Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-07-27
LEGISLATIVE PAY.

| LEGISLATIVE PAY.
| ~ y !,
THE OPINION IN THE EXTRA SAL
| Judges Pearson and HenIsrsoa Decide tha
tho Act OF May II, 1874, is Uncon-
s'i'ss,Cc.l ;.,s:...! and Void .,;.,. and Leg
to Per Diem Pay. ~
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania e,
relatione Charles 8. Wolfe vs.. Samue
Butler, state treasurer. 1913, Angus,
Term, 1881. Writ of Mandamus. Ap
plication for a Peremptory Mandamus
and Answer Thereto. ...- r..
By the court Tho pleadings in this case
raise single question. Is the plaintiff,
as member of the Legislature Of Penn
sylvania, entitled to receive out of the
treasury of the state the sum of five hun-
dred dollars in addition to tho salary,
mileage, ETC., already paid him for his
services during the session of 1881 That
depends on the cOnstitutionality of the
first section of the act of the 18th Of May,
1874, making compensation to the mem
bers of the general assembly in these
words '' That the compensation of Nom
bers of the general assembly shall be one
thousand dollars for each regular and each
adjourned annual session, not exceeding
one hundred days; and ten dollars per
diem for time necessarily spent after the
expiration of the hundred days: Provided.
howeper, that such time shall not exceed
fifty days at any one session." Mileage is
also provided for, and also adjourned OF
special sessions at the same rate per day.
It is conceded that the session of the Leg
islature of which the plaintiff was men,
ber in attendance, continued for one hun
dred and fifty eight days, terminating on
tue 9th day of June, 1881.
Tho provision of the constitution under
which this law was enacted is in these
words as found in section eight Of the
second article: "The members of tho
General Assembly shall receive such salary
and mileage for regular and special ses-
sions as shall he fixed by law, and no
other compensation whatever, whether for
service upon committee or otherwise. No
member of either House shall, during the
term for which he may have been elected,
receive any increase of salary or mileage
under any law passed during such term. F"
One main question to be determined is
what was meant by the words "salary as
shall be fixed by law?" Was it intended
to give a salary as generally known and
understood, or a per diem compensation
or was it intended to give both, a salary
and daily pay? Was it to be fixed Jumped
sum during one hundred days and COM
pensation at tho same rate per diem for
the next fifty days, or not exceeding that
time?
In constituting a constitution courts arc
perhaps not bound down to tho form of
words used rs in q private article of agree
ment, or even an act of Assembly. 1t is a
form Of government must be expOunded
literally TO effect the general object must
bo studied in the light of ordinary lan-
gnage and tho construction placed upon it
by the people. 4 p. f. Smith, 2GO, 26i. 3
Sergt s Rawle, 90. A constitution is made
not particularly for the inspection of law
yers, but for the million, that they may
judge of their rights and duties. Words
are not to be used ii their technical
sense, but arc to have their plain. popular
and natural meaning. The state is only
bound by their natural meaning. Gibson,
Oh. j., 6 w. s Sergt., ia. Now what is
tho plain and natural meaning of the word
" SALARY ?" 1t is a word with which the
world-the mass Of tho people-have be-
come very familiar. We need not look
into dictionaries to study its meaning
Not even into law dictionaries to SEQ how
it has been held by the legal profession.
It gives us but little light to know that
the word was derived from tho word
g salt "a necessary of life, in which the
wages of the Roman soldier was paid or
from "sala," hall, or the rent of . hall
or sala." How is it understood by the
mass of the people in this country at the
present ?-by the English speaking people
of the United States in the latter part of
the nineteenth century? Webster defines
it to be tho recompense. or consideration
vices, usually fixed sum by the year, or
it in nearly tho same language (: Services
" Wages usually applied to servants
" An annual or periodical payment for
serviccs-a stipulated periodical recon-
pense."
Tomlin in his law dictionary defines it,
"a recompense, a consideration made to i
person for his pains or industry in
another mans business" Bunnell, l.. D.,
can annual compensation for services rcn-
dered, fixed sum to be paid by the year."
Bouvier, L. D., says, "a reward or recon-
pense for services performed. It is usual
ly applied to the reward paid to public
officers for the performance of official du-
ties.
If wc wish to arrive at what was actual
ly meant by the trainers of our present
constitution by the section cited, we can
gain much information by looking into
the registry of their proceedings. In vol
ume 1, page 500, we find the section intro
duced by a committee substantially as
adopted. This was voted as an amend
ment to one in different language. All Of
the arguments show that the object was
to have fixed salary for the session. An
effort was made to amend by striking out
''salary' and inserting compensation"
This was rejected on the ground that
fixed salary for the session was desirable
aud intended. Again, when the matter
was brought up as finally inserted, the |
to substitute ''c0mpensat,on,"
as in the former constitutions of 1890 and
that of 1888, was proposed, it was again |
rejected by a vote of the convention. SEQ
vol. Z, page 313. This was not the merc |
of a few members, but the SOL
emn vote of the body. The reason given
was that daily pay prolonged the sessions.
A legitimate source of Ofreasoning is found |
in the change from the former language |
and the Inconvenience felt under it in
paying by the day to the salary as adopted.
The Legislature, of 1874 appear in enact |