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Carson, N. T., July 4, 1S64. Pursuant to the provisions of an Act of Con- gress, approved March 21, 1864, entitled " An Act to enable the people of Nevada to form a Constitution and State Government, and for the admission of such State into the Union on an equal footing with the original States," a Convention of Delegates representing the vari- ous Counties in the Territory, assembled in the Chamber of the House of Representatives at Carson City, for the purpose of framing a Con- stitution and form of State Government. Mr. JOHNSON called the Convention to or- der, at ten o'clock, A. M., and said : — Gentlemen, Members of the Convention : — At the request of several delegates, the hour having arrived when it is proposed that this Convention shall meet, I now call yon to order, and move that Judge Brosnan, of Storey, be requested to serve as temporary President. The question was taken, and the motion was agreed to. Mr. BROSNAN took the Chair as President pro tern, of the Convention, and said : — Gentlemen of the Convention : — I thank you most sincerely for this mark of your kind at- tention and respect for me. You will, I know, excuse me from making any observations at this time. Our work lies in hand, and we in- tend to get through with our business for to-day as rapidly as we can, in order to celebrate this glorious anniversary. Mr. JOHNSON moved that Mr. Tozer be chosen temporary Secretary ; which motion was agreed to. Mr. COLLINS. I would inquire if there is a quorum present. Mr. JOHNSON. I believe there is not. Mr. TOZER, the Secretary pro tern., suggested that in order to ascertain the fact, members rise and be counted. This was done, and only nineteen members, (one less than a quorum), wore present. Messrs. JOHNSON and GIBSON suggested that one or two others were in town, and would be in in a moment. Mr. STURTEVANT. I suggest, that perhaps it would be a good idea for Mr. Clemens, the Secretary of the Territory, to call the roll of the members elect to the Convention. Then we shall not only know whether or not a quo- rum is in attendance, but any existing errone- ous impressions will be corrected in regard to who are members. For instance, it docs not appear from the list as published in the news- papers, that I am a member. Mr. JOHNSON. We already have a tempo- rary Secretary of the Convention, but never- theless I will suggest that Secretary Clemens, as he has the roll, or list of names of members elected, oblige the Convention by calling the roll. I will make that as a motion. The question was taken, and the motion was agreed to. ROLL CALL. The Hon. ORION CLEMENS, Secretary of the Territory, proceeded to call the roll of the Convention by counties, in the order in which the election returns had been received by him. TEMPORARY ORGANIZATION. [1st day. Monday.] Collins— Opening Pkayer. [July 4th. The following gentlemen answered to their names : — i Frank H. Kennedy, George A. Hudson, J. S. Crosman. ijT 1 f D /I <• ( George A. Nourse. Washoe &c Roop Cmnties, -j j^^^- jj gturtevant. Churchill County Nelson E. Murdock. Nye County, Frank. M. Proctor. f John A. Collins, Charles E. DeLong, Lloyd Frizell, Samuel A. Chapin, Storey County, '. -| Thomas Fitch. Nath'l A. II. Ball. Charles Tozer, Almon Hovey. [Cornelius M. Brosnan. r J. Neely Johnson, n I n , J. II. Kinkcad, Ormsbii Count)/, i ■, , r> e \ •^ ^' I Israel Crawford, [ George L. Gibson. Humboldt County, James A. Banks. The following gentlemen were absent : — H. G. Parker, W. W. Belden, H. B. Brady, G. N. Folsom. J.yon County, Washoe S^ Roop Counties, Esmeralda County,. Douglas County,. f William Wetherill, j B. S. Mason, I J. G. McClinton, I D. Wellin^iton. ( Albert T. Hawley, James W. Haines. Xye County, Frank Tagliabue. Storey County, .' . Josiah Earl. Ormshy County, A. J. Lockwood. Humboldt County \ Ity,' """"^- , " i William Henry Jones. f J. H. Warwick, Lander County -| R. H. Williams, ( E. A. Morse. The Territorial Secretary announced that twenty-one members were present. The PRESIDENT pro tern. There is a quo- rum of members present, and before proceed- ing any furtiier I suggest to the Convention the firopriety of opening our proceedings with i)rayer, inasmuch as I see tliat tlie Rev. Mr. White is present. Mr. COLLINS moved that Rev. Mr. AVhite l)e invited to offer prayer, which was agreed to. The Rev. E. F. WHITE came forward and oftered the following Our Father in Heaven, Thou art clothed in majesty and might ! Thou art infinite in wis- dom and truth — glorious in holiness, and ever- lasting in being ! Heaven and earth are full of Thy presence and can not contain Thee ! Thou hast given us life. Thy unwearying care has ever been extended over us, and we have dwelt and rejoiced '• under the shadow of Thy wing." AVe acknowledge Thy mercy in direct- I ing our ways, — in appointing our changes, and in bestowing upon us all the personal, social and political blessings essential ta our highest temporal and eternal well-being. We thank Thee for the civil order which has been estab- lished and maintained in this remote part of our land — that among these mountains, and amid these desert wilds, where hidden treasures are hoarded in their primal beds, neighborhoods, villages, cities, and the institutions of an en- lightened Christian civilization have been planted, as in a day ; and we thank Thee that now the foundations of a permanent Common- wealth are being laid, — that here, as we trust, a State is to be reared in righteousness, — an en- during monument to the honor of Thy name — a solid pillar in the great temple of human freedom, and a tower of strength to the Gen- eral Government, through all time. We be- seech Thee. Heavenly Father, to bless every member of this Convention. Imbue each heart with wisdom from on high, and grant that no selfish purposes, no sordid motives, no unholy ambition, may bear influence upon this floor. May every mind realize its dependence upon Thee, and be assured of the enlightening influ- ences of Thy word, and of the blessed teach- ings of Thy Holy Spirit. Let harmony prevail through all the deliberations and enactments of this body, and grant that the Constitution about to be made may be deeply founded in truth and equity, and secure to all classes of the inhab- itants of the new State their natural, inalien- able rights. And now, oh Lord our God, we commend to Thy guardian care our bleeding country. We thank Thee for Thy goodness in rearing and thus far preserving our nation. We confess that, as a people, we have wanderetS far from Thee. We have neglected Thy word and Thy sanctuary. We have not heard the cry of the poor and of the oppressed. We have abused Thy mercies — have grown proud, and have trusted in our own wisdom and strength. Forgive us. oh Lord, all our sins; cleanse our nation from every iniquity, and use it as a chosen instrument for good in all coming.ages. AVe ask that thou will abundantly ))less all in authority over us, especially the President of these United States, his Cabinet, and the heads of all the departments of our Government ; grant to watcli over them, and to give them wisdom and strength to enable them to dis-. charge every duty faitlifully and in Thy fear. Remem])er in merciful kindness our armies and our navy ; guide their generals and officers,, and guard and sustain all under thr-ir author- ity. In the hour of battle be thou their shield and defence ; give them victory, and crown their efforts to sustain this great nation and to restore peace with success. Bless the wounded, the sick, the destitute, the suffei;ing, and the be- 2d day.] TEMPORARY ORGANIZATION. Tuesday,] Collins — Ball— Sturtevant — Gibson — Nourse — Chapin — Frizell. [July 5th. reaved ; bind up every broken heart, and supply the wants of all the needy. "We pray for our en- emies ; show them, oh Lord, the wickedness of their rebellion ; lead them to repentence, and pardon their great siu; overcome evil with good Cause " the wrath of man to praise Thee, and the remainder of wrath restrain." Grant that the hour may hasten on when righteousness and peace shall prevail in all our borders. Bless the nations of the earth ; send abroad the light of Thy word ; regenerate, purify, and ennoble all the masses of our race, and fill the world with a knowledge of Thy name. Hear our prayer ; mould our characters, and ever let the light of Thy love abide upon us in all its ful- ness and richness ; and to Thy name, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be all the praise, world without end. Amen. COMMITTEE ON CREDENTIALS. Mr. COLLINS. I move that the Chair ap- point a committee of three, on Credentials, to report at the next meeting. The question was taken, and the motion was agreed to. The PRESIDENT pro tern, appointed as such committee, Messrs. Collins, Johnson, and Ken- nedy. ADJOURNMENT. Mr. BALL. I move that the Convention now adjourn till to-morrow at ten o'clock, A. M., in order that Ave may participate in the celebra- tion of Independence Day. Mr. STURTEVANT. I move to amend that motion so as to adjourn to meet to-morrow, at twelve o'clock. I think most of the members will agree with me that we are likely to be somewhat sleepy to-morrow morning, after the festivities and fantastics of the day. Mr. GIBSON. I am in favor of that amend- ment. It will give time for members to get here who are now absent. The Esmeralda members probably will not arrive before twelve o'clock. The stage does not get in before that hour. Mr. BALL. I insist on my motion. I did not come down here to attend balls, and par- ties, and get sleepy, but to work. I came here for business. Mr. TOZER. I hope the motion will prevail. Mr. NOURSE. I move to amend the amend- ment so as to meet at one o'clock. It seems to me that the hour should be either ten or one, because twelve o'clock is the usual hour for lunch. Mr. CHAPIN. I think the gentleman from Washoe, (Mr. Nourse,) is correct. If we do not meet at ten o'clock, we should defer it till one. Mr. STURTEVANT accepted Mr. Nourse's amendment. Mr. FRIZELL. I suggest, before this motion to adjourn is put, that we shall be adjourning without finishing our business properly. It seems to me that we ought to appoint a com- mittee on permanent organization. Mr. CHAPIN. Oh, I think not. I would not do that when there is so small a number of members present. The PRESIDENT pro tern. The question is on the motion to adjourn. Messrs. DeLONG and FITCH suggested that the question should be taken on the shortest time first ; which was agreed to. The question was taken on Mr. Ball's motion, that the Convention adjourn until ten o'clock, A. M., to-morrow ; and it was agreed to, upon a division — ayes, 12 ; noes, (i. Accordingly, at thirty minutes after ten o'clock, A. M., the Convention adjourned. SECOND DAY. Carson, July 5, 1864. The Conventionmet pursuant to adjournment, and was called to order at twenty-five minutes before eleven o'clock, by the President pro teni. Prayer was offered by the Rev. E. F. White. The roll was called, and twenty-eight mem- bers were present, viz : — Mef^srs. Ball, Banks, Belden, Brady, Brosnan, Chapin, Collins, Crawford, Crosman, DeLong, Earl, Fitch, Frizell, Folsom, Gibson, Hawley, Hovey, Hudson. Johnson, Kennedy, Kinkead, Lockwood, Murdock, Nourse, Proctor, Sturte- vant, Tagliabue, and Tozer. The journal of yesterday was read and ap- proved. CREDENTIALS. Mr. COLLINS submitted the following re- port :— Your Committee on Credentials beg leave to report the following list of delegates, as returned by the sev- eral County Clerks to the Secretary of the Territory. There are several counties that have made no returns, or at least, none have been handed to the committee. The following is the Ust of delegates returned : — Lander County, . . Humboldt County, Oniisby County, . . Storey County,. Nye County, Douglas County,.. Churchill County, J. H. Warwick, R. H. Williams, E. A. Morse. ( James A. Banks, ] E. F. Dunn, ( WUliam Henry Jones, f J. Neely Johnson, I A. J. Lockwood, \ J. H. Kinkead, I Israel Crawford, \ George L. Gibson. John A. CoUins, Charles E. DeLong, Lloyd FrizeU, Samuel A. Chapin, ) Thomas Fitch, 1 Josiah Earl, I Nath'l A. H. Ball, Charles W. Tozer, I Alinon Hovey, ( Cornelius M. Brosnan, ( Frank. Tagliabue, ( F. M. Proctor. ( Albert T. Hawley, \J. W. Haines. . .Nelson E. Murdock, PERMANENT ORGANIZATION. [2d day. Tuesday,] Stcrtevant — Chapin — Johnson — Collins — Crosman — Tozer. [July 5. Lyon County,. {Frank. H. Kennedy, George A. Hudson, J. S. Crosman, H. G. Parker. 1 George A. Noiirse, W. W. Belden, H. B. Brady, James H. Sturtevant, [ G. N. Folsom. C William Wetherill, B. S. Mason, Esmeralda County, < J. G. McClintou, ( D. Wellington. All of which is respectfully submitted. J. A. COLLINS, Chairman. On motion of Mr. CHAPIN, the report was received and the committee discharged. On motion of Mr. CRAWFORD, the report was adopted. OATU OF OFFICE. Mr. STURTEVANT. I move now, Mr. Pres- ident, that we proceed to a permanent organi- zation of ihe Convention, by the election of a President, and other officers. Mr. CHAPIN. Before that motion is put, I suggest that the oath be administered to the members. Mr. JOHNSON. Judge Wright. Probate Judge of this County, is, I understand, in the adjoining room, and as he is, probably, the highest judicial authority now at the capital, it would be proper, I think, to invite him to administer the oath. Mr. CHAPIN. Very well ; I move that a committee of three be appointed to wait upon Judge Wright, and request him to attend and administer the oath of office to the members. The question was taken, and the motion was agreed to. The PRESIDENT pro tern, appointed as such committee, Messrs. Chapin, Hudson, and Gib- son. The committee retired, and immediately thereafter returned, accompanied by Judge Wright. Mr. JOHNSON. I think we had better in- form our.selves, if we are not already advised, as to what oath should be administered. My own memory is at fault at th(; present moment, in respect to the Enabling Act, but I suppose, il there is nothing in regard to the oath in that act, that we shall have to resort to that form of oatii which was prescril)ed for all public offi- cers by Act ot Congress, passed some two years since, rather than to the one prescribed by the laws of the Territory. Mr. COLLINS. I think the Eiiaijliug Act is silent upon tbe subject. I suggest that Gov- ernor .Johnson procure a copy of the oath pre- scribed by Congress, if he has one. Mr. JOHNSON. I think I can procure it in a moment. Mr. STURTEVANT. I do not know but it would expedite matters to administer the old oath and the new one too ; the new one is very strong, and if the old one is stronger it will not hurt us any. After a few moments' delay, Mr. Johnson re- turned with a copy of the oath prescribed by Congress?, in 18C2. The members of the Convention rose, and Judge W'right administered the oath in the fol- lowing words : — • You and each of you do solemnly swear, that you have never voluntarily borne arms against the United States since you have been citzeus thereof ; that you have vol- iintarily given no aid, countenance, counsel, or encour- agement to persons engaged in armed hostility thereto ; that you have neither sought nor accepted, nor at- tempted to exercise the functions of auy office what- ever, under any authority, or pretended authority in hostility to the llnited States; that you have not yielded a voluntary support to auy pretended government, authority, power, or constitution within the United States, hostile or inimical thereto. And you do further swear, that to the best of your knowledge and ability you will suijjjort and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that you will bear true faith and allegiance to the same ; that yovi take this obhgation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion ; and that you will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which you are about to enter — So help you God. The above oath having been transcribed by the Secretary, was subscribed by the members present. permanent organization. Mr. CROSMAN. I now renew the motion to proceed to the election of permanent officers. Mr. JOHNSON. It has been suggested that another member has arrived since the oath was administered — Mr. H. G. Parker, of Lyon County — I propose that he be sworn in now. Mr. PARKER come forward, was sworn, and took his seat as a member of the Convention. Mr. STURTEVANT. I renew the motion to proceed to a permanent organization by the election of permanent officers. Mr. CHAPIN. I hope the gentleman will define the motion more clearly ; if he will say for the election of President and Secretary, we shall then be in working condition, and can proceed to the election of subordinate officers afterwards. Mr. STURTEVANT. I do not know what the objection is to going on now with the election of all the officers, from the commencement ; I would like to finish it up. Mr. TOZER. I hope the gentleman from Washoe, (Mr. Sturtevant), will accept the amendment suggested by my colleague. If we elect a President and Secretary, we can then proceed to dclerniine what other officers we shall require, what tueir compensation shall be, etc. ; by proceeding to ulect officers promiscu- ously, we might get more officers than we want, or not so many as we ought to have. Mr. STURTEVANT. Then I will amend my motion so as to lie, that we proceed to a per- manent organization of the Convention, by the election of a President and Secretary. Mr. CliOS.MA-N. How are we to elect offi- cers ? — Viva voce? Mr. HAWLEY. There is known to be more 2d day.] PERMANENT ORGANIZATION. Tuesday,] Crosmax — Fitch— Sturtevant—Chapin — Kennedy — Collins — Johnson. [July 5th. than one candidate for Secretary, and as the votinf!^ may be pretty even, I think it would be equally as expeditious to vote by ballot. Mr. CROSMAN. I suppose the first thing in order will be nominations for President, and I think there will be no objection to electing that officer by acclamation. I move that we pro- ceed to the election of a President viva voce. Mr. FITCH. If there is only one candidate for President, I have no objection ; but for the other ofBcprs. I should be opposed to it. Mr. STURTEVANT accepted Mr. Crosman's amendment. The question was taken on the motion as modified, and it was agreed to. ELECTION OF PRESIDENT. The PRESIDENT pro tern. Nominations are in order for President. Mr. CHAPIN. I have the honor of submitting the name of the Hon. John A. Collins, of Storey County, as a candidate for President. Mr. KENNEDY. I have the honor to place in nomination the Hon. J. Neely Johnson, of Ormsby County. Mr. COLLINS. Mr. President, I would re- turn my thanks to my friend and colleague, for presenting my name to this Convention for so honorable a position ; but I beg leave to decline the nomination, and will with great pleasure second the nomination of my friend J. Neely Johnson, and I move that we elect him as Pres- ident of this Convention by acclamation. The question was taken, and the motion was agreed to unanimonslv- J. NEELY JOHNSON was thereupon de- clared elected President of the Convention. Mr. STURTEVANT moved the appointment of a committee of three to conduct the Presi- dent elect to the chair. The question was taken, and the motion was agreed to. Messrs. Sturtevant, Frizell, and Kinkead having been appointed as such committee, con- ducted the President elect to the chair. REMARKS OF THE PRESIDENT. Mr. JOHNSON, on taking the chair as Pres- ident, said : — Gentlemen of the Contention : I do not propose to make this the occasion of any ex- tended remarks, as I feel well assured that it is your desire to enter at once upon the more im- portant duties which have called us together. For this evidence of your partiality and confi- dence in selecting me by the unanimous voice of the Convention to preside over its delibera- tions, you have my sincere thanks, and it shall be my constant endeavor to execute the duties of the position with strict impartiality, and with a just sense of their great responsibility and importance. But, gentlemen, whatever of rules you may adopt for our government, or however earnest and faithful may be your pre- siding officer in their enforcement, yet are we chiefly dependent upon the action of each in- dividual member that our deliberations may be harmonious, and efiSciency charactize the labors of the Convention, and with confidence I shall rely upon your aid and assistance, so that our proceedings may be marked with all the dig- nity and decorum befitting an assemblage of men convened for such a noble purpose as the present. In conclusion, I may be permitted to add, that, in view of the provisions of the " Ena- bling Act," authorizing the meeting of this Convention, we have a great and important duty to perform, both to the nation and to the people we represent. TheCongress nf theUnited States has made most liberal and beneficial concessions to us in providing for the forma- tion of our new State, and the circumstances which surround us augur most favorably for the speedy establishment here of a State gov- ernment. You, as the representatives of the people, come directly from their midst, and know their essential wants and requirements in framing a Constitution and form of govern- ment for them ; and when you have incorporated in that instrument those needs, no longer can a possible doubt arise but that the Constitution thus framed will, at the next September elec- tion, be endoised and ratified by an overwhelm- ing majority of the popular vote, and thence- forth Nevada will be numbered among the States of the Federal Union. That this may be the result of our labors is my most earnest wish and hope. [Applause.] ELECTION OF SECRETARY. On motion of Mr. CHAPIN, the Convention proceeded to the election of a Secretary. Mr. CROSMAN. I take pleasure in placing before the Convention, for the office of Secre- tarv, the nami' of R. G. Clark. Mr. STURTEVANT. I place in nomination for Secretary of the Convention, the name of Hon. William Martin Gillespie. Gentlemen are aware that he has had some experience in that capacity. There being no further nominations the Con- vention proceeded to ballot for a Secretary, and with the following result : For Mr. Gillespie. — Messrs. Ball, Brosnan, Brady, Chapin, Collins, Folsom, Gibson, Hud- son, Hawley, Hovey, Kennedy, Lockwood, Nourse, Parker, Sturtevant. Tozer, and Mr. Pres- ident— 17. For Mr. Clark. — Messrs. Banks, Belden, Cros- man, Crawford, DeLong, Earl, Fitch. Frizell, Kinkead, Murdock. Proctor, and Tagliabue — 12. WILLIAM MARTIN GILLESPIE having received a majority of votes, was declared elect- ed Secretary of the Convention. OTHER OFFICERS. Mr. STURTEVANT. I now move that we proceed to elect a Sergeant-at-Arms in the same manner, and such other officers as the Convention shall see fit to elect ; one at a time to be placed in nomination and voted for. UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION, [2d day. Tuesday,] Hawlet — Sturtevant — Ball — Collins — Kinkead — Chapin. [July 5th. Mr. HAWLEY. I think the gentleman had better make it a little more definite — one feer- geant-at-Arms. and perhaps two pages, and a porter. I think that is all we sliall require. Mr. STURTEVANT. I will make the motion to elect a Sergeant-at-Arms and let it go at that ; though I think it more than likely that we shall require some one to keep the room clean, etc. Mr. BALL. I suppose we shall take a recess very soon, for an hour ; if the gentleman will allow me. I will make this motion — That a com- mittee of three be appointed, to report one hour hence, what additional officers of the Con- vention are needed, and what their compensa- tion shall be. Mr. DeLONG. And who will pay it ? [Laugh- ter.] Mr. BALL. We shall then elect persons who will fully understand what compensation they are to receive, and what duties they are to per- form. In the last Convention there was no cmpensation fixed until near the close, and I think we spent nearly the whole of one day in arranginsr the matter of compensation. Mr. STURTEVANT. I will withdraw my motion. Mr. BALL. Then I make the motion I have suggested for the appointment of a committee of three, to report what officers are necessary, and to fix the compensation of all the officers, as well those already elected as those to be elected. ADOPTIOX OF THE UNITED STATES COXSTITUTIOX. Mr. COLLINS. I think, by referring to the Enabling Act, we shall find that we have some- thing to do previous to acting upon the motion that is now before the house. By Section 4 of the Enabling Act, Congress impose.s a certain duty upon the members of the Convention im- mediately after its organization. By the elec- tion of a President and a Secretary, I believe the body is now permanently organized, and therefore, with the permission of the chair, I will read that portion of the Section to which I refer : — Section 4. And be it furtlicr enacted : That the mem- bers of the Convention thus elected shall meet at the Capitol of said Territory on the first Monday in July next, and after organization, shall declare on behalf of the people of said Territory, that they adopt the Con- stitution of the United States. It occurs to me now, that before we proceed to any other business, we ought to perform this duty. Air. BALL. I withdi-aw my motion tempo- raraily. Mr. COLLINS. As that motion has been with- drawn. I will read a preamble and resolution which I have drawn up with a view to meet the requirements of this occasion. AVheheak, Tlic act of Confjross, approved March 12, 18G4, " to euabli- tin- jiooplc of tlic Territory of Nevada to form a Constitiitinn and State (iovernment, and for the admission of kiuIi State into the Union on an equal looting witli the original States, " requires that the mem- bers of the Convention for forming said Constitution, shall, after organization, on behalf of the people of said Territory, adopt the Constitution of the United States ; therefore, be it Hesolved, That the members of this Convention, elected by the authority of the aforesaid Enabling Act of Congress, assembled in Carson, the capital of said Territory of Nevada, and immediately subsequent to its organization, do adopt, on behalf of the people of said Territory, the Constitution of the United States. The question was taken on the adoption of the preamble and resolution as read, and they were unanimously adopted. RULES AND ORDER OP BUSINESS. Mr. COLLINS offered the following resolu- tion, which was read : — Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed by the President, to report rules for the government of this Convention. Mr. KINKEAD. Let me suggest that the gentleman include in the same resolution, the order of business. Mr. COLLINS. I would prefer a separate resolution, and a separate committee. I think the question of rules will occupy all the time of one committee during the recess. Mr. CHAPIN. I hope the resolution will be made to cover the whole sulyect, and I would suggest also, that there be a committee of five, as the business is of considerable importance. Mr. COLLINS. Very well; I will accept the amendment, and make it a committee of five on rules and order of business. The Secretary read the resolution as modi- fied :— Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed by the President, to report standing rules, and order of business for the government of this Convention. The question was taken, and the resolution was adopted. The PRESIDENT appointed as the commit- tee under the resolution, Messrs. Collins, Banks, Sturtevant, DeLong, and Kennedy. PERMANENT ORGANIZATION — AGAIN. Mr. BALL oflTered the following resolution : — Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed by the Chair, to report the various subordinate offices to be filled by this Convention, and to 13 x their compensa- tion, as well as the compensation of the officers elected. Mr. COLLINS. I would inquire whether that last sentence does not embrace our Presi- dent. [Laugh tor.] The PRESIDENT. I hope the gentleman will " let me out." [Laughter.] Mr. BALL. 1 think it will be very easy to fix that. Mr. COLLINS. 