

CALIFORNIA. 



101 



so numerous as to present an almost now con- 

 stitution -w</ iv agreed upon by the General 



iMy, ami referred to the Legislature next 

 IIOM-M. The Legislature also published 



Mimomlation to the people of the State 

 tin- next general election for inem- 



f tho Legislature, " for or against calling 

 a r .11 \oiii ion to revise and change the consti- 

 tution of tliis State." Among other measures 

 of ---UK' importance were acts reapportioning 



lutorial districts, and fixing the number 



itors and members of the Assembly from 

 ouch; providing for a system of irrigation in 

 Angeles County ; regulating the sale of 

 mineral lauds belonging to the State, and fixing 

 tlie price at $2.50 per acre; appropriating 

 $175,000 for the construction of a branch State- 

 pri-M'ii near the town of Folsom, in Sacramento 

 County; and $600,000 for the completion of 

 the Xapa State Asylum for the Insane. 



An important work done by the Legislature 

 was the revision of the school laws. Under 

 the amended school system, the State Superin- 

 tendent of Instruction is elected by the people 

 for four years. He is required, among other 

 duties, to collect and compile the school statis- 

 tics of the State, report annually to the Con- 

 troller, before the 10th of August, the number 

 of children in the State between five and sev- 

 enteen years of age, and to apportion the 

 school-fund. The State Board of Education 

 comprises th Governor, Superintendent of 

 Public Instruction, Principal of the State Nor- 

 mal School, and the School Superintendents 

 of San Francisco, Sacramento, Santa Clara, 

 Alumeda, Sonoma, and San Joaquin Counties. 

 Boards of education are elected in (jities under 

 the provisions of special statutes. County su- 

 perintendents are elected for two years, and, 

 besides other duties, apportion the school mon- 

 eys of each district, and make annual reports 

 to the State Superintendent. There is a State 

 Board of Examination, composed of the State 

 Superintendent and four teachers appointed 

 by him, which grants life-diplomas, State-di- 

 plomas for six years, and State-certificates re- 

 spectively for four, three, and two years ; also 

 a County Board of Examination, comprising 

 the County Superintendent, and not less than 

 three teachers appointed by him, which grants 

 certificates of three grades. County or City 

 Boards of Examination grant certificates only 

 upon actual examination. The law requires 

 all schools to be classified into first, second, 

 and third grades, unless otherwise provided by 

 special statute. Separate schools must be pro- 

 vided for children of African or Indian de- 

 scent ; otherwise, such children must be ad- 

 mitted into the schools for whites. The statute 

 contains this important provision concerning 

 female teachers : " Females employed as teach- 

 ers in the public schools of this State shall in 

 all cases receive the same compensation as is 

 allowed male teachers for like services when 

 holding the same grade-certificate." "Women 

 over twenty-one years of age, and citizens of 



the United States and of California, are eligible 



to all eihu-atioiial otlices within the Stat 

 cept those from which they arc excluded by 

 the constitution. 



The school-fund amounts to $1,417,500. The 

 amount in tho Stato Treasury in March, sub- 

 . apportionment, was $310,030, of which 

 $33,244 was derived from interest on sohool- 

 liiii-ls; $44,280 from bonds held in trust; uti'l 

 $239,631 from property-tax. In addition to 

 tins, a school-tax is levied by the counties. 

 The " Tuttle bill," whu.li became a law in 1874, 

 provides for an expenditure for school par- 

 poses of $1,000,000, or nearly four times at 

 much. as the schools received during 1872 or 

 1873. The compulsory-education law of 1874 

 requires all children between eight and fourteen 

 years of age to be sent to school two-thirds of 

 the time during which a public school may be 

 taught, under a penalty of not more than $20 

 for the first, or $50 for each subsequent vio- 

 lation. 



The total receipts for school purposes in 

 1878-'74 amounted to $2,551,799 ; total expen- 

 ditures, $2,113,356; total teachers' salaries, 

 $1,434,367; school libraries and apparatus, 

 $29,245. There were 1,462 school districts, 

 and 1,868 schools; 882 male and 1,454 female 

 teachers ; 97,681 pupils in the public schools, 

 with an average attendance of 72,972, and 

 12,507 in private schools. 



The " local-option " law passed by the Legis- 

 lature at this session led to an important de- 

 cision in the Supreme Court, which held the 

 statute to be unconstitutional. The act had 

 been passed " to permit the voters of every 

 township or incorporated city to vote on the 

 question of granting licenses to sell intoxicating 

 liquors." Pursuant thereto an election was 

 held in the fourth township of Contra Costa 

 County, at which a majority of the votes were 

 cost against license. The petitioner was after- 

 ward convicted of an alleged violation of the 

 law, as declared by the statute, and sentenced 

 to imprisonment in the county jail. The opinion 

 of the court, written by Mr. Justice McKinstry, 

 and concurred in by Chief-Justice Wallace and 

 Mr. Justice Niles, held : 



1. This statute is void, because it did not become 

 a law when it left the bonds of the Legislature ; but 

 was to take effect only when it should be approved 

 by a majority of tho. people of a township, and then 

 only in the township where thus approved. 



2. That this statute is not a law conferring upon 

 towns any governmental or police powers. 



Justices Rhodes and Crockett dissented. 

 The grounds upon* which this decision was 

 based were, that the power to make laws, con- 

 ferred by the constitution on the Legislature, 

 cannot be delegated by the Legislature to the 

 people of the State, or to any portion of the 

 people. Our Government being a representa- 

 tive republic, and not a simple democracy, an 

 act, in order to become a law, " must be passed 

 through both Houses of tho Legislature, be 

 signed by the Speaker of the Assembly, and 



