The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1876-06-29

the noor OF THIS House as memDe from said |
district.
Report and resolution adopted.
CHEsLEY, Chairman.
Senator Storey, from Judiciary Commit
tee No l, submitted the following report
Hon. r. B. Hubbard, President Of the Senate:
l cannot agree with the report of the
majority OF Judiciary Committee No. 1,
" no recommend the passage of Senate bill
No. 126, IAN act to fix the tine of holding
tue biennial sessions of the Legislature of
the State of Texas, for the following rsa-
sons:
l. l believe this to be the only session
by the Constitution for the
F fifteenth Legislature, and any other session
must be either an extraordinary session
convened blythe Governor, or an adjourn
ment of this session to a future day, and
when 50 adjourned 1t of course would be
part of tins the regular session and not q
new and distinct session of this Legislature
and if this and the adjourned session to-
gether holds for more than ninety days, out
pel. diem could be but two dollars per
day for all over ninety days.
1t will not be denied by any one that one
of the principal If not the prime reason for
calling the late Constitutional Convention
was to secure an economical government,
and one OF the greatest evils omplsined of
was frequent sessions of the Legislature,
and SD prominent was the idea in the minds
of the members of the convention, We find
that early in the session, as shown by the
Journals of the convention, q proposition
was submitted by Mr.. Martin of Hunt now
an bonored Senator on this floor, in these
words, viz: THAT after the adoption of
this Constitution, the first two sessions of
the Legislature shall be biennial, the first
session limited to ninety days, and the
second to sixty days; and thereafter the
Legislature shall meet in regular session
once only in every four years, except when
the Legislature shall be convened in extra
session by the Governor, which extra ses
sion shall be limited to thirty days; and
when so called, the Legislature shall act
upon no measure or measures, except such
as may be recommended by the Governor.
A few DAYS afterwards Mr.. German pre-
sented the following:
''The members of the House of Repre-
sentatives shall be chosen by the qualified
electors, and their terms of Office shall be
two years from the date of general election,
and the regular sessions of the Legislature
shall be once only IN every two years, and
III hOlO bhdh oIAsS uoJo NuioSAOh'
Both of these and several other similar
resolutions were referred to the Committee
on the Legislative Department, and in
course of time the committee reported the
following:
1.-The Legislature shall meet every two
years, at such times as may be prescribed
by law, and at other times when convened
by the Governor. The first session under
this Constitution shall convene ON the -
day of -, 1876"
This was amended by striking out all
after the word Governor" and thus Sec
ton 5, article 3, of the Constitution was
formed. Agar, at a later day in the ses-
sion, Judge Ferris, an eminent lawyer and
able member of the Convention, sub
mitted the following:
"Section =. No money shall be drawn
from the Treasury but in pursuance OF
specific appropriation made by law, moi
shall any appropriation of money be made
for longer time than two years"
Several days afterward, Mr.. Brown OF
Dallas offered the following amendment
"Add to section except by the first
Legislature to assemble under this Consti-
tuClon, which may make the necessary ap.
preparation to carry on the government
until the assembling of the Sixteenth
Legislature" This amendment was adopt
ed, and thus section 6, article s, of the
o stitution, was formed.
| submit that these extracts are sufficient
to show that the Convention recognized
the demands of the people to do away will
frequent sessions of the Legislature, and
in order that no harm should result from
longer vacation than two years, the FIT
teenth Legislature is permitted to make al
appropriation to carry on the government
until the session of the Sixteenth Legisla
ture, which cannot assemble, as we al
agree, until after November, 1878, or TIVE
and half years.
Again, l refer the Senate to section "a
article 3. of the Constitution, which il
substance provides that at the first session
of the Legislature held under this Constitu
ton, the members may receive five dollar
per day for ninety days, and two dollar
per day for the remainder of the session
and for all subsequent sessions five dol
lars per day for sixty days, and two dollar
per day for the remainder of the session
But is contended by those who favor tn
views of the majority of the committe,
that this is an extraordinary session of tn
Legislature, and that at this session W
must provide for the meeting of the regula
biennial session of the Fifteenth Legisls
ture, and that the biennial session of tn
Sixteenth Legislature must be exactly tw
years from that date-no more, nor no less
If this is true, when we once fix the tim
for the biennial sessions of the Legislature
it can never be changed except by a
amendment to the Constitution. Such
thing was certainly never contemplated b
tie Convention.
And If we should be so fortunate as +
1 Toto oil tha l..rr ~ n
this session of the Legislature, this extreme
strict construction of the instrument vii
require us to go through the foolish, ex
pensive and shameful fOruality of assem-
bling here next April, with nothing to d
bat to draw our mileage and thus insult tn
good sense of our constituents, return HON
ard congratulate ourselves that we
g Marched up the hill
And then march d Gown again"
am clearly of the opinion That the ordi
nance of the Constitution under which W
assembled here must be construed to pre-
fix, SO to speak, to our terms, the time fror
the date OF our election, on the fifteent
day of February last to the first Monday j
November, 1876. So the Fifteenth Legisls
ture was, like all county ticials, in fact eleC
ted for nearly three years instead of two year
and we ale not ON duty before our term
|
we were elected for longer leriod tina
two years, and because it was contemplate
by the Convention that we might have n
other session until the Sixteenth eRisls
ture assembled, we are permitted to ara'
: full pay for ninety days to enable US to g
through with all necessary legislation, an
to make an appropriation for longer pr
Rod than two years.
! might rest my case here with perfec
safety, but for fear some may think W
ale without a precedent to sustain the pos
ton taken, beg to remind Senators ths
this is no new question in Texas. TIL
Constitution of 1915, provided in sectio
] 5, article 3, that the sessions of the Lei
isla,ure shall be biennial, at such times
shall be prescribed by law" This ver
language was re-enacttd in section 4, art
S Gle 3. of the Constitution of 1866.
While the present Constitution retaiI
: the same idea in section 5, Articls 3, in tn
| l.. 9Th. ah.i