USA > Connecticut > Connecticut as a colony and as a state; or, One of the original thirteen, Volume III > Part 25
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Alpheus S. Williams born at Saybrook, Sept. 20, 1810; graduated at Yale College in 1831, then spent two years in European travel. He settled at Detroit, Michigan, in 1836, where he practiced law and held several judicial posi- tions. In the Mexican War he was a lieutenant-colonel, and at the outbreak of the Civil War, President Lincoln appointed him major general of Michigan Volunteers; he subsequently became a brigadier-general in the regular army. General Williams saw active service in the upper Potomac and Shen-
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andoah valleys, was at the battle of Cedar Mountain, on the Rappahannock, and at Manassas; after the battle of South Mountain he succeeded General Banks as corps commander, and at Antietam was commander of the Thirteenth corps ; was at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, and took an active part in the Atlanta campaign. General Williams was brevetted major-general for gallant and meritorious services performed during General Sherman's "March to the Sea." He was mustered out of the United States service in 1866, when he was appointed minister resident to the republic of San Salvador. General Williams returned to Detroit in 1869; was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor, and was elected on the Democratic ticket to the Forty-fourth and Forty-fifth Congresses. During his second term he was chairman of the Committee on the District of Columbia, and was instrumental in furthering the new developments that have so beautified the National Capital.
The only change in the Connecticut delegation to the Forty-fifth Congress was the election in the third district of John T. Wait to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Henry H. Starkweather. Mr. Wait was born at New Lon- don, Aug. 27, 18II,'studied law, and began practice at Nor- wich. He was formerly a Democrat, but at the breaking out of the Civil War became a strong Union man, affilating with the Republicans. He had been Speaker of the Connec- ticut House of Representatives; he was four times re-elected to Congress, and gained the reputation of caring for the inter- ests of his constituents with untiring energy and zeal. On his retirement from the House of Representatives he resumed the practice of law. He died April 21, 1899.
To the Forty-fifth Congress from Illinois came as a Rep- resentative Philip C. Hayes. He removed with his parents
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to LaSalle, enlisted as a private in the Union army, was pro- moted to a captaincy, and mustered out as a brevet brigadier- general. He was twice re-elected.
The first and fourth Connecticut districts elected as Rep- resentatives to the Forty-sixth Congress, former Congress- men, Joseph R. Hawley and Frederick Miles.
To fill a vacancy in the New York representation, Waldo Hutchins, a lawyer, born in Brooklyn in 1823, was elected to the Forty-sixth Congress; he was twice re-elected.
Edward H. Gillette, born in Bloomfield, Oct. 1, 1840, removed to DesMoines, Iowa, where he followed farming and manufacturing; he was also editor of The Iowa Tribune. His father, Francis Gillette, was a member of the United States Senate from Connecticut. Mr. Gillette was elected a Representative from Iowa to the Forty-sixth Congress, on the National Greenback ticket; he was also chairman of the National committee of that party.
The election of Representative Hawley to the Senate was the cause of John R. Buck being the nominee of the Republi- can party in the first district, for Representative to the Forty- seventh Congress. Mr. Buck was born in Glastonbury, Dec. 6, 1836; he was admitted to the bar in 1862, and though defeated for the Forty-eighth, was elected to the Forty-ninth and Fiftieth Congresses. To fill a vacancy caused by a resig- nation, Jonathan Scoville was elected Representative from New York to the Forty-seventh Congress. Mr. Scoville was a native of Salisbury, became interested in the iron industries at Canaan; he removed in 1860 to Buffalo, where he manu- factured car wheels.
Joseph A. Scranton, born in Madison, July 20, 1838, removed to Pennsylvania, and finally located in Scranton, where he founded in 1867 a newspaper called The Scranton
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Republican. He was a member of the Forty-seventh, Forty- ninth, Fifty-first, Fifty-third, and Fifty-fourth Congresses.
The election in Connecticut for Representatives to the Forty-eighth Congress resulted in three districts being car- ried by the Democrats. William W. Eaton, elected from the first district, had been a member of the upper house of Con- gress. Charles L. Mitchell, from the second district, was born at New Haven, Aug. 6, 1844; he was re-elected.
The newly-elected member from the fourth district was Edward W. Seymour, born in Litchfield, Aug. 30, 1832; a lawyer by profession, quick in preception, sound in reflection, and pleasing and effective in speech. He was Representative from 1882 to 1886, after which he resumed his law practice. He died at Litchfield, Oct. 16, 1892.