1 move to amend the reso- lution l)y striking out the word " officers," and inserting the word " Secretary." Mr. BALL. I will accept that amendment. Mr. KINKEAD. I suggest a further amend- ment ; to strike out " three,"' and insert" five." Mr. BALL. I have no objection to making it five. The resolution was read as modified : — Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed by the Chair, to report the various subordinate offices to 2d day.] RULES OF THE CONVENTION. Tuesday,] Bbosnan — Gibson — President — Orion Clemens— Sturtetant — Collins. [July 5th. be filled by this Convention, and to fix their compensar tion, as weU as the compensation of the Secretary elect. The question was taken, and the resolution was adopted. The PRESIDENT appointed as the commit- tee under the resolution, Messrs. Ball, Chapin, Tagliabue, Tozer, and Murdock. Mr. BROSNAN. I move that the Committee on Rules and Order of Business be instructed to report this afternoon. I apprehend that they will have time to do that, and the sooner we get to work, the better. If it is necessary to have rules and order of business at all, they should be adopted at once. Mr. CHAPIN. I hope that will be done, so that we may get to work, and that when we ad- journ, it will be to meet at two o'clock, so as to give the committee time enough. The question was taken on Mr. Brosnan's motion, and it was agreed to. On motion of Mr. CHAPIN, the Convention took a recess until two o'clock, P. M. AFTERNOON SESSION. The Convention reassembled at two o'clock, and was called to order by the President. seats of members. Mr. GIBSON called attention to the matter of the seats of members, and said, so far as the members of the Ormsby delegation were concerned, they were satisfied with the seats they then occupied, which wei-e the same as they had in the Convention of last fall. If other gentlemen, however, desired it, they would be willing to draw for seats, or to give up their seats to any gentlemen who preferred them. He thought there should be some ar- rangement, or understanding, and all he desired was to have the delegations from the respective counties sit together. Mr. FITCH said the delegation from Storey was composed of very litigious materials, and he suggested they had better be scattered around among the others. [Laughter.] Several members expressed themselves satis- fied with their present seats, and no action was taken upon the subject. Messrs. E. F. DUNNE of Humboldt, and "WIL- LIAM WETHERILL of Esmeralda appeared, and presented their credentials ; the official oath was administered to them by Judge Wright, and having subscribed the same, they took their seats as members of the Convention. STATIONERY. The PRESIDENT. It is well known to you all that no provision has been made, either by Congress or by the Legislature of this Territo- ry, for the payment of the expenses of this Con- vention ; but there are some expenses which will necessarily have to be borne in some way, such as stationery, &c. The Secretary of the Territory has been kind enough to suggest to members of the Convention that he will furnish them, from the supply he has on hand, with such stationery as is necessary. It is an act of liberality, to say the least, on his part, which I have no doubt the Convention will fully appreciate. He takes the responsibility of so doing without any authority of law, in order to aid us as far as possible in our labors ; and I trust that members will see the import- ance of practicing all possible economy in the use of stationery, as tlse supply is very limited. As the Secretary of the Territory is present, he will state to the Convention what he can furnish, and his position in the matter. Mr. ORION CLEMENS (the Territorial Sec- tary.) As the President has stated, there is no provision made by the Legislature or by the United States Government for stationery for the Convention, and the only fund under my control is the Legislative fund, which comes to me with specific instructions as to the items for which I am to use it, such as per diem and mile- age of members and officers of the Legislative Assembly and other matters, which are men- tioned in my instructions. I have thought, however, in view of the exigencies of the case, that I might furnish the members of the Con- vention with so much of the stationery which I have on hand, that they could get along with- out serious inconvenience. I will furnish them with paper, pens, ink, and envelops so far as they may be required. I would willingly do more, but gentlemen will see that, under the circumstances, it is out of my power. Mr. STURTEVANT. I am not experienced in these things called conventions, but I sup- pose we will have a regular routine, and com- mittees to take charge of all these matters, to be appointed by the President. There will necessarily be some expenses, and I suppose the proper committee will make a recommenda- tion to the next Legislature to make an apjjro- priation for their payment. RULES AND ORDER OP BUSINE.SS. Mr. COLLINS, from the Committee on Rules and Order of Business, presented the following : The Committee appointed to report the Order of Business and Rules for the government of this Con- vention, beg leave to submit the following report : — OKDER OF BUSINESS. 1— Calling the Convention to order. 2— Calling the roU. 3 — Prayer. 4 — Reading the journal of the preceding day. 5 — Reports of Standing Committees. 6 — Reports of Special Committees. 7 — Motions and resolutions. 8 — Seeond reading and reference of resolutions. 9 — General file. RULES. Adopt as far as aijplicable for the government of this Convention the Rules of the House of Representatives of the third session of the Legislature of Nevada Ter- ritory, and Jefferson's Manual in matters to which the rules of said Legislature may not apply. All of which is respectfully submitted. JOHN A. COLLINS, Chairman. Accompanying the report was a copy of the rules of the House of Representatives of the third Legislature. PERMANENT ORGANIZATION. [2d day. Tuesday,] Fitch — Gibson — Ball — Collins — Cbosman — Stcrtevant — CflAPm. [July 5th. Tlie PRESIDENT. If these rules are to be adopted I suppose the word " President " is te be substituted for " Speaker " wherever it oc- curs. Mr. FITCH. I do not see how we can well get along under these rules without each mem- ber being furnished with a copy, and as there are only four or five copies to be had. I suggest the propriety of having them printed. Mr. GIBSON. Mr. Thomas Carson, who is present, states that he thinlis he can find over a hundred copies, which were printed for the last Legislature, and left over. Mr. BALL moved that the report be received and the Committee discharged, which was agreed to. The question recurred on the adoption of the report. Mr. COLLINS. In the rules of the third Legislature the words "Speaker " and " Clerk'" occur very frequently. I move to substitute the words " President " and " Secretary " in every case. The PRESIDENT. A motion will not be necessary to that effect ; tlie Secretary will make the corrections, and it will be understood as being the report of the Committee. The question was taken on the adoption of the report, and it was adopted. ADDITIOXAL OFFICERS. Mr. BALL, from the Special Committee on Subordinate Officers and their Compensation, presented the following report : — To tlie President and Members of the Constitutional Convention: Tour Committee on Subordinate Oificers and Compensation beg leave to report: That, in view of a short session, they deem it advisable that an As- sistant Secretary be employed, and that enroUing and engrossing clerks be specially appointed when they may be needed at the close of the session. We recom- mend the adoption of the following resolutions: Resoliu'd, That the Convention elect one Sergeant-at- Arms and Doorlteei^er, one Of&cial Reporter, one Page, one Porter, one Assistant Secretary, and that the three resident clergymen of Carson be requested to alternate in opening the sessions of the Convention with i>raycr. Resolved, That the following compensation be allowed the otRcers of the Convention : To the Secretary, $10 per diem. Assistant Secretary, So per diem. Sergeant-at-Arms and Doorkeeper, $6 per diem. Page, $4 per diem. Porter, S4 per diem. Chaplain, $2 50 per diem. Official Reporter, $15 per diem, and thirty cents per folio for writing up his notes; Provided such notes shall only be written up if the Constitution framed be adopted by the people. Resolved, That the President and Secretary are here- by instructed to certify the accounts of the otJicers of this Convention in dupUcate — one to the iirst State Legislature convened, provided the Constitution framed be adopted ; and in the event of its rejection by the people, one to the Territorial Legislative Assem- biy, asking an appropriation for their pajTuent on be- lialf of this Convention. Mr. CROSMAN moved that the report be received and the committee discharged, which was agreed to. The question was on the adoption of the report. Mr. FITCH. From the reading of the report it appears that we are to have three clergymen every day. Mr. BALL. Oh, no! they are to alternate, at S2 50 each. The word '• chaplain " is in the singular; not in the plural. Mr. STURTEVANT. It strikes me quite for- cibly still that each one of them will get his S2 50 per day. There might be a row among the clergymen, and that would be a tiling rather discreditable to the town. [Laughter.] The PRESIDENT. I apprehend that there is no difficulty. It is understood, of course, that the per diem is allowed to those who officiate, each in his regular course. The question was taken on the adoption of the report, and it was adopted. ELECTION OF SER(iEANT-AT-AR.\IS. Mr. HAWLEY moved that the Convention proceed to the election of subordinate officers, viva voce ; which motion was agreed to. The PRESIDENT announced that nomina- tions were in order for a Sergeant-at-Arms and Doorkeeper. Mr. MURDOCK. I put in nomination Thomas Carson, of Car.^on. Mr. HAWLEY. Is it one officer, or two ? Mr. CIIAPIN. It is one ; but he can dis- charge all the duties of two. Mr. HAWLEY. I move that we dispense with calling the roll, and elect him by accla- mation. The question was taken, and THOMAS CAR- SON was unanimously elected as Sergeant-at- Arms and Doorkeeper. ELECTION OF OFFICIAL REPORTER. The PRESIDENT announced that nomina- tions were in order for Official Reporter. Mr. CHAPIN. I put in nomination, Mr. President, Mr. Andrew Jackson Marsh ; and as there are no other nominations, I move that the rules be suspended and he be elected by acclamation. The question was taken, and ANDREAV J. MARSH was unanimously elected Official Re- porter. ELECTION OF PAGE. The PRESIDENT .said nominations were in order for a Page. Mr. GIBSON. I put in nomination George Richards. Mr. BROSNAN. I would like to have the young gentleman define his position on the Union. Master RICHARDS (the candidate for Page). Oh. it is sound ! [Laughter and applause.] Mr. BROSNAN. I move that he be elected by acclamation. The question was taken and the motion was agreed to ; and Master GEORGE RICHARDS was unanimously elected as Page of the Con- vention. ELECTION 01' ASSISTANT SECRETARY. The PRESIDENT called fiOr nominations for Assistant Secretary. 2d day.] ADJOURNMENT WITHOUT DAY. Tuesday,] HOVET — KiNKEAD — ChAPIN — PRESIDENT — DuNNE — BaNKS. [July 5. Mr. HOVEY nominated Andrew Whitford. There being no other nomination, under a suspension of the rules ANDREW WHITFORD was unanimously elected, by acclamation, as Assistant Secretary. ELECTION OF PORTER. Nominations were called for for a Porter. Mr. KINKEAD nominated WILLIAM E. SKEENE, who was unanimously elected by acclamation. Mr. CHAPIN. As the officers are now all elected, I suggest that Judge Wright be invited to come in and administer the oath of office to them. The PRESIDENT said he would take that course. Judge S. C. Wright came in immediately thereafter, and the oath of office was taken and subscribed by the several officers of the Con- vention elected. Mr. KINKEAD. I presume it Is necessary to take some action in regard to notifying the clergymen of the request of the Convention that they officiate alternately as Chaplains. I move that the Secretary be instructed to notify the three resident clergymen of Carson City of the action of the Convention in reference to the Chaplains. The question was taken and the motion was agreed to. BASIS OF THE CONSTITUTION. Mr. CHAPIN. I suppose we are now ready to go to work, as the machinery of the Conven- tion is all in regular order. I therefore offer this resolution : — Resolved, That the Constitution adopted by the late Convention be taken as a basis by this Convention, and that the same be taken xix> in Committee of the Whole and acted ujion section by section. ADJOURNMENT WITHOUT DAT. Mr. DUNNE. If the gentleman will permit me, I have a resolution which I wish to ofter, and which I think comes more properly before the one he has presented. It will take but a moment to act upon it, and I will ask as a favor that he withdraw his resolution for the present and allow me to present mine. Mr. CHAPIN. Certainly ; I withdraw it. Mr. DUNNE. Before the resolution which I offer is read, as it is the first time I have had the floor since the marked courtesy extended by the Convention to those who came late, by waiting for them before proceeding to business, I desire to express my appreciation of that courtesy, and the more so because, perhaps, something in these resolutions might be con- strued as not evincing that appreciation on my part. The sentiments of these resolutions are such that I am satisfied — The PRESIDENT, (interrupting.) Will the gentleman suspend a moment ; I think the resolutions are not seconded. Mr. BANKS. I will second them in order to get them before the house, though I do not know what they are. The PRESIDENT. Perhaps they had better be read before the gentleman proceeds. Mr. DUNNE. Only one word. I present these resolutions as the sentiments of a large body of my constituents, and as the sentiments of those people, I ask to have them receive the attention of the Convention. With this ex- planation, I will ask the Secretary to read them. The Secretary read as follows : — Whereas, This Convention has assembled, not from any call of the people of this Territory, but in pursu- ance of an Act of Congress which virtually compels us to take action again upon a question which we believe should be left entirely to the imbiassed judgment of the peojjle, uninfluenced by the interested appeals of aspirants for office, or by the surging passions of par- tisan strife; and Whereas, The overwhelming defeat sustained by the late Constitution from the peoiile themselves but a few months ago, and later still from their Representa- tives in Legislature assembled, is a convincing proof of the sentiments of this Territory as to the propriety of at present assuming the responsibilities of a State Government; and that the vote some time before in favor of such action was no test, inasmuch as no can- vass on the subject was had, and the question consti- tuted no part of the real issue in the contest; and . Whereas, The conducting of a State Government upon even the most economical basis is necessarily at- tended with a burden of expense, greater than the peo- ple at present can bear, and which would necessitate a ruinous system of credit and depreciation of the paper of the State, because of the absence of the necessary basis of revenue upon which the peoi^le vnU willingly consent to be taxed; and Whereas, The reasoning of the supporters of the late Constitution, that twelve months' time would show the taxable property of the Territory doubled in amount and trebled in value, has faUed to be sustained by the facts in the case; but that, on the contrary, a deiareciation instead of an increase has ensued ; and Whereas, The submission of another Constitution to the people, at present, would be to force upon them again an election at a great expense for the settlement of a question ujjon which they have just given their decision — so recently, in fact, that the echo of their re- monstrance has scarcely yet died in our ears ; and Whereas, Of aU possilale times for the submission of such a question, the present is the least appropriate, the question being one which should be determined upon from its intrinsic merits alone : one which calls for the exercise of the calmest judgment, and for a consideration of its effects upon the whole people, and not as to how it may benefit the interested few; and the time pi'oposed for action upon it being not only at the red-hot heat of a Presidential campaign, but of a con- test the like of which, for partisan enthusiasm and party bittex'ness, the world has not yet witnessed ; when the mingled indignation and loathing, and fierce, \'indic- tive hate of patriotic men against the infamy of treason may easOy be stirred by designing j>oliticians to carry this Constitution through, if for no other reason than because it would inflict an additional pang upon the rebellion to see another star rise grandly to its place in the constellation sought to be shrouded in the pall of death; and Whereas, Though we yield to no portion of this na- tion in our love or devotion to our country, or in wil- lingness to sacrifice our interests for the public good, we do not beUeve the Government is menanced by any danger which requires of us the assiimption of the attitude of a State to prevent; and Whereas, We have assembled here as the represen- tatives of the real interests of this TeiTitory, in order that no action prejudicial to those interests shoiUd be had in this body: and Whereas, There is nothing in the act caUing us to- gether which imposes any obligation upon us to form a Constitution; and 10 ADJOURNMENT WITHOUT DAY. [2d day. Tuesday,] Dunne — Brosnan — DeLong — President. [July 5th. Whereas, It slioiUd be our first duty to represent, by our action here, the expressed sentiment of the peo- ple we claim to represent ; therefore Resolved, That the paramount allegiance of every citi- zen of the United States is due to the Federal Grovern- nient; that we heartily endorse the general policy of the present Administration in its eflorts to maintain the national authority over the rebellious Territory of the United States; that we are in favor of the most thorough and vigorous prosecution of the war, without delay or compromise, uutO the heresy of rebellion be forever eradicated from the land ; that we are for the employment of all means of civilized warfare for the accompUshmeut of that end ; but that when rebels re- sort to the atrocities of savage cruelty, we beheve re- taliation justifiable. Resolved, That we beheve the initiative steps towards the forming of a State Government should only be taken under the direction of the XJeople themselves by direct expression of their will, and particularly so when it is required to be done at their exijense. Resolved, That under the circumstances, we deem it our duty to return to our constituents, leaving to them the right to call a Convention for the formation of their State Constitution, whenever they shall deem it advis- able for their own interests to do so. Resolved, That when this Convention adjourn it ad- journ sine die. Mr. DUNNE. I have only a few words to say, Mr. President, ia regard to these resolutions, I hope that each member of the Convention will endeavor to vote upon them exactly as he believes the sentiments of a majority of his constituents demands. I do think, however, so far as I myself am concerned, that, when we consider the action of the people of this Terri- tory, talien in conjunction with the considera- tion of our circumstances — a careful compari- son of our present state with what it was twelve months ago, financially speaking, or what it was at the time when the previous Con- stitution was proposed and rejected — we should be induced to refrain from presenting another Constitution to the people at the present time. I think that the depreciation of property, the depreciation of the value of mining stocks, and the cessation of investments necessarily conse- quent upon the downfall of all mining stocks, have rendered such a measure impolitic. I say that all these things taken together, tend to show that if the people did not wish to adopt a Constitution and State Government, some months ago, when everything looked more prosperous and promising than now, they cer- tainly do not wish to do so at this time. Then, in regard to the basis of revenue, I think it is unmistakably apparent to all that the last Constitution was rejected because the mines were taxed ; there can be no question as to that proposition. Now, if there is to be a Constitution submitted to the people, leaving that clause out, or recommending the proposi- tion that the mines shall not be taxed, I tliink it would undoubtedly ]>e satisfactory to the people in that regard ; but I doubt whether such a Constitution would be satisfactory to the office-holders under that Constitution, for I do not see, for my part, where their pay would come from. There is scarcely any prop- erty, when you come to look at the vast budget of State debt which would be accruing every year, aside from the mining property, from which you can hope to raise funds to carry on a State Government. There is scarcely any property to speak of in this Territory, out- side of mining property, and the people will not willingly consent to see that species of property taxed. In my own county, to my knowledge, since the assessor, under the revenue act of last winter, began his operations, the people have ex- pressed the most unlimited abhorrence of that mining law — the law taxing mining property — and they have expressed their determination that that law shall be repealed at the next ses- sion of the Legislature. They expressed, farther than that, their determination never to consent to have such a law remain on the statute books. Those who believe that a Constitution can be adopted now with the mining tax clause in it, think we can go on under it and get a rev- enue, because they have succeeded in having a law passed by the Legislature taxing this species of property ; and so long as that law remains, they say, then everything is sure and as they want it. Because the Legislature adopted that measure once, they contend that we can adopt it again, and safely allow it to go before the people without any clause exempting the mines from taxation. I hope, however, that their ex- pectations will be disappointed in that respect. But I know that the minds of most of the members have been specially exercised on this subject, as it has been before the people in many ways since the late Constitution was re- jected, and I am satisfied, therefore, that the Convention will be willing to determine this matter without further debate. Hence, as I do not wish, above all things, to set the example of making long speeches, I will submit my resolution to the action of the Convention, with- out any further remarks, unless they shall meet with some opposition which may call for reply. Mr. BROSNAN. I move that the preamble and resolutions be indefinitely postponed. Mr. DeLONG. I have asked that the reso- lutions be read. I am informed, however, that they are very long, and I will withdraw that request if some gentleman will state the pur- port of them. The PRESIDENT. The purport, so far as the Chair understands it, is a proposition that we dissolve this Convention and go home to our constituencies without doing anything further. Mr. BROSNAN. I wish to make one or two suggestions before the vote is taken on the pending question. I have listened to the read- ing of the preamble and resolutions with a great deal of attention, and I have been struck very much, Mr. President, with the loyalty of the sentiments which they embrace. 