COMMITTEE REPORTS. By Mr. Brewster, acting chairman: Committee Room, Austin, Texas, March 20, 1897. Hon. L. T. Dashiell, Speaker of the House: Your Committee on Engrossed Bills have carefully examined and compared House bill No. 413, a bill to be entitled "An act to amend article 3384, title LXIX, of the Revised Civil Statutes of the State of Texas, relating to local opeion," tled "An act to create a more efficient road system for Montague, Red River and Wichita counties, in the State of Texas, and making county commissioners of said counties ex officio road commissioners, and prescribing their duties as such, and providing for their compensation as road commissioners, and defining the powers and duties of the commissioners' courts of said counties, and fixing a penalty for the violation of this act, and to repeal all laws in conflict with this act." And find the same correctly en And find the same correctly en-grossed. grossed. BREWSTER, Acting Chairman. Committee Room, Austin, Texas, March 20, 1897. Hon. L. T. Dashiell, Speaker of the House. Your Committee on Engrossed Bills have carefully examined and compared House bill No. 473, a bill to be entitled "An act to restore to and confer upon the county court of Leon county the civil and criminal jurisdiction heretofore belonging to said county court under the Constitution and General Statutes of the State, and to conform the jurisdiction of the district court of said county to said change." And find the same correctly engrossed. BREWSTER, Acting Chairman. Austin, Texas, March 20, 1897. Hon. L. T. Dashiell, Speaker of the House. BREWSTER, Acting Chairman. Austin, Texas, March 20, 1897. Hon. L. T. Dashiell, Speaker of the House. Your Committee on Engrossed Bills have carefully examined and compared House bill No. 464, a bill to be entitled "An act to permit Thomas E., Jesse F., Stella and Drew Finch to sue the State of Texas for the recovery of certain lands situated in Wise county, Texas, and to provide service for the same." And find the same correctly engrossed. BREWSTER, Acting Chairman. By Mr. Kirk, Chairman: Committee Room, Austin, Texas, March 19, 1897. Hon. L. T. Dashiell, Speaker of the House: Your Committee on Stock and Stockraising, to whom was referred Senate bill No. 87, a bill to be entitled "An act to amend an act of the Your Committee on Engrossed Bills have carefully examined and com-regular session of the Twenty-third pared House bill No. 443, a bill to be entitled "An act to create a more efficient road system for Hopkins county, and to make the county commissioners court of Hopkins county ex-officio road commissioners, and to define their duties as such, and for the working of county convicts, and for fees of office, witness fees." etc. Legislature, entitled an act to provide for the protection of domestie animals, for the creation of a live stock sanitary commission, rules and regulations. to provide penalties for violating the same, and to make an appropriation to carry out the provisions of this act, approved April 20, A. D. 1893." Have had the same under consideraAnd find the same correctly en- tion, and I am instructed to report the grossed. BREWSTER, Acting Chairman. Committee Room, Austin, Texas, March 20, 1897. Hon. L. T. Dashiell, Speaker of the House: Your Committee on Engrossed Bills have carefully. examined and compared House bill No. 577, a bill to be enti same back to the House with the recommendation that it do pass. KIRK, Chairman. By Mr. Reiger, chairman: Committee Room, Austin, Texas, March 20, 1897. Hon. L. T. Dashiell, Speaker of the House. Your Committee on Towns and City Corporations, to whom was referred House bill No. 612, a bill to be entitled "An act to validate and confirm an ordinance passed by the city council of the city of Laredo, ceding to the United States of America certain streets intersecting land to be purchased by the United States of America for the purpose of providing a new site for the military post or reservation called Fort McIntosh, for the erection of fortifications and for such other uses as the government of the United States may desire." Have had the same under consideration, and I am instructed to report the same back to the House with the recommendation that it do pass. REIGER, Chairman. MESSAGE FROM THE SENATE. Senate Chamber, Austin, Texas, March 20, 1897. Hon. L. T. Dashiell, Speaker of the House. Sir: I am directed by the Senate to inform the House that the Senate has passed application of this act to other county officers and to the officers of cities and towns in this State." Senate bill No. 263, a bill