Sec. 7 was passed. Mr. Green moved to amend Sec. 8 by striking out in line 3 the words. "and villages; Which motion did not prevail. The section was then passed. Sections 9, 10, 11, and 12 were passed.. On motion of Mr. Gordon, Sec. 13 was amended by striking out, in line 5, the word "three" and inserting the word "one" in lieu thereof. Mr. Luce moved to amend the section by striking out the words "and such other officers as may be provided by law;" Which motion did not prevail. Mr. Warren moved to amend the section by striking out the words "who shall be ex officio school inspector;" Which motion did not prevail. Mr. Welch moved to amend the section by striking out in line 6, the word "one," and inserting in lieu thereof, the word, "two." Mr. Rich moved as a substitute for the motion, to insert after the word "inspector," in line 6, the words, "who shall hold his office for two years;" Which was accepted. The motion to amend then prevailed. The section was then passed. Sections 14 and 15 were passed. On motion of Mr. Speed, Sec. 16 was amended so as to read as follows: "The chief executive, and legislative officers of cities and villages, and inspectors of school districts lying within their corporate limits, shall be elected." On motion of Mr. Chamberlain, The committee rose and reported their doings to the House, as follows: REPORT OF COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE. The committee of the whole have had under consideration the following named portions of the proposed amended Constitution, viz.: Section 1, Art I.; Sec. 14, Art. II.; Secs. 2, 3, and 15, Art. IV.; all of Arts. VII., VIII., IX., and X.; And have made sundry amendments thereto as follows: 1. Amend Sec. 3, Art. IV., by inserting after the word representative” in eighth line the following words, "But every county shall be attached to some representative district;" 2. Amend Sec. 1, Art. VII., by striking out wherever it occurs, the word "male." 3. Amend Sec. 1, Art. VIII., by inserting after the words "Auditor General," the words, "An Attorney General;" 4. Strike out all of Sec. 3, Art. VIII.; 5. Amend Sec. 5. Art. X., by striking out, commencing in the fifth line, these words, "But the Legislature may provide for the appointment by the Governor of prosecuting attorneys, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate." 6. Amend Sec. 6, Art. X., by inserting after the word "treasurer" the words "prosecuting attorney;" 7. Amend Sec. 13, Art. X., by striking out the word "three" where it occurs in fifth line, and inserting in lieu thereof the word "one;" 8. Amend Sec. 13, Art. X., by inserting after the word "inspector" in sixth line the words "who shall hold his office for two years;" 9. Strike out all of Sec. 16, Art, X., and substitute therefor the following to stand as Sec. 16 of Art. X.: "The chief executive and legislative officers of cities and villages, and inspectors of schools lying within their corporate limits, shall be elected ; And have directed their chairman to report back to the House the following portions of said Constitution: Sec. 1, Article I., and all of Article IX., with the recommendation that it be referred to the committee on State affairs; Sec. 4, Article IV., with the recommendation that it be referred to committee on municipal corporations; Sec. 3, Article X., with the recommendation that it be referred to the committee on ways and means, with instruction that they report a substitute, stating given sums or amounts to be paid each officer as salary; And have directed their chairman to report back to the House, without amendment, the following named portions: Sec. 14, Article II.; Sec. 15, Article IV.; Secs. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, Article VII.; Secs. 2, 4, 5, and 6, Article VIII.; Secs. 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, and 17, Article X., with the recommendation that they be placed on the order of third reading. And have directed their chairman to report back to the House Section 2, Article IV.; As not having been satisfactorily investigated, they therefore ask leave to sit again for the examination of the same. Report accepted and committee discharged. The question being on concurring in the several amendments made by the committee, the vote was taken separately. The amendments made to Sec. 3, Art. IV.; Sec. 1, Art. VII.; Sec. 1, Art. VIII.; Secs. 5, 13, and 16, Art. X., were concurred in, and the several sections were placed on the order of third reading. The action of the committee in striking out Sec. 3, Art. VIII., was concurred in. The question being on concurring in the amendment made by the committee to Sec. 6, Art. X., by inserting after the word "treasurer" the words "prosrecuting attorney, Mr. Hoyt demanded the yeas and nays. The demand was seconded, and the amendment was not concurred in by yeas. and nays, as follows: The section was placed on the order of third reading. Speaker, 49 The recommendation of the committee relative to Sec. 1, Art. I., and all of Art. IX., was concurred in, and they were referred to the committee on State affairs. The recommendation of the committee relative to Sec. 4, Art. IV., was concurred in, and it was referred to the committee on municipal corporations. The recommendation of the committee relative to Sec. 3, Art. X. was concurred in, and it was referred to the committee on ways and means, with instructions to report a substitute, fixing stated sums for the various salaries. Sec. 14, Art. II; Sec. 15. Art. IV.; Secs. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, Art. VII.; Secs. 2, 4, 5, and 6, Art. VIII.; Secs. 