1 should be the last person in the world to vote against those sentiments, or to willingly favor any oppo- site doctrines. But that, I conceive, is not the question here. I consider that our duty is marked out for us by the highest authority of the land, and that, as sensible men, who have been , sent hei-e to discharge a specific duty, we should 2d day.] ADJOURNMENT WITHOUT DAY. 11 Tuesday,] Dunne — Fitch — DeLong — Hawlet — Nourse — Parxer — Tozer — Banks. [July 5. be playing the part of children to dissolve our Convention at the present time without having done what we came here to perform. So far as the loyalty of the sentiments expressed in the resolutions is concerned, I most heartily ac- cord with them each and every one, and lest it might be deemed by my friend from Humboldt that I intended any disrespect either to him or to the loyal sentiments which he has em- bodied in his resolutions in moving their iudefluite postponement, I will ask permission to change my motion, and move instead that they be laid upon the table. Mr. DUNNE. I said that I would make no further remarks unless some point should be made against the resolutions, and I notice now that there is a point made, namely, that it is our duty here to form a Constitution ; that that path of duty has been marked out for us by the supreme authority of the nation ; that we have come here in obedience to that call, and would be recreant to our duty if we adjourned our Convention without performing that work which we came here to do. Mr. FITCH, (interrupting.) I rise to a ques- tion of order I dislike to interrupt the gen- tleman from Humboldt ; but certainly, upon a motion to lay upon the table, debate is not in order. Mr. DeLONG- I do not think my colleague from Storey (Mr. Brosnan) intended by his mo- tion to cut off debate, and I would request him to withdraw the motion. It is rather a harsb way for a gentleman to make a speech and wind up with a motion to lay upon the table, which necessarily prevents any one from reply- ing. The PRESIDENT. The motion is not de- batable, and unless it is withdrawn the Chair will rule debate out of order. Mr. DUNNE. I should think that, having made a portion of an argument against the resolutions, the gentleman from Storey would be willing to have them farther discussed. Mr. HAWLEY. I would suggest that, judg- ing from the drift of the remarks of the gen- tleman from Humboldt (Mr. Dunne), so far as he has been allowed to proceed — I am inclined to think at least that a point was about to be raised which it would probably be well enough for the Convention- to take into consideration. If it is in oi'der, I will ask that the rules be sus- pended to allow the gentleman to make his ex- planation. Mr. FITCH. The only way to settle it, I take it, is to vote down the motion to lay on the table, or for the mover of that motion to withdraw it ; there is nothing else in order while that motion is pending. Several gentlemen objected to the with- drawal of the motion to lay on the table. Mr. CROSMAN. I hope the Convention will consent to its withdrawal temporarily. Mr. NOURSE. I hope it will not be with- drawn ; these resolutions have been thrown in here as a sort of firebrand, and I hope the mo- tion now pending will not be withdrawn, but that we shall dispose of the whole subject in a summary manner and proceed with our busi- ness. I object to its withdrawal. Mr. PARKER. I ask for information in re- gard to the rules. If this matter be laid on the table I want to know whether, under the rules, either a majority or two-thirds can take it up again. That may make a vast difference, be- cause if it is liable to be taken up again, we may be annoyed with this question for weeks here. The PRESIDENT. The Chair has no more opportunity of ascertaining what the rules are than the rest of the Convention, as they are not accessible in print, and there is only a single copy on the table ; but the impression of the Chair, from his past experience, is, that lay- ing a subject upon the table is about the last of it. Mr. COLLINS. I think there is another rule equally applicable, which is, that a majority can take it up again at any time. Mr. DeLONG. Certainly, the best way is to withdraw the motion, and move an indefinite postponement. Then if the gentlemen do not want debate, they can move the previous ques- tion, and have a vote on that. If the previous question be sustained, and the motion to indefi- nitely postpone carried, we get rid of the ques- tion forever. For one, I would like to have it discussed as long as the gentleman wants it dis- cussed. I do not understand that it makes any difference whether it requires a majority or a two-thirds vote to take it up again, because in either case it may be taken up at any time. Mr. FITCH. I understand the rule to be in California, that a majority vote may take any subject from the table. Mr. BANKS. The practice in California has been to require a two-thirds vote when the mo- tion to take up was not made in the regular order of business, but under the head of '• mo- tions and resolutions," or under the head of " unfinished business," any matter could be taken up by a majority. The PRESIDENT. This discussion is some- what out of order, but it has been tolerated by the Chair in order that the Convention may un- derstand the effect of the vote to be taken. Mr. TOZER. It seems to me desirable to dis- pose of this resolution finally at this time ; but I dislike very much to dispose of it without a full, fair, and free discussion upon it. It is a matter, certainly, of considerable importance, as the gentleman from Humboldt says it em- bodies the views and wishes of a large portion of his constituency ; and I really hope that nothing will be done in the Convention which will cut off the discussion of the matter. Let it be amply discussed, and then finally disposed of. The PRESIDENT. This discussion is all out of order. An inquiry was made in reference to the effect of the vote about to be taken, and the Chair is now prepared to state, from the 12 ADJOURNMENT WITHOUT DAY. [2d da)^ Tuesday,] DeLoxg — Gibson — Hawlet — Tozee— Crosman — President — Banks. [July 5. limited oppoptuaity given him to examine the rules, that in the opinion of the Chair, a major- ity vote would be sufficient to talvc the resolu- tions from the table, inasmuch as only a ma- jority vote is necessary to lay them upon the table. The question was stated on the motion to lay the preamble and resolutions on the table. Several gentlemen demanded the yeas and nays, and a vote was taken by yeas and nays. During the voting — Mr. DeLONG. I ask leave to explain my vote, and merely wish to say a word. I intend to vote in the negative on this question, simply out of courtesy to the gentlemen who ottered the resolutions, and not because I think there is no necessity for a State Government, nor be- cause I do not intend to support the Constitu- tion which may be framed here. I vote ''no," solely out of courtesy, and I regret that the motion was made, because I would like to give to the Convention, and through it to the peo- ple, my reasons for favoring a State Govern- ment at this time, when it is well known that one year ago I opposed it with all my might. I vote '• no." Mr. GIBSON. I shall vote '• no," for the simple reason that I wish to have the subject ventilated. Mr. IIAVVLEY. I ask leave to say a word in explanation. I shall vote "no," upon the ques- tion of laying on the table, partly because I wish to see an opportunity extended to the gen- tleman from Humboldt, (Mr. Dunne,) to explain his peculiar views on the question which he in- troduced, or intimated in his remarks, as far as he went. If '• coming events cast their shad- ows before," I am inclined to think that the gentleman from Humboldt was about to raise certain propositions based upon the remarks of the gentleman from Storey, (Mr. Brosnan,) to the effect that he did not consider this Conven- tion iu duty Ijound to take into consideration, or to take any notice whatever, of the call of the national government convening us here for a specific purpo.se. How much further he might have gone if he had not been interrupted, we have no means of knowing ; and for my part, as a member of the Convention, and a delegate representing a loyal community, I feel some- what anxious to understand the gentleman's entire i)roposition. Mr. TOZKli. I ask leave to explain my vote briefly. 1 vote " no," on the motion to lay the resolutions on the table, and I do so for the Fame reasons which have been given l)y other gentlemen of the Convention, — not liecauso I do not at this time favor tliu organization of a State government, but simply because I am op- posed to this manner of disposing of the ques- tion. The result of the vote was announced as fol- lows : — I'«tt»— McBSfH. Ball, Banks, Bclden, Brosnan, Brady, Chapin, C^oUins, Crawford, Earl, Fit<;h, Frizell, Fol- 8oni, HudHon, Hovey, Kennedy, Murdock, Noursc, Proctor, Sturtevant, Tagliabue, and Wetherill— 21. Nays — Messrs. Crosman, DeLong, Dunne, Gibson, Hawlcy, Kinkead, Lockwood, Parker, Tozer, and the President — 10. Mr. CROSMAN. I voted " no," for the rea- sons which have already been assigned by gen- tlemen. It was my expectation, or at least my hope, that this motion to lay upon the table would have been voted down, in order that I might make a motion to indefinitely postpone the res(jlutions. Upon that motion, my friend from Huml)oldt could have explained his posi- tion. The PRESIDENT. The gentleman is not in order, except by consent of the Convention. [" Leave. Leave."] Mr. CROSMAN. Only one word further. I wanted the gentleman to have the privilege of explaining ; and believing that the sense of the Convention was in favor of disposing of the resolutions immediately, the vote could then be taken on indefinite postponement. For my part, I am in favor of a State organization, and I am in favor of doing anything that the Gen- eral Government asks at our hands, to sustain it in this conflict. The PRESIDENT. In this same connection, with the permission of the Convention, while explanations are the order, I desire to say that I am opposed to every thing contained in those resolutions, except the very loyal sentiments expressed therein, which I of course heartily approve. For the same reasons which have been expressed by other gentlemen, I voted against laying the resolutions on the table, Mr. BANKS. I ask leave to say a few words in explanation of my vote. I will only say, that with all my desire to extend courtesy to my colleague, for whom I entertain the most profound respect, I so thoroughly disagree with the sentiments advanced in these resolu- tions, so far as they pertain to the people whom I represent, and so far as they pertain to the propriety of adopting a State government, that I felt compelled to vote in favor of laying them on the table, because I regarded that vote as a tost vote, and I wished to place myself right on the record against those resolutions. Mr. HAWLEY. Will the Convention allow me a moment to explain my vote '.' I merely wish to say that I am decidedly in favor of a State organization, and opposed to everything in the resolutions except their patriotic senti- ments. I wanted to say this now, because I- ntglected to do so when I had the floor before. Mr. DUNNE Some gentlemen, in explaining their votes, have expressed a desire to extend courtesy to the gentleman from Humlmldt. Now, I would .«ay that with me there is not a particle of personal consideration in this mat- ter — the gentleman from Humboldt has not the slightest feeling about it. He understood that the vote was simply on the principle involved in the resolutions which he had felt it his duty to offer, conceiving it to be the wish of his con- stituents that resolutions of this nature should be presented for the consideration and action of the Convention. So far as the gentleman 2d day.] ADJOURNMENT WITHOUT DAY. 13 Tuesday,] Nourse — Kinkead — Tozer— President — Chapin — Fitch — Earl — DeLoxg. [July 5. from Humboldt is concerned, therefore, there need be no hesitancy on the score of courtesy. Mr. NOURSE. If there are any others who desire to explain their votes, I suggest that they be allowed to do so in the columns of the Carson Independent. Mr. KINKEAD. After the explanation which has now been made by the gentleman from Humboldt, I desire to change my vote to the af3Brmative. Mr. GIBSON. I desire to do the same. Mr. CROSMAN. I wish to change mine also. Mr. TOZER. I wish to explain before chang- ing my vote. I voted " no " only as a matter of courtesy to tbe gentleman, and now I vote in the affirmative. The PRESIDENT. I will state, with the permission of the Convention, that I am not prepared to refer to the gentleman's explana- tion as a reason why I should change my vote. I voted in the negative, because I wanted to have the matter discussed. I wanted to hear from some gentlemen whom I knew had hither to opposed the adoption of a State Govern- ment, and who are now the ardent friends of that policy. I desired to hear from them an explanation of the reasons which, in their judg- ment, now exist in favor of a State Govern- ment which did not formerly appear, and I wanted that explanation to go forth to the people, to show them the reasons why we desire now to adopt a State Government. I wanted the subject ventilated, and believed there was no better time for this discussion than at the initiatory stage of our proceedings, in order that the people may be instructed, so far as the views of their delegates are concerned, as to the reasons and arguments in favor of the form- ation of a State Government. I do not change my vote, therefore, and I hope the matter will still be discussed, and possibly I may participate in such discussion. I will repeat, however, my former statement, that I am opposed to every- thing in the resolutions, save and except their loyal and patriotic sentiments. Messrs. Parker and Hawley changed their votes from the negative to the affirmative. The result of the vote was again announced. as follows : — Yeas — Messrs. Ball, Banis, Belden, Brosnan, Brady, Chapin, Crosmau, Crawford, Collins, Earl, Fitch, Friz- ell, Folsom, Gibson, Hudson, Hawley, Hovey, Kin- kead, Kennedy, Murdock, Nourse, Parker, Proctor, Sturtevant, TagUabue, Tozer, and Wetherill— 27. Nays — Messrs. De Long, Dunne, Lockwood, and Mr. President — i. So the preamble and resolutions were laid on the table. Mr. CHAPIN. I desire to say that I voted aye for an entirely different reason from any that has yet been stated. I voted to lay the resolutions on the table for the simple reason that I believe we are here for business, not for the presentation of arguments for or against the adoption of a State Constitution. I came here to work, and I want to go to work, and work every hour till I get through, and go home to attend to my private business ; and then let every man who wants to present argu- ments for or against the Constitution which we shall have adopted, go home, and work and talk as long as he pleases. Those are my sen- timents, and those are the reasons why I wanted the resolutions laid on the table and allowed to remain there. Mr. FITCH. I would like to explain my vote. I have only this to say — that 1 raised the question of order upon the motion to lay on the table, not out of any discourtesy, but solely because I believed it to be important that we should enforce the common parliamen- tary rules in the outset. Mr. DeLONG. Now, I am compelled to rise to a point of order, because these gentle- men who put the gag on me are themselves making long speeches. My point of order is, that there is no question before the house. The PRESIDENT. The gentleman from Storey (Mr. Fitch) asked leave to explain, and leave was given him, by the assent of the Con- vention, to proceed. Mr. FITCH. I only want to say that I raised the question of order, not out of dis- courtesy to any one, nor from any desire to stifle discussion, but simply because I saw that the discussion was flagrantly and clearly out of order. Mr. EARL offered the following resolution, which was read by the Secretary : — Resolved, That we now enter into a Committee of the WTiole, and ask of Congress to give us a change in our Judiciary, and that this body now propose such change necessary to be made, and forward the same to Con- gress. That we then adjourn, hoping that Congress will grant our prayer; that we say to the people of this Territory that if this change is granted us, we think it better for the present to remain as we are, under a Territorial Government. Mr. EARL. I offer this resolution, think- ing it will do no great hurt at least, to ascer- tain what the feeling is amongst delegates from different parts of the Territory in relation to our passing now from a Territorial to a State form of government : I offer it for that purpose wnolly. Mr. DeLONG. Mr. President, I am frank to confess that if the recommendation in that res- olution could be carried into effect immedi- ately, and we could be assured that the desired chauge in our judicial system would be effected in that mode, I would certainly favor it, and it would be all I should ask. I went into the can- vass and opposed the adoption of the Constitu- tion last year, and the main grounds of my argument were, that in my opinion, we, as a people, were too young ; that the amount of public property in this Territory which would be taxable under that Constitution was too small to warrant this people in assuming the responsibilities and obligations of a State Gov- ernment, the support of which must fall so onerously upon the small amount of property which was then within our confines. I pro- posed that we should wait until we had the I 14 BASIS OF CONSTITUTION. [2d day. Tuesday,] NouKSE — President — Chapin — DeLon g. [July 5. material wealth on which to base a State Gov- ernment, so far as property was concerned, so that our revenues might be sufficient to meet our expenses. But, sir, since that time, in the short space of less than a year, I have seen so many of the evil worlvings of a Territorial Government Yike ours, situated so far distant from the central Government, to which men are looking for appointments; I have seen, in our judicial department, such an extraordinary lack of ability to come up to the requirements of our condition, in the men who have received appointments in that department, that I have come to the conclusion that some remedy is absolutely demanded. Nor is it alone a lack of ability on the part of our judges. Of our three judges at nisi irrius, at this time, one is sick and the others have absented themselves, and thus blocked the wheels of justice ; so that in reality we have no Courts at all ; although I know, and every lawyer knows, that we have interests in litigation so vast in importance that the parties interested in them could almost attbrd to pay the expenses of a State Govern- ment for one year if by that means they could have their rights judicially determined. This is what impels me to favor a State organiza- tion. It is to obtain the power of electing our own judges, and just as many of them as we want, to transact our criminal and civil busi- ness. But I feel sure that if this resolution should pass, or one embodying the same propo- sitions, and we should petition Congress for this change of judiciary, the petition would hang there and probably never be acted upon ; or even if it were acted upon we should not be sure of obtaining any relief whatever ; conse- quently, I have made up my mind to vote for and support a State Government, and I shall vote against this resolution. Mr. NOURSE. It seems to me that this is not the place to discuss the question whether or not we should adopt a State Government, and therefore I am opposed to the resolution. We are here to make and submit to the people a Constitution and form of State Government, and then let them say whether or not they will have a State Government. I move that the resolution be indefinitly postponed. The question was taken on the motion to po.stpone the resolution indefinitely, and it was agreed to. BA.S1S OF THE CONSTITUTIOX. Mr. CHAPIN. I now call up my resolution, and ask that the Secretary read it as modified. The Secretary read as follows : — Hesolved, That the Constitution adopted by the late Convention be taken as the basis of the Constitution to be adopted by this Convention, and that the same be taken up in Committee of the Whole, and acted upon section by section. Mr. NOURSE. I would inquire in relation to that, Mr. President, whether that will pre- vent the examination of different portions of the Constitution by committees ? If so, I am not prepared to say whether it would be well or ill. I would like to have that understood. The PRESIDENT. I suppose it would be entirely competent for the Convention at any stage to raise a committee to consider any por- tion of it. Mr. CHAPIN. I will explain my view of it, Mr. President. I notice that the committee which was appointed before we took a recess did not report a recommendation that we should have any standing committees; conse- (juently, as we must Ijring up our business in some manner, I think that this would be the best method. We can take up the Constitution, adopting it as a basis, and consider it in Com- mittee of the Whole. Let us go on with it there, until we come to a disagreement, or until discussion arises, and then, if it should seem to be necessary, we can appoint a special committee of five or any other number, to which may be referred any particular section or arti- cle in regard to which there may be differences of opinion. I thinii it would be the better way to take up the Constitution in the manner the resolution proposes, and then as we see the necessity ot appointing committees upon any particular portions, let them be appointed to report at subsequent meetings. I believe we can expedite business in that way much more rapidly than we can by referring the whole matter to various standing committees. Mr. DeLONG. I wish to offer an amendment to that resolution. I move to strike out the words — " The Constitution adopted by the late Convention,"' and insert the words — "The amended Constitution of California ; " so as to read : ^'Resolved, That the amended Constitution of California be taken as a basis," etc. Mr. BANKS. I second that motion. Mr. DeLONG. I trust, Mr. President, that the Convention will bear with me in the few remarks which I desire to malie on this subject, because, whether successful or unsuccessful in the enforcement of the views which I present, it will propably be the last occasion on which I shall make any lengthy remarks in the Convention. F hope, therefore, that I may be heard patiently. Now, sir, I came here with this as a particular pet object which I had in view — that this Con- vention should adopt the amended Constitution of California as the basis of the one which they were to frame for submission to the people of Nevada. My reasons for wishing that are these : I know that this Territory is peopled almost exclusively by Californians — by men that have lived and acquired property there for years past — who have lived under and arc ac- quainted with the Constitution of that State as it has been construed from time to time by the Supreme Court of that State. They have come into this Territory and found that here the leading and paramount interests of our Terri- tory are similar to those which they left behind them in the State of California. This import- ant fact renders the Constitution and laws of California peculiarly applicable to us; for if 2d day.] BASIS OF CONSTITUTION. 15 Tuesday,] DeLong. July 5. they were applicable to the wishes and wants of Californians at home, they are equally applicable here, so long as our leading and paramount in- terests are the same. These men have acquired interests here under a knowledge of the laws as they are established there. Tliey have regu- lated their intercourse with each other here as it is regulated there, to a greater or less ex- tent. In fact, they have brought with them the peculiar customs and usages which prevail there, under the Constitution and laws of that State, and they have been governed by them in the acquirement of property here. Now no other State in the Union, and no other land on the globe, except perhaps some of our remote Territories, have those peculiar interests which we have in common with California, and conse- quently the Constitution and laws of any other State would be decidedly more inapplicable to lis than would the Constitution and laws of California. The people of that State have gone on under their Constitution for fifteen years. and have been pleased with it. It has worked well, and as a truly loyal, energetic, enterpris- ing, and intelligeot people, they are fully satisfied with it. Then why should we desire or expect to obtain anything better than that ? Then, another thing, if you adopt any other Constitution, I care not whether it be better or worse than the one I propose by my amendment, and if in any single clause of that Constitution there is a difference in the reading, if any case arises which involves a construction of that clause of the Constitution, parties litigant will not rest content with a trial in the court of first instance, but in all cases, advised by their attorneys, they will appeal, and there will be the necessity of a construction of that clause. The opposing counsel on either side will always desire to have the Supreme Court of the State construe the clause for them. That is what led to that multifarious system of litigation in California. Perhaps the Supreme Court of California has had more business before it during the last twelve or fifteen years than the first appellate court of any other State in the Union, within the same period of time. And why ? Because simply the people never will rest content with the decisions of the lower courts, but always appeal to the Supreme Court upon every possible Constitutional ques- tion, until they get the entire instrument con- strued by the court of last resort. Now, if we adopt the Constitution of California we have the benefit, without cost to us, of fifteen years of jurisprudence there, and all the litigation of their courts and the constructions which the Supreme Court have given to that instrument. The Supreme Court of that State has been presided over by men of marked ability. Such men as Stephen J. Field, and other eminent ju- rists whom I might name, have adorned that bench with their learning and legal talent, and their decisions would be received here by our courts, and by parties litigant, with scarcely ever a question, and without the expense and trouble of going to our Supreme Court to as- certain the true construction. If we find that Judge Field and other eminent judges have thrown the light of their genius upon any clause of the Constitution, we shall be willing at once to accept that construction. Another thing : the California Reports are in nearly every lawyer's library here, and they are familiar to every business man ; and they would become standard authorities on questions of law. because they are reports of decisions upon the same instrument which we would have as our fundamental law. 1 think it w ould save a world of expense, and a vast amount of litigation. And I think also — and in my opin- ion this is worthy of consideration — that when the question is presented before the people, whether or not we are to have a State Govern- ment, this action would prevent many men from doubting the wisdom of the instrument submitted for their approval or rejection. It would prevent men from going into the can- vass and telling the people, who do not always stop to consider or to study, that the Consti- tution proposed contained some new-fangled machine that would blow them all up. [Laugh- ter.] The reply to that would be that we had adopted the same instrument that Cali- fornia has, and under which that State has lived and prospered for fifteen years, and if California has got a good Constitution, then we have a good one also. Now, I know, Mr. President, how much men become attached to their own works — to the things of their own creation. I know that a large and respectable number of gentlemen in this Convention were members of the last Con- stitutional Convention — gentlemen who framed this Constitution which I now hold in my hand ; and it is natural for them to believe thatiu the framing of it they had framed a wise funda- mental law. But they will agree with me when I state that on that poiut they and the people disagreed. That Constitution was repudiated. They may say it was not on account of any in- herent defects in the instrument itself ; but I say this, that there were defects, and glaring defects, which met with disapproval at the hands of this community, and which, if they were reiterated to-morrow, would secure to the work of our hands the same popular condem- nation. It would be a fatal error, which would blast all our hopes that the people will adopt what we here shall construct. I say, also, that there were many objection- able things contained in this instrument which were not'brought to the attention of the people during the canvass, as they would have been, if there had not been more salient points to be assailed — thiugs which were never mentioned by those who opposed this Constitution and State Government before the people. I know that, for I was one of the number that opposed it, and I was in most of their conferences. I know that the Constitution was assailable in 16 BASIS OF CONSTITUTION. [2d day. Taesday,] DeLong—Chapin— Dunne. [July many other points than those which we saw fit ; to submit to the people. Now in following the line of the California Constitution, we are only following in that of the Constitution of a still greater State ; a Con- stitution which received the indorsement of many wise men. I speak of the Constitution of the State of New York ; a State which has given her Constitution to very many of the western States of this Union. The Constitution of California was derived from that of New York, and from California it comes to us. and then we have a Constitution which all may un- i derstand and upon which there need be no dis- : agreement. I hope no feeling of personal pride, or desire to uphold that which they have themselves cre- ated, will prevent any gentlemen on this floor j from selecting, as the basis of our new Consti- 1 tution. that which is the best. We desire to ; give this people a fundamental law wbicli will be wise, and which all may understand, and one also which they will adopt when called upon | to vote upon it. We desire to remove as many as possible of the grounds of opposition, and of tbe arguments against a State government by those who are opposed to it, and who would naturally in the canvass attack the instrument itself as being unwise. Now, sir, with these views, submitted hastily. I leave this proposition with the Convention. Ib it not better to take that Constitution that we know to be a good one, because it fully pro- tects the people in their lives, in their liberty. in their property, and in the pursuit of happi- ness ; a Constitution that is better understood than any other one could be in this State, and one that is more applicable than any other, be- cause our interests are more nearly identical with those of California than with those of any other State in the Union ? Why sliould we not. for these reasons, take up that instrument which has received this tiiorough trial, and which has been found to be good and beneticent ? Why not take that up and make it the basis of our action '! And if in any particulars we .see grounds of objection, we can offer amendments, and improve upon that which has been adopted and acted upon so lung by the people of Cali- fornia. Let UH improve upon it if we can, but let us a.ssume it as the basis of our own funda- mental law, and tiien we will have a fundamen- tal law which originates not with us. not with a ft--w men assi-mbUd here who may be, and probably are. h>H wise in their generation than many of the men who have thrown the light of their minds upon the Constitutions of Califor- nia and of New York ; but we will have the bemlit of the wisdom of the past, thi; ))enefit of the jurisprudence of the i)ast, tlie benefit of past experience ; and I camiidly believe that we shall then present to the people an instru- ment which they will be more ready to adopt than any new or untried experiment which could pDSHilily lie brought forth l)y u.s. i!r. CHAl'IN. I have a few remarks to make. I hope the amendment offered by my colleague, (Mr. DeLong,) will not prevail. The resolution whicli 1 offered admits of every facility for amending every section, and every line throughout the whole document. And now I would like to inform my colleague that, as the President very well knows, this Consti- tution which I offered as the basis for us to act upon now, was framed under a resolution offer- ed l)y.Iudge Bryau in the late Convention, that the Constitution of California should be tlie basis of the Constitution there to be framed. Under that resolution we went to work, and this Constitution was framed and adopted by that Convention. Now I believe it will fa- cilitate the business very much, to take up this document which was passed by the last Convention, and let us proceed under that as a basis ; so that we will not have to begin, and do the whole work over again, which was done by the last Convention. This document is al- ready a remodelling of the Constitution of Cal- ifornia, so as to adapt it to our own peculiar circumstances, and our own local divisions and subdivisions, geographically, with reference to our courts, and every thing else ; and it would require at least four times as much labor to go back and adapt the Constitution of California to all these things, over again, as it would to proceed under this Constitution. I hope the amendment will not prevail. Mr. DUNNE. I conceive that the manner in which this resolution itself operates, is a suffi- cient illustration of the fact that we shall hardly ever get through with the Constitution, if we attempt to discuss every one of its pro- visions in Committee of the Whole. Large bodies move slowly. In half an hour we have not determined on this simple question, and I think in two months we shall not have finished the entire Constitution, if we attempt to do the whole work in Committee of the Whole. I] think well of the proposition to accept the last Constitution as the basis of our action, for that Constitution was the result of grave delibera- tion on the part of the best talent in the Terri- tory, and I think for that reason it is entitled to our respect. At the same time, many per- sons here do not feel — I know it from the re- marks made about me here — like taking up with old clothes. Still, I think we had better take the last Constitution as our basis. But I think, however, that we cannot get along with the work with advantage in Committee of the Whole, and I will therefore offer this resolution ■ as a substitute : — ; Jtisolfcd, That there be appointed a Standing Cora- ' niittee. on Doclaratiou of Itifihts, whose duty it shall be ' to report upon tlic first thnc' Artirlesof the late Consti- tution of Ni-vada; a Standiu^ (,'oiiiiiiittee on Legislative Ueiiartment, to report on Article IV; also on Executive Deparlnient, to report on Article V; also, on Judiciary, to report on Article VI. which shall also report upon Article VII of last Constitution : also, on Municipal and I other Corporations, to report on Article VIII; also, on Finance and State Debt, to report on Article IX, which committee shall also report on Articles X and XI; also, ; on Education, to report on Article XII; also, on Mili- I tia, to report on Articles XIII, XIV, and XV, and that t2d day. BASIS OF CONSTITUTION. 