The record-union., 1897-01-25
Weather Forecast.
rn California-Ooudy Morday;mucl
-esh northerly wind.
LEGIsLATING IN THE CONsTITU-
TION.

The Assemblyman from Yolo, Mr..
amendment specifying the number Of
the officers and employees of each house
of the Legislature and declaring that
the number max be decreased by the
houses respectively. but shall not be in
creased.
The purpose of the member from Yolo
is unquestionably a praiseworthy one,
and it is probable that his measure nom
mates the proper number Of legislative
officials-as to that we are not now con,
cerned. But what is important Is the
question whether such regulation should
be carried into the Constitution?
Constitutions are both grants Of and
limitations upon power. They proceed
from the original source of society and
government "A State is a body
polite" says Cooley, "or society Of men
united together for the purpose of pro-
noting their mutual safety and ad-
vantage by the Joint efforts of their
united strength"
A State in this Union we say Is SOW
ereign, because the absolute power to
govern resides within At The State,
which IS but a name for the people of
ETY., formulates system Of government
and nominates executors to administer
and carry on q process Of government.
The agency through which this in
strument Is made we call a constitu-
ton.
This constitution, therefore, afflrms
certain things and denies others to
agents 1t creates, and such as it does not
name in the way Of powers are as ex-
pressly reserved by the makers of the
constitution, as If they had affirmatively
declared their Withholding.
This fundamental law, or instrument
Of grant and limitation, is the declara-
ton Of principles upon which the gov
ernment Is to proceed. 1t never was in
tended to be an instrument of general
legislation or code Of laws. Whenever
it goes beyond declaration of principles,
and attempts to legislate in detail, 1t
enters a realm OF involvement and at
tempts to accomplish in system of leg
islation that which is rarely, if ever, sue
cessful A constitution should, say all the
writer's on the subject. contain only the
principles upon which the government
lal rlof nT n fSin nf
sovereign powers, and direction as TO
the persons to whom each Of these pow
ers are to be intrusted.
Perhaps the very best model of a
that of the United States of America.
It is a declaration of principles only,
with such necessary direction and such
expression of limitations as are abso-
Iutely necessary to make the intention
of the creators Of the compact lucid
Beyond that all is left to the executive
and the law-making power This Fed
eral Constitution is not one-fifth as long
az the Constitution of the State of Cali
fornia, which is largely a body of at
tempted legislation. and as such is a
failure.
We affirm it as a truth not to be sue
cessfulIy controverted that nearly, If not
all. the features OF the California Con-
stitution outside Of the declaration OF
principles fail to carry out the inten-
ton of its maker, the Constitutional
Convention, because they attempt to
legislate in matters which require the
deuberation and elasticity of body OF
legislators from time to time. Hence
It is that we are constantly patching
the Constitution, discovering its defects
and endeavoring TO harmonic its in
harmonious parts.
A few years ago Mr.. Justice Davis oi
Massachusetts, delivered before the law
class of Harvard, or Yale, notable ad-
dress on constitutions and law-making
in which he compared the constitutions
Of the States Of the Union AZ thu