Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-03-25
- Legislature.

-
isessiss.re.
OFFICE OF ATTORNEY GENERAL, HAIR
RIsBURe, March %. 1881.-Hon. Samuel
Bsdlor end Hon.. WHliaa r. SeAeH:-GE1-
TLEMEN: have the honor to acknowledge
the receipt OF your favor Of the 22d in
slant, referring the inquiry Of Hon. John
8. LaTcuche, member from Iackawanna,
respecting the right of the members Of the
General Assembly to receive per diem
compensation of ten dollars, for a period
not exceeding fifty days after the expira-
tion of one hundred days. for which
round sum of one thousand dollars is
allowed by law. i r..rL -. r. -
Being bound to furnish ''legal opinions
ON all questions submitted by heads Of the
departments, - reply as follows:
The eighth section of the second article
Of the constitution provides, that ''the
members Of the General Assembly shall re-
ceive such salary and mileage for regular
and special sessions as shall be fixed by
law, and no other compensation whatever
for services on COMMITTEES 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" ::
On the nth Of May, 1874 (P. L. 129)
the General Assembly ''hxed by law. the
salary and mileage to be received by men,
bers. ...4
The act, so far as material, is as follows:
The compensation of members OF the
General Assembly shall be one Thousand
4 ono1, oNinnrn
ed annual session not exceeding one hun
dred days, and ten dollars per diem for
time necessary spent after the expiration
of the hundred days Provided, Aorerer,
That such time shall not exceed fifty days
at any one session. a....Y..-. ..:-.
The question to be resolved is whether
this act is in conformity or conflict with
the provisions of the constitution, and its
determination involves a construction of
the section quoted. w.. r
In many. cases tho supreme court have
established rules for tic proper under
standing of the frame of government and
among them the following
The constitution is not to be inter-
preted az private writing by rules of art,
but in the light OF ordinary language, the
circumstances attending its foundation
and tho construction placed upon it by the
people. ."-Cronise vs.. CrOnise, 4 Smith,
255.
l. "The constitution is entitled to a con-
| struction as nearly as may be in accord
ance with the intent of its trainers. -
Moers VS.. Reading, 81 Penn. ST., 1873.
It is said in MOnongahela county VS..
Coons, w. & S., III that {" a constitution
is not particularly for the inspection OF
lawyers, but for the inspection of the mil
lion, that they may read and discover in it
their right and their duties, and it is con-
sequently expressed in the terms that are
most familiar to them. Words, therefore,
which do not Of themselves denote that
they arc used in a technical sense are to
have their plain, popular and obvious
meaning.
Having in view these well recognized
canons Of construction, VIC may inquire
.First-What idea does the language Ol
the section impart to an ordinary reader,
and what meaning is to be gathered from
the words used as they IRE commonly ur
derstood
Second-What is the intent of the
trainers of the instrument as gathered
from consideration of the circumstances
attending to its formation, and the mis-
chief meant to bo remedied ?
| The first requirement Of the section is
that the members of the General Assembly
shall receive a salary. AS defined by Web
ster, the meaning OF the word salary is
''an annual and periodical payment 70,
services, a stipulated periodical recon-
pense," and in this primary Specification j,
generally understood and used in common
parlance and in enacted law. The presi
dent of the United States is paid by 4 sal
ary of $50, 900 per annur. The governor
of the commonwealth of $40, 900. The au
ditor general, state treasurer, secretary Of
the commonwealth and other Offices o.
the government arc compensated by fixeC
salaries. Officers of corporations, minis
ters of the gospel, certain county officers
are salaried. In no place where a salary a.
connected with an Office is spoken of, does
the idea of daily pay OF wages present it.
self. On the contrary salaried officer is
generally understood to be paid periodical
~, quarterly, or annually, aud not by tht
day.
The legal definition of salary, as given
by Bouvier, is "A reward or recompense
for services performed. 1t is usually ap.
piled to the reward paid to public Office,
for the performance fhis official duty.
Salary is also applied to the reward paid
for the performance Of other services, bu,
if it be not fixed for each year, it is called
honorarium.''
Wages are " A compensation given to 4
hired person for his or her services
| In common parlance a man hired by the
day receives wages when hired for Ger.
tain time, as by the month or year, the
term salary is rarely used in connection
with unofficial persons, but in the case OF
officers, whether public or corporate, their
compensation being generally a round sum
for specified time, is denominated salary
as the salary Of the president of y rail-
road company, OF the offices of bank, the
mayor OF city. In no case in the daily
| compensation Of persons employed and
paid by the day denominated salary, but
always wages.
A further confirmation of this view OF
the sense, in which this word is used in
the constitution, may be found by observ-
| ing the connection in which it is used
elsewhere in the instrument, In the fifth
section of the fourteenth article it is pro-
vided that in counties Of over one hundred
and fifty thousand inhabitants all county
officers shall be paid by salary. This salary
took tho place OF fees, and the legislative
construction of tho meaning of the word in
that case is to be found in the acts of
assembly providing the salaries to be paid
to sheriffs, prothOnotaries, district attor-
neys. treasurers, commissioners and audi
tors, in every instance round sum is
named for fixed period-as to the pro-
thonotary, $1,000 per annum; to the
district attorney, $4,000; to the commits
sioners, 81, 500 '.- s- ... .....
T.~A L. 49, kh<D- 0ukS