17 Tuesday,] BROSNA^f — Fitch — Kennedy — President. [July the balance of the late Constitution be reported from Committee of the Whole ; and that the several com- mittees appointed be requested not to consider them- selves limited in their powers to the consideration of the Articles referred to them, but are requested to pre- sent any amendments thereto they may deem advisa- ble. Mr. BROSNAN. I second the substitute, in order to get it before the house. Mr. FITCH. I trust that the substitute ofifered by the gentleman from Humboldt will not be adopted. We have now before us, under the resolution of the gentleman from Storey (Mr. Chapin), the Constitution adopted by the last Convention, and if the amendment of the other gentleman from Storey (Mr. De Long) be adopted, we shall then be in exactly the same condition that we would be if we were to adopt the resolution offered by the gentleman from Humboldt (Mr. Dunne), so far as our practical work is concerned. You take, for instance, the Constitution of Nevada or the Constitution or California, and bring it into Committee of the Whole, and you can there take up the propositions advanced, seriatim, and pass upon them without difficulty. But if committees are appointed upon the different provisions in either of those Constitutions, and consider them, and bring them into the Convention, then, after that, we have got to consider them in Committee of the Whole. We can just as well proceed in the first place in Committee of the Whole, without considering them in a standing committee first, and then in Committee of the Whole after- ward. I do not see that anything would be gained, but, on the contrary, it seems to me much valuable time would be lost, by adopting the suggestions of the gentleman from Hum- boldt. The question was taken on the substitute proposed by Mr. Dunne, and it was rejected. The question recurred on the amendment proposed by Mr. De Long. Mr. KENNEDY demanded the yeas and nays. [Mr. Fitch in the chair.] Mr. JOHNSON (the President). It is not my purpose to unreasonably detain the Con- vention in the course of this discussion, but some views have been expressed which seem to me to call for a reply, and are entitled to the respectful consideration of the Convention. First, it is proposed to adopt the Constitution of Nevada, framed by the late Convention, and rejected by the people, as the basis of our ac- tion ; and the pending amendment is that the Constitution of California be substituted as such basis of action. We well know that no appropriation has been made to pay the ex- penses of this Convention, and no inconsider- able part of the expenditures of the late Con- stitutional body, and, I may say, in all bodies of like nature, assembled under ordinary cir- cumstances, has been the item of printing. Now, if we secure the California Constitution as a basis of action for this body, we will neces- sarily require a considerable amount of print- ing, as it will be impossible for us, with that B considerate regard which the subject demands, to pass upon the varied subjects treated of, without having them, in some form, presented for our inspection, and this City cannot furnish, in sufficient number, copies of the Constitution of California to supply each member of the Convention ; to say nothing of the facilities which would be required for making amend- ments, and placing them properly before the Convention, so as to be understood. But, on the contrary, if we take the Constitution of the State of Nevada, as adopted by the late Con- vention, as the groundwork and base of our action, we have it ,already in print. Several hundred copies of it are accessible, and when the necessity of amendments arises, as doubtless it will, we can use those printed copies, sepa- rating the different parts, and so obviate the necessity of any expense in the item of print- ing, and, at the same time, furnish all needed in- formation. I speak without any pride of opinion j in this matter, although, as most of you know, I had considerable hand in the framing of that document. I care nothing for that ; I want the Convention to adopt a good, loyal Consti- tution, and one which will receive the indorse- ment of our respective constituencies ; and I care not whose handiwork it may be. If it is such as to assure us a good State Government I am content. Again, as has been correctly remarked by the gentleman from Storey, (Mr. Chapin), the Con- stitution of California was adopted as the basis of action of the late Convention which framed the Constitution referred to in the original mo- tion. The gentleman from Storey, (Mr. De- Long.) has referred to the Constitution of New York. I have had occasion, perhaps more than he has, or if less, then his memory is more at fault, to compare the Constitution of New York with that of California, and I cannot per- ceive that twenty sections of the one earlier framed, that of New York, has, without some material alterations, been incorporated in the Constitution of California ; and I think it would be within the bounds of truth to assert that not even ten consecutive sections of the California Constitution are to be found in the fundamental law of New York. There, the Judicial system is entirely unlike that of California. The same may be said of their Legislative and Executive departments. The Declaration of Rights of California contains not three consecutive lines as embodied in the Constitution of New York. Indeed, in all its essential features, the differ- ences are important and essential. So that, to my mind, the gentleman's argument should have no possible weight. But, on the contrary, the embodied labors of the late Convention has section following section, without the substitu- tion of a word, or change of a single clause, copied from the Constitution of California as it now exists. In all essential features of the Ju- dicial department, it is word for word with that of California. In the Legislative department it proceeds further, and provides annual sessions 18 BASIS OF CONSTITUTION. [2d day. Tuesday,] President — Tozee — Nockse. [July 5. for a given time, in the infancy of our State Government ; but. following in the same beaten track that Caiiforaia has pursued, by the am 'ndments recently adopted by her, after a limited time, their Constitution also proposes biennial sessions of its Legislature. I miglit go on and enumerate instance after instance where this Constitution is word for word, and line for line, the same ; and I might say article after article have been taken, trans- ferred without cliange, from tlie Constitution of the State of California. Now. why should we go back and do this work over again, in- volving the necessity of this additional expense and trouble, by adopting the Constitution of California as our basis instead of taking some- thing which we have already before us in print, and which we can use for every purpose? I recognize the force of the gentleman's 0)1- jection in reference to judicial decisions, and 1 will say to the gentleman, that in the late Con- vention, when I advocated the adoption of the Constitution of California as the basis, among the reasons, stated by myself and other gentle- men, was this very argument ; and I think we have all the advantages to which he refers in reference to that subject, in this instrument. There may have been some changes, but if they are unnecessary we can reject them. I have no douljt there will be disagreement as to many of the features contained in this instrument, but nevertheless, as a basis, it is substantially the same as the Constitution of California, and I think it would be a great auxiliary, and will very much facilitate our labors to adopt the Constitution framed by our predecessors. I hope we shall vote down the amendment and adopt the resolution as pro- posed by the gentleman from Storey, (Mr. Chapin),t^aking the Constitution framed for the State of Nevada as the basis of our action. Mr. TOZER. I am opposed to the amend- ment offered by my colleague, (Mr. DeLong), and shall vote in favor of the original resolu- tion as presented by my other colleague, (Mr. Chapin.) During the session and debates of the Constitutional Convention which met in this room. I believe, when their labors were well nigh completed, a public meeting was held in Storey County, composed of a goodly num- ber of the citizens of that county ; and T was one of a committee of several— I do not know how many — appointed to come down to Carson and confer with our delegates here, expressing our views and the views of the meeting which appointed us, upon that Constitution. The Constitution had been published from time to time, and we were in various ways apprised of its provisions. It was well nigh completed, and it met with entire approval, except in one or two i)arti(iilars. We came here to confer with our delegates, and with delegates from other portions of the Territory, and we told them that the Constitution, in most particulars, met with our approval, and we should support it heartily and cheerfully, and were in favor of a State organization ; but that if the objection- able features referred to were allowed to remain as a part of the Constitution, we should feel it to I)e our duty to ourselves and to the entire peo- ple of the' Territory to opjjoso that Constitu- tion. Those features were retained, and that Constitution met with disapproval and strong resistance, and was defeated. Now I know, from converations with many people, not only in the county which I have the honor, in part, to represent, but with people from other sec- tions of the Territory, that this Constitution which I hold in my hand, adopted by the late Convention, will now meet with their approval if those few objectionable features, to which I have referred, are stricken out of it, and if, in perhaps some few other slight particulars, it should be amended. The argument of ray colleague (Mr. DeLong) that the old Constitution, if adopted as the basis of the one we are about to frame, will lead to opposition merely on that account, and that the old Constitution might have met with opposition in other particulars besides those which were referred to before the people, and will meet with such opposition now, if taken as a basis for the new one which we are about to form, it seems to me goes for naught. What- ever Constitution we frame, >vhatever we adopt as a basis, will most undoubtedly meet with some opposition, and with great opposi- tion, perhaps ; but I do not think that any Constitution can be; framed by this Convention which will be more nearly perfect, and more in accordance with the general views and wishes of the people of this Territory, than the one which was formed by the late Convention, withi the exceptions to which I have alluded. For these reasons, and for many others, which 1 shall refrain from giving at this time, I hope that the original resolutions as pro- posed by my colleague (Mr. Chapin) will pre- vail. [The PKKsinKXT in the Chair.] Mr. NOURSE. I only wish to say a word on this matter for the reason that 1 want to .say that word which the well known modesty of the President and the other gentleman who' were members of the former Convention, nat- urally will not allow them to utter ; that is,, that I think the Constitution adopted by the former Convention is an excellent one ; [laugh- ter]. 1 think that that Convention performed its duty with rare lidelify and ability. If the Cal- ifornia Constitution I)e suitalile lor us because California is like Nevada, why then the Ne- vada Constitution is more suitable In'cause Nevada is more like us than California is.. [Laughter.] This Constitution has been pre- pared by our best talent, and with a full con- sideration of all the other State Constitutions, including that of California. Now, in regard to the argument of the gen- tleman from Storey (Mr. DeLong), my reading of the judicial decisions of California has not been such as to inspire me with any profound 2d day.] BASIS OF CONSTITUTION. 19 Tuesday,] Collins. [July 5. respect, either for the decisions of California, or for the judges who made them. While there has been much merit in some of them, yet in others, so far as I can judge, I do not think that the decisions according to California, upon matters that have also been decided in other States — and these are after all the bulk of the decisions — are such as would be entitled to or would receive much weight ; and I do not think that the bulk of the California decisions upon questions that come up will, after a little while, have as much weight here as they have now. I do not think that disputed questions that may come up under the Constitution, even if they be in the very wording of the Constitution of California, will by any means necessarily be deemed to have been settled by the decisions which the Supreme Court of California may have already made upon the same questions. Therefore, although I submit these views with diffidence — having come here as an immigrant, and never having been a Californian — I no not give as much weight to that point which the gentleman makes as to others. I confess that I am not well posted in the Constitution of California, though I have had occasion to examine it somewhat ; but I have examined this Constitution of Nevada with a good deal of care, and I think it is as good a one as I ever did examine. I think there are changes which must be made, on account of the changed condition of our affairs, and some changes in principle, perhaps ; but I think that those changes will be much more slight than would have to be made in any other Con- stitution which we might adopt as a basis to meet the wants of our people. I presume that I shall have myself some propositions to make, and I presume that they will be voted down [laughter] ; and others may have propositions to make, and perhaps they will be voted up ; but, on the whole, I am satisfied that the Con- stitution prepared and submitted by the other Convention was not voted down for want of merit in it contained ; but it was voted down, rather, because the people did not want a State Government, for which the state of society or the state of litigation has now produced a de- mand, bringing about a great revulsion in the feeling of the Territory on that subject. I be- lieve that that Constitution, or one substantially like it, if submitted to the people this summer, will carry, and under it we will grow and flour- ish, and have quite as good a state of society as even California has. Mr. COLLINS. I hope, also, that the amend- ment of my colleague (Mr. DeLong) will not prevail. I was a member of the last Constitu- tional Convention, though I had very little to do with the framing of that instrument, on ac- count of a severe and dangerous attack of ill- ness, and therefore I can be allowed to speak with more fulness and freedom on that subject than those gentlemen present who aided in the labors of that Convention. In the first place, I agree with the gentleman from Washoe (Mr. Nourse) that this Constitu- tion — I mean the Constitution adopted by the last Convention — is well adapted to meet the wants of the people of this Territory, with a very few modifications. I well remember that in that Convention, before I was taken sick, Judge Bryan, Governor Johnson, Mr. Stewart, Judge Brosnan, and other members, urged with a great deal of force the propriety and impor- tance of adopting the Constitution of the State of California as a basis for the framing of the new Constitution. And I know that I received positive information from two or three of those gentlemen, subsequent to the adoption by the Convention of the California Constitution as a basis, that where it was deemed advisable to incorporate the language of the Constitution of California into the new Constitution, especi- ally in those clauses involving cases which might arise in our own Courts, similar to cases that had already been adjudicated in Califor- nia, they would incorporate the words fully and completely which they found in the Constitu- tion of California, in order to meet that very want. And, again, with the gentleman from Washoe, I have not that very profound admiration for the judiciary of California — some of its decisions, at least — that my colleague (Mr. DeLong) has. To my knowledge, members of that Supreme Court, to whom have been accorded great ju- dicial and legal ability, have rendered decis- ions that subsequently the same Court, being differently constituted, has reversed, and in many instances I would hardly know which side of those judicial decisions I would take. As the gentleman from Washoe has remarked, I do not believe that the decisions of California will be binding, er will to a great extent control the Courts of Nevada. We are different from Cal- ifornia. In almost every respect this Territory may be declared tohe sui generis. There is nothing on the east or the west, the north or the south, like her, and she needs a Constitution based upon her own peculiarities — a Constitution adapted to her own condition — a Constitution that will meet the wants of her mining, her agricultural, and such other interests as she may have. I regret, however, that my colleague, (Mr. Chapin,) should have presented the resolution ho did, providing that we should take up this Constitution section by section. This Constitution was adopted with great care, and, I will say, without any disrespect to this body, by gentlemen equally as competent, I think, as this Convention ; and, after its adoption, I took a great deal of pains to read the newspapers of this Territory, and the newspapers of California and Oregon, in their comments in regard to this Constitution, and their general judgment was one of hearty approval. They all agreed, with- out an exception, that it was one of the best instruments of the kind that had ever been offered to a people. The Convention adopted it after five or six weeks of hard labor, and se- 20 BASIS OF CONSTITUTION. [2d day Tuesday,] DeLoxg. [July rious and sober deliberation. The members of that Cotivcatioa came fre^h from the people, and they represented their constituents faith- fully. It was submitted to the people for their ralilication, and I have yet to learn of any re- spectable body of men ; I have yet to learn ol any newspaper in this Territory ; I have yet to learn of any individual on the stump in this Territory, that e%-er assailed that Constitution in any of its features, save and except those four or five clauses which it is not necessary for me at this time to nam<^ With these four or five exceptions, it was all and every thin,": that the people could possibly desire. 1 ask. then, why this change in our feelings at the present time? I a.«k, then, why not take this Constitution as a basis of our new Consti tution ? Let us adopt this Constitution as a basi.s, and then I would say, scatter it around on every desk, give each member twenty-four hours to write out any emendations or additions which he may think necessary, then let the several propositions be referred to a committee for arrangement and segregation, that we may havt clearly and distinctly before the minds of this Convention the, several alterations that may be required, and upon those alterations let us agree in Committee of the Whole. Take this course, and I will vouch for it that in five days' time w. will have this Constitution completed and ready to be submitted to the people. It occurs to mu that this is the most simple, straightforward way. I can hardly see the propriety or reason for pursuing a ditt'erent course. We will then take up those sections, considering four or five alterations proposed by me, half a dozen by my colleague, as many more by some other gentleman, and so on, and that will be all that will be necessary to consider ; after which, I have no doubt, we shall be ready to pass it as a whole. Then why spend our time here, run- ning up a bill against the new State ? Or why should the Legislature be called upon to pass upon bills that may be created here in the course of a session of three, four, or five weeks ; for we shall be compelled to continue in session for that length of time if we take it up section by section, whereas the work might all bt done in four or five days. With a few ex- ceptions, I am willing to give this Constitu- tion my approving vote now ; and you an willing, and every other member is willing to give it. his vote, after, perhaps, some trifling amendments. But if it is taken up .section b)? section, some ni'-mbi'r will speak upon a pro])- osition in it, and tlicu I may feel called ni)oii to rei)ly i;y some remarks, and others may think it necessary to defend their views, and thus W( shall spend as much time upon it as though W( took the Constitution of some other State. It will all be new work. 1 therefore hope that some gentleman will move that each inemlier be recpiested to maki such amendm<;nts as he desires within a limited time, and that then we go into Committee ol the Whole and act upon them, and that there- after no new matter be introduced unless, per- haps, by a two-thirds vote. If we adopt this plan, I fully believe that four or five days will be ample to complete our work. Mr. DeLONG. I feel heartily gratified, Mr. President, to find how cordially I am supported in my views, especially by members of my own delegation. [Laughter.] In the first place, I am assailed, or my position is attempted to be beaten down, by my exceedingly plausible col- league who rises and insists that it is abso- lutely preposterous to make any such basis as I propose. And then the Chair descends from that high position in which I helped to place him, and gives as a reason why my views should not be adopted, the impossibility of ob- taining a sufficient number of copies of the Constitution of the State of California for the consideration of the members of this body. Now, if we adopt my amendment I will agree to furnish every man in the Convention with a copy by to-morrow night, and if Carson be indeed so poor that she has not twenty-five or thirty copies within her limits, I can procure them from my own city by return of mail. Now one word also in reply to the remarkable attack upon my position that the California Constitution is the offspring of the Constitution of New York. I did not state that it was liter- ally copied from that of New York, but I Slated that it w'as drafted in its general princi- ples from that instrument, and I still so state ; and in support of the position [ assume, I re- fer the Ciiair, or any body else, to the reports of the debates of the Constitutional Convention of California which framed that instrument. Then it is said that the California Consti- tution was taken as a basis when this Constitu- tion of Nevada was drawn. If so, then the basis I propose is a correct one, or else the basis upon which this Constitution is drafted must be wrong, one of the two. Now, sir, the basis being correct, why should we adopt as our i)asis a basis built upon another basis rather than the basis upon which that instru- ment was originally predicated ? I said there were many other objections to this Constitution of Nevada which were not urged against it on the stump, but which might have been taken up, and would have been, but that it was sufficiently assailable upon the points upon which we did assail it. I still say that, and it is my candid belief, taking this en- tire instrument into consideraton. I do not care if it has been overwiielmed with new.spaper com])linieuts. Why, sir, they always compli- ment such things. Newspaper editors are not always the most competent of men. and do not always know whether a thing is wise or unwi.se, nor do they always thoroughly examine it ; consequently, their endorsement does not go far with me, unless I am sure that they have iV(ll considered what they are talking about, which is not commonly the case with newspa- per editors, I wish to say further, that the basis being correct, as has been conceded, 2d day.] BASIS OF CONSTITUTION. 