which may by law then be subject to taxation, 

 sufficient, with the accumulations of the sinking fund 

 applicable thereto, to pay in full both the principal 

 and interest of the canal debt before mentioned, and 



the proceeds of such tax shall be appropriated and 

 set apart for the sinking fund constituted for the pay- 

 ment of the principal and the interest of said debt. 

 In the event of such action by the Legislature, then 

 the Legislature shall, under the law directing the as- 

 sessment and levy of such tax, make such provision 

 for the retirement of the canal debt as it shall deem 

 equitable and just to the creditors of the State. 



SEC. 6. The Legislature shall not sell, lease, or oth- 

 erwise dispose of the Erie Canal, the Oswego Canal, 

 the Champlain Canal, the Cayuga and Seneca Canal, 

 or the Black River Canal, but they shall remain the 

 property of the State and under its management for- 

 ever. All funds that may be derived from any lease, 

 sale, or other disposition of any canal shall be applied 

 in payment of the canal debt mentioned in the third 

 section of this article. 



An amendment was also submitted author- 

 izing an increase of the judicial force of the 

 Supreme Court, in the following terms : 



SECTION 28. The Legislature, at the first session there- 

 of, after the adoption of this amendment, shall provide 

 for organizing in the Supreme Court not more than 

 five general terms thereof ; and for the election at the 

 general election next after the adoption of this amend- 

 ment, by the electors of the judicial districts men- 

 tioned in this section, respectively, of not more than 

 two Justices of the Supreme Court, in addition to the 

 justices of that court now in office in the first, fifth, 

 seventh, and eighth, and not more than one jus- 

 tice of tnat court in the second, third, fourth, and sixth 

 judicial districts. The justices so elected shall be in- 

 vested with their offices on the first Monday of June 

 next after their election. 



A joint resolution proposing a constitutional 

 amendment guaranteeing the right of local 

 self-government to cities passed both Houses. 

 Amendments in favor of woman suffrage and 

 prohibition of the liquor-traffic were defeated. 

 A bill conferring the right of suffrage on women 

 was defeated on its third reading, the Attor- 

 ney-General having given it as his opinion that 

 the right could not constitutionally be conferred 

 by the Legislature. A bill was passed allow- 

 ing the closing address in criminal trials to the 

 defense, and was approved by the Attorney- 

 General, who gave his opinion, at the request 

 of the Governor, but it was nevertheless vetoed. 

 The interest law was so modified as to permit 

 advances of money to an amount not less than 

 $5,000, repayable on demand, and secured by 

 negotiable instruments as collateral, at rates to 

 be agreed upon in writing between the parties. 

 In effect, it removed the application of the 

 usury law from u call loans." No serious effort 

 was made to pass a bill apportioning the con- 

 gressional representation of the State by new 

 districts. A bill requiring_telegraph wires to 

 be laid underground in cities was defeated. 

 An appropriation of $1,000,000 to complete 

 the Capitol was made, and $1,250,000 for the 

 completion of the East Kiver Bridge was 

 authorized. After considerable controversy, 

 $200,000 was appropriated to continue the 

 work of the Emigration Commission of New 

 York city. This was signed after the close of 

 the session, on the understanding that funds 

 should not be drawn from the appropriation 

 by the commissioner's after the bill pending 

 in Congress providing for a head-money tax 

 should pass. 



