STOCK AT LARGE.
Mr. WALKER moved to take up the bill [H. R. 293] regulating the running of stock at large. He said since the recent flood there is a demand for such a law, that in Wabash County alone there has been washed away over 500 miles of fence, and, under the circumstances, considered this case an emergency.
The motion was agreed to, and the bill was read the second time, and, under a suspension of the Constitutional rule, considered as engrossed, and read the third time.
Mr. FANCHER moved to amend Section 1 by inserting of the word "Township" the word "or parts of Townships where the same is divided by a river or railroad, so that the stock may run at large on one side of the river or railroad."
The amendment was adopted.
On motion by Mr. THOMPSON, the bill was further amended by excepting milch cows.
Mr. CARTER moved to reconsider the vote by which the amendment "to except milch cows" was adopted.
Mr. THOMPSON said there were many poor people, with sparse subsistence, who let their cows run out on the city or town commons, and he favored this much discrimination in favor of the poor. If we have a few cows running at large, they will push old fences down and compel farmers to keep their fences in good repair.
Mr. MITCHELL saw the time coming when the State of Indiana must have prohibitory stock laws.
Mr. CARR opposed the policy of cows running at large, and if a poor man has a cow let him pasture it on the inside of a fence, and not on the commons or public highways.
The SPEAKER [Mr. ---- in the Chair] thought the Legislature should enact laws in the interest of the people, especially the poor people, and not pass a measure compelling an old widow woman's cow from running at large. He considered the object of this amendment to be simply to enable poor people not able to own land, and hire pasture, to pasture their cows on the public highways.
The bill was rejected by yeas 40, nays 49.