21 Tuesday,] Earl — Fitch — DeLong. [July 5. with the Constitution of California before us we can make such few amendments as are ne- cessary to make it applicable to our own in- terests in a very short time. How is it, I should like to know, that we are such a peculiar people as my colleague (Mr. Collins) has remarked, different from the North and the South and the East and the West? I do not so understand it. AVhat is the paramount interest of our Territory? Why, the mining interest. What is the paramount interest of California ? The mining interest. Where do our people come from ? There are immigrants here from every portion of the globe, and so there are in California. Our people and the people of California are alike in that respect. I say I cannot perceive in any leading particu- lar any difference between our wants and the necessities for a good government for us and the wants and necessities of California. These gentlemen have backed up their views by assailing the Supreme Court of California, and even my worthy friend, the immigrant, as he styled himself, informs us that he differs with that Court in its decisions, and in company with my colleague, (Mr. Collins.) he assails the character of the decisions of the Supreme Court of California. Now I think I know the real objection that my worthy colleague has to that Court, and its jurisprudence. I know that that gentleman has entertained a strong antip- athy to the Supreme Court of California, ever since the time when that Court gave, as the saying was. " the law to the North, and the nig- ger to the South," in the decision involving the right to hold the slave Archie. But I know that there are men who have held positions upon that Supreme Court Bench, whose equals as lawyers, and as judges, are not to be found in this Territory or upon the Pacific coast ; and in speaking thus. I believe I shall be borne out by the entire legal profession in this Territory, and in California also. I know that occasion- ally some rather shabby decision may have been made, following, perhaps, on the heels of some unworthy purpose ; but still, as a general thing. I guarantee that the decisions of the Su- preme Court of California will not be over- turned by the California Courts hereafter, and hardly can be by our Courts here. Then if my views on this subject are correct, the adoption of the California Constitution as a basis will save this people an immense deal of litigation. I made this proposition, well knowing that I should meet with a great deal of opposition — that kind of opposition which is founded upon that principle which leads the indulgent and delighted mother to imagine the homeliest baby in Christendom to be a beauty, and to claim that others ought to view it in the same way. I knew very well that the members of the Con- vention which framed this Constitution would be likely to endorse it, but I hardly expected that their converts would number so many that they would be able to carry it in this Conven- vention. At all events, I have considered it my duty to urge the adoption of the California Constitution as a basis. I believe it is economy of time, and if we take it up section by section, and consider it, I do not believe that a dozen features of it will ultimately be amended by this Convention ; while I know that this Con- stitution of Nevada, if it is taken as the basis, will receive multifarious amendments. This instrument is filled with legislation, and the people have shown that they are opposed to legislation in the Constitution It fixes the sal- ary of State officers ; it ties the hands of the Legislature, so as to give it scarcely anything to do ; and I recollect that that feature in par- ticular, met with the greatest amount of sarcasm last fall. It was said then, and very justly too, that the Constitutional Convention which met one year ago, seemed to be impressed with the idea that it contained the only wise, just, true, and honest men that were ever going to be. or ever could be got together in this Territory, and that they consequently went to work to legislate, to fix salaries, and to do everything else, and left the Legislature nothing whatever to do but to enact into laws those strange and wild provisions which are to be found in no other fundamental law in Christendom. I know that these things have had weight with many men, and I am satisfied that much more of op- position will be manifested against our work, if we take this Constitution of Nevada as a basis, than if we take as our basis that which they say was the basis of this, namely, the Con- stitution of the State of California. Mr. EARL. I offer this resolution as a sub- stitute : — Resolved, That eacli member of this Convention be requested to hand in, by to-morrow, at ten o'clock, A. M., such amendments and changes as he may deem ne- cessary to be made in the Constitution formed for the so called State of Nevada ; and that such changes shall be considered in Committee of the Whole, and the re- mainder of the Constitution shall be adopted in Com- mittee of the Whole to-morrow. Mr. FITCH. I rise to a point of order. There is already an amendment pending, and the substitute is not, therefore, in order. The PRESIDENT. A substitute was offered, which has been voted down, and the question now is upon the amendment of the gentleman from Stoi-ey, (Mr. DeLong.) The Chair thinks the substitute is in order. Mr. DeLONG. I would like to have the time changed. I think to-morrow morning would give us too short a time. Mr. EARL. It seems to me that this resolu- tion will save us torrents of talk. All we want IS to get on with our business, and in this way we can cut short an immense amount of argu- ment. This Constitution is undoubtedly as good a one as we can expect to get up. We have had the experience of those who have gone before us, and they have given their care- ful attention to the subject, and all we need is to make a few changes. So far as I am con- cerned I have already taken a copy of it, and marked in it all the changes I desire to pro- 22 BASIS OF CONSTITUTION. [2d day. Tuesday,] NouRSE— Earl — Fitch —Crosman — President— Chapin. [July 5. pose. I think others caa do the same in a short time, and in that way I have no doubt we can get through our work in a few days. Mr. NOURSE. I would like my.self to change that resolution, so as make it apply only to a portion of the instrument. It seems to me that it is rather forcing matters to require us to exam- ine the whole thing before to-morrow morning, and be prepared then to offer our amendments, or else to be cut ofl", finally. It is more of a task than I can perform, for one, to read through, and carefully consider this whole document ; and I suggest the propriety of only taking the first three articles for to-morrow, and then two or three more for the next day. and so on. It strikes me that the resolution, as it stands, is slightly overrating our ability. Mr. EARL. I will accept an amendment, if the gentleman desires, requiring the amend- ments to be offered to all that part of the Con- stitution up to the fifth Article. Mr. FITCII. I will make a suggestion, which, if adopted, will enable us to save several days' time. If we take up some of the first of these Articles first — the Bill of Rights, the right of suffrage, and other things liable to provoke dis- cussion — we shall be likely to occupy several days' time in their consideration. This being the early part of the session of the Convention, gentlemen will feel more at liberty to speak at length. But if we leave those things, and com- mence in the middle, going through the Consti- tution to the end, and leaving those controverted subjects to the last, probably members will be considerably tired of sitting here, and not dis- posed, therefore, to occupy so much time in the consideration and discussion of those sections. The latter portion of the Constitution will not lead to much discussion, and in the way I have proposed, we can shorten the time considerably. Mr. EARL. Perhaps, then, we had better commence with Article VIII, and consider the latter portion of the Constitution first. Mr. CRO.S.MAN. I think there had better be an amendment to this sulmtitute, if it is going to be adopted, providing that a standing com- mittee be appointed upon the schedule. That is a matter, it strikes me, which it would be im- possilde to arrange in the manner propo.sed by either of the resolutions originally offered, or the substitute. It strikes me that it is neces- sary to have a committee on the schedule to arrange for the change from the Territorial to the State organization, and for that reason I of- fer an amendment to the snlistitute, that a com- milt"(; of fiv • be appointi'd upon the schedule. The PRESIDENT, i tliiiik gentlemen are proceeding too fast. We have here, first, a proposition to adopt the old Constitution as a basis ; then an amendment to adopt the Con- stitution of the State of California as a basis ; and finally a suljstitute is offered for the latter. I think no furtiier amendments can be enter- tained at this time. If the Convention will tolerate a suggestion, I would say that the schedule should be the last matter to consider, because everything else must be first proposed and acted upon, before you can know how to make it harmonious in all its different parts. I trust that gentlemen will not propose amend- ments so fast that we shall lose sight of our starting point. The question was, first, on the resolution to adopt the Constitution of Ne- vada as a basis ; then on the amendment to that, adopting the Constitution of California ; and now the question comes on the substitute or amendment, offered by the gentleman from Storey. (Mr. Earl.) Mr. DeLONG. I rise to a point of order. It is, that tJie pi-oposition of my colleague, (Mr. Earl), is not a substitute, because it does not relate to the subject matter of the original mo- tion. The PRESIDENT. It embraces a part, at least, of the subject matter ; but the Chair will suggest that it will simplify matters to take the vote first on the original proposition. Mr. EARL. In order to get a vote upon that proposition. I will withdraw my motion for the present, and after the vote is taken I will offer my resolution. Mr. CHAPIN. I am glad the gentleman has withdrawn it, for I am not willing to ask mem- bers who are comparatively unacquainted with it to take this whole document and swallow it at once, without even reading it, or having an opportunity of intelligently passing upon it. I believe we ought not to do that. The PRESIDENT (interrupting.) The only question now is on the original motion, with the pending amendment of the gentleman from Storey (Mr. DeLong) to substitute the Consti- tution of California. The question was taken on Mr. DeLong'a amendment, and it was not agreed to. The question recurred on the original reso- lution offered by Mr. Chapin. Mr. P]ARL. I will now offer my resolution as an amendment to that resolution. The Secretary read the proposed amendment, which had been modified, as follows: — Resolved, That each member of this Convention be requested to hand in by to-morrow, at 10 o'clock, A. M. siicli amendments as he may deem necessary to that portion of the Constitution formed for the "so-called State of Nevada which commences vnih Section 8 and continues to the end of said Constitution; and that such changes be considered in Committee of the Whole to-morrow, and that the remainder of said Constitution be adopted. Mr. IIAWLEY. Does the gentleman include the schedule ? Mr. EARL. I include all after Section 8. Mr. NOURSE. I move to amend so as to read, ••commencing with Article IV." That will take in the whole Legislative Department, and I think there is likely to be as little dis- cussion there as anywhere. I mean to include only Article IV. Mr. FITCII. I suggest that we take in Ar- ticles IV, V, and VI. That is about as much as we can do in one day's work. The PRESIDENT. The Chair will suggest 2d day.] BASIS OF CONSTITUTION. 23 Tuesday,] Earl — Fitch— Brosnan — Banks. [July 5. to the gentleman from Storey, (Mr. Earl,) that his motion now embraces the schedule, and gentlemen will see that it will be impossible to complete that until we have completed the balance of the instrument. Mr. EARL. I suggest that we take up from Article V to Article VIII, inclusive, and con- sider the remainder. Certainly, it seems to me that any gentleman could take up this whole document, after having had it before him for a month, and no doubt made up his mind upon its provisions, as nearly every gentleman prob- ably has done, and state what changes he thinks are necessary. I, for one, can make all the changes necessary in my opinion between now and to-morrow at 10 o'clock ; in fact, I have done so since yesterday, and have marked them all in my copy. I think I will fall back on my original motion, to take it all up from the first to the fifth articles. Mr. FITCH. I will move, as an amendment, that we commence by taking up Articles III, IV, V, and VI, that is, " the distribution of powers," and the legislative, executive and judicial departments. If that is too much to consider in one day, it is not too much, I think, for gentlemen to go over and prepare their amendments to in one evening. We can take up those four articles, and if we do not succeed in getting through with them in one day, we can take another day for them. I trust the gentleman will not insist on our considering the first and second articles at present, namely, the " Bill of Rights "' and the '• Right of Suf- frage," which would be calculated to produce an immense amount of discussion at this time. I make my motion, Mr. President, upon the hypothesis that the motion of the gentleman from Storey (Mr. Chapin) be adopted, making this Constitution the basis. My amendment will simply be that Articles IV, V, and VI be noted for to-morrow. Mr. EARL. I will accept the amendment. Mr. BROSNAN. I do not see the object of this proposition ; I cannot see that it econo- mizes time at all. If we are to have discus- sion upon the first, or upon the second article, it must come at some time, and we may as well have it at once. I am one of those who think that if I have to meet the devil on the way, I would prefer to meet him boldly, in front, at the outset, and then, after overcoming him, my journey is smooth and easy the rest of the way. I therefore see no use in adopting this proposi- tion aud commencing at the middle of our work. I think the more direct, as well as the most expeditious way, is to commence with Article I, and go through our work in its reg- ular sequence. If we can get through with Arti- cle I, well and good ; or if we can finish the first and second Articles in one day, so much the better. At any rate, we shall know that we are progressing on our journey in a consecutive and harmonious manner. lam decidedly op- posed to the amendment, the proposition, or the suggestion, whatever it may be called, pre- sented by my colleague on my right, (Mr. Fitch), and I had thought that the proposition made by my other colleague, (Mr. Chapin), as orig- inally made, would cover the whole ground. It may be said that by taking up this first Ar- ticle in Committee of the Whole, it will be necessary to read it through. Undoubtedly it will have to be read through in Committee of the Whole, and then, after any amendments which may be moved are acted upon, we adopt it in committee and report it to the house, where it is passed, and there is an end of it. When we come to a section that needs amend- ment, in order to satisfy gentlemen, if we can- not agree readily upon such amendment, the Convention may refer the section to a special committee, to report subsequently, and go on with the consideration of the following sections. I do think that is the best and most expeditious way, and I hope all these amendments will be voted down. Mr. FITCH. I am perfectly willing, as well as my colleague, to meet the devil boldly in the face ; but if it be necessary to have a contest with him, I prefer that it should be limited in duration. I am quite confident that if we com- mence the deliberations of the Convention by considering the proposition in the first and sec- ond Articles — if we begin with the discussion of the much vexed question of the paramount allegiance clause, or the equally vexed question of allowing the right of suffrage to persons who have been in arms against the Government, I am quite sure, from what I have learned of the views of members here, that the discussion will keep us in session till doomsday, or, at least, till the patience of the Convention is worn out, before we come to any conclusion. But let us go on and discuss first the more practical questions — those principles upon which we are to form our local government, and by the time we have disposed of them, we shall perhaps have consumed so much of the time of the Con- vention, and have so wearied members out with speeches, that they will be willing to let us otf with perhaps only one day upon " paramount allegiance," and another on the " right of suf- frage." They will say, '' Any way to get rid of it and enable us to go home." But if we get into these discussions now, they will con- sume four or five days at least. For these rea- sons I am for postponing those sections which are likely to provoke discussion until we have disposed of and settled those which are not likely to provoke discussion. Mr. BANKS. I understand the question to be this : shall we commence at the beginning of our work and pursue it regularly in the or- dinary course of a business-like transaction, or shall we commence in the middle of our work ? Now, any man of ordinary experience in life would say, upon general principles, that it is best to commence at the beginning. What rea- sons, tlien, have we heard offered for changing the rule which governs in the ordinary afiliiis of life? Simply such reasons as are based upon 24 BASIS OF CONSTITUTION. [2d day. Tuesday.] Banks. [July 5. the assumption that we are not a grave, delib- erative body, but a mere set of schoolboys, inca- l»ablp ot regulating our own conduct, incapable of doing what we all feel to be necessary and right, and then going home. But I think the logic of those gentlemen is singularly defective in this particular, that they insist upon our putting otf the hardest work until the last part of the session. On the other hand. I insist that it will be much better to take up those sections which are likely to consume most time at the lirst. ))ecause that will give all of us an oppor- tunity to investigate the remaining portions of the Constitution at our leisure moments, while in public here we are considering and debating those ditficult propositions. It will give us an opportunity in the evenings and mornings, and at all times when we are not here in session, to consider the grave questions arising in this Constitution. I confess, for one, that although I have had considerble experience in deliberative bodies, yet I am not prepared, and will not be prepared until I have heard everything within the bounds of reason which is to be offered, pro and con., concerning each of those propositions, to decide what will be my vote upon them. If gentlemen here are so wise as to be able to sit down in a room by themselves, and without any discussion, or comparison of views, decide what they will or will not do in every case, why, all I can .say is, that they possess more wisdom than any man with whom it has been my for- tune to communicate in regard to the forma- tion of views. Therefore, I hope that the sug gestion just now made by the gentleman from Storey, (Mr. Brosnan), will prevail. Let each man. as he finds time, prepare any amendments he may deem necessary, bring ttiem in on paper, and present them. I insist that we ought to take up the first Article and pass through it. and then the next Article, in the ordinary course of business, and so on till we get through Mith the whole instrument, and when we get through we shall be ready to adjourn. Mr. EARL'S amendment was modified so as to read as follows : — Hi:s'ili'ed, That (',a<-h member of this Convention be rcqiK-stj-d to hand in by to-morrow, at 10 o'clock, A. M., Huch ami.-iidnii'ntH an he may deem necessary to that IKirtion of the Constitution formed for the so-called State of Nevada, as may be emboided in the Illd, IVth, Vth and Vlth Articles, and that the said Articles be con- sidered in Committee of the Whole, to-morrow. The question was taken, and the amendment was not agreed to. The question was taken on the original reso- lution, as proposed by Mr. Chapin, and it was agreed to. So the Con.stltution framed by the Conven- tion of 1SC3 was adopted as a basis, as fol- lows : — PREAMBLE. We, the people of the State of Nevada, prateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure its blessings, insure domestic tranquility, and form a more perfect (iovernment, do establish this Constitution. ARTICLE L DECLAJRATION OF RIGHTS. Section 1. All men are by nature free and equal, and have certain inalieniilik- rights, among which are those of enjoying and dctVnding life and liberty; ac- quiring, jjossessing aiul jirotectiiig property; and pur- suing and obtaining sut'ity ami hai)piness. Sec. 2. All political powrr is inherent in the people. Government is instituted for the iirotection, security and benefit of the people ; and they have the right to alter or reform the same whenever the xjublic good may require it. But the paramount allegiance of every cit- izen is due to the Federal Government; and no power exists in the joeoiole of this or any other State of the Federal Union to dissolve their connection therewith, or perform any act tending to impair, subvert or resist the suiireme antliority of the (iovernment of the United States. The Constitution of the United States confers full power on the Federal Government to maintain and perpetuate its existence, and whensoever any portion of the States, or people thereof, attempt to secede from the Federal Union, or forcibly resist the execution of its laws, the Federal Government may, by warrant of the Constitution, employ armed force in compelling obedience to its authority. Sec. 3. The right of trial by jury shall be secured to all, and remain inviolate forever; but a jury trial may be waived liy the parties, in all ci^'il cases, in the manner to be prescribed by law; and, if three-fourths of the jurors agree upon a verdict, it shall stand and have the same force and effect as a verdict by the whole jury; provided, the Legislature, by a two-third vote of each branch thereof, may require a unanimous verdict uotmthstanding this provision. Sec. 4. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious lirof(!ssion and worship, without discrimination or pref- erence, shall forever be allowed in this State; and no person shall be rendered incompetent to be a witness on accoiint of his opinions on matters of religious be- lief: but the liberty of conscience hereby secured shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness,, or justify practices inconsistent with the iicace or safety^ of this State. Sec. ,'). The privilege of the \\Tit of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when, in cases of rebel- lion or invasion, the public safety may require its sus- jiension. Sec. 6. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor ex- cessive lines imposed, nor shall cruel nor unusual pim- ishment be inflicted, nor shall witnesses be unreason- ably detained. Sec. 7. All pers(jns shall be bailable by sufficient sureties ; unless for oai^ital offenses, when the proof is cedent or the prcsuiuiJtion great. Sec. 8. No person shall be held to answer for cap- ital or otherwise infamous crime, (except in cases of impeachment, and in cases of the militia when in actual service, and the land and naval forces in time of war, or which this State may keep, with the consent of Con- gress, in time of ]ieace, and in cases of petit larceny,, under the regulation of the Legislature,) except on pre- sentment or indictment of a grand jury; and in any trial in any court whatever, the party accused shall be allowed to appear and defend in person and with coun- sel, as in civil actions. No person shall be subject to be twice put in jeojiardy for the sauKi ofren.se; nor shall he be coiupilkd. in any criminal case, to be a wit- ness against liimsill'. nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law ; nor shall pri- vate property hv taken for jiublic use \vithoutjusrt com- pensation having been first jnade or sectired, except in casesof war, riot, fire, or great jiublic peril, in which case comjiensation shall be afterwards made. Kkc. !I. lOvery citizen may freely speak, write and:. puljUsh his sentiments on all sulyects, being resijonsi-. ble for the abuse of that right; and no law shall be- passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or- of the press. In all criminal prosecutions and civil ■ictions for libels, the truth may l)e given in evidence to the jury; and if it shall appear to the jury that the matter (charged as libelous is triKs and was pviblished with good mf>tives and for justifiable i-nds, the party shall be acictions in all cases, except treason and imiieachments, subject to such regulations as may be pro\-ided by law, relative to the manner of applj-ing for pardons. Sf.c. 15. There shall be a seal of this State, which shall be kept by the Governor, and used by him offi- cially, and shall" be called the " Great Seal of the State of Nevada." Sec. Ui. AH grants and commissions shall be in the name and the authority of the State of Nevada, sealed with the Great Seal of the State, signed by the Gover- nor, and countersigned by the Secretary of State. Sec. 17. A Lieutenant Governor shall be elected at the same time and places, and in the same manner as the Governor, and his term of office, and his ehgibUity, shall also be the same. He shall be President of the Senate, but shall only have a casting vote therein. If during a vacancy of the office of Governor, the Lieu- tenant Governor shall be impeached, displaced, resign, die, or become incaimble of performing the duties of the office, or be absent from the State, the President pro tempore of the Senate, shall act as Governor, untU the vacancy be tilled or the disability cease. Sec. 18. In case of the impeachment of the Gover- nor, or his removal from office, death, inability to dis- charge the duties of the said office, resignation, or ab- sence from the State, the powers and duties of the office shall devolve upon the Lieutenant Governor, for the residue of the term, or until the disability shall cease. But when the Governor shall, with the consent of the Legislature, be out of the State in time of war, and at the head of any military force thereof, he shall con- tinue Commander-in-Chief of the military force of the State. Sec. 19. A Secretary of State, a Treasurer, a Con- troller, and an Attorney General, shall be elected at the time and jjlaces, and in the .same manner as the Gover- nor. The term of office of each shall be the same as is prescibed for the Governor. .