to be entitled "An act to lease to H. P. N. Gammel of Austin, Travis county, Texas, the stereotyped plates of volumes fiftysix (56) to eighty-six (86), inclusive, of the Texas Reports, being reports of the decisions of the Supreme Court of Texas." By the following vote: yeas 23, nays none. House bill No. 67, a bill to be entitled "An act to amend article 635, title 20, of the Revised Civil Statutes of the State of Texas, relating to the acknowledgments of married women as to the conveyance of their separate property," with an amendment, and by a two-thirds vote: yeas 21, nays 0. Also, that the Senate has concurred in the House amendments to Senate bill No. 227, being “An act to provide a road system for McLennan county, etc." Respectfully, WILL LAMBERT, ING. Senate bill No. 3, a bill to be entitled "An act to amend title 14, of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the SENATE BILLS ON FIRST READState of Texas, by creating and adding thereto articles 1068a, 1068b, 1068c, 1068d, 1068e, 1068f, 1068g, 1068h, 10681, 1068j, 1068k, 10681, 1068m, 1068n and 10680, in relation to the apprehension, identification and conviction or all unknown persons who may be guilty of homicide, and in relation to prescribing a method by which all the circumstances and facts that might lead to the identification and capture of such unknown persons shall be reported, preserved and filed in the office of the Adjutant-General of Texas, as a secret archive of that office," by the following vote: yeas 20, nays 1. The following bills received from the Senate were read first time, and re ferred as follows: Senate bills Nos. 223 and 263, to Ju diciary Committee No. 1. Senate bills Nos. 3 and 220, to Judiciary Committee No. 2. BILLS SIGNED BY THE SPEAKER. The Speaker signed in the presence of the House, after giving due notice thereof, and their captions had been read severally, the following bills: House bill No. 548, entitled "An Senate bill No. 223, a bill to be enti-act to create a more efficient road tled "An act to restore and confer system for Wise county, Texas, upon the county court of Menard and making county commissioners of county the civil and criminal jurisdiction heretofore belonging to said court under the Constitution and General Laws of the State, and to conform the jurisdiction of the district court of said county to such change, and to repeal all laws in conflict with this act," by the following vote: yeas 25, nays 0. Senate bill No. 220, a bill to be entitled "An act to punish members of commissioners courts for failing and refusing to comply with requirements of law, and for misapplying funds of the county, and for making contracts not authorized by law; prescribing the duty of district and county attorneys in such cases, and providing for the said county ex officio road commissioners, and prescribing their duties as such, and providing for their compensation as road commissioners, and defining the duties and powers of such county commissioners, and providing for the appointment of road overseers, and defining their duties, and for the working of county convicts upon the public roads of said county, and providing officers' fees; and to provide for the payment of teams to work on roads and allowance for time of service for same on public roads in Wise county, and fixing a penalty for violations of this act, and to repeal all laws in conflict herewith," Mr. Dickinson called up the follow- Bounds. ing resolution offered by him March 15, Brewster. which was read first time and referred Brigance. to the Committee on Federal Relations Browne. and favorably reported on March 18: Bumpass. Whereas, by the terms of the extra- Burney. Burns. dition treaty between the United States and Mexico, neither of said Collier. countries is bound to surrender for Crawford. trial any of its own citizens charged Crowley. with the commission of crime in the Cureton. other country, it being the policy and practice of each of said countries to refuse to make such surrender, whereby lawless citizens of each country are encouraged to cross the frontier and commit crime against the persons and property of the citizens of the other country, and then flee to their own country for asylums; and Whereas, the law-abiding citizens of each country residing on the Rio Grande frontier, especially the citizens of the State of Texas, have suffered great damages in the past and are threatened with greater damages in the future owing to such policy and practice; wherefore be it Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of Texas, that the government of the United