The San Francisco call., 1899-09-06

." DITOR Of The Call-Sir: To those
who read the signs of the times,
r. there can be no question that the
Mexican candidate for United
-- States Senator, with his usual
dogged persistency, will, if pos
sihle, through the unstinted use )f the
Governors patronage, erdeaVor to pur-
chase. cajole or threaten enough nen
into a promise sufficient to elect him if
a majority of the whole of the last
Legislature will agree to go into caucus.
The fact that the last session Of the
Legislature was frittered and wasted by
his ridiculous aspirations does not seem
to disclose to the mind of the Would-be
statesman any reason why there should
not be another session which he may
use, regardless of cost to the people, as
a Stepping-stone TO lift himself into the
saddle as a United States Senator. The
obstacle is that there will be no regular
session of the Legislature until the first
week in January, 1901. 1t therefore be-
comes necessary to attempt to prosti-
tute the extraordinary powers vested in
the chief executive of the State and to
persuade or cajole him into calling an
extra session of the Legislature.
This can only be done by a fragrant
violation of the law and by trampling
under foot every principle crystallized
in the constitution of the State of Cali
fornia The entire trend of constftu-
tional limitation of past years has been
in this State, as well as in others, TO re-
strict the powers of the Legislature and
to limit the time when that body, in
stalled in the State capital, might sup
port itself from the public treasury.
Recognizing that nothing is so fraught
with danger, the constitution provides
by the second section of its fourth arti-
Gle that no pay shall be drawn by
member after sixty days from the date
of the commencement of the session. II
also provides that no bill shall be in
troduced after period OF fifty days
from the date of the commencement Oh
the session, thereby stopping the reGu-
lar business and the pay OF the mem
bers for the purpose or provoking an
early adjournment.
Owing to the fact that the sessions
are biennial, and that during the long
period between them there might arse
some eXigency which would require M
mediate attention at the hands OF the
people of the State, the constitution, IN
its definition of the powers or the Gov
ernor. gives to that official by section
of the fifth article the power 10 call Dy
language may well be repeated here
verbatim:
He may, or extraordinary oc-
casions convene the Legislature
by proclamation, stating the pur-
poses for which he has conVened
it, and when so convened 1t Shall
have no power to legislate on any
subjects other than those specl-
fed in the proclamation, but may
provide for the expenses OF the
session and other matters Incl
dental thereto.
This language would seem plain to the
ordinary mind. but 1t has been held that
acts of the Legislature which were not
legislative might be performed IN
special session, such, Tor instance as
confirming an appointment made by the
Governor, and, by the Burns people, It
is claimed the election Of United
States Senator is also not legislative
and need not be embraced in the
proclamation and could not be the OBJ
iect OF special session;
So. then, the extraordinary occasion
must be sought. 1t must be created.
And because a Superior Judge in an in
terror county has given a construction
TO a decision of the Supreme Court OF
the United States, this is to be made an
extraordinary occasion for the exercise
of the power by the Governor under the
section quoted. 1t must be evident,
however even to the infantile mind, to
saw nothing about that of the dis
tinguished jurist who now occupies the
chair of the chief executive, a man who
is LAWYER by profession and claims to
rank as such at the head Of his local
bar. that a matter which was in exist
ence before the last Legislature convened
and which as such existed through the
entire session, cannot be an extraordl-
nary occasion under section 9 of article
5 of the constitution. 1t would be sup
posed, when the question of extra ses7
sion is discussed, that the Norwood
case of the United States Supreme