\ny elector shall be eligi- ble to either of said offices. Sec. 20. The Secretary of State shall keep a true record of the official acts of the Legislative and Kxccu- tive Departments of the Government, and shall, when required, lay the same, and all matters relative thereto, before either branch of the Legislature. Sec. 21. The Governer, Secretary of State, and At- torney General, shall constitute a Board of State Prison Commissioners, which Board shall have such supervi- sion of all matters connected with the State Prison as may be provided by law. They shall also constitute a "Board of Examiners," with power to examine all claims against the State (except salaries or compensa- tion of officers fixed by law,) and perform such other duties as may De prescribed by law. Sec 22. The Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Controller, Attorney General, and Superintendent of Public Instruction, shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law. ARTICLE VI. JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. Section 1. The .Judicial power of this State shall be vested in a Supreme Court, in District Courts, in County Courts, and in .Justices of the Peace. The Legislature may also establish Onirts for municipal purjioses, in incori)orated Ionntih and cities, and may, by a two-thirds vote of the members elect to each branch of the Legis- lature, establish a Court with original jurisdiction over till- estates of deceased persons, and the persons and estates of minors and insane persons, in anj" county where the same may be deemed necessary. Sec. 2. The Supreme Court shall consist of a Chief .Justice and two Associate .Justices, a majoritj'of whom shall constitute a quorum; provided, that the Legisla- ture, by a majority of the members elected to ea<-h branch, may at its second session, or at any time there- after, jirovide for tlie (lection, at the judicial election, of two additional .Associate Justices, and if so increased, three shall constitute a quorum. The concurrence of a majority of the whole Court shall be necessary to render & decision. Sec. 3. The Justices of the Supreme Court shall be elected at the judicial election, and shall hold office for the term of six years from the first Monday of July next after their election : jiniviiii'd, that there shall be elected at the first election inider this Constitution, three Jus- tices of the Supreme Court, who shall hold office until the first Monday of July next after their election, and they shall continue in office thereafter fur two, four, and six years respectively, and they shall determine, by lot, the term of office each shall fiU, and the Justice draw- ing the shortest term shall be Chief Justice, and after the expiration of his term, the one having the next shortest term shall be (^hief Justice, after which the senior Justice in commission shall be Chief Justice ; and in case the commission of any two or more of said Justices shall bear the .same date, they shall determine by lot who shall be Chief Justice. Sec. -4. The Supreme Court shall have appellate ju- risdiction in all cases in equity; also, in all cases at law in which is involved the title or possession of real es- tate or mining claims, or the legality of any tax, impost, assessment, toll or municipal fine, or in which the de- mand, (exclusive of interest,) or the value of property in controversy amounts to two hundred dollars ; also, in all other ci\-il cases not included in the general sub- divisions of law and equity, and also in aU criminal cases amounting to felony on questions of law alone. The Court shall also have power to issue writs of man- damus, certiorari, prohibition, quo warranto, and ha- beas corpus, and also aU writs necessary or proper to the complete exercise of its appellate jurisdiction. Each of the Justices shall have power to issue writs of habeas corpus to any part of the State, upon petition on behalf of any person held in actual custody, and may make such writs returnable before himself or the Supreme Court, or before any District Court, or any County Court in the State, or before any Judge of said Courts. Sec. 5. The State is hereby divided into four Judi- cial Districts. The county of Storey shall constitute the first Judicial District. The counties of Washoe, Ormsby and Lyon shall constitute the second Judicial District. The counties of Humboldt and Lauder shaU constitute the third Judicial District; and the counties of Douglas and Esmeralda shall constitute the fourth Judicial District. For judicial iiurposes the county of Roop shall be attached to the county of Washoe, and the county of Churchill shall be atta,ched to the county of Lyon, untU otherwise provided by law. As the con- venience of the pubhc may require, the Legislature may, by a two-third vote of all the members elected to each branch of the Legislatiire, jirovide, by an altera- tion in the boundaries of the districts as herein pre- scribed, for additional Judicial Districts, and the elec- tion of District Judges therein for the term of six years from the first Monday of Jidy succeeding such election. There shall be elected at the first election, liy the elec- tors in each of the ri'spcctivc districts, a District Judge, who shall hold his office until the first Monday of JiUy next after such election, and for two years thereafter, after which said Judges shall be elected by the quahfied electors of their respective districts at the judicial elec- tion which immediately precedes the expiration of the term of their predecessors, and shall hold office for the term of six years. The Legislature shall have no power to grant leave of absence to a judicial officer, and any such officer who shall absent himself from the State for upwards of forty consecutive days shall be deemed to have vacated his office. Sec. 6. The District Court shall have original juris- diction in all cases in equity; also in all cases at law which involve the title or possession of real property, or mining claims, or the legality of any tax, impost, assessment, toll, or mvmicipal fine, and in aU other cases in which the demand, (exclusive of interest,) or the value of the property in controversy amounts to one th(msand dollars; also, in all other civil cases not provided for in this Constitution, and also in all crim- inal cases where the punishment may be death. And they shall havi^ appellate jurisdiction to try de novo, under such regidatious as may be prescribed by law, all cases relating to the estates of deceased i^ersons and of the persons and estates of minors. The District Courts and their Judges shaU have power to issue writs of mandamus, injunction, quo warranto, certioraxi,^ 2d day.] BASIS OF CONSTITUTION. 29 Tuesday,] [July 5. and all other writs necessary to the complete exercise of their jurisdiction ; and also shall have power to issue writs of habeas corpus on petition by, or on behalf of any person held in actual custody in their respective Districts. Sec. 7. There shall be elected, at the first election provided for in this Constitution in each of the organ- ized counties of this State, a county Judge, who shall hold his office untU the first Monday in July next after such election, and for two years thereafter. After which a County Judge in each county, shall be elected at the jiidicial election next preceding the expiration of the term of office of his predecessor, or succeeding the organization of each county, who shall hold his office for the term of four years from the first Monday of July succeeding such election. He shall hold the County Court, which shall have jurisdiction in aU cinU cases where the title, possession, or boundaries of land, or mining claims, are not involved, and the amoimt iu dis- pute is a money demand, or jiersoual property, and the amoimt of such demand, (exclusive of interest,) or the value of such property is over two hundred dollars and does not exceed one thousand dollars, and in criminal cases not otherwise pro^^ded in this Constitution. The grand jury shall be empanneled in and make then- pre- sentments and finding of indictments to the County Court; and indictments of which the County Court has no jurisdiction shaU be transferred to the District Court for trial. The County Court shall also exercise jurisdiction over the estates of deceased persons, and jurisdiction of the persons and estates of minors and insane persons, untU a Probate Court be created as herein provided. The County Courts and their Judges shall also have power to issue writs of habeas corpus, on petition by or on behalf of any person in actual cus- tody in their respective counties ; and said Courts and the Judges thereof shall also have power to issue all other writs necessary to the complete exercise of their jurisdiction. Sec. 8. The County Courts shall have appellate juris- diction in cases arising in Justices' Courts, and also such appellate jurisdiction from other inferior courts and ti'ibunals as the Legislature may prescribe ; but it shall have no original jurisdiction, except as provided in the last preceding section. Sec. 9. The times and places of holding the terms of the Supreme Court, and the general and special terms of the District Courts, withiu the several Districts, County and Probate Courts, in the several Counties, shall be as pro\-ided by law. Sec. 10. The Legislature shall determine the nnm- ber of Justices of the Peace to be elected, and fix by law their powers, duties, and responsibilities ;jj)-ouided, that they shall have no jurisdiction in the trial of cases were the title or right of possession of real estate or mining claims is involved. It shall also determine in what cases appeals may be made from Justices' Courts to County Courts. Sec. 11. No judicial officer, except a Justice of the Peace, shall receive to his own use any fees or perqui- sites of office. Sec. 12. The Justices of the Supreme Court and of the several Districts, shall each receive the sum of seven thousand dollars per annum; provided, that after five years the Legislature may diminish said amount. Sec. 13. The Legislature shaU provide for the pay- ment of the salaries of the Judges of the Supreme and District Courts quarterly, in cash, and shall provide for the setting apart from each year's revenue sufficient moneys to pay such salaries, but the Legislature shall have power to increase or diminish the salaries of said Judges as hereinbefore provided. Sec. 14. The salaries of the County Judges shall be paid quarterly, in cash, out of the moneys received in the county treasury in each year in their respective counties ; and such salaries shall be as pro\-ided by law, but shall not be increased or diminished during the time for which they shall have been elected, except the salaries of the County Judges elected at the first elec- tion provided for in this Constitution. Sec. 15. The Justices of the Supreme Court and the District Judges shaU be ineligible to any office other than a judicial office, during the term for which they shall have been elected, and all elections or appoint- ments of any such Judges, by the people, Legislature, or othei-wise, during said period, to any office other than judicial, shall be void. Sec. 16. Judges shall not charge juries in respect to matters of fact, but may state the testimony and declare the law. Sec. 17. The style of all process shall be, "The State of Nevada," and aU prosecutions shall be conducted in the name and by the authority of the same. Sec. 18. There shaU be but one form of civil action, and law and equity may be administered in the same action. Sec. 19. There shall be a regular election for judicial officers at a judicial election to be held on the Tuesday after the first Monday of Maj-. ARTICLE VII. impeachment aud removal from office. Section 1. The Assembly shall have the sole power of impeaching, but a majority of all the members elected must concxu- in an impeachment. All impeach- ments shall be tried by the Senate, and when sitting for that purpose, the Senatars shaU be upon oath of affirmation, to do justice according to law and evidence. No person shall be con^^cted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the Senators elected. Sec. 2. The Governor and other civil officers under this State Government, shaU be Uable to impeachment for misdemeanor or malfeasance iu office; but judg- ment in such case shaU not extend further than re- moval from office and disquahflcation to hold any office of honor, profit or trust under this State. The party, whether competed or acquitted, shaU nevertheless be liable to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according to law. Sec. 3. For any reasonable cause, to be entered on the journals of each House, which may or may not be sufficient grounds for impeachment, the Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court and Judges- of the District and County Courts shall be removed from office on the vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each branch of the Legislature, and the Jus- tice or Judge complained of shall be served with a copy of the complaint against him, and shall have an opjior- tunity of being heard in person, or by counsel in his defense ; provided, that no member of either branch of the Legislature shall be eligible to fill the vacancy occa- sioned by such removal. Sec. 5. Pro%'isiou shall be made by law for the re- moval from office of any civil officer for malfeasance or nonfeasance in the performance of his duties. ARTICLE \an. MUNICIPAL AND OTHER COEPOEATIONS. Section 1. The Legislature shall pass no special act in any manner relating to corporate powers, except for municipal purposes; but corporations may be formed under general laws; and aU such laws may, from time to time, be altered or repealed. Sec. 2. All real property and possessory rights to the same, as well as personal property in this State, belonging to corporations, now existing or hereafter created, shall be subject to taxation the same as jsrop- erty of individuals; provided, that the propert5- of cor- porations formed for municipal, charitable, rehgious or educational purposes may be exempted by law. Sec. 3. Dues from corporations shall be secured by such means as may be prescribed by law; provided, that corporators in corporations formed under the laws of this State shall not be individually hable for the debts or habilities of such corporation. Sec. i. Corporations created by or under the laws of the State of Nevada shall be subject to the pro-Nis- ions of such laws until the Legislature shall pass laws regulating the same, in pursuance of the provisions of this Constitution. Sec. 5. Corporations may sue and be sued in all Courts, in like cases as individuals. Sec. 6. No bank notes or paper of any kind shall ever be permitted to circulate as money in this State, except the Federal currency under the laws of Con- gress. Sec. 7. No right of way shall be appropriated to the use of any corporation until full compensation be first made therefor. I 30 BASIS OF CONSTITUTION. [2d day. Tuesday,] [July 5. Sec. 8. The Legislature shall provide for the organ- ization of cities and towns by general laws; and restrict their power of taxation, assessment, bor^o^^•ing money, coutracting debts, and loaning their credit, except for procuring supplies of water. Sec. 9. The State shall not donate or loan money or its credit, subscribe to or be interested in the stock of any company, association or corporation, except cor- porations formed for educational or charitable purpo- ses: provkled. that the State may issue bonds to an amount not exceeding three million dollars, on such terms as the Legishiture may prescribe, to the company that shall tirst inniplrte a railroad to the State hne, connecting this State with the navigable waters of Cal- ifornia, or with the navigable waters of the Mississippi river; but no law to issue bonds shall be effective, un- less .sanctioned by a vote of the people. Sec. 10. No county, city, to^vn, or other municipal cori)oration shall become a stockholder in any joint stock company, corporation, or association whatever, or loan its credit in aid of any such company, corpo- ration or association. ARTICLE IX. FINANCE AND STATE DEBT. Section 1. The fiscal year shall commence Jan- uary 1st. Sec. 2. The Legislature shall provide for an annual tax sufficient to defray the estimated expenses of the State for each fiscal year ; and whenever the expenses of any year shall exceed the income, the Legislature shall provide for le\'ying a tax sufficient, with other sources of income, to pay the deficiency, as well as the estimated expenses of such ensuing year or two years. Sec. 3. For the purpose of enabling the State to transact its business upon a cash basis, from its organ- ization, or for the purpose of defraying extraordinary expenses, the State may contract public debts ; but such debts shall never in the aggregate, exclusive of inter- est, exceed the sum of three hundred thousand dol- lars ; prnvidfd, that the further amount of indebtedness authorized by Ai-ticle VIII, of this Constitution, shall be deemed legal and valid whenever said debt shall be incurred in accordanc'e with the provisions therein ex- pressed; and said debts shaU be separate and inde- pendent of the State debt herein iDrovided for. Every Buch debt shall be authorized by law for some purpose or purposes, to be distinctly specified therein, and every such law shaU provide for levjong an annual tax sufficient to i^ay the interest semi-annually, and the principal within twenty years from the jiassagc of such law, and shall specially appropriate the proceeds of said taxes to the i)ayment of said jirincipal and inter- est; and such appropriation sliall nut be rf-pcaled, nor the taxes be iiostponed or diniinislied until llie princi- pal and interest of said debts sluill havr been wholly paid. Every contra<'t of indebtedness i iitrred into or assumed by or on behalf of the State, wIhii all its debts and Uabilaties amount to said sum beliir<' mentioned, shall be void and of no effect, excijit in cases of money borrowed to repel invasion, suppri ss insurrection, de- fend the State in time of war, or if liostilitics be threat- ened, ijrovide for the public defense. Sec. 4. The State shall never assume the debts of any county, town, city, or other corporation whatever, unless such debts have been created to repel invasion, suppress insurrection, or defend the State in time of war. Sec. 5. No scrip, certificate, or other evidence of State debt whatsoever, shall be issued, for the payment of which there are no funds in the treasury, except for such debts as are authorized by the third Section of this Article. ARTICLE X. TAXATION. Section 1. The Legislature shall provide by law for a uniform and equal rate of assessment and taxation, and shall prescribe such regulations as shall secure a just valuation for tiixation of all property, both real and personal, including mines and mining property; excepting such property only as may be exempted by law for municii)al, educational, literarj', scientific, re- ligious or charitable purposes. AKTICLE XI. salaries. Section 1. The Governor shall receive an anntial salary of six thousand dollars. The Secretary of State shall receive an annual salary of four thousand dollars. The State Controller shall receive an annual salary of four thousand dollars. The State Treasurer shall re- ceive an annual salary of four thousand dollars. The Attorney General shall receive an annual salary of eighteen hundred dollars. The Superintendent of Pub- lic Instruction shall receive an annual salary of two thousand dollars. Such salaries shall be iiaid quarterly. Said officers shall receive no fees or perquisites to their own use for the performance of any duties connected with their offices. ARTICLE XII. EDUCATION. Section 1. The Legislature shall encourage by aU suitable means the promotion of intellectual, scientific, moral, and agricultural improvement. It shall provide for the election by the people (at such time as the judiciary may be elected) of a Superintendent of Pub- he Instruction, whose term of office shall be two years from the first Monday of July succeeding such elec- tion, and until the election and quaUfication of his successor, and whose duties shall be prescribed by law. Sec. 2. The Legislature shaU provide for a system of common schools, by which a school shaU be estab- hshed and maintained in each school district, at least six months in every year; and any school cUstrict neg- lecting to establish and maintain such a school may be deprived of its proportion of the interest of the pubUc school fund during such neglect. The Legislature shall, within two years, pass such laws as shaU make it compulsory vrith parents and guardians that aU white chUdren under their charge, between the ages of six and fourteen years, shaU receive educational instruc- tion for at least three months in each year, unless phy- sicaUy or mentally incapacitated; but no sectarian instruction shall be aUowed at any public school estab- Ushed by them. Sec. 3. All lands, including the five hundred thou- sand acres of land granted to the new States under an Act of Congress distributing the proceeds of the pub- lic lands among the several States of the Union, ap- proved A. D. 1841 ; and aU proceeds of lauds that have been or may be granted or appropriated by the United States to this State; aU estates that may escheat to the State ; aU of such per cent, as may be granted by Con- gress on the sale of land ; aU fines coUected under the penal laws of the State; all i)roperty given or be- queathed to the State for educational purposes; and all proceeds derived from any or all of said sources, shaU be, and the same are hereby solemnly pledged for edu- cational pui^oses, and shall not be transferred to any other fund for other uses ; and the interest thereon shaU, from time to time, be apportioned among the several counties, in proportion to the ascertainc^d num- ber of persons between the ages of six and eighteen years in the diflerent counties. And the Legislature shall provide for the sale of floating land warrants to cover the aforesaid lands, and for the investment of all l)roceeds derived from any of the above-mentioned sources in United Slates bonds or the bonds of this State ; prornded, that the interest only of the aforesaid proceeds shall be used for educational purposes, and any surplus interest shall be added to tlicin-incipal sum; (ind pniviili'd.furlhrr. that such portion of said inter- est as may be neccssay, may be appn>priated for the support of the State llnivcrsity. Sec. 4. The l.igislaturc sliall provider for the estab- lishment of a State University, or Agricultural CoUege, with a Mining I)i partnient, which shall be free to aU white pupils between the ages of fourteen and twenty- one years, possessing sucli qualifications as may be l)rescribed by the Board of Regents, and whose pa- rents or guardians are citizens of this State. Sec. .'). The Legi.slatnre shall provide a special tax of one-half of one mill nn the doUar of aU taxable prop- erty in the State, in addition to the other means pro- vided for the suppoi't and maintenance of said Univer- eity or Agricultural College, and common schools;. 2d day.] BASIS OF CONSTITUTION. 31 Tuesday,] July 5. provided, that at the end of ten years they may reduce said tax to one-quarter of one mill on each dollar of taxable property. Sec. 6. The Governor, Secretary of State, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction, shall, for the first four years, and until their successors are elected and qualified, be a Board of Kegents, to control and manage the affairs of the University, or Agricultural College, and the funds of the same, under such regu- lations as may be provided by law; but the Legislature shall, at the expiration of that time, jirovide for the election of a Board of Regents, and define their duties. Sec. 7. The Board of Kegents shall, from the inter- est accruing from the first funds which come under their control, immediately organize and maintain the said Mining Department, in such manner as to make it the most effective and useful. ARTICLE xrn. Section 1. The Legislature shall provide by law for the organizing and discipUning the rnilitia of this State, for the effectual encouragement of volunteer corjjs, and the safe keeping of the pubUc arm.s. Sec. 2. The Governor shall have power to call out the mihtia to execute the law of the State, or to sup- press insurrection or repel invasion. ARTICLE XIV. PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS. Section 1. Institutions for the benefit of the in- sane, blind, and deaf and dumb, and such other benevo- lent institutions as the public good may require, shall be fostered and supported by the State, subject to such regulations as may be prescribed by law. Sec. 2. A State Prison shall be established and maintained in such manner as may be prescribed by law, and provision may be made by law for the estab- lishment and maintenance of a House of Refuge for juvenile offenders. Sec. 3. The respective counties of the State shall provide, as may be prescribed by law, for those inhab- itants who, by reason of age and infirmity, or other misfortunes, may have claim upon the sympathy and aid of society. ARTICLE XV. BOUNDAEY. Section 1. The boundary of the State of Nevada shall be as follows : — Beginning at the point of intersection of the forty- second degree of north latitude, with the thirty-eighth degree of longitude west from Washington; thence running south on the said thirty-eighth degree of west longitude imtil it intersects the northern boundary line of New Mexico ; thence due west along the north- ern boundary line of New Mexico until such line inter- sects the eastern boundary of the State of Cahfornia; thence northerly along the eastern boundary line of the State of California until such line intersects the forty-second degree of north latitude; thence east with said forty-second degree of north latitude to the place of beginning. And whenever Congress shall authorize the addition to the Territory or State of Nevada of any portion of the territory on the easterlj' border of the foregoing defined limits, not exceeding in extent one degree of longitude, the same shall thereupon be embraced within and become a part of this State. And furthermore pro- vided, that all such territory lying west of and adjoin- ing the boundary line herein prescribed, which the State of CaUfornia may relinquish to the Territory or State of Nevada, shall thereupon be embraced within and constitute a part of this State. ARTICLE XVI. miscellaneous peovisions. Section 1. The scat of Government shall be at Car- son City, but no apiiroj^riation for the erection or pur- chase of capitol buildings shall be made during the next six years. Sec. 2. Members of the Legislature, and all olficers. Executive, Judicial, and Ministerial, shall, before they enter upon the duties of their respective offices, take and subscribe to the following oath or affirmation : — • " I , do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will sup- port, protect and defend the Constitution and Govern- ment of the United States, and the Constitution and Government of the State of Nevada, against all ene- mies, whether domestic or foreign, and that I will bear true faith, allegiance, and loyalty to the same, any or- dinance, resolution or law of any State, Convention or Legislature to the contrary notwithstanding; and liu-- ther, that I do this with a full (Icti-niiiuation, pledge, and purpose, without any mental reservation or eva- sion whatsoever. And I do further solemnly swear {or affirm) that I have not fought a duel, nor sent or ac- cepted a challenge to fight a duel, nor been a second to either party, nor in any manner aided or assisted in such duel, nor been knowingly the bearer of such chal- lenge, or acceptance, since the adoption of the Consti- tution of the State of Nevada, and that I wiU not be so engaged or concerned, directly or indirectly, in or about any such duel, during my continuance in office. And further, that I will weU and faithfidly perform all the duties of the office of on which I am about to enter; so help me God." Sec. 3. No person shall be eligible to any office who is not a quahfled elector, or who has fought or been in any manner concerned in a duel since the adoption of this Constitution. Sec. 4. The general election shall be held on the Tuesday next after the first Monday of November. Sec. 5. The aggregate number of members of both branches of the Legislature shall never exceed seven- ty-five. Sec. 6. The term of State officers elected at the first election under this Constitution, shall continiie until the Tuesday after the first Monday of January, A. D. 1867, and until the election and qTialification of their Sec. 7. The Sheriffs, County Clerks, County Treas- urers, County Judges, and County Recorders, shall hold their offices at the county seats of their respective counties. Sec. 8. The Legislature shall provide for the speedy publication of aU statue laws of a general nature, and for such judicial decisions as it may deem expedient; and all laws and judicial decisions shall be free for pubUcation by any person; provided, that no judgment of the Supreme Court shall take effect and be operative untU the opinion of the Court in such case shaU be filed with the Clerk of said Court, and notice thereof given by said Clerk in some newspaper published at the place of holding said Court, or nearest thereto. Sec. 9. The Legislature may, at any time, by a vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each branch thereof, provide by law for increasing or diminishing the salaries or compensation of any of the officers (ex- cept judicial) whose salaries or compensation is fixed in this Constitution; provided, no such change of sala- ry or compensation shall apjily to any officer during the term for which he may have been elected. Sec. 10. All officers whose election or appointment is not otherwise provided for, shall be chosen or ap- pointed as may be prescribed by law. Sec. 11. The tenure of any office not herein iirovided for may be declared by law, or when not so declared, such office shall be held during the pleasure of the au- thority making the appointment; but the Legislature shall not create any office, the tenure of which shall be longer than four years. Sec. 12. A State Printer shall be elected at the same time and places, and in the same manner, and for the same term, as the Governor. He shall do all the pub- lic printing for the State which may be prescribed by law. The rates to be paid him for such printing shall be fixed by law. Sec. 13. The Governor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Controller, and Clerk of the Supreme Court, shall keep their respective offices at the seat of Government. Sec. 14. The enumeration of the inhabitants of this State shall be taken under the direction of the Legisla- ture in the year 1864. and 1867, and 1875, and every ten years thereafter; and these enumerations, together with the census that may be taken under the direction of the Congress of the United States in the year 1870, 32 BASIS OF CONSTITUTION. 