States should take such action by treaty with Mexico as will tend to remedy the evils hereinbefore set forth, either by the establishment of an international court for the trial for such offenders or by any other means that will be acceptable to both countries. Be it further resolved, that a copy of this resolution be mailed by the Clerk of this House to the Secretary of State of the United States and to each of the Representatives and Senators of this State in Congress. The committee report was adopted, and the resolution as reported was adopted. Curry. Dean. Dies. Graham. Harris. Hill of Gonzales. Bell. McFarland. Moore, Lamar. Patterson. Porter. Shelburne. Skillern. Sluder. Smyth. Stamper. Staples. Thaxton. Thompson. Tracy. Turner. Vaughan of Collin. Wallace. Wolters. Wood. Nays-none. Meade. Mundine. iger. Rogers. Evans of Grayson, Pitts. Shropshire. Melton. Vaughan, Gua'lupe Excused. Bailey. Holland of Burnet. Moore, Fort Bend. Oliver. Peery. Pfeuffer. Carpenter. Conoly. Drew. Fields. Strother. Flint. Randolph. Schlick. Smith. The Speaker laid before the House, Benson. on its third reading and final passage, Bird. House bill No. 557, a bill to be enti- Blackburn. tled "An act to amend article 22, title Blair. 4, of the Revised Civil Statutes of the Bounds. State of Texas, so as to extend the Brewster. terms of the district court in Waller | Brigance. and Fort Bend counties." The bill was read third time, and Mr. Hensley offered the following amendment: Amend by striking out all after the words article 22, in line 12, and insert in lieu thereof the following: The Twenty-third judicial district of Texas shall be composed of the counties of Brazoria, Fort Bend, Jackson, Matagorda, Waller and Wharton, and the terms of the district court to be held therein shall be held as follows, viz.: In the county of Waller, on the second Monday in February and August of each year, and may continue in session four weeks. In the county of Fort bend, on the fourth Monday after the second Monday in February and August of each year, and may continue in session five weeks. In the county of Wharton, on the tenth Monday after the second Monday in February and August of each year, and may continue in session four weeks. In the county of Jackson, on the fourteenth Monday after the second Monday of February and August of each year, and may continue in session two weeks. In the county of Matagorda, on the seventeenth Monday after the second Monday in February and August of each year, and may continue in session two weeks. In the county of Brazoria, on the nineteenth Monday after the second Monday in February and August of each year, and may continue in session six weeks. Adopted. Browne. Burney. Burns. Collier. Crawford. Crowley. Curry. Dickinson. Yeas-86. Kirk. Lotto. Manson. Martin. Maxwell. McFarland. McGaughey. McKellar. Moore of Lamar. Morton. O'Connor. Patterson. Porter. Reubell. Rhea. Shelburne. Skillern. Sluder. Smyth. Stamper. Thaxton. Evans of Grayson. Stokes. Hensley. Thompson. Tracy. Tucker. Turner. Vaughan of Collin. Wallace. Williams. Wolters. Wood. Nays-none. Absent. Mundine. Pitts. Rogers. Shropshire. Vaughan, Gua'lupe Excused. Drew. Fields. Flint. Bertram. Holland of Burnet Bra- Callan. Moore, Fort Bend. Carpenter. O.iver. Peery. The bill was passed by the follow- Conoly. ing vote: Pfeuffer. Harris. Hensley. Hill of Gonzales. Jones. ing vote: Yeas-87. Alexander. Barbee. Barrett. Beaird. Benson. Bird. Blackburn. Blair. Bounds. Kimbell. Flint. Strother. House bill No. 614 read third time, and passed. Mr. Evans of Hunt moved to reconsider the vote by which House bill No. 614 was passed, and to table the motion to reconsider. The motion to table prevailed. On motion of Mr. Dies, the regular order of business was suspended to take up, and place on its second reading. House bill No. 606, a bill to be entitled "An act to authorize the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad Company to purchase the Texas, Louisiana and Eastern Railroad, and to operate the same under the charter of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad Company. as a part of its own line, with the right to extend the same and to construct branches therefrom by amendment of its charter under the general laws of the State of Texas." The bill was laid before the House, read second time, and was ordered engrossed. Mr. Dies moved to suspend the constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several days in each house, and that Senate bill No. 606 be put on its third reading and final pass age. The motion prevailed by the following vote: |