Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-12-17
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QUEER LAW.

L. Pond, of Butte county, who was elected
in November to the Senate, the Attorney.
General has made queer ruling. He
says: "No election can be held, nor can a
warrant for such election be issued until
after the Legislature meets. There is no
vacancy in the Office of Senator from the
Fourth Senatorial District until the Legis-
lature assemblies; hence no election can
take place to fill such vacancy
Let us see how this kind of logic will
operate when applied in another direction.
There was no vacancy in the offices of As
semblymen when the election of Novem-
Der took place, but citizens were elected,
under lawful proclamation of the Execu-
tive, to fill the prospective vacancies
which would occur 10y reason of the expi-
ration OF the term of the Offices of Assem-
blymen filled by the election two wears
prior. Let it be assumed, for the sake of
the argument, that the election of 1890
had resulted so that on joint ballot of the
two houses there would be 81 Republicans
and % Democrats. The death of Re-
publican Senator elected to succeed DEM
ocrat would, under the ruling of the At
torney-General, make the Legislature
stand 60 to 60 on joint ballot. AS the
election of United States Senator would
take place before the special election could
be had, the ruling of the Attorney. General
would make it possible, by reason of death,
to change the political complexion of the
body and reverse the decision supposed to
have been made by the people at the polls
Dir. Ponds death creates a vacancy in
the ranks of Senators elected, but Mr.
Jones, whom Mr.. Pond was elected to sue
coed, was not elected to the Legislature
which is to convene upon the first Monday
IN January next. He was not chosen to
become member of the body to assemble
on that day, at all. His Office, the office to
which he was elected at the preceding Sem
atorial election, became vacant by statutory
limitation, and the people who were for
merly his constituents selected citizen to
succeed him.
Now if there can be no official notice or
information on the subject of the vacancy
until the Senate assemblies in January,
how will Mr.. Jones obtain official informa-
ton that his elected successor is dead?
If the Governor of the State is not at
liberty to recognize what is a matter Of
common notoriety, that the Senator elected
from the district represented by Mr.. Jones
and to succeed him is dead, then he is, ac-
cording to the Attorney General, not at
liberty to know what everybody else does
know to be a fact. 1t would follow, then,
that the Governor must wait until the
roll-call of the Senate, and since under the
ruling of the Acknowledgement Mr.. Jones
will respond and hold over until his sue
cessor is elected and qualities, the roll-call
will develop no vacancy. But if the Gov
ernor, and the people of California gener-
ally, have no right to claim to be in pos
session of the knowledge of the death of
Senator-elect Pond, by what right can Mr.
Jones take cognizance of the fact that Mr..
Pond is dead
The ruling of the ACKNOWLEDGEMENT is
not common sense, and therefore it is not
law. As to the statutes quoted by him,
we have long since abandoned the theory
that there is any law outside of the reason
for it.
The Constitution of the State of Cali
fornia, Article M, Section Is, declares
that "When the term Of any officer is not
provided for in this Constitution, the term
of such officer may be declared by law,
and if not so declared such officer shall
hold his position during the pleasure OF
the authority making the appointment,
but in no case shall such term exceed
four years." When, therefore, term of
office is provided for in the Constitution
it becomes fixed and arbitrary, but that
there might be no mistake as to the tenure
of Office four years is fixed as the term of
all offices wherein the Constitution has
not given a longer tenure. The Senate
rial term is fixed by the Constitution. In
Section 4 of Article ". it is declared that
Senators shall be chosen for term of
four yssrs AZ the same time and place as
members of the Assembly. Section of
the same article declares that the Seats "a u
twenty Senator's shall become vacant at
the expiration of the second year. so that
one-half of the Senator'S shall be elected
for two years. Thus Senator elected for
four years cannot by any possibility hold
over for one day, since the constitutional
provision is arbitrary and fxed-and ad-
mits of no accommodating construction
that one-half of the Senatorial seats shall
be vacant at the expiration of each two
years.
Senator Jones cannot by any distortion OF
law fill. The rney-General of tn,
State has Numbered in most inexcusable
way. It is to be hoped that the Attorney
General-elect is familiar with the organi,
law.
FRENCH yachtsmen are seriously dis
posed to build yacht to come over ant
contest for the American cup. France
has never taken much interest in interna
tional yacht contests. II she now engage
in them it will make the racing great,
more interesting. If the Frenchmel