No. 69, S., A bill to amend section 2 of chapter 48, of the general laws of 1881, entitled town insurance companies, No. 76, S., A bill to appropriate to the Governor's Contingent Fund a sum of money therein named, Were severally ordered engrossed and read a third time. ADJOURNMENT. On motion of Senator Wiley, The Senate adjourned. The senate met, The president in the chair. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1883. Prayer by Rev. Mr. Richards. The roll was called and the following senators answered to their names: Senators Ackley, Adams, Bennett, Blake, Carey, Chase, Colman, Comstock, Cottrill, Erwin, Flint, Hill, Jonas, Kingston, Lord, McDonald, Meffert, Minor, Palmetier, Parry, Pingle, Randall, Reed, Ringle, Ryland, Sherman, Smith, Stanley, Warner, Webb and Wiley. The journal of yesterday was approved. Was granted LEAVE OF ABSENCE To Senator Colman, until Tuesday. LETTERS, PETITIONS, ETC. By Senator Ryland: Letters of Henry F. McCloskey and others. GALENA, January 18, 1883. HON. GEO. W. RYLAND, MADISON, DEAR SIR:-I take the liberty of inclosing you one hundred and fifteen dollars of Wisconsin Territorial scrip, all issued February 19, 1842, and was referred to you by Hon. R. H. McClellan, John Lorraine, and Henry Corwith my brotherin-law, as per their inclosed letters to you as a proper person to present it to your legislature at this session to have it paid if possible, and you will confer a great favor on me if you will try and have this scrip paid for me. I have held this scrip for a great many years, and applied several times to the treasurer of your state to see if I could get it paid, but could not do so. I wrote to Judge Christiancy, my brother-in-law, who was then United States Senator from Michigan, and inclosed him one of the scrips to see if he could get the scrip paid by the Interior department. He called on Hon. Carl Schurz who was then Secretary of the Interior department, who examined into the matter and said he couldn't pay it, as the territory of Wisconsin had no funds at its credit in the department, and said that the state of Wisconsin should pay it with interest by passing a bill of relief to pay it, as the script ought not to be classed as an ordinary claim against the state as the script was issued to pay territorial legislative expenses, and that the state was honorably bound to pay this script regardless of your constitutional amendment prohibiting the paying of old claims; and that was also the opinion of Judge Christiancy and of two other senators, as the claim was a just one, and that the state should pay this script without any hesitation, notwithstanding the amendment to your constitution, as this script was as exceptional claim and ought to be paid by the state. Mr. Simeon Mills, of Madison, who was the treasurer, at one time, of the territory of Wisconsin, will testify that the state had paid similar scrip issued for the same purpose, as late as 1850, and that the scrip is genuine and unpaid, and would refer you to Mr. Mills for the above evidence. Yours very Respectfully, KEY. MADISON, January 30, 1883. SENATOR RYLAND: Dear Sir:- In chapter 178, session laws 1849, page 124, sections 24, 28, 29 and 30 you will find appropriations to pay territorial scrip. Also chapters 227, 253, 254, 261 of the laws of 1850; also chapters 181 and 291, of laws of 1851, all making appropriations for territorial scrip precisely the same as sent to you. About one half of these appropriations, or perhaps less, appropriate interest also. I presume I could find as many more by looking longer, but think these will be sufficient to show that the legislature of early days paid every thing of the kind that was presented, and there can be no good reason why this man should lose this, simply because for many years he did not know how to get it, but sought to get it from Washington instead of here. Yours truly, To committee on State Affairs. SIMEON MILLS. By Senator Adams: Pet. No. 5, S., Petition of the board of supervisors of Dane county asking that said county be reimbursed for a portion of the expenses incurred in building county asylum buildings. To committee on Charitable and peñal Institutions. COMMUNICATIONS TO THE LEGISLATURE. To the honorable, the Senate: Department of State, Pursuant to the provisions of section 147, of the revised statutes, I have the honor to report herewith for legislative action the following claim against the state, to-wit: M. A. Doyle, $1,947.78. This claim. if allowed, will be chargeable to the general fund. Very Respectfully, Your obedient servant, To the Honorable Ernst G. Timme, Secretary of State of the state of Wisconsin: M. A. Doyle, of the city of Madison, county of Dane, and state of Wisconsin, respectfully presents his claim against the said state of Wisconsin in manner and form as follows, to wit: October 15, 1881. The value of a certain frame house owned by Interest on said amount from January 1, 1880, to date. Total... $750 00 200 00 85 89 750 00 161 89 $1,947 78 To further explain the nature of the foregoing claim your claimants represents: That in 1874 he was the owner of a certain parcel of land adjoining the land and premises occupied by the said hospital for insane; that the said board of trustees of said hospital wanted to buy said parcel of land; that upon said land at a point where the barn of the hospital now stands there was then situated a certain dwelling house owned and occupied by this claimant; that for said parcel of land and appurtenances thereunto belonging were this claimant asked $2,500, but that he was uuable to agree with said board of trustees about the price; that said board of trustees thereupon procured the passage of an act providing for the appointment of