Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-03-15

signed and they should not only be ass gnad b,
put IN PRINT to remain forever. No les 'slator, n
P1nticlan can n consider his library complete withou
history OF the debates Of the Constitutional Cor
venton, when changes radical like these change
Durlng our last Convention, the only Constitu iona
Convention since the formation of our State Govern
ment, l, having reports Of the Convention OF Iowa
rendered them to members, and they considered
tnem OF great practical utility in determining
Wnat changes were proper here In State there arr
important epochs which mark the tend ncy Of mora
action. These results exhibited fully in the re
ports OF the debates of any Constitutional Gonven
ton. ours, perhaps, more than any other State in
the Union. Nc State has had SO great and 'compre
nensive and minute changes as we have in sll our
laws ltseems proper, necessary Just to thepeo.
pie that these changes should be put in print, so
That they shall hve part of the political history
OF the State. This is a Senate BILL IL has passed
the Senate with almost perfect unsnimty. No doubt
tney TOOK INTO consideration the propriety Of this
question, and but few were against it. They un-
doubtedly considered this question of cost 1t has
Deen Deiore our committee, and they have reported
TINS as the preper sam to be paid 1t seems TO me
we should accept the action of the Senate and the
unanimous report of committee / have no
doubt az to the proprety OF the publication and
to the sum named We should accept their report
Mr. MclNrosH was opposed to the bill. When the
first Constitution OF the United States was framed
they had no reporter and this State can do without
just as well.
Mr. FOX SPEAKS.
Mr. Fo1-Mr. Speaker, am somewhat surprised
W hhu All aoic lawyer, one whose lie has been de-
voIed TO the study of law and to the rules Of the
Courts, and as to the manner of considering the
law, opposing the publication OF the debates OF the
Constitutional Convention, and particularly SO to
hear him urging upon this floor as the reason why
we should not make provision for the publication Of
those debates, the fact that the Convention itself
refused to publish them, when it is matter of his
tory, known to every child almost, that the Conven
tion was limited in its means to such an extent that
even its own members are unpaid for the per diem
due for their services But in add tion to this we
must remember that the debates of Constitutional
Convention treated by the Court somt what DIFF
ferently from the debates of L. gislature. This
Courts care very little for the debates of legis-
lative body, for they construe laws passed by the
Legislature by the terms used in the statutes Who
ever examines the history of the journals and
States and the United States, will find
that when Court is called upon to
construe any Constitution, when the language is
ambiguous they go to the debates OF the Conven-
ten in reference to the language used. Why not?
Constitutions not framed IN moment Every
word of the Constitution is weighed its effect is
considered time is taken for the consideration of
every sentence in the document. As one gentleman
has already said, there is scarcely word, not sin
gle sentence that has not been thorougly considered
and discussed in this Convention. Six months
were spent in considering bill not longer than SEN
ate Bill No. lis, that passed this House in three
days l venture the aSserti that you can
not turn to State Const tuition in the Federal
Union, except the present one in Cali
f0rnta, tnat you cannot n1Q IL accompanied
in its publication to the world by the debates
Here we have Constitution which it is no sin to
worship for there is nothing like the Constitution
OF California either in the heavens above or the
earth beneath or in the waters under the earth 1t
is experimental in its form, full Of antiquities
from its opening to its close There antiquities
be found in it in every place. We have been told
it has already cost the State ten thousand dollars
for one or two transcript pages Of the debates Of
that Convention. l tell you it cost the State ten
thousand dollars to furnish portions Of the debate
upon subject instead of furnishing the whole
OF them it also cost the State another thing for
which the State will blush down to the latest gen.
eraton 1t cost this State violation Of every prin-
ciple of law and every rule thnt has been adopted
by any C surts OF any civilized land down to the day
the Legislature met ; violation OF the principle
which 2ctuate1 the Constitutional Convention when
they acted upon the question under consideration
These debates were not accepted by the Court.
