CALIFORNIA. 



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sembly for the purpose of adopting prudential rules 



ilutiou-, in roxpn-i in in. itt. Tit placed under tb 

 control of tin- town govi-rnim-nts. 



Tlii- i-xiT.-im- \i\ the t"wn ^ovi-niinentK, whi-ntln-y 

 shall ho established, of the power to make locul rules 

 will coexist with tlie power of the State Legislature 

 ...i) general laws, and will apparently (but ap- 

 p.irontly only) constitute mi exeoption to' the rul<-, 

 tuut tho power to make laws, placed by the oonsti- 

 tuti"ii mtlie s.-imtu and Assembly, cannot be dele- 

 When the mandate of the constitution bhall 

 >oen obeyed, and a " system of town govern- 

 ments" tihull have In-oii established^ and when local 

 .tares shall have been organized under that 

 system, tho State Legislature may confide to mem- 

 burs of such local legislatures tho task of deliber- 

 ating and acting upon matters purely local in their 

 nature. The Legislature may give to tho town gov- 

 ernments, when formed, the rigtit to make local 

 rules ; but the Legislature has no more right to dele- 

 gate to tho people living within certain territorial 

 Limits, but who have no distinctive political charac- 

 ter or governmental organization, the power to make 

 laws, than it can delegate the same power to all the 

 people of the State. 



The statute of March 18, 1874, under tho provi- 

 si-nis of which the prisoner was convicted, does not 

 itself establish any system of town government. The 

 only officers who are directed to perform any .acts are 

 county officers ; the election is to be ordered by, and 

 the returns made to, the supervisors. There is no 

 provision for an assemblage of 'the people of the 

 town for deliberation ; the vote to be taken can in 

 no way be said to express the result of such delib- 

 eration. The constitution intended that the opin- 

 ion of a majority should govern as to town matters, 

 but that it should bo an "organically expressed" 

 opinion. The power to enact laws must be em- 

 ployed by the State Legislature ; that to make by- 

 laws for a town by the local legislature ; to become 

 law or by-law it must first be considered by the ap- 

 propriate deliberative body. The statute under con- 

 sideration simply permits a species of plebwcitwn 

 with reference to a particular subject, in which the 

 only option of the people of a township' is to say 

 "yes" or "no" to a complicated project. After 

 the spasmodic effort at the polls, the " town govern- 

 ment" (if this can be called one) subsides into inac- 

 tion, without any form or power of self-vitalization, 

 until again aroused to the exertion of its single func- 

 tion by tha supervisor of the county. Tho statute 

 furnishes neither a system nor a government. 



When M. do Tocqueville, and other writers, who 

 have studied our institutions in a philosophical 

 spirit, have expressed their admiration for the sys- 

 tem of town governments existing in New England, 

 as affording an excellent school of preparation for 

 the discharge by the citizen of his duties to the State, 

 it was in view of the public discussions in reference 

 to affairs of local, but sometimes absorbing interest, 

 at which all the qualified inhabitants of the town 

 could be present, and in which all were authorized 

 to take part. To substitute for such local legisla- 

 tion, where measures receive the sanction of the law 

 only after public interchange of opinions, the ma- 

 chinery of a "primary election" would be to de- 

 grade the whole system. That cannot be called a 

 system of town government in which no deliberative 

 assemblage is provided for t and in which a local law 

 is adopted by the ballots ot perhaps a bare majority, 

 who vote secretly, and without consultation with 

 the rest of the voters ; who are actuated by motives 

 which need not be publicly avowed, or controlled 

 by reasons the weakness of which would bo exposed 

 by a public discussion. 



On the 19th of November a State Temper- 

 ance Convention was held in San Francisco, the 

 object of which was the formation of a polit- 

 ical temperance party. The convention was 



largely attended. The views of the delegate* 

 were expressed in the following ru>luti 



Retained, That no liquor shall I,.- 

 merchandise i sold, and n<> iiierohand'ne him], 

 wheru liquor is sold; and that all those w 

 liquor shall h: In-M responsible for iU effect* upou 

 the individuals purchasing it. 



Resolved, Tiiut the local option law has been in- 

 dorsed by the popular sentiment of California, and 

 therefore that this convention <leire tin- i-rn)i->iliriieiit 

 of some form of legislative enactment of the princi- 

 ple of that law, inpresenti and not in future. 



Rtsolc&l, That the education of the masse* is the 

 safeguard of American freedom ; therefore we arc in 

 favor of mingling labor with our common-school svt- 

 tem, so as to train the mind of the youth to appreciate 

 industry and ingenuity. 



Resolved, That the national and State laws creating 

 an agricultural, mechanical, and mining college in 

 the University of California, are necessary for thu de- 

 velopment or the resources of the country, and we 

 insist upon their theoretical and practice/ introduc- 

 tion into the university, with all the rights and privi- 

 leges accorded to the other deportments in the col- 

 lege of letters. 



Resolved, That we approve of the eight-hour sys- 

 tem of labor as a social and national blessing, and 

 regard the eight-hour law of the State and nation as 

 a progressive step in civilization, whereby we shall 

 secure a more intelligent and patriotic citizenship, 

 and more energetic and ingenious mechanics. 



Resolved^ That it is wrong in principle to so em- 

 ploy convict-labor as to come in competition with 

 the occupations of honest men and women ; there- 

 fore we demand reform in the management of the 

 penitentiary of this State, so as to give prisoners em- 

 ployment that will not in any way injure the pro- 

 ducing population. 



Resolved, That we are decidedly in favor of the im- 

 migration of the Caucasian race, but look upon the 

 introduction of the Chinese into this country as inju- 

 rious to those of our people who work for a living, 

 and nationally unsafe and socially demoralizing to 

 the present and coming generations. 



Resolved, That associations having influences in 

 favor of the masses have our decided approval, and 

 we look upon the Trades Unions and Grangers as 

 common educators of the mechanics and farmers, 

 whereby we shall have a greater degree of sociiil 

 progress and equality among the working-classes. 



A resolution was also adopted recognizing 

 the cooperation of women in the cause of tem- 

 perance, and calling upon the women of the 

 State to unite in the work. 



Also, a resolution providing for the forma- 

 tion of a State Central Committee to work with 

 a quorum of fifteen members. 



The territory between the Gulf of Califor- 

 nia and the southern boundary of the State 

 has been recently explored by private enter- 

 prise, and valuable facts acquired. This is the 

 region of the Great Desert. The Cocopah 

 Mountains extend over this desert for about 

 50 miles, and are about 1,000 feet high. They 

 are supposed to be rich in gold, silver, and 

 copper. On the northwesterly side of this 

 range is Lake Maquata, a considerable body of 

 salt-water, which is fed sometimes by the hL'h 

 tides from tho gulf, and at other times by the 

 overflow of the Colorado River. On the 

 southerly side of the Cocopah Mountains is a 

 large body of land, having an alluvial soil, and 

 is every way suitable for agricultural pun 

 In this district are a great number of mineral 



