Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-09-06
ELECTI0.E OF SENATOR'S.
Those for the Odd-Numbered Districts
Must be Elected this Fall.


Must be Elected this Fall.
The Supreme Court yesterday decided
the case of Mcpherson VS.. Bartlett, and
CONSTITUTES the law to require that the SenG-
tors for the districts having odd numbers
| under the law of 1874, must be elected this
fall. The decision is as follows;
Mcpherson VS.. Bartlett-The provisions
of the Constitution with respect to the elec-
! ton of Senators are perfectly plain, and if
the Legislature OF 1881 had districted the
State in accordance with the command
contained in Section OF Article ~. of that
| instrument. tie scheme therein devised
would have been put in perfect and har1no-
NOUS working order, But the Legislature
of 1881 failed to perform It's duty in that
regard. If the constitutional mandate had
| been obeyed, the State would have been
divided into forty Senatorial districts, num-
| bered from one to forty inclusive prior to
| the election OF 1882 each of which dis
| tricts would have elected one Senator in
| that vear-those from the even-numbered
districts to hold their Office for four years
and those from the odd-numbered districts
to hold for two years, and thereafter the
| term of each Senator to be four years, 50
that one-half the Senator's would be elected
every two years. But the State not having
| been divided into forty Senatorial districts
prior to the election of 1882, the question
is, what is the result?
There is no doubt but that, as a matter of
fact the whole number of Senators (40)
| were elected in the year 1879, who held
Office for the term of three years, and that
| the whole number 40 were elected in the
year 1882 Now, where was the authority
| for those elections in the absence of the
| fJrty Senatorial Districts? 1t is found, and
can only be found in the concluding clause
of Section 6 of Article ". of the Constitu-
| ton, which is in these words; = Until such
diStricting as herein provided for shall be
made, Senators and AsSemblymen shall be
elected by the districts according to the
| apportionment now provided for by law -
that is to say, by the Act Of the Legislature
approved March 16, 1874, by which the
State was divided into 90 Senatorial dis
tricts, numbered from l to %, inclusive,
| and according to which there were 20 Sen
ators from the districts designated by even
| numbers. In other words, the Consti-
tuition expressly kept in existence
the districts established by the Act
of 1874, until the Legislature should
establish the forty districts it was COM
manded to establish. 1t was from the
twentv-nine districts as designated in the
Act of 1874 that the forty Senators were
elected in 1879, and it was from those same
| districts that the forty Senators were elected
| in 1882 twenty OF whom were elected from
districts designated by odd numbers Now
then, by Section of Article ". of the Con
stitution. it is declared: 1.-THE seats of the
twenty Senators elected in the year eigh-
teen hundred and eighty-two from the odd
numbered districts shall be vacated at the
n nt
that one-halt of the Senators shall be
elected every two years" In view OF this
language | do not see how it can be success
fully cOntendcd that the twenty Senators
elected in the year 1882 from the odd-num-
bered districts shall continue in their seats
for tO3tr years 1t seems to me their seats
become vacant at the expiration of the sec
end year. and must be filled at the ensuing
election from the districts designated IN the
Act of 1874 by odd numbers, which, as has
been seen, Is. i'll express terms, continued
in existence by the concluding clause Of
Section of Article ". OF the Constitution
the Legislature dividing the State into forty
Senatorial districts. There is an Act, how
ever, passed by the Legislature of 1888 and
which goes into effect July /, 1856, by
which the State is divided into forty Sena-
torial districts numbered from one to forty
inclusive, as required by Section 6, Article
". Of the Constitution and which in its
42d Section provides: AT the general cleo
ton in the year eighteen hundred and
eighty-six there shall be elected forty Sen
ators, one from each Senatorial district
The Senators elected from the odd-num-
bercd districts in the year eighteen hundred
and eighty-six shall hold office for two
years. Their successors shall be elected in
The year eighteen hundred and eighty
eight, and every four years thereafter The
Senators elected from the eyen-nunbered
districts shall hold office for four years.
Their successors shall be elected in the year
eighteen hundred and ninety, and every
four years thereafter" The legislature Of
1888 thus performed the duty that was left
unperformcl by the Legislature Of ISL
The effect Of ali this, Of course will be 10
reduce the term OF the twenty Senators to
be elected at the ensuing election Of 1854 to
two years. But this effect will have been
caused by the delay in putting the scheme
devised 10y the Constitution into execution.
and VIII be no more than the effect that
must always attend the adjusting the lcgis-
latiye districts every ten years, as required
by the Constitution, based upon the census
taken under the direction Of the Congress Of
the United States.
Let the writ issue IS prayed for.
Ross J.