NEW JKKSEY. 



501 



months shall l.e |x>rniittcd in the waters of the State 



li.sliiiii: for clumn an<! "\sters. 



. iiliiii.' that any person carrying a concealed 

 .shall be ilccuicd disorderly. 



Tin' State Board of Education was empow- 



i-d I iy an act of the Legislature to appoint a 

 uperintendent >r tin- school census. 



A conciirrciil rcsnlntion was adopted request- 

 ing those having the matter in charge to have 

 the Slate exhibit at the World's Fair closed on 

 Sundays, numerous petitions having been sent 

 to the Legislature asking for such action. 



A liill was introduced requiring constables to 

 take prisoners before the nearest justice of the 

 peace. This would obviate much of the present 

 trouble at the Guttenburg track caused by the 

 arrest of the bookmakers. Under this law they 

 could be taken before a justice on the grounds 

 and immediately bailed out. Public sentiment 

 was strongly aroused on the subject of this and 

 other anticipated efforts to enable gamblers to 

 evade the law, and protesting petitions and depu- 

 tations were sent to the Legislature. The bill 

 was lost. 



The legality of some of the acts passed by the 

 Legislature was attacked on the ground that 

 the bills were signed by the Governor after the 

 adjournment. The question came up in the 

 case of the Newark Board of Public Works, and 

 the constitutionality of the law giving the Gov- 

 ernor thirty days after adjournment to sign bills 

 was denied. The Supreme Court held the law 

 constitutional, and the acts in question conse- 

 quently legal. 



Judicial Decisions. Decisions were ren- 

 dered by the Supreme Court in November, main- 

 taining the constitutionality of the bill creating 

 boards of public works, the Police Justice act, 

 and the Commission of Public Institution act. 



A decision involving the construction of the 

 election law was given in the Court of Errors 

 and Appeals in the case of the petition of 25 

 voters of Newark against the Mayor of that 

 city. The petition was framed upon the idea 

 that for the purpose of electing city officers the 

 city of Newark, while comprising many voting 

 precincts, yet constituted but a single election 

 district within the meaning of the Werts law. 

 and the only question in the case was, whether 

 the terms " election district " and " voting pre- 

 cinct . " were synonymous. The Supreme Court 

 held that they were, and this court affirms that 

 decision, dismissing the petition. 



Railroad Combination. A bill was intro- 

 duced into the Legislature legalizing the lease 

 of the New Jersey Central road to the Port 

 Heading. It provided that in all cases in which 

 a lease has been executed between the railroad 

 corporations chartered under the laws of an- 

 other State "such lease shall be intended by 

 its terms to assign to the lessee the right to use 

 any railroad operated or controlled, whether by 

 means of the ownership of all or any part of 

 the stock of the corporation owning such rail- 

 roads by the le.-sor in such lease, and to exer- 

 cise the franchise of such railroads, jt shall be 

 lawful for the lessees in such lease to operate 

 said railroads, and to exercise all the franchises 

 and enjoy the privileges and immunities con- 

 nected therewith, as fully to all intents and pur- 

 poses as the same shall be assigned." And that 



if any railroad corporation of this State has or 

 hen-after shall lease its road and franchises to 

 any other railroad corporation of this State the 

 lease shall not U- invalid U-cuu-c the capital 

 stock of the lessee in such lease may be owned, 

 in whole or in part, by a foreign cor|*.ration or 

 by a resident or residents of any other > 

 Another section provided for the purchase of 

 the stock of any dissatisfied stockholders by the 

 roads which are parties to the lease and make 

 appraisement by disinterested < 'iiimissioneix 

 legal and binding in case of any disagreement 

 touching the value of such stock, and all con- 

 flict ing legislation was to be repealed. The bill 

 passed the Legislature and was sent to the Gov- 

 ernor on the day of adjournment. It was be- 

 lieved that the object of the bill was to increase 

 the cost of coal to retail dealers, while at the 

 same time it reduced the cost of trans|>ortation 

 to the companies. It was vetoed. 



In June the matter came before the Court of 

 Chancery. At the same time an injunction was 

 asked against the lease on behalf of a large 

 stockholder of New Jersey Central Railroad, on 

 the ground that it was made without any con- 

 sultation with or assent of the stockholders, and 

 was destructive of their rights and property. 

 An order was granted by the court enjoining the 

 Port Reading company from operating the 

 Jersey Central. Another order commanded the 

 Port Reading company to desist and refrain 

 from obliterating the marks identifying the 

 property of the Central, and from turning over 

 to the Philadelphia and Reading any of the 

 tools, machinery, or other personal property de- 

 livered to the Port Reading under the lease. 



The answer of the companies was served in 

 June. As regarded the allegation that the acts 

 in question were tending to a monopoly in the 

 mining and selling of anthracite coal, and that 

 they controlled at least 60 per cent, of the an- 

 thracite coal field, it was alleged " that none of 

 the said corporations own any coal lands or sell 

 any coal, and they can not act, either separately 

 or conjointly, in fixing or increasing the price 

 of anthracite coal, or creating any monopoly in 

 the business." 



After the hearing of the arguments the Chan- 

 cellor continued in force the order restraining 

 the companies from carrying out the lease and 

 the tripartite agreement, and ordered the IVrt 

 Heading road to give up the control of the Cen- 

 tral, and cease from intermeddling in any wise 

 with its corporate franchises. The suit that 

 followed had not IR-CH decided at the cl> 

 the year. 



Political. The nominating convention of 

 Republicans met at Trenton. Sept. K5. On State 

 affairs the platform had the following para- 

 graphs : 



\Ve denounce as utterly vicious ami contr. 

 public (xilicy the pMMgfl by the last DomOCntk 



LegUlttore, the direction of a Democratic K.\rcutiv-, 

 with tbe co-operation of numbers of the DtnoentM 



State Kvciltive < 'otnmittce. of a l-ill to leffa 

 unconstitutional aiul pernicious combination 

 Ignitions ciiL'au'ed in tli- production mul ourr\ 

 coal, as the result of which the price* of thw ; 

 .s.-ir\ commodity have been iiictvu.M-l. aJ"' ''" bur- 

 dens of eonramen have U-cn vastly HMBMBtad ^ 

 remind the people that this legUatMO art'.- 

 only men of wealth ami tlu- tfrvut Industrie* of the 