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, and 17, Art. X., to which no amendments were made, were placed on the order of third reading. Mr. Green moved that the committee of the whole be discharged from the further consideration of Art. XI., entitled "Corporations other than municipal," and that said article be referred to the committee on railroads, with instructions to report a substitute therefor; Which motion prevailed. REPORTS OF SPECIAL COMMITTEES. The special committee appointed to draft suitable resolutions in memory of the Hon. Benjamin Walker, deceased, reported as follows: WHEREAS, It has pleased an all-wise Providence to remove, by death, on the 19th of June last, the Hon. Benjamin Walker, of the county of Shiawassee, a member of this House, therefore, Resolved, That in his death the State loses an honest and valuable citizen, his district a faithful representative, and this House a pure and honored member. Resolved, That "we will weep with those who weep" by extending our heartfelt sympathies to the lone widow in her affliction and the fatherless children in this their irreparable loss. Resolved, That these resolutions be entered upon the Journal of the House, and that a page be set apart for a memorial page, and that twenty extra copies thereof be furnished to his family. Resolved, That as a further mark of our respect and esteem, this House do now adjourn. Report accepted. Pending the adoption of the report, LORISON J. TAYLOR. Mr. Taylor addressed the House as follows: Arising as I do by the chair so lately vacated by death, I can but feel a keen sense of the solemnity of this occasion, and in paying my tribute of respect to my lamented friend, I would say what every one would say who knew him, that Benjamin Walker was one of nature's true noblemen, an honest man, the noblest work of God. I had but a slight acquaintance with Mr. Walker personally, but I knew him well by reputation. He was well known throughout the country, and I learn that wherever he was known he was held in honor and esteem. He was no politician, the office always seeking him and not he the office. He was emphatically a man of the people for the people. He was born and reared in Vermont, coming to this State in 1850. He settled in what was then an almost unbroken wilderness; but with the energy and perseverance that is borne of rocks of New England, he created with his own hands a home of thrift, comfort, and refinement. His character was pure and spotless. He was a man of sound judgment, of great decision of character, of firm adherence to principle; with all of these qualities which go to make up the true man, he was eminently a man in whom the people could repose trust and confidence. Having attained nearly the age of three score years, he was stricken down in the midst of his usefulness. And now as we listen in vain for the voice once heard and respected in this House, as we look at the vacant chair, vacated by him forever, vacated for a seat at God's right hand, we are again reminded that we too are mortal; again admonished, "Be ye also ready." It is fitting that we should, in the words of the resolution, "weep, weep with those who weep" by extending our heart's warmest sympathies to those who are deprived of the kind protection and comfort of a father and a husband, and when we adjourn for the day let us go away from here thinking of the manliness of character and the virtues of our deceased brother, and try in the future to imitate his fidelity to principle, that when our work, like his, is done, it may be well done, and that we may receive the welcome summons from the lips of Him who spake as never man spake, "Come up higher! higher!" The committee appointed to draft resolutions expressive of the sense of this House in regard to the memory of Hon. Levi Walker, deceased, reported the following: It having pleased the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, in his inscrutable wisdom, to take from our number since our separation at the close of the last session, the late Hon. Levi Walker, Representative from the Second District of. Genesee; therefore, Resolved, That by his death the State has lost a faithful and upright servant; this House a valued and honored member; one who, by his unremitting labors, and conscientious devotion to the duties of his position, had well earned the title of Christian Statesman, and we, as individual members, an associate whose example is worthy of imitation. Resolved, That the foregoing preamble, and these resolutions be published in the journal, and that a certified copy of said preamble and resolutions be transmitted to the family of deceased, by the Clerk of this House. Resolved, That in token of respect to the memory of our departed associate, the House do now adjourn. LE ROY PARKER. E. O. ROSE. J. BURNS. Report accepted. Pending the adoption of which, Mr. Parker addressed the House, as follows: MR. SPEAKER:-While offering the resolutions of respect to the memory of the late Levi Walker, a member of this House, I would prefer that some of those who were associated with him during the last session of the Legislature, and who knew him as a legislator, should speak those words of eulogy which he so well deserved. But I feel that I cannot allow this opportunity to pass without speaking some few words in memory of him whom I had known so well in his private life at his own home. I have known him for some years, my more intimate acquaintance beginning a few years ago, when he acted on the committee appointed to examine me for admission to the bar; since which time there had existed, up to the time of his death, a warm regard upou my part, for one whom I knew to possess so many of the noblest qualities of manhood. In the city of Flint, where we resided, he was held in the highest honor and esteem. For many years he had held the highest positions of honor and trust. He had been for many years a member of the common council of the city; a member of the school board, a justice of the peace, and had always held an influential position among the trustees of the Presbyterian Church. Of the early life of Mr. Walker, I know but little. He was born at Granville, Washington county, New York, on the 20th of December, 1813. He received a good academical education. In 1835 he was admitted to the bar at Utica, New York, having studied law with Judge Wm. J. Bacon of the New York Court of Appeals. In 1847 he came to Michigan, and became a resident of Flint. He has ever been prominently identified with the material interest of that city, and his loss is one which will long be mourned by his fellow citizens. His keen, scrutinizing mind, and his most excellent judgment made him invaluable as a counsellor, and it is here to-day, in this House, that his calm, accurate, judicial intellect is needed in dealing with the weighty legislative and constitutional questions with which we have to grapple, and in his death the House has met a loss which is not easily remedied. The two reports and resolutions were then unanimously adopted, and the Speaker declared that in memory of the Hon. Benjamin Walker and the Hon. Levi Walker, the House do stand adjourned until to-morrow morning at 9 o'clock. Lansing, Friday, March 6, 1874. The House met pursuant to adjournment, and was called to order by the Speaker, Prayer by Rev. Mr. Davis. Roll called: quorum present. Absent without leave: Messrs. Bucl, Eggleston, Climie, Gilmore, Harris, Hoar, and West. Mr. Parsons asked and obtained leave of absence for Mr. Climie for the fore noon. |