Both in his inaugural address and in his opening

Both in his inaugural address and in his opening message to the General Assembly, Gov. Gerald L. Baliles eloquently outlined the immediate and long-term goals of his admimstration. Its theme, as the governor described it, would be to lead the people of the commonwealth to what he described as “a New Dominion.”

The governor spelled out a comprehensive set of goals with a massive upgrading of the state’s transportation system as its centerpiece. Beyond that, he issued a call for improvements in the corrections system, education and in scores of other fields within the purview of his executive responsibility. He gave the Democratic legislature its marching orders with the reasonable expectation that it would proceed under full steam to implement the program of the Democratic governor.

Progress, however, has been slow in the present session, although promising starts have been made in some areas. An encouraging sign for Baliles is that there is little evidence of hostility, even on the part of the Republican minority, to most of his initiatives.

What has happened is that the legislature, being the legislature, has its own idea about what business it should be about. Each one of the 40 senators and 100 delegates has his or her own agenda which might or might not conform to the governor’s set of priorities.

This particular General Assembly somehow seems unusually independent-minded, and in fact, notably more cantankerous than most.

The House, under the iron-jawed leadership of Speaker A. L. Philpott, has no lack of guidance as to how to proceed along the paths of legislative righteousness. Nor, for that matter, does the Senate, where Sen. Edward E. Willey of Richmond, the president pro-tem and chairman of the powerful Finance Committee provides persuasive adivce to those junior members of the upper house who are prudent enough to pay attention.