commissioners empowered to appraise the value of said parcel of land; that in pursuance of the said act said board of trustees named one person and this claimant named one person, and the two persons so named conjointly named a third person to act as such commissioners, and the persons so chosen were Charles Hudson, Ira P. Bacon and E. M. Williamson; that said commissioners awarded to this claimant as damages to be paid this claimant upon the taking of said land, the sum of $1,900; but that the board of trustees refused to pay the amount so awarded; that about six months thereafter said board of trustees claimed that some irregularity had occurred in the appointment of said commissioners and that the award made by them was ineffectual and of no binding force: that thereupon such such proceedings again had, that this claimant named one person and said board of trustees named one person and the two persons so named, acting conjointly, named a third person to act as such commissioners, and the persons so named were William T. Fish, James Livesey, Sr., and H. N. Moulton, of the city of Madison, Dane county, Wisconsin, that the commissioners last selected therefrom met for the purpose of making an award, but that they failed that they failed to agree in that one of them them valued said land at $2,100 another at sixteen hundred dollars, and another at twelve hundred and seventy-nine dollars; that when said commissioners stood thus divided, the superintendent of said hospital came to the claimant and proposed the following terms and made the following offer as a compromise, to-wit: That the petitioner then was and for some time theretofore continously had been employed as a laundryman at said hospital; that said superintendent proposed and offered that this claimant should move off the said dwelling house from his own land and place it upon land of the state occupied as such hospital grounds, and that this claimant should be permitted to hold possession of, and occupy the same as a residence for himself, so long as he remained in the employ and service of said hospital free of rent; further that the state should pay for the land with said dwelling house removed or giving the privilege of removing the same the lowest estimate of any of said last named commissioners, to-wit: the sum of $1,279.00; and that whenever this claimant should quit the service and employment of said hospital the state should pay him the reasonable value of the house and the cost of removing the same. That the said offer and proposition of said superintendent was accepted by this claimant. That said dwelling house was removed by this claimant and said sum of $1,279.00 paid by the state in accordance therewith; that this claimant continued in the service and employment in said hospital until Oct. 15, 1881, when he quit the same: that at the time when he did so quit, the claimant demanded payment for said house; but that the same has not been paid or any part thereof; that prior to the time when this claimant so quit said service and employment and before the resignation of Dr. D. F. Boughton as superintendent of said hospital, this claimant had spoken to said Dr. D. F. Boughton and asked for a settlement for said house, and that said Dr. Boughton answered him that he had laid the claim before the board of trustees of said hospital, and that they had agreed to make compensation in pursuance of the agreement between this claimant and said superintendent, hereinbefore set forth, but. said that the said board of trustees claimed that they did not then have funds on hand from which payment therefor could be made. That the dimensions of the said house were 18x36 feet with 16-foot studding on the sides, with an addition 18x26 feet, one story high and cost when built, fourteen hundred to fifteen hundred dollars. That the land had cost this claimant before said hospital was built and without any improvements, the sum of two hundred dollars; that claimant had sunk a good well on said land before the sale.. thereof 104 feet in depth; that he had made a good stone cellar 8 feet deep under the whole of said house; that he had besides erected a good barn thereon prior to such sale, 30x40feet in dimensions, and that at the time of said sale this claimant was, and for a long time prior thereto had been,. occupying said land as a homestead. That the expense of removing said house was $200, and that the reasonable value of said house on said September 15, 1881, was the sum of $750.00 This claimant further shows that in 1878 and 1879 when he was employed in said hospital as aforesaid, one Frank Doyle a brother of the claimant was employed as engineer in said hospital. That on or about June 1, 1878, said Frank Doyle gave notice to the superintendent of said hospital that he would resign his position; that the reason of such resignation was that he was about to be married, and it was a rule of the said hospital that the families of employers could not be boarded in the building. That Dr. Boughton who was the superintendent of said hospital knowing that this claimant had some money, came to this claimant and stated the foregoing facts and added that he did not want to let the said Frank Doyle go away, and the said superintendent then and there made the following proposition and offer: That if this claimant would build a certain house upon the grounds and land of said hospital for the said Frank Doyle to occupy so long as he should remain in the same service and employment, or during the pleasure of the superintendent and board of trustees of said hospital, the said house to be state property when completed and accepted, and the cost of building the same should be repaid to him out of the annnal 8-S. J. |