Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-02-22
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE.
rwENrY.FoURrH sEss1oN-FIFr1ErH DAY
SENATE.


eht. Journal of Saturday read, corrected and ap-
proved.
NJ. RYAN, by leave, introduced out of order the
following resolution
Resolved That the Attorney General be and he is
hereby directed ascertain whether the statement
contained in Sundays Chronicle in relation to the
Speaker of the Assembly receiving warrants drawn
the Treasurer by the Controller for SIS per day,
is true net and ii it prove to be true, to take
such steps as will prevent the payment of all such
warrants.
Mr. CHENEY moved to lay the resolution on the
table.
Mr. WATSON thought the motion entirely out OF
ORDER it referred to officer OF the other House.
Mr.. ENos he'll that it referred to State officer,
the Controller.
The ayes and noes were demanded upon the mo-
ton to lay upon the table, and it was lost-ayes TO-
noes "a.
Mr. SEARS said that the Senate was not justified
In taking the matter into consideration, and that it
ought to be left to the other house.
Mr. BROWN said that the Controller held that
the warrants for SIS per day, and he had drawn
| them, but Mr.. Parks had refused to take up the
warrants for SS.
Mr. DAVIS did not believe that the Speaker OF the
Assembly was drawing S1Sper day. II he was doing
| So he was clearly doing wrong, but the money, ii
drawn came out Of the contingent fund of the As
sembIy and before taking any hasty steps by the
Senate the Assembly should have an opportunity to
inquire into the matter.
] Mr.. HILL thought that common courtesy required
the Senate to give the other house time to investi
| gate the whole matter. He had no doubt the AS
sembly would do So If it did not it would be time
enough for the Senate to take it up He moved that
the resolution be made the special order for Wednes
| day at 2 o'clock.
The PRESIDENT ruled the resolution out Of order,
as it contained charge against the Speaker OF the
| Assembly.
| Mr. RYAN appealed from the decision Of the Chair.
| Mr.. SATrERwIIIrE and Mr.. NyE thought the ruling
of the Chair Incorrect as the resolution referred
to the conduct OF State officer as well as to that oi
l the Speaker OF the Assembly
Mr.. WATSON would sustain the Chair. The reso.
| luton was improperly drawn. 1t should call the
| Controller to account, and not the Speaker OF the
Assembly.
| Mr. HITTELL said he was informed that several
members of the Assembly had already investigated,
and had found the facts TO be stated by Senator
Brown and he satisfied there was nothing in it.
| But while he should vote against the resolution and
had voted to lay it upon the table, he thought the
| ruling OF the Chair was wrong and would be com
| PEELED to vote against sustaining the Chair.
| Mr.. DAVIS had no objection to the Senator from
| Humboldt making little political capital, but he
wanted him to do 1t legitimately. The Senator had
acknowledged that the presumption was that the
| charge not true.
| Mr. RYAN denied that he had go admitted.
| MIR. NEUMANN suggested that what Mr.. Ryan had
said that itwas to be presumed it was not true
coming from the it did, viz, the Chronicle.
| Mr.. DAVIS said he understood Mr. Ryan to say
| coming from newspaper.
Mr. TRAYLoR would sustain the Chair, because he
thought it wrong for the Senate to call in question
4
| Mr. RYAN denied that he had any intention of
making political capital by the introduction OF the
| resolution
Mr.. STARS thought the Senate had no authority
to direct State officer to do his duty, though they
might request it. He should vote to sustain the Chair
Mr.. WEST usually voted to sustain the Chair, but
in this instance he felt that he should be doing his
duty to the State by voting not to sustain the Chair
He thought the resolution out of place. but as
| it had come up he proposed to have it thoroughly
| examined into. II was due TO the dominant party
/ and to the person whose character Is impugned,
and it also due to both parties and to the peo
| pie.
The ayes and noes were then taken, and the Chair
| was not sustaned-ayes 49, noes u.
Mr.. BAKER moved that the resolution be referred
| to the Committee on Contingent Expenses.
Mr.. SEARS made the point of order that motion
TO make special order to day certain takes pre-
cedence of amotion to refer, and it was so ruled.
| After further discussion the resolution was re-
| ferred to the Committee on Contingent Expenses,
| with instructions to report on Wednesday morning.
The Senate then took up the special orde', the
substitute for Act to divide the State into Sena
torial and Assembly dist lets and provide for the
election of Senators and Assembymen therein 10y
| Mr.. WendelD.
The substitute was opposed by Mr.. ENos.
Mr. SEARS moved to strike out all after the enact
ing clause in the original bill and insert the substi.
| tute.
| Mr. GLAscocK called attention to the fact that
while there was but slight difference between the
| populations OF Placer aud Colusa counties, the
former was assigned Two Assemblyinen and the lat
! ter only one
! Mr.. sArrERwHIrE advocst ID attaehing Mono to
| Tuolumne, Calaveras and Amador counties 10 form
| a Senatorial District.
| Here the Senate took the usual recess.
| Afternoon Session.
| The Senate reassembled at , p. NJ.
