CALIFORNIA. 



103 



Prince Bismarck instantly placed himself in 

 communication with Vienna and St. Peters 

 burg, and with the approval of both cabinets 

 admonished the two Balkan powers to com- 

 pose or arbitrate their differences, because a 

 resort to arms would not be permitted. In the 

 autumn an understanding was reached, whereby 

 Bulgaria promised to keep the expatriated in- 

 surgents at a distance from the Servian line, 

 and Servia agreed to give up the position on 

 the island in consideration of an exchange of 

 territory or a money indemnity. 



Agitation for the luioii of Bulgaria and Eastern 



Ronmelia. The approach of the time for ap- 

 pointing a successor to Aleko Pasha gave oc- 

 casion for fresh manifestations in favor of the 

 incorporation of Eastern Roumelia in the prin- 

 cipality. Mass-meetings were held in the prin- 

 cipal towns of Eastern Roumelia and in Bulga- 

 ria, in which the citizens expressed their desire 

 that the powers would modify the Treaty of 

 Berlin so as to satisfy the aspirations of the 

 Bulgarian people for political unity. The 

 strongest motive of the Eastern Roumelians 

 was supplied by the fact that taxes are much 

 lighter in Bulgaria. 



C 



CALIFORNIA. State GoYerament. The follow- 

 ing were the State officers during the year: 

 Governor, George Stoneman, Democrat ; Lieu- 

 tenant-Governor, John Daggett ; Secretary of 

 State, T. L. Thompson; Treasurer, W. A.Jan- 

 uary; Comptroller, John P. Dunn; Superin- 

 tendent of Public Instruction, W. T. Welcker ; 

 Attorney- General, E. C. Marshall; Surveyor- 

 General, H. J. Willey ; State Engineer, Will- 

 iam H. Hall. Judiciary, Supreme Court : Chief- 

 Justice, Robert F. Morrison; Associate Jus- 

 tices, W. H. Myrick, E. W. McKinstry, E. M. 

 Ross, J. D. Thornton, J. R. Sharpstein, and 

 S. B. McKee. 



Extra Legislative Session. An extra session of 

 the Legislature convened, at the call of the Gov- 

 ernor, on March 24, and remained in session 

 until May 13. The Governor, in his proclama- 

 tion, specified the objects he had in view in 

 calling the session ; which were mainly the 

 passage of laws or constitutional amendments 

 by which a new railroad commission should be 

 established, taxes levied upon railroads the 

 same as upon individual property, the delay 

 or drawback of payment prevented, and the 

 rates for passengers and freight regulated. A 

 local reviewer says : 



That the railroad companies had successfully re- 

 sisted the payment of their taxes ever since the pres- 

 ent Constitution was adopted had very naturally in- 

 censed the people, who demanded some revision of 

 our revenue system to meet the emergency. That 

 those great corporations should be required and com- 

 pelled to pay their just share of the expenses of the 

 government that affords them protection admits of 

 no question. And that their evasion of that obliga- 

 tion was the chief existing grievance against them, 

 will hardly be disputed. But for that grievance the 

 extra session would not have been called. Their suc- 

 cessful evasion of the payment of taxes was due to the 

 fact that the framers of the present Constitution saw 

 fit to provide that railroad property should be assessed 

 and taxed differently from all other property. 



The Legislature, when it convened, was under the 

 control, in both its branches, of the men who claimed 

 to be the especial friends of the Governor. They had 

 induced him to call the session ; had suggested to him 

 the topics for consideration, and were supposed to 

 have formulated the proper "bills and constitutional 

 amendments to eifect the objects sought. But though, 

 through their instrumentality, these amendments to 

 the revenue article of the Constitution were given the 

 prominence of a first mention in the proclamation, 



seven weeks of the session were absolutely frittered 

 away in the consideration of matters of minor impor- 

 tance, having no relation to revenue, and finally the 

 revenue questions were forced upon their attention by 

 those who had not favored the calling of the session. 

 And they had succeeded in getting one or two propo- 

 sitions into shape for final action when the promoters 

 of the session, to avoid voting on them, forced an ad- 

 journment and went home. 



During the session there were introduced in the 

 Assembly no less than sixty-three bills and proposi- 

 tions for the amendment of the Constitution, besides 

 a score of concurrent resolutions, the latter mainly 

 instructing our Congressmen how to vote on various 

 measures pending at the national capital. In the 

 Senate the "bills and constitutional amendments in- 

 troduced numbered thirty-two, making ninety-five 

 in all. Of these, four bills and one constitutional 

 amendment were finally passed by both Houses. Two 

 of the bills were appropriations for the expenses of 

 the session ; another a bill to allow counties to fund 

 their indebtedness in certain cases designed to per- 

 mit Yolo county to fund a floating debt of $5,000 ; 

 and the fourth a bill to license boats engaged in fish- 

 ing. The constitutional amendment that was adopt- 

 ed, and is to be submitted to the people for approval, 

 is designed to exempt mortgages from being raised 

 beyond their face value when the Board of Equaliza- 

 tion orders an assessment raised. And that, barring 

 the concurrent resolutions advising Congressmen how 

 to vote in Congress, is the ultimate of fifty-one days' 

 work by the Legislature. 



Several cases involving the constitutionality 

 of the system of railroad taxation are pending 

 in the United States Circuit and Supreme 

 Courts. 



The opponents of the extra session charged 

 that its promoters were affected by communis- 

 tic tendencies, and desired to make party capi- 

 tal by unreasonable assaults upon the railroads. 

 Many of the measures introduced were very 

 radical. The result was disastrous to the De- 

 mocracy. The November election wrought a 

 political revolution. 



Political. The Prohibition Home Protection 

 party held its State Convention in San Fran- 

 cisco in June. Delegates to the National Pro- 

 hibition Convention were chosen, and presi- 

 dential electors and Congressmen nominated. 

 The main purpose of the party was set forth 

 in the following passage in one of the resolu- 

 tions : 



"We declare the cardinal principles of our party to 

 be the prohibition, by national and State constitu- 



