Arizona weekly citizen., 1889-09-14

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR l
 OFFICE OF THE
 ASSISTANT ATroRNEY-GE GENERAL. '
 WASHINGTON, August. I6S9 iIoy. LEWIS WorFIEY. GOVERNOR AEI-
 zONA TERRITORY,
 Sir: Your letter of the 29th ult.. to the Secretary of the Interior, relative to the acts of the legislature of the Territory of Arizona, passed after the expiration Of sixty consecutive days of its regular bi- eanial session, has been referred to me for consideration and reply. h said communication you say:
 w all you please examine my letter of Jane 36th and the Attorney Generals reply of the 18th inst, and, taking the facts about the legislation. as stated by me. to be correct. Is the Constltutional Convention act passed by 10th legisla- ture LAw:"
 Referring to your communication of June 36th, find the following state meDtS:
 "Originally our legislature met the first Monday in January. In 1881 the Huh Legislature met the third day of January. The consecutive sixty days expired March 3d, yet the legislature continued to the end of the sixty days Legislative days, and during this time. on March 5th-see session laws passed an act making the second Monday in January the time for the meeting of fu- ture legislatures.
 ''This year the first Monday in Janua- ry was the 9th of January and the 10th Legislature should have adjourned March 9th as the end of the legal con secutiye sixty days, yet this act for the Constitutional Convention was not ap- proved by the Governor until March 2l. and as before stated, since the adjourn ment of congress, and must be acted on by me prior to the meeting of congress"
 You do not state whether the act was passed by the legislature during the pe- riod of the sixty consecutive days or af- terwards. Constitutional convention act was passed March Dist, and approved the same day), but infer from your let ter of July 29th, that it was passed after said period.
 I have carefully considered the reply of the Attorney General of July 10th. in which, after referring to your said letter of June 26th, and the letter of the Sec retary of Arizona Territory, Of June. 2d, says:
 II am unable to find in either any question of law which is not covered by the opinions of the department, render ed to you under dates of March l6th, May 29th. and June 18th. 1889.
 The first of these opinions was to the effect that under the act of Congress which is the organic law of the territo- ry, the se 5sion of the legislature of Ari- zona Is limited to sixty consecutive days. The corollary of this conclusion seems clear that any attempted legislation af ter that time would be nugatory. The second opinion was to the effect that un- der the organic law of Arizona Territory the Governor has no power to call an extra session of the legislature; and the third opinion was to the effect that the legislature of Arizona Territory proper- ly in session has the power to pass q law providing for the calling of a constitu- tional convention"
 If am correct in the inference that the act above referred to was not passed within the period of the sixty cOnsecu- tion days, it is clear that in the opinion of the Attorney General the act autho- riZing the constitutional convention Is not a law. because having held that the session being limited to six y days, and that any attempted legislation after that time would be nugatoTy, 1t must there fore follow that the legislature was not properly in session" after that period and that during that time IL had no power to pass law providing for the calling of Constitutional Convention. In view of this opinion of the Attorney General, I do not see that any relief can be offered, except by congress, winch has the power to legislate directly for the territories, and to remedy the diff culties complained of.
 Very Respectfully
 GEO. H SHIELD.