Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-02-14

III. Il,
the contractors to enable them to perform their cor
tracts. 1t is said that several OF these claimant
have been compel ed to mortgage all their property
including their homesteads, by reason of their in
ability to obtain the money which they had RICH
TO expect from the State. Nor have these peopl
been negligent or careless of their own interests 10
it appears that many of the contractors and other
consulted eminent counsel before contracting O
purchasing State warrants, and were uniformly
advised that it would be safe to- trust the Stat
under said law IL is stated, and is probably fact
that the result of failure to recognize and pa,
these claims would bring upon many OF the claim
ants financial disaster and ruin. Independently O
the Legal questions involved can the State afford t
reject these demands? Your committee do not pre-
tend to ed Just the amounts, il any, due to the re
spectiye claimants, that duty would necessarily
fall upon tie State Board of Examiners, if the bill
under consideration should pass
Ii the saRe facts and equities existed in favor Of
any OF these claimants whose claim is juss and cor.
rect in amount against private person or corpor.
alton, he woQ!j under the laws of the Sta &C. have
4 RIGHT OF ACTION,
And could, assztedly, obtain JUDGMENT in Court
and enforce its collection. The State is sovereign
and cannot be sued; and as a cerollary TO this
proposition comes the maxim that the soyer.
eign power can dc no wrong Strict economy If, kre
administration of siie public affairs is necessary and
Just, and so economy in individual affairs is lust
and commendable but when economy goes SO. far
rs to deprive others of their Just dues or iucs IN
Jury and distress upon connding innocence it de.
and ceasisgto be economy, becomes in
Justice and oppression. It not to be expected
that every mar who put in a bid for contract ad.
verified to be let, or who worked by the month;
with his hands, could fOresee that the Supreme
Court would hold that the Act Of the Legislature
under which he was employed was in contraventior,
worked and the farmer or merchant who sold his
goods acted in good faith and had good reason to ex.
peet pay, and his family bad the right to expect
bread the fruit OF his toll Whatever amounts are
honestly due the respective claimants are debts OF
honor due from the State, and in the opinion OF
your committee should be honorablv paid, unless
there IS some constitutional Inhibition against the
assumption and payment by tie State Although
the amount required seems large, chat is no argu-
ment against the justice of the CHIN 1t is small
to the State in comparison with the corresponding
loss to tie individual. The taxpayer will scarcely
perceive the burden, while on che other hand many
families may be deprived of the neeessares CT life
LEGALITY OF THE CLAIMS.
Your committee having fully considered the equ-
ties of these claimants and having passed upon the
same to their entire satisfaction, with unanimous
therein not unrsindful of the fact
that there great difficulties arising from the
decision Of the Supreme Court of this State adverse
to the constitutonality of the Act nder which the
work and services of the Claimants had been ex-
WHICH cOH1rOnJeI them III the
way of final determination OF their duties IN regard
to the bill referred to them The decision of our
highest judicial tribunal in the Stateupon the con-
of this drainage Act 10 the case of
The People, appellants VS.. Parks. ct al. respond
ents, was filed as early September &c, 1851, and
was published simultaneously through the press of
the State, and read with uncommon interest by
nearly all its intelligent taxpayers 1t was then and
has since remained the general opinion of the people
that the decision in that case had terminated at
. asst the legality of the Claims that remained unpaid
md outstanding against the State, arising out of
his Act, and that they were DECLARED by such de-
,ision to be unconstitutional and void. For Section
3 of Article ". of the Constitution provides as fol-
ows "Ihe Legislature shall have no power =
20 pay, or to authorize the payment Of any claim
hereafter created against the State under any agree
nent contract made without express authority of
aw and all such unauthorized agreements or con-
racts shall be null and void" therefore, in the
estimation OF the committee, the claims under con-
'deraton resting upon contracts made under an act
which was passed since the adoption OF our present
were themselves transferred from the
ield OF equitable jurisdiction to The province OF the
aw itself, and, being merged ther,in, were u be
iHally decided in great part if not entirely By the
,tern letter of the organic law Of the State.