Mr.. RYAN moved to take up the special order, 5.
/ r. 1876.
Mr.. JOHNSON insisted that the substitute to S b.
49, which was under discussion, was in order and
| the Chair so ruled.
Mr.. SArrERwHIrE appealed from the decision OF
| the Chair which the ayes and noes were taken.
| The decision OF the Chair sustained-ayes %,
| noes s.
The substitute was then adopted "a, noes Is.
| Mr.. SArTERwHITE moved TO amend by adding Mono
| to Amador Calaveras and Tuolumne, TO form SEN
| atorial District
Mr.. HlrrELL SAID that Tuolumne Amador and
| Caayeras contain population of 2i,000, and ii
Mono should be added it would make the population
| OF the district over 30, 600.
| Mr. RowELL said it would be very unjust to add
Mono to the district as it would embrace popula-
ton of over 81, ,500-a loss of over 16,o0o-while,
even with Amador, Caaveras and Tuoumne. with
out Mono, would have surplus population OF 5000
| Mr.. GoRMAN moved to recOmmit the bill to the
Committee on Apportionment, with instructions to
divide San Francisco into eleven Senatorial Dis
| trcts.
| Mr. RYAN could not understand why Placer should
have two Assemblymen while Mendocino, with a
larger population, was only allowed one He thought
| the bill ought to be recommitted. He thought if
the bill were passed, it possible that the Su-
| preme Court would set it aside.
| The ayes and noes were demanded on the motion
to recommt the bill, and the motion was lost-ayes
| II, noes %.
| Mr. EYos offered an amendment, that the bill bs
recommtted to the Committee on ApPortionmeDt,
| with instructions to report twenty-on Assembly
| Districts for San Francisco. Lost
| Mr.. JOHNSTON offered an amendment to strike out
| the words /" the First Ward Of Sacramento at
present constituted, that the city should have
one Senator and the country should also have one.
| Lost.
| Mr.. GoRMAN moved to amend so as to make Sacra-
mento the Thirteenth Senatorial District. Lost
| Mr.. ENos moved to amend so as to make Placer
county the Fifteenth Senatorial District.
Mr.. GLsscocK offered substitute constituting the
county of Placer the Fifteenth Assembly District.
| Lost by vote Of % to u.
MIR. GoRMAN moved to amend by adding Kern
| county to Placer county. Lost.
The bill was ordered engrossed by vote OF % to
Is, Mr.. Traylor and Mr.. Davis voting in the mega
| tive.
| Mr.. HUpsoN introduced the following bill out of
| order To provide for ascertaning the amount OF
equitable Chains for work done under the provisions
| OF an Act to promote drainage.
On motion OF Mr.. TRAYLoR, the above bill was re-
1 ferred to the Committee on Irrigation.
Mr. JOHNSON asked leave to have his vote recorded
in the affirmative in reference to the appeal from
the decision of the Chair to the resolution intro
| duced by Mr.. Ryan. So recorded.
Mr.. DAVIS moved that S. Bs. 1876 and 1877 change
| places on the file. Carried.
| The substitute for S. b. 1877, to amend Sections
3607, 3617, 3627, 3629 1854, S640, 3641, 1850 and
| 1851 of an Act to establish a Political Code. ap-
proved March IL, 1872, relating to revenue (by Mr.
| Davs), was taken up as the special order Of the
| hour.
| The substitute offered by the committee was
| adopted.
| Mr.. HITrELL moved to amend by striking out the
words =" said Code" in lines and of the printed
| b and inserting instead the words the Poitical
| Code" Carried.
| Mr.. DAVIS spoke in advocacy of his bill. After
| defining Of the general principles of govern
ment and giving his ideas OF what constituted the
| abuse of governmental system, he portrayed the
condition of affairs which had existed the eve of
| the assemblage of the last Constitutional Conven-
tion in this State, and asserted that the popular
clamor of that exciting and troublesome period had
| exercised an undue influence with the members of
the Convention in their legislative labors. As the
present revenue law generally admitted to be
constitutional, his criticism of that law might be
applied to the Constitution itself. The existing
law not only encouraged perjury, but provided for
double taxation. The speaker cited the cases of
several corporations in Marysvie and vicinity as
| illustrations of this latter fact.
Mr.. NYE called attention to the fact that the pre-
vous speaker, during the course of his remarks on
the BILL had neglected to refer to that part of Sec
tion which provided that for the purposes of taxa
tion all products of the soil should be deemed as
growing crops as long they remained in the pos
session Of the PRODUCER and such should be ex-
empt from taxation. This, he claimed, ficti-
tious distinction which violated all of the Eng
| lish language. 1t was unjust and would merely
have the effect of making every farmer speculator
Mr.. RYAN moved to amend Section by striking
out all Of the section after the word " therefore in
line OF the printed bill. He claimed that the pro
ducer, at the time when he had his crops stored in