COUNTY POST,

LITCHFIELD, MAY sI, 1897.
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debate upon the district bill as our limits will permit We have seen no long speeches up-

 on the subject, but almost every member ap-

 peared desrOHs of saying something during the debate, and that too much time might not be consumed, this something was said in as l few words as possible. Every member de- cIares himself in favor of districting bill, but 1 all are not friendly to the bill now before the house. The truth is, the people have de- inanded the passage of a~biIl for districting the state, and members dare not openly oppose the measure; but as they dread the effects of I districtng, some ofthem, who are aware that they can politically thrive only under the gen eral ticket system, seem desirous of destroy ing the present bill, under the pretext that its principles are not just and equal. Webelieve the bill has been drawn up with candor, ancs thatin it's distribution of influence to the diff ferent counties or districts, the committee were actuated by an honest care for the pulp lie good. Perhaps some features in the bill may be altered for the better; hut we a,e free to confess that we have no confidence in those members who profess great friendship for the bill, yet arc continually endeavoring to des- troy it, by proposing ten thousand amend ments. Candid, open opposers to the bill can be met by arguments, but an enemy under the garb of friendship, can only be met by the distrust and contempt of the more discerning part of community, while his acts pass off among the common readers as the fruits of patriotism and zeal for the pubic good.--- There are enemies to the districting system in the legislature, and we know it and we es- teem them no less for that, if they are open and candid in their opposition; but if they shield this opposition under prctended friendship for the principle, SO that they can the more effectualIy destroy the passage of the bill, and yet save their credit with their constituents, and pass off for disinterested le- gislators, who ''could not conscientiousIy vote for such a bill," such men we cannot esteem, and ifcalIed to speak of them shall never be found fattering their vanity. or pleading for their support. -

 The Committee to whom was referred the petition of the Trustees of Washington College, praying for pecuniary aid, have re- ported in favor of grant of $12, ,OOO, paya- ble in equal annual installments in $50, ,3l s, ,Ss. This sum, should the bill pass, will prove tolerably efficient, though not very timely help to the institution, excepting as it will warrant the trustees to borrow money upon the credit of the grant. From the report of the committee it appears that the institution is greatly in need of pecuniary aid. The ba'- lance against its treasury the last year amoun- ted to S1 ,S6S, and unless assistance be ob- tained from the state, or from private individ- uals, every year must increase the debt. Onr state IS rich we have an immense school fund; and every motive suggests that pccu- niary aid should be granted 10 our colleges and academies, proportioned to their need, and their means of advancing the literary influence of the state. Wise legislatures will not suffer the cause of literature to decline, from false notion of what constitutes e. economy in public expenditures. If the state mas SuFpiuS lunOS, leS our seats Of learning share literally in them; let not these funds be locked up in the state treasury. while the treasuries of those institutions which are the greatest honor to the state are suffering for the want of them.

 A bill has been brought beforc the lcgsla- ture for increasing the compensation allowed to printers for publishing the laws and the Comptroller's annual account. Some of the members thought the sum already allowed sufficient, while others supposed that if it were necessary the laws should be published in the different papers of the state, the pro prietors of these journals should be paid a fair compensation for their insertion. We of course should be pleased to receive some thing like fair price for our labor; we last year published all that the law required. and received about one tenth as much for the ser vice as would have been a fair charge against private individual for a similar use of our columns. But we never expect to receive a