INSPECTION OF OILS.
The LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR announced the special order, being the consideration of a Committee substitute for Mr. White's bill [S. 25] providing for the inspection of all kinds of oil that shall be used for illuminating or combustive purposes.
Mr. LANGDON offered an amendment grading the fees for inspection. He said it cost $12,146 last year to inspect oils.
Mr. VOYLES opposed the amendment. The fees as fixed by the substitute bill, are about right. It has been the custom to inspect of a lot only a few of the barrels and mark them all as inspected. In the Inspector is required to inspect every cask, the labor will be much more than under the old law. The old law is susceptible of two constructions, and of course it was construed favorable to the Inspector. This section should remain as it is in the bill.
Mr. VAN VORHIS also opposed the amendment. Every cask or barrel should be inspected. That is a wise provision, and if so, the fees proposed by this bill are small enough. To make the test required by this bill, five cents a cask is low enough.
Mr. WHITE considered the fees in the bill would not be too much. The amendment would be injurious to the fifteenth section of the bill.
Mr. LANGDON--Whatever machinery the State sets in motion for inspection is a tax of so much upon the lamp-light of the State. It is considered a material damage to a package if it be opened for the purpose of making the test. There is no reason for a departure from the practice of examining several packages taken indiscriminately from a lot. The law as administered that way has answered every purpose. Then the fees provided in his amendment would be ample.
Mr. FOSTER favored the Inspector ascertaining that every barrel should stand the test.
Mr. BUNDY referred to the $2,00 fees collected last year, and was of opinion the fees should be reduced very materially. As he understood the amendment, it should be adopted.
Mr. VAN VORHIS did not believe it is correct that packages can not be opened and closed again without loss. Each deputy receives the fees for his own work, and if each cask or package is to be inspected, the labor will be poorly paid for at five cents per cask. The time consumed in inspecting a car load of forty-five barrels will be poorly paid for. He favored the inpection of every cask.
Mr. WHITE had bought and sold hundreds, and his experience was that two barrels will be good and one bad, and one good and two bad; therefore, every one should be inspected.
Mr. SPANN thought the bill had a tendency to put under guardianship the 1,500,000 people of the State as to what they shall use for illuminating purposes. If that has to be done by the 150 wise men in the General Assembly, then he favored paying a sufficiently large fee to obtain competent persons with the highest order of talent to exercise the guardianship. He did not believe a single life had been saved by the inspection of oils in this State.
Mr. VOYLES stated one of the reasons why there has been no great developments for good was because the law was wholly insufficient for the purposes intended. If the safeguards contained in this bill are enacted, the number of lives saved will no doubt be made evident.
The amendment was rejected.
On motion by Mr. MENZIES, the clause in Section 10 giving informers half the proceeds of the sale of oils seized for violation of the law was stricken out, on the ground that a system of informing and spying was something that should not be encouraged in any possible way.
On motion by Mr. BROWN, the bill was further amended by providing that the present officers shall hold until their terms expire.
On motion by Mr. MENZIS, the emergency clause was stricken out.
On motion by Mr. HENRY, the bill was further amended by providing that the repeal of the old law shal not affect any prosecutions for violation thereof.
The bill was ordered engrossed.
