The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1876-06-15

OuIlnS tue coming year VIII De IOunO 20 De
quite urgent
Your committee respectfully state further
that before concluding finally their own in
quiries upon the resolution referred to them
they deemed it advisable to confer upon
this subject with the Senate Judiciary Com
mittee No. 1, and at joint meeting of rhe
two committees the following resolutions
were passed by an almost unanimous vote:
ReS0lced, That the present session of the
Legislature is not a biennial session, but
one provided for by the Constitution in lieu
of an annual session, the assembling of
which, under former law, had been pre-
vented; and, further, is convened by ordi-
nance of the convention to inform legis-
lstion to the provisions of the Constitution.
Rss0leSd, That since, by ordinance of the
convention, the members of this Legisla-
ture hold for the term of two years from
and after the first Tuesday after the first
Monday in November, A. D. 1876, this Leg
islatuTe has power at this session to deter
mine by law at what period during its term,
after November, 1876, the first biennial ses-
sion snail begin.
Upon a review of the subject, therefore,
your committee report to the House, in an
swer to the resolution offered by the gentle
man from Galveston, that in their opinion
the present session of the Fifteenth -Legis-
lature is not the biennial session of this
Legislature, as contemplated by the Consti-
tuition and the ordinances of the conven-
ton; and, secondly, that it will be lawful
for a session of this Legislature to be held
| in 1877; and as to the time for holding said
session in 1877, it is within the province of
this Legislature to determine.
CAMPBELL, Chairman.
MINORITY REPORT.
Hon. T. r. Bonner, Speaker Of the House Of
@ Representatives.:
The undersigned is a minority of your
Committee on Judiciary No. 1, to whom
was referred the questions propounded by
your Committee on Finance, to-wit first,
lis this a biennial session of the Legislature :;
second, can there be regular session of
this Legislature In 1877; and finds himself
unable to agree with the majority of said
Judiciary Committee, and, differing. sub
mlts this minority report. 1t canpot be de-
MED that the questions are involved in some
doubt, and Notwithstanding my conclusions
are fixed, dissent from the opinion of the
majority of your committee with considera-
BILE trepidation, opposed, as 1 am, by the
learned gentlemen who constitute that ma
! jority. 1t is not deemed improper to state
here that IN an effort to ascertain what is
intended by the Constitution upon any
given point we should look to all the pro-
visions of that document bearing on the
question at issue and harmonize apparent
conflicts if possible. hold that this Leg
islature is now in the midst of a regular
biennial session; regular, because it is coz
vened by competent authority for the pur-
poses of general legislation; because, by the
spirit of the Constitution, it takes the place
of the regular annual session, which would
have been held in January last had there
been no change in affairs by the adoption
of a new constitution; biennial, because it
ante-dates the regular session of the Six
teenth Legislature two years, according to
the plain spirit of the Constitution. What
is there about the present session of the
Legislature to give it any other name than
that of regular session The mere fact
that it is convened by power not often ex-
ercised does not give it any irregular or ex
traordinary features. In addition to ali this,
l think that careful perusal of the Consti-
tuition will convince US that it was the in
tentlon of the Convention which framed it
that the present should be the regular and
the only session of the Fifteenth Legisla-
ture, unless it should be oftener convened
by the Governor. If it be true that the
present is q regular biennial session the
w
to section 5, of article 8, of the Constitu-
ton, it will be seen that the Legislature shall
meet eceTytaoO gears, ETC., thereby doubtless
meaning that it should not meet Oftener
than every two years, and as the members
of the House of Representatives are elected
for two years only, that no Legislature
should meet but once in regular session.
The Fifteenth Legislature, then, cdnrOt
hold another regular session; and this an
swers the question with reference to a regu-
lar session In 1877. Ii the present is regular
session of the Fifteenth Legislature in any
sense it is one in all senses, and as the ma
jority of your committee admit that it is
regular session in one sense, / am brought
to the conclusion that there can be no reg
ular session in 1877, because in that event
two years would not elapse between the ses-
sions, as is required by section 5, of article
3, of the Constitution. AS the Governor
and Lieutenant Governor will be elected in
November, 1878, it Is taken for granted
that the regular session of the Sixteenth
Legislature will be fixed to take place some
time in the early part of the year 1879, so
that those officers may be inaugurated and
enter upon the discharge of their official
duties. Hence it will be seen that If my
position with reference 20 the power of this
Legislature to hold a regular session in
1877 be correct, more than two years will
pass between the regular sessions
of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth
Legislatures which will apparently violate
section 5, of article g. of the Constitution,
and here lies all the trouble. But section
6, of article s, of the Constitution, gives
the first legislature assembling under that
document the power to make appropriation
for the maintenance of the government un-
til the assemblage of the Sixteenth Legisla-
ture, this power being In excess of general
powers given on this subject, and 1 think
that this section clearly demonstrates the in
tention of the convention to have been that
section 5, of article 3, was not intended
to control the time between the ses-
sions of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth
Legislatures, but to regulate the time
of meeting of future legislatures. 1t
is argued that section 6, of article 8, is only
| permissiUe in its nature, and will not con-
troll the construction of section 5, of article
3, but if 1t was not expected that this
should be the only session of the Fifteenth
| Legislature, why put even a permisslve
clause with reference to appropriations In
the Constitution If this is an extraordl
nary and not regular biennial session Of
the Legislature, then it must meet again, so
that there may be a regular session, and as
that meeting must inevitably be during the
year 1877, not more than two years will
have elapsed between the sessions of this
and the Sixteenth Legislature, and hence
no necessity for the power granted in srti-
Gle 8, section 6. In constituting the Consti-
tuition, we must give some meaning to
every provision, il possible, and the pro-
vision referred to is susceptible of no other
meaning than that given it by myself.
Again, section "A, of article 8, provides
that the members of no Legislature shall
receive more than SIS per day for more than
sixty days, except the members of this
Legislature holding their first session, at
which they may receive five dollars per day
for ninety days. The clear intention of the
Constitution in giving this additional time
to the present session of the Legislature is
to enable it to prepare the State govern
ment to do without further legislation until
| the Sixteenth IeOislature shall assemble