570 



NEW YORK (STATE). 



Superintendent A. B. Hepburn, John A. Mc- 

 Call, the deputy superintendent, was appoint- 

 ed to the former place, and Willis S. Paine, of 

 New York city, to the latter. Mr. William B. 

 Ruggles was elected by the Legislature Su- 

 perintendent of Public Instruction, to succeed 

 Neil Gilmour ; James Shanahan was appoint- 

 ed Superintendent of Public Works, to succeed 

 Silas B. Dutcher, in January. 



Early in the session a bill was introduced pro- 

 viding that the completion of the new Capitol 

 be placed in the charge of a single commission- 

 er, to be appointed by the Governor. This 

 Eassed, against the opposition of Republicans, 

 i both houses. In the Senate it was declared 

 by the Lieutenant-Governor to have passed, 

 although a constitutional quorum did not vote, 

 the Republicans abstaining, though present. 

 The ruling that the visible presence of a quo- 

 rum was sufficient, though not shown by the 

 vote, caused much criticism on the part of the 

 opponents of the Lieutenant-Governor. The 

 salary of the new office was fixed at $.7,500, 

 and later on the Governor appointed Isaac G. 

 Perry, of Binghamton, to the position. The 

 custody of the completed public buildings of 

 the State was changed and placed in the hands 

 of the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and 

 Speaker of the Assembly, who had the selection 

 of the Superintendent, by whom all subordi- 

 nate employes were selected. Charles B. An- 

 drews, of Buffalo, was appointed superintend- 

 ent after the close of the session. 



An act was passed providing for a commis- 

 sion of five persons, to be appointed by the 

 Governor, to take all necessary preliminary 

 action for the selection and appropriation of 

 lands about Niagara Falls as a " State reserva- 

 tion," the object being the preservation of the 

 natural scenery, and the protection of public 

 rights therein. The commissioners were to 

 receive no compensation, but their expenses in 

 the discharge of their duties were to be met 

 by the State. William Dorsheimer, J. Hamp- 

 ton Robb, and Andrew H. Green, of New York, 

 Martin B. Anderson, of Rochester, and Sher- 

 man S. Rogers, of Buffalo, were appointed to 

 the commission. 



In pursuance of authority granted by a con- 

 stitutional amendment ratified in 1882, an act 

 was passed providing for the election of twelve 

 additional justices of the Supreme Court, two 

 in the first, fifth, seventh, and eighth districts 

 respectively, and one each in the second, third, 

 fourth, and sixth districts. 



The office of Canal Appraiser and the body 

 known as the State Board of Audit were abol- 

 ished, and a Board of Claims was created to 

 hear and decide upon all cases involving claims 

 against the State for compensation or damages. 

 The board was to consist of three commission- 

 ers appointed by the Governor, with the con- 

 sent of the Senate, to hold office after their 

 first appointment for a term of two, four, and 

 six years respectively, and thereafter for terms 

 of six years. Each commissioner was allowed 



a salary of $5,000 per annum and necessary ex- 

 penses, not exceeding $500. The board was 

 authorized to appoint a clerk at a salary of 

 $2,000, a stenographer at $1,500, together with 

 five cents a folio for minutes furnished to 

 claimants, and a messenger at $800. The 

 board was required to hold at least four regular 

 sessions a year at Albany, beginning on the 

 second Tuesday of January, April, September, 

 and November respectively. All the necessary 

 powers of a court of record were given to the 

 Board of Claims, before which the Attorney- 

 General was required to appear in behalf of 

 the State. Appeals were allowed to the Court 

 of Appeals from any final award on questions 

 of law only when the amount in controversy 

 exceeded $500. The commissioners appointed 

 to this new board were George M. Beebe, of 

 Sullivan county ; Henry F. Allen, of Buffalo ; 

 and Lyman H. Northrup, of Sandy Hill. 



An act was passed abolishing the Board of 

 Harbor-Masters for the Port of New York, and 

 establishing a new one, the members of which 

 were to be appointed by the Governor, with 

 the advice and consent of the Senate, and to 

 be paid salaries instead of being permitted to 

 collect fees for their services, a practice which 

 had been declared unconstitutional. Another 

 act reorganized the Board of Emigration, and 

 placed it in charge of a single commissioner, 

 to be appointed by the Governor, with the 

 consent of the Senate, who was to receive a 

 salary of $6,000 per year, and be allowed two 

 deputies of his own selection, one with a sal- 

 ary of $4,000 and the other with a salary of 

 $2,500 per year. On the last day of the ses- 

 sion, May 4th, the Governor transmitted to the 

 Senate a list of appointments, including those 

 for Harbor-Masters, Port- Wardens, Quaran- 

 tine Commissioners, and Captain of the Port 

 of New York. The name of William H. Mur- 

 tha, of Kings county, had previously been 

 sent in for the new office of Commissioner of 

 Emigration. The appointment was opposed 

 by those Senators from New York affiliated 

 with the Tammany organization, and the new 

 appointments were also distasteful to them. 

 The names sent in for Civil-Service Commis- 

 sioners under the new law, which were those 

 of Andrew D. White, Augustus Schoonmaker, 

 and Henry A. Richmond, were promptly con- 

 firmed, as was that of C. F. Peck, for Chief of 

 the Bureau of Labor Statistics, also a newly 

 created position, but those for Harbor Commis- 

 sioners, Port- Wardens, and Quarantine Com- 

 missioners were sent to standing committees, 

 where that for Emigration Commissioner was 

 already "hungup." As the Legislature was 

 to adjourn that day, this action was equivalent 

 to rejecting the nominations. The Governor 

 sent a message to the Senate, which gave rise 

 to a heated discussion, in which Senator Thom- 

 as F. Grady criticised the action of the Execu- 

 tive. The latter was as warmly defended by 

 Senator Jacobs, of Kings county. > The essen- 

 tial portion of the message was this: 