James B. Wakeman, born in Winsted in March, 1828, graduated from Trinity College, studied law at Painesville, Ohio, began to practice at Delhi, Indiana, and two years later removed to Minnesota. In his new home he was mem- ber of both houses of the Legislature, was Lieutenant-Gov- ernor, and was elected Representative to Congress 1883-87.
L. H. Weller, born in Bridgewater, Aug. 24, 1833, was reared in the Jeffersonian and Jacksonian Democratic school of politics. He emigrated to Iowa in 1859, locating at Nashua; here he tilled the soil during the day, and studied law, politics, and theology at night. Mr. Weller was admit- ted to the bar in 1868, and was elected on the National ticket to the Forty-eighth Congress.
James O'Donnell was born in Norwalk, March 25, 1840; his parents removed to Michigan when he was eight years old. Mr. O'Donnell enjoyed no educational advantages; he served as a private during the Civil War, and afterwards established a newspaper at Jackson, Michigan, which was
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named the Daily Citizen. He was elected on the Republican ticket to the Forty-ninth Congress, and three times re-elected.
Charles A. Grosvenor, a present member of Congress, was born in Pomfret, Sept. 20, 1833; his father removed to Ohio in the spring of 1838, where young Grosvenor attended school for a few terms, in a country log school-house. He studied law, and was admitted to practice in 1857, but on the breaking out of the Civil War he enlisted in the Union army, and was mustered out as a brevet brigadier-general. General Grosvenor was elected to the Forty-ninth Congress, and has been re-elected up to the present time, with the exception of the Fifty-second, when he was defeated, owing to a gerryman- der of the Ohio Congressional districts by the Democrats of that State.
The Congressional districts in Connecticut at the election in the fall of 1886 were carried by the Democrats, with the exception of the third. The newly-elected Republican for that district, Charles A. Russell, was to begin his Congressional career as a member of the Fiftieth Congress; it was termi- nated by his death while a member of the Fifty-seventh. Mr. Russell was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, March 2, 1852; he was Secretary of State for Connecticut 1885-87, and was engaged in the manufacture of woolens in the town of Killingly.
The first district was represented by Robert J. Vance, born of Scottish parentage in New York City, March 15, 1854; he came to New Britain in his youth, and was editor of the New Britain Herald.
The Congressman from the second district, Carlos French, was born in Humphreysville (Seymour), Aug. 6, 1835; he was engaged in manufacturing.
Miles T. Granger, elected Representative from the fourth
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district, was born in Marlboro, Massachusetts, Aug. 12, 1817; his parents removed to Canaan, when our subject was two years of age. In his early youth he was dependent on his own resources for a livelihood; he graduated from Wes- leyan University, and was admitted in 1845 to the bar in Mississippi. In the spring of that year he returned to Ca- naan, where he was elected to judicial and legislative posi- tions, and was for twenty years judge of the Superior Court of Connecticut. He died Oct. 21, 1895.
At the elections in the fall of 1888 the Republicans carried three districts. The Representative elected from the first district was William E. Simonds; he was born in Canton Nov. 24, 1842. Mr. Simonds enlisted as a private in the Union army, and was promoted to a lieutenant; after the war he studied law, graduating in 1865 from the Yale Law School; he became a patent lawyer, and was a lecturer on patents at Yale University. While a member of Congress he influenced legislation in favor of an international copyright law, for which service France made him a chevalier of the Legion of Honor. The second district was represented by Washington F. Willcox, born in Killingworth, Aug. 22, 1834. He began the practice of law at Deep River. Mr. Willcox was re-elected to the Fifty-second Congress. Fred- erick Miles, a former Representative, was elected from the fourth district.
In the fall elections of 1890 the Democrats elected three Representatives. The new Democratic members were Lewis Sperry from the first district and Robert E. DeForest from the fourth district; they were both re-elected to the Fifty- third Congress. Mr. Sperry was born at East Windsor, Jan. 23, 1848; a graduate of Amherst College, he was admitted to the bar at Hartford in 1875. He was one of the seventeen
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Democrats that voted in the Fifty-third Congress against the "Wilson Tariff Bill"; he was censured for this by his con- stituents, but upheld by the State leaders of his party. Mr. DeForest was a native of Guilford and a lawyer at Bridge- port, of which city he had been Mayor.
