view to presenting recommendations for constitutional, legislative or administrative reform. Resolved, That this Association approves and urges the adoption of an amendment to the Constitution of the State substantially in the form recommended in the report of the Committee on Taxation presented this day. Resolved, That, in the opinion of this Association, exemptions of property from taxation have increased to an unwarranted and alarming extent, and should be checked. The President: What is your pleasure? E. J. Cook, of Geneva: I move that the report be received and placed on file. Virgil K. Kellogg, of Watertown: I move that the Committee be continued. I understand it is a special committee. Henry W. Jessup, of New York: I move an amendment to the third resolution, which states that the Association approves and urges the adoption of an amendment to the Constitution of the State substantially in the form recommended in the report. Would it not be better to substitute for that a more specific statement to the effect that the legislature shall have power to provide for the assessment of taxation of any and all persons and property, by such officers, local or State, and in such manner as it may determine, except that real property shall be subject to taxation for local purposes and be taxed by local assessors to the same extent as heretofore, etc. The phrase, "To the same. extent," might seem to refer to some pecuniary extent. Laurence A. Tanzer, of New York: I would suggest that the Association at a general meeting can hardly pass on the exact language of a proposed constitutional amendment, but that the Association should approve the proposed amendment in substance, and that the Committee should be authorized to make verbal amendments, subject to the approval of the Executive Committee or some other body. Francis Lynde Stetson, of New York: I am entirely in accord with the report of the Committee, but it seems to me if we adopt these two resolutions we should adopt that part of the second as it was read, which provides that the Committee be requested to continue its work. It has been continued as a committee, but it should continue its investigations and make reports and recommendations in specific form at the next meeting of the Association. We can then pass upon all of these questions. It should not be presented just as it is now. I trust that Mr. Tanzer will be willing to take it in that way. Laurence A. Tanzer, of New York: I gladly accept Mr. Stetson's suggestion. So far as action on the subject of the constitutional amendment is concerned, I think it would be very desirable for this Association to place itself on record as in favor of amending the Constitution of the State along these general lines, without necessarily committing itself to any particular form of amendment. The President: The Chair understands that there is no motion at present before the house except the motion that the report be received and placed on file, and the motion which has been made by Mr. Stetson and not seconded. The motion was seconded. The President: The motion is made and seconded that the report of the Committee on Taxation be received and placed on file and the Committee be instructed to continue its investigations and submit its recommendations as a result of those investigations at the next meeting of the Association. This motion was carried. Laurence A. Tanzer, of New York: Mr. President, in order to meet the point made by Mr. Stetson, in connection with the report of the Committee on Taxation, that it might be dangerous to commit the Association to any form of amendment without having given it careful consideration, I move the following resolution: "Resolved, That this Association favors an amendment to the Constitution of the State empowering the Legislature to provide for the assessment and taxation of persons and property other than real property by State or local officers, substantially along the lines recommended in the report of the Committee." That is offered with the intention of not committing the Association to any particular form of amendment. This motion was seconded and carried. Laurence A. Tanzer, of New York: I now move the last resolution of the Committee, as follows: "Resolved, That in the opinion of this Association exemptions of property from taxation have increased to an unwarranted and alarming extent and should be checked." You will observe, Mr. President, that that expresses an opinion only on the general subject, and does not express any opinion as to the precise measures that should be taken. The motion was seconded and carried. The President: Next is the Report of the Committee on Uniform State Laws. REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON UNIFORM STATE LAWS Charles Thaddeus Terry, of New York: Mr. President, the four measures which appealed to your Committee as possible of enactment by the New York State Legislature, and not theretofore considered by it, were presented to the legislature at its last session, and two of them were passed in one house, and were under consideration in the other house when we were caught in the current of what was thought to be more urgent matters, and were left, on the adjournment of the legislature, in that situation. We are promised that they will be taken up and adopted at the present session of the legislature. Those two are the uniform partnership act and the uniform probate of foreign wills act. The Association will recognize that in advocating the passage of those bills there would have to be met in the one case, the latter case, the objections of title companies, and in the former case general objections of those who had become accustomed to some precedents in our State which do not receive uniform recognition throughout all the states, the attempt in the uniform law being to adopt those principles which had been approved by a majority of the states, and reasonably sound in themselves, and consider them the proper principles to underlie such a law. That, Mr. President, is all the Committee cares to say at this time, reporting, therefore, progress. The President: What will you do with the report of the Committee? It was moved and seconded that the report be received and placed on file, and that the Committee be continued, which motion was carried. The President: Report of the Committee on Legal Publications. REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON LEGAL Virgil K. Kellogg, of Watertown: Mr. President, the Committee on Legal Publications begs leave to report that it has performed the office that was committed to it, namely, the simplification of the method under which the contracts for publication of State reports were made. We have secured the adoption of a statute which simplifies this method, and provides for the letting of all publications by one contract. One slight error crept into the statute, and we asked to have that eliminated. That was a reference to a contract for the publication of the miscellaneous reports, which contract has already been let, and therefore the elimination of that provision will not interfere with the efficient operation of the law. We also suggested that a provision be incorporated in the law to the effect that there shall be printed upon the |