2d day.] Tuesday,] [July 5. and every subsequent ten years, shall serve as the basis of representation in both Houses of the Legisla- ture. Sec. 15. A plurality of votes given at an election by the people, shall constitute a choice, where not oth- erwise provided by this Constitution. ARTICLE X\^I. AMESDJLENTS. Section 1. Any amendment or amendments to this Constitution, may be jjroxJosed in the Senate or Assem- bly; and if the same shall beagi-eed ti>l)y a majority of the members elected to each of the two Houses.such pro- posed amendment or amendments shall be entered on their journals with the ayes and noes taken thereon, and referred to the Legislature then next to be chosen, and shall be pubUshed for three months next preceding the time of making such choice. And if in the Legislature next chosen as aforesaid, such proposed amenilmeut or amendments shall be agreed to by a majority of all the members elected to each House, then it shall be the duty of the Legislature to submit such isroposed amend- ment or amendments to the people in such manner and at such time as the Legislature shall prescribe; and if the people shall apjirove and ratify such amend- ment or amendments by a majority of the electors quali- fied to vote for members of the Legislature voting there- on, such amendment or amendments shall become a part of the Constitution. Sec. 2. If at any time two-thirds of the Senate and Assembly shall tliiuk it necessary to revise and change this entire Constitution, they shall recommend to the electors at the next (flection for members of the Legis- lature to vote for or against a Convention, and if it sliall appear that a majority of the electors voting at such election have voted in favor of calling a Conven- tion, the Legislature shall, at its next session, provide by law for caUing a Convention, to be holden within six months after the passage of such law, and such Convention shall consist of a number of members not less than that of both branches of the Legislature. ARTICLE XYllI. SCHEDULE. Section' L That no inconvenience may arise by rea- son of a change from a Territorial to a permanent State Government, it is declared that all rights, actions. prosecutions, judgments, claims, and (■outracts, as well of indi^jduals as of bodies corporate, including coun- ties, towns, and cities, shall continue as if no change had taken place ; and aU process wliich may issue un- der the authority of the Territory of Nevada, i)revious to its admission into the Union as one of the United States, sliall be as valid as if issued in the name of the State of Nevada. Kkc. 2. All laws of the Territory of Nevada, in force at the time of the admission of this State, not repug- nant to this Constitution, shall remain in force until they expire by their ermaiient Stat<- Government, shall remain valid, and Bliall jiass to, and may be jirosecuted in the name of the .State; and all bonds executed to the Governor of the Territory, or to any other officer or court in his or their ortleial capacity, or to the penal actions which may have arisen, or which may arise before the change from a Territorial to a State Government, and which shall then be pending, shall be prosecuted to judgment and execution in the name of the State. All offences com- mitted against the laws of the Territory of Nevada before the change from a Territorial to a State Govern- ment, and which shall not be ijrosecuted before such change, may be prosecuted in the name and by the authority of the State of Nevada, with like effect as though such change had not taken place, and aU penal- ties incurred shaU remain the same as if this Constitu- tion had not been adoiJted. All actions at law, and suits in equity, which may be jiending in any of the courts of the Territory of Nevada at the time of the change from a Territorial to a State Government, may be continued and transferred to, and determined by, auy court of the State which shall have jurisdiction of the subject matter thereof. Sec. 5. For the purpose of taking the vote of the electors of this Territory for the ratification or rejec- tion of this Constitution, and for the election of all State officers — Supreme, District and County Judges, members of the Legislature and Representative to Congress — an election shall be held in the several coun- ties of the Territory (at such places as may be desig- nated by the Commissioners of each of the counties, respectively), on the third Tuesday of January, A. D. 1864. The judges and inspectors of said election shall be api^oiated by such county Commissioners, and the election shall be conducted, as nearly as practicable, in conformity wath the existing laws of the Territory in relation to the holding of the general election — except as otherwise provided in this Constitution. Sec. 6. Each elector shall express his opinion by depositing in the ballot-box a ticket whereon shall be written or printed, "Constitution Yes," or "Constitu- tion No," or such words as will distinctly convey the intention of the voter. Sec. 7. At the close of the election, the judges and uispectors shall carefully coimt each ballot, and forth- with make duphcate returns thereof to the Clerk of the Board of County Commissioners of their respective counties, and said Clerk shall transmit an abstract of the same, by the most safe and expeditious convey- ance, to the Secretary of the Territory (inclosed in an envelop), marked "Klection Returns." Sec. 8. Upon the receipt of said returns, or within twenty days after the elections, if the returns be not sooner received, it shall bo the duty of a Board of Can- vassers, to consist of the Secretary of the Territory, and the President and Secretary of this Convention, to can- vass the returns of said election, in presence of all who may choose to attend, and immediately publish an ab- stract of the same, in one or more of the newspapers of the Territory of Nevada ; and said Board shall, after the adoiJtion of this Constitution and canvass of said votes, issue certificates of election to such persons as were elected on .said third Tuesday of January, A. D. 1864. And the Governor of this Territory shall, im- mediately after ascertaining that the Constitution has been ratified by the people, make proclamation of the fact, and thenceforth this Constitution shall be ordain- ed and estabUshed as the Constitution of the State of Nevada. Sec. 9. Until otherwise provided by the Legislature, the apportionment of Senators and Assembljnnen in the ditferent counties shall be as follows: — Douglas county, one Senator and two Assemblymen ; Esmer- alda county, two Senators and four Assemblymen ; Humboldt county, two Senators and three Assembly- m(,'n ; Lander county, two St^uators and three Assem- blymen; Lyon and Churchill counties, two Senators atid four Assemljlymen ; Ormsby county, two Senators and three Assmblymen ; Storey county, four Senators and twelve Assemblymen; and Washoe, and Boop coun- ties, two Senators and three Assemblymen. Sec. 10. If this Constitution be ratified by the peo- ple, the President of this Convention, or in case of his iuabihty, the Governor of the Territory of Nevada, shall, within thirty days after the result of the election shall be declared, convene the Legislature for the pur- pose of electing two United States Senators. Sec. 11. A eoijy of this Constitution certified to be correct by the President and Secretary of this Conven- tion, shall be pubhshed by them in one newspaper in 2d day.] NAME OF STATE. 33 Tuesday,] KiNKEAD — ChAPIN — TOZER — ^DUNNE — BaLL — FiTCH — CoLLINS. [July 5. each county of this Territory, (where a newspaper is published), as soon as practicable after the final ad- journment of this Convention. Such President and Secretary shall forward a copy of this Constitution, certified as aforesaid, to the President of the United States, President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Kepresentatives, and the delegate in Congress from this Territory. Sec. 12. All debts and liabilities of the Territory of Nevada, lawfully incurred, and which remain unx^aid at the time of the admission of this State into the Union, shall be assumed by and become the debt of the State of Nevada; providtd, that an amount not ex- ceeding the sum of twenty thousand dollars shall be assumed for such debts or habiUties contracted or incurred on and after the first day of January, A. D. 1864. Sec. 13. The Senators to be elected at the first elec- tion under the Constitution, shall draw lots, so that the term of the one hah thereof shah expii-e on the day succeeding the general election in A. D. 1864, and the term of the other half shall expire on the day suc- ceeding the general election in A. D. 1866; provided, that in dra'tting lots for all Senatorial terms, the Sena- torial representation shaU be allotted so that the coun- ties having two or more Senators, the terms thereof shall be di\"ided as equally as may be between the long and short terms. Sec. 14. At the general election in A. D. 1864, and thereafter, the term of Senators shall be for four years from the day succeeding such general election, and members of Assembly for two years from the day suc- ceeding such general election, and the terms of Sena- tors shall be allotted in long and short terms, as herein- before pro^-ided ; so that one-half thereof, as nearly as may be, shah be elected every two years. Sec. 15. The term of members of the Assembly elected at the first election under this Constitution, shaU expire on the day succeeding the general election in A. D. 1864. Sec. 16. The first regular Session of the Legisla- ture under this Constitution, shall be held at such time after the admission of this State into the Union as the Executive of the State shall by his proclamation direct; provided, such time shah not be less than twenty nor more than sixty days after such admission. Sec. 17. The second regular session of the Legisla- ture shall convene on the first Monday of January, A. D. 1865, and such regular sessions shall thereafter be held on the fii'st Monday of January, biennially. Sec. 18. All county officers, (except Probate Judges), and aU township, city and town olficers, under the laws of the Territory of Nevada at the time when this Con- ! stitution shall take eti'ect, and whose offices are not j inconsistent with the provisions of this Constitution, j shall continue in office until their successors shall be elected and qualified. The time of such election and quaUfication shall "be as prescribed by law; j)rovided, that the time of such election shall not be i^ostponed be- yond the general election in A. D. 1864, and the time of the qualification of such officers shaU not exceed thirty days after such election. Sec. 19. At the first regular session of the Legisla- ture to convene under the requirements of this Con- stitution, pro\'ision shall be made by law for the pay- ment of the pubhcation of six huudi'ed copies of the proceedings of this Convention, in book form, to be disposed of as the Legislature may direct; and the Hon. J. W. North, President, and A. J. Marsh, one of the reporters, of this Convention, shall contract for and supervise the pubhcation of such x^roceedings. Provisions shall be made by law at such first session of the Legislature for the compensation of the official reporters of this Convention for then- services resjiec- tively; and they shall be paid in coin or its equivalent. The rates of compensation shall be as follows : to the official reporters jointly, forty cents i^er foho for re- porting the same for i^ublication, and to A. J. Marsh for supervising such pubhcation, the sum of fifteen dollars per day during the time actually engaged in such ser%"ice. Sec. "20. After the admission of this State into the Union, and untU the Legislature shall otherwise pro- vide, the several district and county judges shall hold C Courts in their respective districts and counties at such times and places as they may respectively appoint; and until provision shall be made by law for holding the terms of the Supreme Court, the Governor shaU fix the time and jilace of holding such Court. Done in Convention, at Carson citj', the eleventh day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixts'-three, and of the Independ- ence of the United States the eighty-eighth, and signed by the delegates. Mr. KINKEAD moved that the Conventioa adjouru to meet at tea o'clock, to-morrow morn- ing. Mr. CHAPIN. Oh, no ! Let us work an hour longer ; let us fix the name of the State, at least. The question was taken on the motion to ad- journ, and upon a division, it was not agreed to — ayes 13 — noes 17. COMMITTEE OF THE -WHOLE. Mr. CHAPIN. I now move that the Conven- tion go into Committee of the Whole, and take up the subject before us — the Constitution. The question was taken, and the motion was agreed to. Accordingly the Convention resolved itself into Committee of the Whole, (Jlr. Chapin in the Chair), and proceeded to the consideration of the preamble. PREAMBLE — XAME OF THE STATE. Mr. TOZER. I move the adoption of the preamble. The CHAIRMAN. I suppose the question should first be on adopting the name of the State. Mr. TOZER. That is contained in the pre- amble. The SECRETARY read the preamble, as follows : — PREAMBLE. We, the people of the State of Nevada, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure its blessings, insure domestic tranquiUty, and form a more perfect Government, do establish this Constitution. Mr. DUNNE. I move to amend by striking out the word " Nevada " and inserting the word " Washoe." Mr. BALL. I suggest that this is out of or- der, for the reason that the Enabling Act fixes the name as the State of Nevada. Mr. BANKS. I do not read it so. Mr. FITCH. The title of the act is, "An act to enable tlie people of Nevada to form a State Government," etc. Now what Nevada? It must be Nevada Territory; the people of Nevada Territory are to form a State govern- ment. Mr. COLLINS. Read the second section. Mr. FITCH. Very well— " Sec. 2. And be it further enacted. That the said State of Nevada shall consist of aU the Territory in- cluded within the foUomng boundaries"— I do not consider that binding upon us. Mr. COLLINS. I am inclined to think that Congress had really no definite idea or prefer- ence in regard to a name, but that, rather out of 34 NAME OF STATE. [2d day. Tuesday,] Pr ESI DENT — StURTE VANT. [July 5. deference to theConveation of last year, which had agreed upon the name of Nevada, that body gave it that name, calling it Nevada in the Act. I do not think, however, that that would prevent the President from proclaiming us as a State, if we sliould take any other State name. I do not imagine that there would be any serious objection, that is, in Congress, and the name of Nevada is cer- tainly a misnomer, for, if it conveys any mean- ing at all, it is a great falsehood. I would be glad if we could select some other name. The State of Washoe would sound well, and every- body knows us by the name of Washoe, while, if we are christened Nevada, we are liable to be confounded with the city of Nevada, Nevada County, and the Nevada Mountains. Quite re- cently we sent some very handsome silver bricks to the East in aid of the Sanitary Fund, and I notice that the county of Nevada, in California, was given the credit for sending those bricks to St. Louis. I say, independent of its being a falsehood, it is too common. Tho.se who understand the meaning of the word are aware that it is wholly inapplicable to us. When you hear it, you are inclined to button your coat, and shiver. Here we have an almost semi-tropical climate, and to call it Nevada is an outrage upon the people and the climate of almost the whole of the Ter- ritory. Almost any other name would be better than Nevada, and Washoe seems to be the most appropriate word. We are known everywhere, north and south, east and west, as Washoe, and why should we give people the impression that this is a species of north- pole climate? Why should we convey the groundless idea, that to make an expedition here a man is required to fit himself out with furs and moccasins, and everything else of that kind, to prevent his freezing? Therefore I hope, if it be possit)le, unless the Enabling Act is deemed to be absolutely binding upon us, that we shall christen the State by some other name. Mr. JOHNSON (the President). Whilst I con- cur in the views presented by my friend from Storey, (Mr. Collins) in favor of adopting some other name for our State, yet at the same time I must say 1 think we are precluded from so do- ing by the language contained in the Enal)ling Act. We should not seek for information re- garding tiie sen.sc of the act, upon that sub- ject, from the preamble, or from its title, but we shall find it in the body of the act itself Section 2, which has already been re- ferred to, provides that the said State of Ne vada shall consist of certain specified Terri- tory — " the said State of Nevada." Then reading further, we find that Section 6 is as follows : — " Sec. C. And be it further enacted. That until the next geueral cenKus shall be taken, said State of Ne- v.vla Hhall be entitled to one Representative in the House of Representatives of the United States, which Representative," etc. Then iu Section 8 we have this language : — "Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That pro^^ded the State of Nevada shall be admitted into the Union, in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this act, that twenty entire sections of unappropriated pub- lic lands \vithin said State, to be selected and located by direction of the Legislature tliereof, on or before the first day of January, .\nno I>omini 1868, shall be, and they are hereby granted, in legal subdivisions of not less than 160 acres, to said State, for the purpose of erecting public buildings at the Capital of said State, for legislative and judicial purposes, in such manner as the Legislature shall prescribe." Again, in Section 11. there is this language : " Sec. 11. And be it further enacted. That from and after the admission of the said State of Nevada into the Union, in pursuance of this act, the laws of the United States not locally iu.appUcable, shall have the same force and efifect within the said State as elsewhere within the United States, and said State shaU contain one judicial district, and be called the District of Ne- vada." The terms of admission into .the Union are predicated from the beginning upon the name, •' State of Nevada." I lliink, from an examina- tion of this act, we are clearly restrict'd to that name, and without that name tlicre would be grave doubts whi ther there would be any authority by which we could obtain these public lands, and possibly there might even be some doubt as to our right to send a Representative to the Congress of the United States, without further Congressional action. To my mind it is quite obvious that we are precluded, by the action of Congre.ss, from taking any other name. Mr. STURTEVANT. I was not aware but that every State, if it be a State at all, has a right to be represented in Congress, and I think in that respect it would make no difference what we called our State. I think we can name it any thing we please, and still we should bo entitled to everything that other States are entitled to, because we come into the Union on an equality. Now, every State which is ad- mitted is entitled to certain grants of lands, and certain rights and privileges, and if we do not have the same as other States have, we do not want to be admitted. This same question was up in the Convention of last year. Then the Legislature had passed an Enabling Act, au- thorizing the Convention to form a Constitu- tion and State Government for the " State of Washoe," but the Convention saw fit then to alter the name to Nevada. I tiiink we have as much right to alter the name in this Convention, and it would be much better to call the new State Washoe than to make it a mere namesake of every stable and every picayune liquor shop in the Territory. I hope we sliall adopt the name of Washoe. Mr. JOHNSON. Every State admitted into the Union is entitled to such rights, in the matter of representation in the lower branch of Congress, and grants of p iblic lands, and like matters, as may be given to it by the act under which it is admitted, whether that act be an enabling act, authorizing the formation of a State Government and its admission liy subse- quent proclamation, or an act of Congress authorizing such admission when the State has 2d day.] NAME OF STATE. 35 Tuesday,] TozER — Ball — Fitch. [July 5. been previously organized. There is an exist- ing act of Congress establishing the ratio of representation, and under that act, as every member knows, our population is so meagre as to constitute but a small fraction of that which would entitle us to a Representative. But the rights we have as a State, in this particular, are such as Congress in its wisdom has granted to us. Congress has provided that a State called the State of " Nevada" shall be admitted after cer- tain proceedings have been had, and the Presi- dent is authorized to declare by proclamation the admission of the State of '■ Nevada" into the Union ; and I conceive that no other name ■would comply with the terms under which we are to be admitted. It is true that the late Con- stitutional Convention did override the act of the Legislature by substituting the name of " Nevada" for "Washoe ;" but that cannot be regarded as a precedent, because the Con- vention was held entirely without author- thority having previously been given by Con- gress. The entire action of that Conven- tion depended upon the subsequent approval of Congress, for it rested with Congress to say v?hether we should be admitted under that Constitution or not, and we could just as well have been admitted by one name as by another. The people, however, refused to ratify the action of the Convention, and consequently Congress took no action upon it, but provided for the as- sembling of a Convention, by the passage of our Enabling Act. In that Enabling Act, as I con- ceive. Congress has specifically prescribed our name. By that name alone we acquire, not only the right of representation, but all the other rights referred to in that act. I think there are some objections to that name ; but, if so, those objections should have been made known to Congress before the passage of this Enabling Act. Now the child is named ; it has been baptized by the name of Nevada, and nothing short of an act of Congress can change that name. Mr. TOZER. I shall leave the discussion of the point as to whether or not we are concluded by the Enabling Act in regard to the name, to others. But I have been heretofore, and am now in favor of the name of " Nevada," for this country. I think it is a beautiful and euphonious name. My colleague, (Mr. Collins,) says it is unpleasant and meaningless to him, and the gentleman from Washoe, (Mr. Sturte- vant,) urges that it is liable to be confounded with towns, cities, and mountains. It does not seem to me that there is more liability of con- fusion on that score, than there would be with almost any other name that can be suggested. We are already well known as the Territory of Nevada, and a great part of our Territory lies throughout its course at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I think it proper to call the State "Nevada," on that account alone. My colleague is in favor of the name of " Washoe," on the ground of euphony. I take issue with him thei-e. In my opinion, it is a miserable, guttural, meaningless word, especially when it is pronounced by that half-clad, abject tribe of Indians who go by the name of " The Washoe." It is certainly a very harsh sounding word ; and its meaning I have never yet been able to learn, either from the aborigines themselves, or from those who are acquainted with their lan- guage. For these reasons, if not for more po- tent ones, I am in favor of retaining the name of •' Nevada." Mr. BALL. There is another reason why the name of Nevada should be retained. In the last Convention, a motion was made to call the State Esmeralda, another to call it Hum- boldt, a third Washoe, and a fourth Nevada ; and the latter was finally adopted. The discus- sion on that subject induced me to make inqui- ries of various gentlemen who came to this Territory for two or three months thereafter, either on pleasure or on business, and whose homes are in the East. Without exception, those gentlemen told me that they never heard the name of Washoe applied to this country at all, until they came to California, except by some of their friends who had resided in Cali- fornia, and who spoke of the mines of Washoe as being very rich ; and they said they were sur- prised when they found that by Washoe they meant Nevada Territory. They each and all assured me that the name by which we are known throughout the East is Nevada. That is one great reason, to my mind, why we should adopt that name. Then we shall still be known as Nevada at home ; and when there are any reports or statements made there in reference to Nevada, everybody will understand where it is at once. I think there is no good reason why we should change our name, and certainly very few persons in this Territory, or among my constituents, at least, desire to adopt the name of Washoe. The question was taken on the amendment to strike out " Nevada," and insert " Washoe," and the amendment was not