Matthew Griswold, born in Lyme, June 16, 1833, removed to Erie, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in manufacturing; he was a member of the Fifty-second and Fifty-fourth Con- gresses. The Connectcut delegation to the Fifty-third Con- gress remained the same as the preceding one, with the excep- tion that James P. Pigott, a lawyer of New Haven, succeeded Mr. Willcox in the second district.
E. Stevens Henry from the first, Nehemiah D. Sperry from the second, and Ebenezer J. Hill from the fourth, all Repub- licans, were elected in the fall of 1894 to the Fifty-fourth Congress, and have been re-elected for each succeeding one. Mr. Henry was born in Gill, Massachusetts, Feb. 10, 1836; he is a resident of Rockville, and engaged in banking. Mr. Sperry was born at Woodbridge, July 10, 1827; is actively and prominently engaged in the business interests of New Haven, his residence city; he is also connected with various railroad and manufacturing enterprises. He was Connecti- cut's Secretary of State for two years, and postmaster of New Haven over twenty-eight years. Mr. Hill, born in Redding, Aug. 4, 1845, is a resident of Norwalk, and a member of railroad and banking corporations.
Richard C. Shannon, born in New London, Feb. 12, 1839, served as a volunteer in the Union army; he afterwards became a member of the United States legation at Rio de Janeiro, and was interested in railroads in Brazil; was min- ister plenipotentiary to the Central American States. He was
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elected from New York as Representative to the Fifty-fourth and Fifty-fifth Congresses.
William S. Knox was born in Killingly, Sept. 10, 1843; his parents removed to Lawrence, Massachusetts, when he was nine years of age, where he studied law and was admitted to the bar. He was elected as a Representative from the fifth district of Massachusetts, and was re-elected three times.
William Ledyard Stark, born in Mystic, July 29, 1853, received a common-school education, and in his youth fol- lowed the sea. He emigrated to Illinois in 1872, attended a law school, and was admitted to the bar. Mr. Stark removed to Nebraska in 1878, was judge of the County Court, and by a coalition of Populists and Democrats was elected as Repre- sentative to the Fifty-fifth Congress. He was twice re-elected.
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APPENDIX. THE CHARTER AND CONSTITUTION OF CONNECTICUT BY LYNDE HARRISON
T HE independent, self-constituted governments of Hartford and New Haven were brought together under the charter which Charles II. gave to Governor Winthrop and his associates in 1662. This charter continued to be the fundamental law of Connecticut until 1818. Unsuccessful efforts to revoke it were made a few years later, and, except Rhode Island, it was the only one of the colonies that retained its English charter in lieu of a constitution after the war for Independence. During that war, the other eleven colonies adopted State Constitutions.
The government consisted of a governor and general assembly, elected by those who were qualified under the char- ter and local laws to vote. All of the executive officials except the governor, and all the judicial officers, were appointed by the general assembly. The general assembly was divided into two branches, one a council of twelve members, who were elected annually on a general ticket. The lower and con- trolling branch of the general assembly consisted of two rep- resentatives from each township.
As new towns were formed, from time to time, by the gen- eral assembly, each was entitled to two representatives. Dur- ing the latter part of the eighteenth century, however, as new towns were formed by the general assembly, there was a provision put in each act that the new town was formed upon the condition that it should be entitled to only one represen- tative in the general assembly. This reduction from two to one was partly a measure of economy to save the salary of the extra representative, and partly because the halls at Hartford and New Haven, where the assembly met, were small in size and had become somewhat crowded because of the increase
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in the number of representatives caused by the organization of new towns.
When the independence of the United States was recog -. nized, all of the States except Rhode Island and Connecticut had adopted constitutions; but the people of Connecticut were so well satisfied with their charter that they treated that as their fundamental law for thirty years.
The powers of the general assembly were practically unlim- ited; and, after the adoption of the federal Constitution, the general assembly of Connecticut continued to enjoy its unlim- ited powers of legislation, subject only to the few restrictions imposed upon the States by the constitution of the United States.