say this without any ref ection upon the Court that
the Court asked: why, gentlemen, don't you
provide for the publication OF these debates? We
cannot take manuscript portions Of them and as
sumo that they official must have
something OF official character" Until that
comes there is nothing by which the Courts
stitution except that which they can gather
from public rumor as to Whist was the will Of the
people, as to what the people understood. We
must to the debates Of the Trainer of the Constitu
tion-the representatives of the people-else we
have only sound which comes to US from the open
air take newspaper articles street conversations,
the great multiplicity and volume Of sound that
com rolling in, without any possibility OF weigh
ing the reasons which make up that sound. We
want to understand the voice and will of the people,
not to whether the Consttu ion should be adopt
ed. II is impossible for any one OF to tell when
vote is taken here upon this floor, by the sound
Of voices, which way it has gone. We hear a VOL
ume of sound roll up that makes US think
threefourths of the members votiEg. When a
division is called for it is found that only half
dozen have answered. So it is when you attempt to
the Constitution hy listening he
sound and voices that comes up from political slums
and all other places. The whole mass Of the people
have construed the Constitution at election but
when you take the whole volume OF sound that comes
up you will perhaps think the mass of the people
have construed it differently There is no safety in
resortng anything else except to the debates of
the Convention in order TO gain light and to
strue the instrument which was the result of the
abors Of that Convention and every state Conven-
ton except our own has gone forth to the world
with those debates, by which the Courts have been
enabled to construe it. Tne third dreading question
is perhaps of the most insignificant of all ques
tons, vet that was one of { e most ambiguous. /
can point over place after place. where clause Of
the Constitution, as it reads Is in direct conflict
with another that is, would construe its words
unexplained by the debates. Antiquities are scat
tered all through il, and there is possible way Of
understanding what the trainers of that instrument
meant except to have these debates by which to
construe them. As to the cost of these debates, /
do not know whether the committee have properly
estimated upon it, but tell you if it be five times
the cost named in this bill, il is money well expend-
ed for the State OF California. The people have al
ready expended millions of dollars for con
structon of two sections Of the
old Constitution. This Constitution has been
framed TO be the fundamental law OF
this State for many years to come. venture the
assertion that before one is framed for this
State $50 O0o, 900 will be expended by the people of
this State in trying to get this Constitution properly
construed--in trying to understand what it means
Under the revenue laws which have been passed
ndart he Constitution millions millions will
spent to know what is constitutional law. When
this is to be done every writer upon constitutional
law tells US the debates OF constitutional conven-
ton are most valuable where the language OF the
document is ambiguous. Shall we hesitate to pay
a few thousand dollars for the purpose Of having
those debates published in official form they can
be recognized by the Courts and made accessible?
am desirous of getting this work done. Ii il costs
this State S250,00o to get these debates published
in official form, it is money well expended
SPEECH OF MR.. SPENCER.
Mr. SPEScEa-Mr. Speaker, in noticing the de-
bate which has taken place upon this measure find
an erroneous impression exists in the minds of some
WHO oppose this bill. They seem to think it is
somewhat Of a newspaper measure. On this point
claim to know something. know it is not. The
reporters who have reported the proceedings of the
Constitutional Convention were reporters OF that
body No portion Of their orig nal documents has,
as yet appeared in the papers Of this State 1t is
in no way whatever connected with the newspapers.
The short hand reporters are gentlemen who work
for wages They are meritorious men in every re-
spect and no man need be afraid Of opposing or
favoring this measure on account of any expecta-
tlon of future rewards or punishments. The pub
fishers of newspapers are generally managers of
their own journals, and the reporter is only por-
tion of one of the departments. shall favor this
bill as a defender Of the new organic law which
seems to have rolled some OF my friends To me
the document has no absurdties. To me it is no
new thing. Its prin pes of taxation are as old as
American civilization. Upon the third reading
question new departure was made. In that it
may be new; but this Constitution grew out Of q
great issue upon the quest Of taxation. As has
been SO graphically described upon this floor this
State had left all the others of this Union she had
left 1850, and marched step by step until she is
an isolated State of this Union great in wealth.
department of the Government. The quiet portion
of the agricultural districts were taking notes
tley we're marking each step that California had
made, and upon their first chance they turned back
the whe |. The agricultural districts of the State
voted for that document. Look at 1t and see where
the votes came from by which it was adopted
They came from the conservative Portions OF this
conmonwealth-tae pr.wipg power and factor III
she ponl'es Vi ..ornia; and want to call the at
ths'on "a my friends to this fact, il l am moi
= occupying too much time. support this bill ioi
the publication OF these reports. was early In the
| fight for the new Constitution. l watched the pro
| ceedings Of that Convention with intense anxiety
had favored the calling of that Convention was
| one of the nominees of that party presented upor
| that ticket watched the proceedings Of thai
Convention with great interest As soon q:
| saw the question Of corporations had
| been reached, knew it had struck the popular
heart Any man who mingles with the people might