Daily Los Angeles herald., 1879-04-02
New Constitution.
No. III.

No. iii.
EDITOR HERALD: While short.
ening the sessions of the Legisla.
ture, the new Constitution vastly
enlarges the labor and difficulties
of law.making by requiring a mum.
ber of mandatory forms to be OBJ
served. To this have before suf.
ficiently referred. Special legisla-
tion is in many cases an admitted
evil. But In many others 1t is not
only beneficial, but, for the ends Of
justice, absolutely necessary.
Section 25 of Article Nv contains
a list of thirty-three classes of
cases, in which special or local leg
islstion is prohibited, the list OF
which includes "all other cases
where general law cannot be
made applicable" Among these
thirty-three classes are number
In which Legislatures have been in
the habit of interfering specially,
and in which it is absolutely nee.
essary that they should do 80.
Take, for example, the tenth sub
division, which inhibits special
laws "for the assessment or collect.
ing of taxes" This, of course, ex-
tends to legalizing defective assess
ments, and why assessments in
any locality defective in form
should not, in Justice to the rest of
the State, be subject to the cura
tive action of the Legislature, is a
question, 1 apprehend, difficult to
answer. And why the Legislature
should not, in extreme cases, ex-
tend the time of collecting taxes
(Which they are prohibited from
doing by the thirteenth subdivis.
ion) is equally hard to satisfacto.
rily answer.
If money should, by accident or
mistake, be wrongfully paid into
the State Treasury, why should IL
not, by special act, be paid back to
the owner? But this cannot be
done under the fifteenth subdivis.
ion, and in such q case the owner,
since he cannot sue the State, is
wholly remediless and must forever
lose his money.
These are but samples of host
of Objectionable restrictions In
matters which cannot we'll be
reached by general enactments, but
In which legislative interposition Is
essential to the ends of justice.
Section 39 creates the new crime
of "lobbying'' and makes 1t a fell
ony. This is all very we'll, but
while the Convention was thus in
vading the province of penal legis-
lation, and adding new crime to
the Code, 1t would have been
worth its while to express its mean
ing in language that the courts
and people could understand.
''Bribery, promise Of reward, in
timidation Or any other dishonest
means'' are no doubt reprehensible;
but it remains to ascertain what Is
intended by those phrases. Must
the reward promised be pecunlary
or politioalq If, during the pro-
gress of a measure, the friends of a
member, to encourage him in ef-
forts for or against it, announce
him as a candidate for some other
office, does that constitute a "pro-
mise or reward?n Or, if Kearney
and his sand lot adhsrents should
persist in yelling "Hemp! hemp!n
against some future Bones, will
that amount to Intimidation? And
what are "other dishonest means?"
Is intimidation necessarily dishon.
est, and are means partaking of the
nature of intimidation other dis
honest means?
The Convention evidently had
no particular love for terseness and
brevity of expression, and was not
deferred from the expression of its
conclusions by the length and ver-
biage of its sentences. Why, then,
could it not, in this highly penal
provision, have defined its purpose
so clearly that men of ordinary in
telligence could comprehend it?
dred instances wherein it has step
ped beyond the limits OF Constitu.
ton making to usurp functions
which reason and precedent have
hitherto concurred in leaving to the
discretion OF the Legislatures; and
while, by so doing, it has deprived
future legislatures of the power TO
act, it has performed the duty
assumed in so loose and perfunc-
tory a fashion that the provisions
enacted can never be effectually
executed. For 1t is clear that, by
attempting to define the crime, 1t
has effectually deprived the Legis.
lature of the power to do 80, except
In the very terms used in the Con
stitution. The entire section is of
the same vague and indefinite char
acter. What Is meant by seeking
to influence the vote of member"
etc.? Must there be q "giving" or
an offer to "give a bribe," as the
existing Penal Code provides? Or
will mere attempt, a negotiation,
to that end, constitute such a seek
ling2
| Many more objections to this ar
ticle suggest themselves, but the
necessary space aud time are want
ing. In nay next, passing cursorily
over the intermediate articles,
shall devote a brief space to the
ninth, which providesfo for the organ
ization of cities, counties, etc. M.