In nearly all the towns of Connecticut at that time, the members of the Congregational or standing order of the churches formed a majority of the voters. The representa- tives were generally members of that church. Special privi- leges were enjoyed by the societies of the Congregational churches. For many years all persons residing in the limits of the Congregational societies were obliged to contribute, according to their means, for the support of the Congrega- tional churches and societies, without regard to whether they were members or attendants upon that church. Gradually other denominations, especially the Episcopalians, Metho- dists, and Baptists began to increase in numbers. There was much agitation and bad feeling growing out of the privileges and preferences which the Congregational societies enjoyed. Finally a law was passed providing that, under certain cir- cumstances, residents within the limits of any Congregational society could, by filing a proper statement in the office of the society clerk, be released from contributing to the support of the Congregational church, if they actually were members of
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other Christian churches and contributed to the support of such churches. In the absence of such a statement being filed, all residents were obliged to continue to contribute to the sup- port of the Congregational church. In many other respects the Congregational churches and societies, and the settled ministers of that church, enjoyed special privileges.
For more than twenty years there was much agitation on the part of the members of the Jeffersonian Republican Party, who were in a minority, in favor of a constitution for Con- necticut.
Early in the last century a local political party was formed, known as the "Toleration" party, and the members of that party favored a constitutional convention and the adoption of a constitution for Connecticut. Under the leadership of Oliver Wolcott of Litchfield, this party finally succeeded in securing a call for a convention. The constitutional conven- tion met at Hartford in September, 1818, and prepared the present constitution of the State, which was submitted to the people and adopted.
Many of the provisions of this constitution continued, as the fundamental law of Connecticut, the practices and pro- visions of the charter of 1662, and some of the general laws passed by the general assembly under that charter.
Governor Oliver Wolcott was president of the convention which concluded its labors on the 15th day of September, 1818. The men who framed it considered that they were practically adopting, in many respects, the provisions of the famous charter. In the preamble to the constitution, they stated that in order to more effectually define, secure and perpetuate the liberties, rights, and privileges which they had derived from their ancestors, they had, after a careful con-
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sideration and revision, ordained and established the follow- ing constitution and form of civil government.
The first article contained a declaration in the nature of a bill of rights. In it they declared that when men form a social compact, all are equal in rights; that all political power is inherent in the people, and that they have at all times the right to alter their form of government in such manner as they may deem expedient.
In order to satisfy those advocates of the constitution who desired more freedom of religious profession, they declared, that the exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination, shall forever be free to all persons in the State, subject to the limitation that the right thereby declared should not be so construed so as to justify practices inconsistent with the peace and safety of the State; and also that no preference shall be given by law to any Christian sect or mode of worship. Other provisions of the bil of rights protected the right of trial by jury and the well- understood common-law rights of persons accused of crime.
The eleventh section of the bill of rights contained the important provision that the property of no person shall be taken for public use without just compensation therefor. The second article of the constitution divided the powers of gov- ernment into three distinct departments; to wit, the legis- lative, executive, and judicial. There were no limitations in this constitution upon the power of the general assembly, ex- cept to the extent they were limited by the provisions of the bill of rights.
The legislature was divided into two distinct branches- . the senate and the house of representatives. The senate con- sisted of twelve members, to be chosen annually by the elect- ors. The senate, therefore, was practically the old council,
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consisting of the same number of members, and they were elected upon a general ticket by all of the electors of the State.
The house of representatives continued the then practice under the charter. The number of representatives from each town was to continue the same as practiced in 1818, only the old towns having two representatives, and those recently cre- ated only one. In case a new town should thereafter be incor- porated, the constitution provided that such new towns should be entitled to one representative only; but if such new town should be made from one or more towns, the town or towns from which the same should be made should be entitled to the same number of representatives as are at present allowed, unless the number should be reduced by the consent of such town or towns. There were very few cases thereafter when the parent town lost its double representation. Soon after the adoption of this constitution, North Branford was cre- ated from Branford with one representative; but the electors of the old town consented to forfeit their double representa- tion in the general assembly. Some years later, when New Britain was created a new town, by seperation from Berlin, an arrangement was made in the general assembly by which Berlin retained only one representative, and New Britain took the two which had belonged to the old town of Berlin.
Article fourth of the constitution provided for the execu- tive department. The governor, lieutenant-governor, treas- urer, and secretary were to be elected by the electors, and the provisions of the section required that if no person should have a majority of the whole number of votes, the general assembly should choose the executive officers from the names of the two persons having the greatest number of votes. This provision of the constitution continued as a part of the fun-
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damental law of the State until 1901. A comptroller was annually appointed by the general assembly, but this pro- vision of the constitution is changed by article five of the amendments which was adopted in November, 1836. Sheriffs were appointed for each county by the general assembly for terms of three years, and in case of death or resignation, the governor had power to fill the vacancy until the same should be filled by the general assembly.
