The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1899-08-01

termination of many questions arising
from such investigation.
| The closing of the State Printing Of
| flee during nearly two years of our
| term, prevented the printing of our
work as soon as prepared, thus making
it impossible to progress with the rapid
| ity which would otherwise have been.
possible, as the printing thereof, chap
| ter by chapter, would have greatly aid
ed the commission.
| We do not fiatter ourselves that in
| the great amount of labor performed,
errors have not crept in the reported
work. We only can say that we have
endeavored to carry out the system
adopted for the first division of our
report with the utmost care and fidel-
ity. The individual opinions of the
members on questions of legislation
| have not been allowed to influence the
commission in it's Iabors; no pet theor-
| les of any of it's members have been
inserted; no new legislation of any kind
for the benefit of any class. or interest,
has been suggested; all that was at
tempted was to revise and codify; to
place in convenient form, and in
limited number of volumes, the exist
ing laws of California.
The revision of the three volumes
above mentioned is all we have accom-
plished up to this date.
In order to have reported all the stat,
utes, which, according to our plan,
should form the volume or volumes of
''uncodified statutes" and the complete
list of the laws to be repealed, it would
have been necessary to revise the Code
of Civil Procedure.
The material at hand for the last
named Code would have permitted us
| to file the same on or before the LIST day
of October, followed before the LIST day
of January, 1900 by the uncodified
statutes, and the list of laws intended
| for repeal.
We do not wish to be understood as
placing any limit on the time required
to carry on the work of revision by the
| gentlemen who succeed us in this Ia
| Dor. Our remarks are solely applicable
to ourselves, after the experience and
with the material at hand acquired af-
ter more than two years arduous labor
| in this undertaking.
/ Many suggestions have been made by
members of the bar and others con-
| corning amendments to the Codes. AS
/ the scope of our work thus far did not
| include new legislation. we have been
compelled to omit action thereon, as the
consideration of the second division of
| the work has not been reached.
In the meantime, all such will be re-
ferred to our successors.
Our labors were greatly facilitated
by the kindness of Bancroft Whitney
Co., and the Charles w. Palm Company
in furnishing, when not otherwise OBJ
! tainable, books and material required
and used by the commission.
| At the conclusion of our work we
desire to testify our appreciation of the
! able and efficient labor of Hon. Bart
Burke, who, during the existence of
this commission has always been most
/ industrious, competent and faithful, in
the discharge of the onerous duties de-
volving upon him as Secretary of the
commission.
The work Of revision and codification
has made it necessary to insert, as new
sections, many hundreds of provisions
now scattered in the various statutes.
| necessarily exhausting vacant spaces
| in the present numbering of the several
! codes revised. In Difference to the
prevailing sentiment among the judici-
airy and members of the bar, we re-
| tanned the present numbers of the sec
| tions, as it was believed that such
plan would avoid changes in those sec
| tons construed or referred to, by the
| decisions of the Supreme Court. Had
the additions to the codes been few,
| the resort to letters of the alphabet to
designate new sections doubtless would
have proven satisfactory, but when it
is considered that particularly in the
Revised Civil and Political Codes, the
number of sections designated by let
ter run up beyond the thousand mark,
and that this, in a less degree, is true
of the Revised Penal Code, it is feared
| that the designation of so many sec
! tons in this manner will lead to more
confusion and trouble in the courts, as
well as in the practice, than to re-
number the sections, adopting the New
| York plan of giving the new number,
! followed. where the section was for
merly part Of the code, by its old
number in parenthesis. By leaving at
| least 100 vacant numbers between each
article, 800 between each chapter, 1000
between each title, and 1000 between
! each part, the system would then be-
| come permanent, and meet all future
| HeceSSllieS III tlle way OI dUlelluIlleHl,
or insertion of new provisions in the
! code.
Our experience in the work causes
US to recommend to our successors the
REMEMBERING of the revised codes in
accordance with this system.
The last Legislature passed, at our
suggestion, and the Governor afterwar6
approved the law adding three new sec
| tons to the Political Code relating to
| the duties of the committees of the re-
spective houses of the Legislature pro-
yidng that whenever bills drawn in
the form of general laws and referring
| to subjects contained in any of the
codes are recommended for passage,
| the Judiciary Committee shall codify
! the same so as to insure their inser-
ton in the proper place in the codes in
case they are enacted into law. The
| observance of this law by the Legis-
| lature will include in the codes all laws
belonging thereto, and place in the I'M
! codified statutes all other laws, thus
maintaining intact the code system,
and preventing the necessity for peri
odical revision of the codes.
! Profoundly impressed with the nee
essity and Importance of the work, we
! transfer our laborS to our successors,
in the confident expectation that the
same will be prosecuted 10 speedy and
successful conclusion. Respectfully
| submitted.
A. CAMINETTI
ROBERT n. BULLA.
| Commission for the Revision and Re-