1t is a notable instance of the fsllabiity of the
most enlightened human reason that oue Of the
earned jurists in that Court disseated in toto from
The opinion snd judgment Of the other eminent
Judges upon that bench TO the unconstitutional
ty Of this drainage" Act, while the majority
disagreed with each other IN some i'm
oortant points determining such unconstitutional
ty, concurrng, however, in the general decision OF
he question. Such being the case, it did not seem
% your committee to be
A MATTER OF SPECIAL WONDER
That the claimants should have placsd confidence in
.he Act framed bv the Legislature and approved by
he Governor, acting under their oath of office, and
sworn to obey the Cons ttution governing all alike
md that these claimants should have hezlrdsd their
abor and means under an Act having such ap-
oroval and semolance OF cons,itutonality. Surely
1our committee r@asaaSd, IL the r,iis 81
,ional construction which generally holds, namely
HAT every act done uuder cons ituticnal law Is
Ib iaitto, void and OF legal forcs or Effect is
IN absolute and universal application, without
in IN ny cases, become an unwilling sacrifice
10 public tXpedieEcy. II, therefore, became
question in the minds of the committee
whether there might not be found in the
whole field OF constitutional construction some clear
exceptions TO the general rule VIII Oh has been so
ong formulated snd followed, especially in the his
tory Of American deviations from strict letter If
he common law rule Of decision.
For the purpose Of obtaining all possible light
upon the legal aspects of the case Of these claim
snts, your committee propounded to the learned
attorneys who pre-; ented these Gains before us in
behalf Of the claimants, and to the Attorney- Gen
sfal OF tle State, acting in behalf OF the people,
The legal proposition in substance as follows !:
tracts made and executed under the "Act to pre-
mote drainage" far as the same were made
and performed. prior to the de-is.on Of the Su-
preme Court declaring the Act Unconstitutional !:
sod whether the legislative Act Itself WAS net an
:" express authority # law" sufficient to le2alzs
the contracts made and performed under it, until
the adverse judicial determination of its eonst.su-
Toe subject matter Of the legal question
involved in the proposition thus presented was
discussed before the committee at cons derable
lergth by Colonel Fluurnoy and Ju ige Denson at.
t0rneYs for claimants, and subsequently brief Of
ints aud Authorities was filed by the former with
Re port, marked Exhibit a, and made part hereof,
The press of official business at this time fal ing
upon The Attorney General pYecluded his making
an oral argument before the committee upon the
legal proposition submitted to him, but this officer
gave to the subject assiduous care and attention.
and after several days patient examination thereof
filed with your committee his opinion fully sus-
tsinihg the legality Of the claims under considers
ton, the opinion Of this officer being hereunto
attnchee, marked Exhibit b. and made PAL t
OF this report
Wherefore. in view of TIE law as expounded to
us by the highest legal adviser and counselor of
the State, settli0g the legality of these claims your
committee hereby recommend that the said Assem-
bly, bill No 201 do, pass. GRANGER, Chairman.
EXHIBIT "A"-B9IEF OF CLAIMANTS.
The power of the Legislature to pass this bill, APP
money of the State to pay the claims re-
ferrei to in It. depends upon the construction to be
given the latter clause OF the thirty. second para
graph of the fourth article Of the Constitution Of
California.
Having expressed o.ber limitations on the egisla-
tive power inhibiting extra compensation to "publ
officers or agents. after the service hes been req
dered or contract enterei into and performed, in
whole CT in part" the section proceeds to declare
{" Nor to pay or to authorize the payment of any
claim hereafter created against the State under ~
agreement or contract made without express au-
thority If law"
The h story of legislation not only in California.
but generally in all the States before the adoption OF
the above or similar limitations on the legislative
power was that at each session much time was occt-
MED in the consideration and large amounts ex.
pended In the payuent Of alleged equitable claims
against the ate, growing UP in variety of ways,
hut chiefly through contracts OF public officers for
repaifs. improvements, ttc, on public pro aerty and
grounds, or ia causing the work and labor 10 be
done and material furnished, to be utilized Is often
allege5) in protecting public property. So ommon
had his custom become and exof bitsnt were the
demands usually presented and paid (the claims be-
ing always gagged at speculative prices becau OF
the supposed risk, the payment depending upon fn-
lure action OF the Leeislature) that it was wisely
d ternined to prevent the Legislature from m.kiug
appropriations TO pay any claims based upon agree
ner.ts or contracts which the Legislature had rot
anon due consideration previously authorized
These matters are referred TO 10 illustrate the n.
sistent proplisty OF the only possible reasonable
construction of Section 80 of Article w.
To hold that it means by /" express authority of
law ANYTHING more than legislative authorization
would admit construction which would render the
OF the Government simply imprac-
ticable
lf-.x - e.e..t - 7 81.