694 



RHODE ISLAND. 



preme Court, Charles Matteson ; Associate Jus- 

 tices, Pardon E. Tillinghast, John H. Stiness, 

 George A. Wilbur, Horatio Rogers, and William 

 W. Douglas. 



Finances. The funded debt on Jan. 1, 1894, 

 was $699,000, and the amount of debt paid since 

 Jan. 1 ,1894, was $682,000 ; leaving the amount of 

 bonds outstanding not presented for payment 

 $17,000, against which there was cash on deposit 

 to pay said bonds amounting to $28,035.06. 

 showing an excess of sinking fund equivalent to 

 $11,035.06. The amount of bonds issued for the 

 construction of the Statehouse is $1.500,000; 

 amount received for interest, $12,990.69 ; amount 

 received for rents on condemned lands and 

 houses, $1,959.02 ; total, $1,514,949.71. Amount 

 of sundry payments to Statehouse Commission, 

 $17,770.25, making a balance to Statehouse con- 

 struction loan account of $1,497,179.46. The 

 Statehouse construction loan sinking fund ac- 

 count is as follows : To amount received from 

 premiums on bonds, $88,200; to amount re- 

 ceived from interest on investments. $2,240 ; 

 total, $90,440. The receipts during 1894 were 

 $1,334,727.17, and the expenditures were $1,806,- 

 715.72, leaving an excess of receipts over expend- 

 itures, $28,011.45, which with the balance in 

 treasury on Jan. 1, 1894 ($194,849.31), leaves a 

 balance in treasury on Jan. 1. 1895, of $222,860.- 

 76. The actual excess of current receipts over 

 current expenditures is $45,781.70, and the bal- 

 ance in the treasury is increased to a correspond- 

 ing extent. The old war debt is canceled, and 

 there is a balance in its sinking fund of $11,- 

 035.06, which will probably be transferred to the 

 sinking fund of the Statehouse construction 

 loan. To the credit fund of that loan there is 

 now $90,440, received from premiums on bonds 

 and interest on investment, and the General 

 Treasurer has established a sinking fund and ap- 

 portioned thereto an annual sum of $50,000. 



Legislative Session. The General Assem- 

 bly, elected in 1893, convened in Providence on 

 Jan. 30, and continued in session until May 25. 

 The Legislature stood as follows : Senate Re- 

 publicans 23, Democrats 14; House Repub- 

 licans 32, Democrats 40; giving a Republican 

 majority of 1 on joint ballot. Promptly on as- 

 sembling the following resolution of adjourn- 

 ment was adopted by the House : 



That tliis House hereby adjourns until Aug. 19, 

 1898, then until Aug. 21, 1893, and so on at each ad- 

 journment over one legislative day until Jan. 30, 

 1894, at eleven in the forenoon. 



This practically adjourned the House for an 

 hour, with a view to making the sessions of 1893 

 at Newport legal. The original adjournment 

 from Newport was, by a mistake, a week ahead. 



The Governor's message was submitted to the 

 Legislature. It began with these words : 



We arc assembled in accordance with the executive 

 proclamation issued I y virtue of the authority con- 

 tained in the State Constitution. The exercise of that 

 prerogative followed a legislative complication un- 

 precedented in the history of the State and unfore- 

 seen in many of its important details by the framers 

 of our fundamental law. Our highest judiciary has 

 sustained the expediency and legality of my action 

 in adjourning the General Assembly, but the circum- 

 stances which evoked the performance of that duty 

 have not lost their paramount importance. 



I commend to your careful attention and recom- 



mend for your guidance, the review of the controversy 

 by the Supreme Court, and assuming that equity and 

 reason will prevail, and that the interests of the peo- 

 ple will not be sacrificed, 1 have deemed it advisable 

 to continue the custom of presenting a survey of the 

 year's work in the State departments, together with 

 suggestions of legislation needed. 



The House referred the message to the judi- 

 ciary committee, who discussed the matter in a 

 long report and recommended the following 

 resolutions : 



Whereas, A document styled " Annual message of 

 the Governor," bearing the signature of D. Eussell 

 Brown, has been communicated to this House from 

 the Honorable Senate, and 



Whereas, The House knows of no provision, either 

 of constitutional or statute law, by virtue of which a 

 person who, so far as is known to tins House, was not 

 elected Governor of this State either at the State 

 election in 1893 or by the grand committee at the 

 succeeding annual session of the General Assembly, 

 has a right to send a message to this General Assem- 

 bly, except by the ordinary methods of petition ; 

 therefore, 



Resolved, That the said document be, and is hereby 

 respectfully referred to the Honorable Senate, and 

 that a copy be communicated therewith. 



A resolution inviting His Excellency the Gov- 

 ernor and the Senate to join the House in grand 

 committee, for the purpose of counting the bal- 

 lots cast at the last annual election and of usher- 

 ing into office whatever persons, if any, were at 

 that time elected, was adopted, and two dates 

 were named in resolutions ; but as the Supreme 

 Court had decided that the present executive 

 was acting legally, the Senate refused to meet 

 in grand committee. A proposition advanced 

 in the caucus of the Democratic members of the 

 Legislature suggested the calling of a Congres- 

 sional committee of investigation. The Demo- 

 cratic claim has steadily been that the Senate is 

 violating the Constitution of the State in refus- 

 ing to count the ballots cast at the last State 

 election ; that with the ballots hidden somewhere 

 and the Senate refusing to meet the House for 

 the purpose of electing State officers, a republic- 

 an form of Government was not in existence in 

 Rhode Island. The opinion of the Democratic 

 attorneys without an exception was that the le- 

 gal position of their party was a good one, not- 

 withstanding the decision of the Supreme 

 Court. Open statements were made by the 

 Democrats that the Senate was in rebellion, that 

 the alleged usurpation of the offices by the Re- 

 publicans, made possible by Gov. Brown's ad- 

 journment of the Legislature, was in violation 

 of the Constitution of the State, and that that 

 part of the Constitution of the United States 

 which guarantees a republican form of Govern- 

 ment to every State was disregarded. 



Accordingly a proposition was submitted to 

 the caucus which provided that an opinion be 

 secured from Attorney-General Olney as to 

 whether the present condition in Rhode Island 

 constitutes a republican form of government. 



This action did not receive the sanction of the 

 House, and therefore until March 13 its business 

 was of no special importance, especially as it had 

 refused to accept business from the Senate. 

 Bills emanating from the House were on that 

 date accepted by the Senate, and the deadlock 

 was thereby raised. The appropriation bill was 

 the most important measure under consideration, 