Article seven of the amendments adopted in 1838 pro- vided that sheriffs should thereafter be appointed by the electors in each county for terms of three years; and in 1886, by article twenty-eight of the amendments, sheriffs were to be elected thereafter for terms of four years.
The fifth article of the constitution provided for the judicial power of the State, which was vested in a Supreme Court, a Superior Court, and such inferior courts as the gen- eral assembly should, from time to time establish. It was also provided that there should be appointed by the general assembly in each county a sufficient number of justices of the peace, with such jurisdiction as the assembly might prescribe. All of the judges were to be appointed by the general assem- bly. Judges of the Supreme and Superior Court were to hold their offices during good behavior, and all other judges and justices of the peace were to be appointed annually. No judge or justice of the peace, however, should be capable of holding his office after arriving at the age of seventy years.
Article sixth of the constitution provided for the qualifica- tions of electors, and also provided, to a certain extent, the provisions concerning elections. The qualifications of electors were prescribed in the second section, and provided that every white male citizen of the United States who had gained a set- tlement in the State, and had attained the age of twenty-one
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years, and had resided in the town at least six months preced- ing, could be admitted an elector if he had a freehold estate of a yearly value of seven dollars, or had been enrolled in the militia and had performed military duty for the term of one year, or had paid a State tax within the year next preceding, and had sustained a good moral character. The privileges of an elector were forfeited by a conviction of bribery, forgery, perjury, dueling, fraudulent bankruptcy, theft, or other offence for which an infamous punishment is inflicted.
Section seven of this article provided that in all elections the votes of all electors should be by ballot, and the select- men and town clerk were given power to decide on the quali- fications of electors, at such times and in such manner as might be prescribed by law.
Article seventh of the constitution contained what was then deemed a very important provision; to wit, the subject of religion and the right to worship. It was declared to be the duty of all men to worship the Supreme Being, but that they had the right to render that worship in the mode most con- sistent with the dictates of their consciences; and that no per- son should by law be compelled to join or support any church or religious association. It was further provided, however, that every person then belonging to such church or association should remain a member thereof in the manner thereinafter provided, and that every society or denomination of Chris- tians should have the right to support their churches and min- isters by a tax upon the members of such society.
The second section of the article provided that any per- son might separate himself from the society of Christians to which he belonged, by leaving a written notice thereof with the clerk of such society, and he should thereupon be no
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longer liable for any future expenses which might be incur- red by the society.
Article eighth of the constitution especially protected the charter of Yale College and the fund called the school fund.
Article ninth provided for impeachment of any or all of the executive or judicial officers.
Article tenth of the constitution provided the form of oath of office to be taken by all officers; and that each town should annually elect selectmen and other officers of local police. The rights and duties of all corporations were not to be affected in any way, except to the extent that there were restrictions in the constitution.
Section four of this article provided that no judge of the Superior Court or the Supreme Court! no member of Con- gress; no person holding the office of treasurer, secretary, or comptroller; and no sheriff or sheriff's deputy should be a member of the general assembly.
The eleventh article provided for amendments to the con- stitution, which to be adopted must be first proposed by a. majority of the house of representatives; then approved by two-thirds of each house at the next session of the general assembly; and then ratified by a majority of all the electors of the State at town meetings warned and held for the pur- pose. For nearly fifty years after the adoption of this con- stitution, no important amendments were adopted. In 1828 three amendments were adopted which provided for a senate of not less than eighteen nor more than twenty-four members, to be chosen by districts. Under these amendments, the senate was fixed at twenty-one and con- tinued to be that number until 1881, when the number was increased to twenty-four, and the number of senators elected by districts continued to be twenty-four until and including.
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1903; at which time, under the amendment adopted in 1901, the senate was increased to thirty-five.
In October 1845, an amendment was adopted erasing the property and tax qualification necessary to make citizens elec- tors.
In 1855, Article eleven of the amendments required that every person should be able to read any article of the consti- tution or any section of the statutes before being made an elector; and in 1897, Article twenty-nine of the amendments provided that the applicant should be able to read them in the English language. This last amendment was adopted because in some of the towns, naturalized citizens who were unable to read in English had been presented with copies of the con- stitution printed in foreign languages.
