CALIFORNIA. 



71 



this election. He refused a nomination to be ing personal appearance and courteous man- 

 Governor of the Territory of Nebraska in 1855. ners, of unblemished character, of comprehen- 

 Once only he reappeared on the public stage sive patriotism, unalterably attached to the 

 as a member of the " Peace Congress " which Union of the States. After a life of devotion 

 in 1861 met at Washington City, composed of to right and truth, and an old age spent in 

 able and prominent men who sought in vain to deeds of charity and words of wise counsel, the 

 avoid the evil of civil war which then threat- scarred hero sank to rest at his home in Car- 

 ened the country. He was a poet of no mean rollton, Kentucky, on Friday, August 6th, in 

 rank, a man of liberal education, of a command- the ninetieth year of his age. 



C 



CALIFORNIA. The Legislature met Jan- 

 uary 5th, and closed its sessions April 16th. It 

 was the first Legislature after the adoption of 

 the new Constitution, and had the heavy task 

 to perform of revising the political and crimi- 

 nal codes, the organization of county govern- 

 ments, and the laws of taxation and revenue, 

 so as to make them conform to the alterations 

 in the fundamental law. The Republican ma- 

 jority in both Houses was disposed to place the 

 most conservative possible construction on 

 many of the provisions of the Constitution. 

 An astive and aggressive minority, with more 

 radical views, took a prominent part in the in- 

 troduction of bills, and disputed warmly many 

 of the measures proposed by the other side. The 

 debates were spirited, sometimes stormy, and 

 on a few occasions disorderly. Many bills were 

 introduced upon pressing questions in which 

 all the parties favor som3 degree of reform, 

 sush as the regulation of the mining business 

 and speculation in mining stocks, the protec- 

 tion of farm-lands, rivers, and harbors from de 

 Ijris washed into the caflons in hydraulic mining 

 and swept into the valleys by freshets, changes 

 in the land laws to restrict the accumulation of 

 vast landed estates, etc. ; but a reaction against 

 the spirit of innovation which has marked re- 

 csnt Californian politics ruled in the minds of 

 the majority, and the projected laws on these 

 subjects were defeated after a long contest, 

 excepting one on the urgent debris question, 

 upon which several bills were discussed, and 

 one was finally framed which became a law, 

 the most important act of the session except- 

 ing the Revenue Bill. In hostility to the Chi- 

 nese all factions were in harmony. A number 

 of anti-Chinese bills were passed without much 

 opposition, of the constitutionality of which 

 many admitted doubts ; but, borne out by the re- 

 quirements of the State Constitution and their 

 electoral mandates, they felt it incumbent upon 

 them to satisfy the general popular sentiment 

 as to the kind of legislation required, leaving the 

 question of its validity to be determined by the 

 courts. There was a determination, in view of 

 the amount of business to be transacted, to 

 question the literal construction of the clause 

 contained in the new Constitution which re- 

 quires that all bills should be read through three 

 times in each House. The Judiciary Committee 

 of the Assembly declared that the Constitution 



required that a bill should be read at length 

 once only. The subject, by vote of the House, 

 was brought before the Supreme Court, but 

 the question whether bills read by title only, 

 but entered as duly read on the record, were 

 valid, still remained open. 



Of the bills introduced which failed to be- 

 come laws, among the most prominent were 

 the bills to regulate the sales of mining stock, 

 intended to reduce the business in mining stocks 

 to a cash basis, forbidding brokers to sell or hy- 

 pothecate stock belonging to others, making 

 operations on margins a penal offense, and im- 

 posing other severe restrictions. A law was 

 passed enabling shareholders owning a ma- 

 jority of stock in mining corporations to re- 

 move the company officers and elect new ones. 



A land bill was brought in the Senate, re- 

 quiring heirs to large estates to sell all beyond 

 5,000 acres within five years, and forbidding 

 any one in the future to acquire real property 

 exceeding in area that limit. Other limits 

 proposed were 640 and 1,280 acres, and 5,120 

 acres for grazing-lands. None of these bills 

 were passed. 



A bill was passed forbidding games of cards 

 to be played in saloons for drink. 



A bill was passed providing for the appoint- 

 ment of a State Mineralogist and the establish- 

 ment of a Mining Bureau. 



A law regulating the organization of county 

 governments was hastily enacted in the last 

 days of the session. This act was decided by 

 the Supreme Court in September to be in con- 

 flict with the Constitution. The revision of 

 the civil and criminal codes was elaborated 

 in committee ; it necessitated the passage of a 

 great number of separate acts. 



In framing the Revenue Bill under the new 

 Constitution, the Legislature showed great re- 

 luctance to carry out the provisions of the in- 

 strument. The Constitution defines property 

 as including " moneys, credits, bonds, stocks, 

 dues, franchises, and all other matters and 

 things, real, personal, and mixed, capable of 

 private ownership." All property, except 

 growing crops, school and other public prop- 

 erty, is declared subject to taxation, unless ex- 

 empt by the laws of the United States. The 

 Legislature is enjoined to levy taxes on all de- 

 scriptions of property at its " full cash value." 

 The Republican Legislature sought to shape 