Changes were made in the provisions concerning the judicial department of the State by amendments adopted in 1850 and 1856, when it was provided that judges of probate and justices of the peace should be appointed by the electors from the several towns and districts, and that judges of the Supreme Court of Errors and the Superior Court, appointed in the year 1855 and thereafter, should hold their offices for the terms of eight years.
In 1870, there was much discussion throughout the coun- try concerning changes in the constitutions of the several States. Conventions after conventions were held in the reconstructed Southern States; and the states of Pennsyl- vania, Illinois, and other Northern States, adopted amended and improved constitutions, many of them with special limi- tations upon the powers of the legislatures of such States. The restrictions in the constitutions of the United States were not deemed to be sufficient, and the older constitutions of the several States, like that of Connecticut, contained prac-
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tically but few limitations upon the powers of the legislative bodies.
In 1871, a so-called constitutional reform association was formed in Connecticut. Leading men of both parties, mostly residents of cities, became members of this association. Bills were introduced into the general assembly of 1873, providing for a constitutional convention, but they failed to receive a majority vote. Neither the senate nor the house repre- sented at that time the majority of the electors of the State in the manner that was deemed satisfactory by the electors of the cities. Bridgeport, Meriden, and Derby each had only one representative, because they were so-called new towns.
When the proposed bill for a constitutional convention had been defeated, the friends of constitutional reform pre- pared several amendments to the constitution, many of which failed; but during the next four years eleven amendments were adopted, having received a two-thirds vote of each branch of the general assembly. Two of these amendments referred to representation in the house of representatives.
Article fifteen, adopted in October, 1874, provided that every town that then contained or thereafter should contain a population of five thousand should be entitled to send two representatives, and every other one should be entitled to its present representation in the general assembly.
Article eighteen, adopted in October 1876, provided that if any new town should thereafter be incorporated, such new town should not be entitled to representation in the general assembly unless it had twenty-five hundred inhabitants, and unless the town from which the major portion of its territory should be taken had at least twenty-five hundred inhabitants; and that until such town should have at least twenty-five hun-
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dred inhabitants, the new town should, for the purpose of rep- resentation, be an election district only of the town from which it had been taken, for the purpose of representation in the house of representatives. Prior to the adoption of that amendment, in every decade there had been several new towns of small population incorporated. Since the adoption of that amendment, no new town has been incorporated, except that Ansonia was taken from Derby and made a new town; but at that time both the old and new town had over five thousand population.
In 1875, the time of the election was changed from April to November, and the terms of senators and State officers were extended from one to two years.
In 1884, the terms of members of the house of represen- tatives were increased to two years, and the regular sessions of the general assembly were changed from annual to bien- nial.
In 1876, the terms of judges of the courts of common pleas and district courts were changed from one to four years, and those of judges of city courts and police courts were made two years. At the same time, the terms of the judges of probate were changed from one to two years.
In 1877, two important amendments to the constitution were adopted. The first prohibited the general assembly and all counties, cities, boroughs, towns and school districts from granting extra compensation to public officers or agents, or increasing the compensation of any public officer, to take effect during the continuance in office of the person whose salary might be thereby increased; or from increasing the compensation of any public contractor above the amount specified in the contract. The other amendment then adopted, prohibited any county or city, or other municipality, from
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becoming a subscriber to the capital stock, or becoming a purchaser of the bonds, of any railroad corporation, or from loaning its credit directly or indirectly in aid of any such corporation. This latter amendment was adopted because many cities, and some of the small towns in the State, had had serious losses from investments or donations for the construc- tion of railroads which failed to be profitable in their oper- ation.
Article twenty-six of the amendments, adopted in October 1880, changed the method of the appointment of judges of the Supreme and Superior Courts, by requiring that they should be appointed upon a nomination of the governor rather than by the nomination of a political caucus.
In October, 1901, article thirty of the amendments changed the method of electing State officers so that they may be elected by a plurality vote, rather than by the general assembly, if candidates fail to receive a majority of all the votes cast.
The constitution of Connecticut, with all the amendments that have been adopted, especially those adopted during the last thirty years, is in the main satisfactory in its provisions to the electors of the State. A constitutional convention was authorized by a vote of the electors in October, 1901, and it held its sessions for several months, beginning in January, 1902. The constitution which they submitted to the people made no substantial changes in the old constitution, except in relation to representation in the lower branch of the general assembly and the method of amending the constitution itself. The electors, however, in both the large and small towns of the State, did not favor the proposed new constitution, and it was defeated at a special election, held in 1902, by a large majority.
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