agreed to. The question was taken on the adoption of the Preamble, as originally read, and it was adopted. Mr. FITCH moved that the Committee rise, report progress, and ask leave to sit again. The question was taken, and the motion was agreed to ; and the Convention accordingly rose. IN CONVENTION. The PRESIDENT having resumed the Chair, The CHAIRMAN reported that the Commit- tee of the Whole had had under consideration the Preamble, Declaration of Rights, and other matters ; had made some progress therein, and had instructed him to ask leave to sit again. Mr. FITCH. The Committee of the Whole have reported the Preamble, as I understand. I move that the Preamble be adopted by the Convention. The question was taken, and the motion was agreed to. 36 RULES OF CONVENTION. [3d day. Wednesday,] Crosman— Brosn an— Tozer— President— Hawley—Belden— Dunne. [July 6. HOURS or SESSION. Mr. CROSMAN moved that the regular hour of daily meeting hereafter, be nine o'clock, A. W. Mr. BROSNAN. I have a resolution here in regard to that subject which I will offer, if the gentleman will withdraw his motion. .Mr. CROSMAX. Certainly ; I withdraw it. The SECRETARY read Mr. Brosnan's reso- lution as follows : — Sesolved, That this Conventiou shall, until otherwise ordered, meet at nine o'clock, A. M., each day, {Sun- days excepted,) and continue in session until noon, at •which hour a recess shall be taken. It shall meet again at one, and hold its session until five o'clock, P. M. The question was taken, and on a division, the resolution was adopted — ayes, 19 ; noes, 4. On motion of Mr. CROSMAN, at twenty -five minutes before six o'clock, P. M., the Conven- tion adjourned. THIRD DAY. Carson, July G, 1864. The Convention met at ton o'clock, A. M., and was called to order by the President. In the temporary absence of the Secretary the Official Reporter called the roll, and twen- ty-eight members responded to their names, the ab.sent members being Messrs. Belden, Fitch, Haines. Jones, Mason, McClinton, Morse, War- wick, Wellington, Wetheriil, and Williams. Prayer was offered by Rev. Mr. Riley. The journal of yesterday was read and ap- proved. Mr. TOZER. I find there is a newly arrived member, my friend Mr. B. S. Mason, of Esmer- alda ; and at a proper time I shall propose that he be sworn in. The PRESIDENT. Our order of business is " Reports of Standing Committees," but we have as yet no Standing Committet'S, and all the Special Commictees, I understand, made their reports yesterday. RULES OK THE CONVENTION. Mr. BROSNAN. I rise for information. I would like to ascertain from some gentleman from Ormsby County whether or not it is pnssi- ble to obtain copiis of the Rules of the last A8S( mbly. Mr. HaWLEY. I have inquired of the Ser- geant-at-Arms. and be inform-' me that lie is unable to find them. I have, therefore, pre- pared a resolution to print them. The PRESIDENT. Motions and resolutions are in order as the regular order of business. Mr. IIAWLEY. Then I will send up my resolution. The Sergeant-at-Arms now illtb^m^ me, however, that he thinks there is a desk in the County Clerk's ofllce, in which there are a number of copies, and as soon as he can get into that office he will try to find them. The PRESIDENT. If the gentleman desires, the resolution can be read and then withdrawn or laid over. The SECRETARY read :— Resolved, That this Convention order to be printed one hundred copies of the Kules and Order of Busi- ness of the Territorial Legislative Assembly, adopted by this Convention July ,5, 1864. Mr. HAWLEY withdrew the resolution tem- porarily. LIMITATION OF SPEECHES. Mr. BELDEN offered the following, which was read : W' HEREAS, The people of the Territory of Nevada expect, and it is due to them, that the term of this Convention be made as short as possible ; and whereas, considering the grounds upon which the Convention has based its proceedings for fraiming a Constitution for the coming State of Nevada, it is believed that the work can soon be accompUshed ; therefore be it Resolved, That each member of this Conventiou shall be allowed fifteen minutes, and no more, for his own expressions upon any one subject matter that may come before this Convention during its term. Mr. STURTEVANT. I second the resolu- tion. The PRESIDENT. Before I put the ques- tion on this resolution I desire to call attention to one of the rules which we have already adopted, because there may be some conflict be- tween the resolution proposed and that rule. I refer to rule XII, which reads as follows : — 12. No member shall speak more than twice to the same general question, ■without leave of the House, uutil every member desiring to speak on the question pending shall have spoken. That there may be no confusion in our rules, I simply suggest that the resolution be so framed as not to conflict with one of the estab- lished rules of the Convention. There may be some question arising hereafter as to the con- struction to be given to this resolution. Mr. BELDEN. I believe the Convention owes it to itself to adopt this resolution as it is offered. Mr. DUNNE. Do not the rules require that a notice of one day shall be given before changing one of the standing rules of the Con- vention ? The PRESIDENT. I have not a copy of the rules, but the Secretary informs me that there is such a standing rule. Mr. DUNNE. I supposed there was, and I would suggest to the gentleman that he give notice that to-morrow he will move to amend that standing rule ; I think the rule should be amended in that respect, and if the gentleman does not do so, I will give that notice myself. Mr. BROSNAN, We might su.spend that rulr, and h^t the resolution be acted upon now. The I'Rl-JSIDENT. The rub s which we have adoplel provide that no standing rule or order of tiie House shall be changed, except upon a motion of which at least one day's notice shall liave been given, stating the specific object of such change ; and the amendment to be made mus-t be distinctly specified. These rules, it oc- curs to me, do not all apply very well to this 3d day.] RULES OF CONVENTION. 37 Wednesday,] Dunne — President — Mason — Hawley — Tozer — Nourse — DeLong. [July 6. body. There seems to me to be a very wide diiference between a Convention and a Legisla tare ; and the rules which would properly be applicable to a Legislature would not always apply to a Convention. Mr. DUNNE. I imagine not ; but it seems to me. however they may be construed, that if two thirds of any parliamentary body wish to amend a rule, they may do so. And for the pur- pose of seeing wlaether or not this amendment can be made now, I move that that portion of the standing rule of the Convention which re- lates tothe time that may be occupied by a speak- er, whether it be embraced in one or two of the rules, be suspended, for the purpose of making an amendment, and as it requires to be dis- tinctly stated, I offer this as an amendment : — Resolved, That no person shall be allowed to speak more than fifteen minutes on any one subject, nor more than once upon that subject, so long as any other member who wishes to express his opinions has not been heard. The PRESIDENT. I suggest that the gen- tleman from Humboldt should reduce his mo- tion to writing, as it is intended to become one of our standing rules. Mr. DUNNE. I will do so, sir. The PRESIDENT. On examination of these rules, so far as 1 can discover, it is not neces- sary that one day's notice, or that any notice, shall be given ; because 1 find that it is pro- vided that any rule may be altered or changed by a two-thirds vote. It will be entirely in order, therefore — I address myself to the gen- tleman (Mr. Belden) who first offered the reso- lution — to move to amend the rule as it now stands, by substituting his resolution. And then, if the gentleman from Humboldt (Mr. Dunne) desires, he can offer an amendment in order. Mr. BELDEN. I make that motion. The PRESIDENT. The Secretary will read the amendment proposed to Rule XII. The SECRETARY read :— Each member of this Convention shall be allowed fifteen minutes, and no more, for his own expressions upon any one subject matter that may come before this Convention during its term. member sworn. Mr. TOZER reminded the President that Mr. Mason, of Esmeralda,was present, and suggested that he be sworn in. Mr. B. S. MASON, of Esmeralda, came for- ward, and after taking the oath of office, ad- ministered by Judge Wright, and subscribing to the same, took his seat as a member of the Convention. THE RULES — AGAIN. Mr. DUNNE. I now desire to offer my amend- ment to the standing rule ; to add these words : ''And in no case shall any member be allowed to occupy more than fifteen minutes at any one time." So that the rule as amended will read : No member shall speak more than twice to the same general question without leave of the house, until every member desiring to speak on the question pending shall have spoken, and in no case shall any member be allowed to occupy more than fifteen minutes at any one time. Mr. HAWLEY. I would suggest that that rule would be likely to become rather obsolete, and I will ask the gentleman's permission to add the words, " unless by leave of the House." Mr. DUNNE. The Convention seems to have varied somewhat from the opinion which pre- vailed yesterday against protracted discus- sion. 1 stated yesterday that I did not wish to set a bad example, therefore I limited myself to five minutes. I do not wish to see any such bad example set ; but, at the same time, I do not wish to limit every man to five minutes, and therefore I say that no one shall speak more than fifteen minutes. It seems to me that that is long enough. Mr. NOURSE. It seems to me that there might happen occasions where justice would require a prolongation of that time. Mr. DUNNE. Then it can be done by a two- thirds vote suspending the rule. Mr. NOURSE. I would like to have inserted, " unless the House grants leave." Mr. DUNNE. Do you mean by that, unan- imous leave ? Mr. NOURSE. Certainly. Mr. DUNNE. Very well ; I will accept that. The PRESIDENT. The Chair will state the position of the question : If the amendment be adopted, as proposed by the gentleman from Humboldt, the rule will be, that a member may speak twice with the leave of the House, but not more than fifteen minutes in the aggregate, unless by leave of the House— unless the rule be suspended for that purpose. Mr. TOZER. It is poor economy of time, it strikes me, to spend the whole day in f xing this rule, when we might be progressing with the work before us. I hope we shall come to some determination. Mr. NOURSE. I understand the gentleman from Humboldt to accept my amendment to add the words, " unless by leave of the House." Mr. DUNNE. The gentleman made that pro- position, and I asked him if he meant it to be " unanimous leave of the House." He assent- ed to that, and I accepted it in that language. Mr. TOZER. I move to lay the whole sub- ject matter of the amendment of this rule on the table. The question was taken by a division, and the motion to lay on the table was not agreed to — ayes, 11 ; noes, 18. Mr. DeLONG. As I prefer the original to the substitute, I move to lay the substitute on the table. The question was taken by a division, and the motion to lay on the table was not agreed to — ayes, 13 ; noes, 14. Mr. NOURSE called for the reading of the substitute as modified. The SECRETARY read :— No member shall speak more than twice to the same general question without leave of the Convention, un- til every member desiring to speak on the question 2QH'7ii{) 38 RULES OF CONVENTION. [3d day Wednesday,] President— DeLoxg — Hawlkt— Sturtevant— Chapix — Banks. [July 6. pending shall have spoken, and in no case shall any member be allowed to occupy more than fifteen mln- ntes at any one time, except by unanimous consent of the Convention. The question was taken on the adoption of the substitute, and it was adopted. The PRESIDENT. The position of the ques- tion now is, that the substitute having been adopted for the amendment to the rule propos- ed by the gentleman from Washoe, (Mr. Bel- den,) the question rtcurs upon the adop- tion of that amendment to the rule, as amend- ed, and upon that a two-thirds vote is required. Mr. DkLONG. Can the standing rules be amended without a preliminary notice? The PRESIuENT. That inquiry was made a little while ago. and I could not find any standing rule requiring a preliminary notice. Mr. DUNNE. I would ask Ihat the Secreta- ry read, for information, the rule in regard to amendment of the rules. The PRESIDENT. The question is on the adoption of the substitute for Rule XII. Mr. CROSMAN. I understand it is not a substitute, but an addition to that rule. The PRESIDENT, The gentleman is cor- rect. Mr. DeLONG. I call for a division on adopting the amendment. The question was taken by a division, and the vote stood— ayes, 19 ; noes, 9. Mr. DeLONG. I understand that the amend- ment is lost, because the affirmative side has not a two-thirds vote of all the members elect- ed. Mr. STURTEVANT. It seems to me that that would V)e rather a singular precedent to establish. Suppose there were not two-thirds of the members I'lected here? The PRESIDENT. The gentleman from Sto- rey is correct ; the amendment is lost. Mr. FITCH. It occurs to me, Mr. President that we made a mistake yesterday, and one that we might just as well coirect this morn- ing. When the committee reported back the [ Preamble, I moved its adoption, and it is re- corded as adopted, on the minutes. Now ] have not read the rules, but I would suggest that the Preamble will rcquiri? to receive three several readings ; and I further suggest that we take it up and read it now. Mr. DkLONG. What is the regular order of bu'^iness? The PRESIDENT. Motions and resolutions. Mr. HAWLEY. I learn from the Sergeant- at-Arm-i that he has bi'eii unable to find copies of the rules we have; adopted, and they are en- tirely lost. I therefore renew my resolution — that the Secretary be required to furnish a copy of the rules to the printer, to be printed for the use of the members ; Ijut I do not know as he will print them without some promise of compensiition. Tlie SECRETARY read the resolution, as fol- lows : — Retolved, That this Convention order to be printed 100 copies of the rules and order of business of the Territorial Legislative Assembly, adopted by this Con- vention July 5, 1864. Mr. FITCH. If any gentleman here thinks the printer will do it and take the rough chances of pay. I think we had better let him. Mr. DkLONG. I suggest that we call upon the gentleman from Ormsby, (Mr. Crawford,) for information. Mr. STURTEVANT. I wish to give notice of a motion to amend that two-thirds arrange- i ment, [laughter ] so that we shall be able to [do business. AVe might perhaps be caught without any two-thirds of the members elected here, and then we should find ourselves in a tight place, not being able to do anything at all. 1 think that any gentleman who was a member of the last Legislature will understand pretty well what I mean. We were " tight up" there pretty nearly all the time, from the be- ginning to the end. The PRESIDENT. The gentleman's notice will be entered upon the minutes. Mr. CHAPIN. I hope that this resolution to print will not be adopted, and for this rea- son : Those rules were prepared for another and difi'erent body entirely, and they are not it all appropriate to the government of the proceedings of this body. It would be a great expense to print them ; it would occasion con- siderable delay ; and they would be of no ac- count whatever after they were printed. Now, I wish to avoid that expense and inconvenience, and I propose, as a substitute for that resolu- tion, that we do as we did at the last Convention — adopt the rules prescribed in Jefferson's Man- ual, and let us be governed by tbem wholly, with- out going any further. I now make that motion. Mr. BANKS. I apprehend that every practi- cal difficulty will be avoided by common con- sent in regard to that motion. The reason why these rules were adopted by the Convention was the statement which has been repeated here, that we eouM probaljly find a hundred copies of them already printed. But for that supposition, the committee probably would have reported in favor of a proposition sim- ilar to that now made by the gentleman from Storey, (Mr. Chapin.) I hope, under the cir- cumstances, that the motion will prevail, and that we shall adopt Jtfferson's Manual as the embodiment of the rules for the government of this body. The rules laid down in Jefferson's Manual have become the common law in par- liamentary matters. They are understood by all those who are accustomed to the delibera- tions of bodies of this character. And, then, with a few books, we can get along much better here than we could with a few copies of these rules. I hope the motion will prevail, and a number of copies of Jefferson's Manual can tiien be procured and passed around among the members, and we can get along much more eeononiicallv than l»y any other course. The PRESIDENT— The Chair would suggest that the gentleman from Storey, (Mr. Chapin,) reduce his motion to writing. 3d day.] RULES OF CONVENTION. 39 Wednesday,] Hawlet— Chapin— Nourse — Proctor— Dunne— DeLong — Fitch. [.July C. Mr. HAWLEY. I merely introduced this I resolution to get the matter before the Conven- j tion. I presumed myself that there would be | difficulty in obtaining the printing, and 1 1 think there will be no opposition to the amend- ! ment of the gentleman from Storey. I will j therefore, with the leave of the Convention, ; withdraw my resolution. Mr. CHAPIN. I will offer the following : Resolved, That the rules prescribed in Jefferson's Manual be adoiDted for the government of this Conven- tion. Mr. NOURSE. I second the resolution, for the purpose of making a remark upon it. I suppose, as it stands now, the rules of the last House are the rules of this body, and they can- not be suspended, except by a two-thirds vote. Now, I find, by reference to those rules, that a motion to reconsider is in order, and I would inquire whether, if this resolution be withdrawn, and a motion to reconsider passed, it w'ill not leave us where we were before adopting those rules. If so, then we could adopt Jefferson's Manual instead. Mr. CHAPIN. I will withdraw the resolu- tion for that purpose. Mr. NOURSE. Then I move that the vote by which the Convention adopted the rules of the last Legislature be reconsidered, they hav- ing been adopted simply because it was be- lieved that we had a large number of printed copies, and it now appearing that that was a mistake. I see no reason for adopting them whatever, as this is a different body altogether from a Legislature, and as the only reason given for adopting them has been found not to exist. Mi-. DeLONG. As a question of order, I will state that a motion to reconsider -can only be made on notice given. Mr. NOURSE. No, sir ; the rule says, sim- ply, that a motion to reconsider shall not be made, except upon the same day, or the follow- ing day, and I will add, for the information of the gentleman, that I voted in the majority. The question was taken, and the motion to reconsider was agreed to. Mr. CHAPIN. I now offer my resolution. The PRESIDENT. The vote having been re- considered, the question now before the Con- vention is upon the adoption or rejection of the report of the Committee recommending these rules. That is open to amendment, and I understand the gentleman from Storey (Mr. I Chapin) now offers this as an amendment to the | report of the Committee. I The SECRETARY. The report is— first, the , order of business ; second, recommending the j adoption of the rules, so far as applicable ; and | third, recommending the adoption of Jeffer- son's Manual in matters to which the rules of of said Legislature may not apply. The PRESIDENT. The amendment, then, ap- plies only to that portion which relates to the rules. The question was taken on the adoption of Mr. Chapin's amendment, and it was adopted. The question recurred upon the adoption of the report of the Committee on Rules and Order of Business as amended, and it was adopted. PRINTING. Mr. PROCTOR offered the following resolu- tion, which was read and adopted : — Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to make arrangements for the necessary printing for thia Convention. The PRESIDENT appointed as such Com- mittee, Messrs. Proctor, Fitch, and Crawford. LIMITATION OF SPEECHES — AGAIN. Mr. DUNNE. Now, Mr. President, while I cannot but admire the parliamentary tact of those gentlemen who are opposed to limiting the time of speaking, yet I cannot but notice their practical ingratitude, manifested by so soon rejecting the very means by which they carried their point. But, as the two-thirds rule is now out of the question, I offer this resolu- tion, which I send up to the desk. Mr. DeLONG. I would ask if, under the Manual, it is in order to offer the same resolu- tion twice on the same day, after a final vote upon it? The PRESIDENT. The Chair is in doubt about it; the Convention changes its rules so often. Mr. DeLONG. I submit, that after the ac- tion of the Convention, adopting Jefferson's Manual, a proposition submitted and voted upon on one day cannot on that day be again brought before the House. Mr. DUNNE. Even admitting that to be the case, which I do not doubt, still it was not an original resolution which was formerly voted upon, but only an amendment. The PRESIDENT. The Chair conceives that the resolution offered by the gentleman from Humboldt embi'aces substantially the same subject matter as that which has already beeu voted upon. The Chair is therefore constrained to rule the point of order well taken. THE PREAMBLE. The PRESIDENT announced, as the order of business, the second reading and reference of bills. Mr. FITCH. Now, I move that the Pream- ble to the Constitution, the adoption of which was carried yesterday, be taken up and read a second time. We committed an error, yesterday, in adopting it as a finality, and I want to get out of it as easily as possible. If we pass it to its second reading, I think it might be well to defer the third reading until the en- tire Article — the Declaration of Rights — be also considered and adopted. Then we can give them their third reading all together, and pass them as one bill. Mr. DeLONG. I think we made a mistake, yesterday, by adopting this Preamble, when it should have been only read a second time, and referred to the Committee of the Whole, to be 40 PREAMBLE. [3d day. Wednosday,] Banks— Stubtevant— Fitch— DeLoxg— President— Nourse. [July 6. there considered, and reported back again for the action ol the Convention. It strikes me. that the only question now is, on the third reading: and passage of the Preamble as report- ed back from the Committee of the Wbole, and then we can order it to an engrossment. Mr. BANKS. We have been guilty of an error in this matter, and now we wish to reme- dy it, so as to give the Preamble its three read- ings, and pass upon it three times, in regular course of business. The first reading is always for information, according to the rules, and no motion is then in order except, ".'■hall the bill or resolution be rejected ? " We should have read it yesterday, ibr information, but we in- dulged in the informality of referring it at once. Now we have read it once, and acted upon it in Committee, but we have not read it a second time. The proi)osition now is. to take it up, and read it a second time: and if we do that, we have complitd with all the require- ments of parliamentary law. It is not necessa- ry that we should be guilty of any informality to-day because we were yesterday, and I hope we shall not discuss our errors of yesterday, to the detriment of our progress. Mr. STURTEVANT. This motion looks to me like splitting hairs. If we desire to read the Preamble three times, we can do so ; but it makes no difference whether we do or not, because it all has to go before the people of the country, and we can make nothing out of it, except by the vote of the people. Mr. DeLONG. Under our own rules, we shall have to refer it to the Committee of the Whole again, and I really think we may as well pass it now. Mr. FITCH. I think we might do anything, ra- ther than prolong this discussion. I am willing to read it three times now, or do anything else. Mr. CIL\PIN. Let us act upon it, and go to work. The PRESIDENT. I think the gentleman from Storey is correct — that we will have to go over the same ground, if we take this up again ; and the difficulty arises, possibly, from the exercise of undue haste in attempting to get throiiL'h our liusiness in a few days. I think if we adopt rules, we should try to conform to them, and if we want our rules simplified, we Bhould devise such rules as will be calculated to meet our purposes. It is naturally sup- posed that the requisite time will be taken to comply with all the rules. The proposition now will be, as the Chair understands it, to place the Preamble upon its third reading. Mr. FITCH. Is it desired to read the Pre- amble and Declaration of Rights all together? Mr. DkLONG. I understand it comes up as the report of a committee, and the question shouhl 1)1- on adopting the report. Mr. FITCH. I move that the Preamble be placed on it'^ IhirrI reading. The PRESIDE.VT. Does the gentleman from Storey. (Mr. DeLong.) raise any point of order? Mr. DeLONG. No sir. I The PRESIDENT. The question will be on 1 the third reading of the Preamble. The Sec- i retary will read it. I The SECRETARY read as follows :— PEE.^MBLE. j We, the people of the State of Nevada, grateful to ' Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure its ; blessings, insure domestic tranquility, and form a more perfect Government, do establish this Constitu- tion. I Mr. NOURSE. It strikes me, Mr. President, that that should be the last thing we do. We do not want to establish this Constitution until we know what Constitution we have adopted, I and are soing to establish. Mr. STURTEVANT. It appears to me it 1 would be better to finish the thing up as we go : along. Then the last day's work we do we have it all done, and done with it.' If we go on and do not have the engrossing done till we , iiave the whole finished, we shall have to adjourn over several days, and then meet for the purpose of adopting tlie whole Constitution. But if we finish the work as we no along by sections, then the moment we get through with j the last of them, our work is all completed, and we can adopt it as a whole, and go home about our business. The question was taken on ordering the Pre- amble to a third reading, and it was agreed to, MODE OP PROCEDDRE. Mr. BANKS. In order to get information, so as to understand just what we are about, and where we are, I wish to ask the Chair a few questions as to what is the understanding of the Convention, and what the decision of the Chair will be, in reference to our mode of pro- cedure. It occurs to me that it would not he improper to regard the adoption of this basis as the first reading of a bill, and to con- sider ourselves as a deliberative body about to proceed to the second reading of a bill. If we pursue that course, I think our way is plain. We can refer the instrument, or any parts of it, to the Committee of the Whole, and then, when they report it back, we have the question, shall the report be adopted? and if adopted, then comes, in the ordinary legislative course, the third reading of the bill. The PRESIDENT. The Chair is not prepared to .say tliat passing a resolution making this Constitution the basis of our action is equiva- lent to giving the whole instrument its first reading. The Chair considers that we have adopted it as our basis, but not that the whole instrument has received its first reading. It is competent for the Convention to take ac- tion now, or at any time, to give the Constitu- tion its first reading, or consider it read a first time. Mr. BANKS. It strikes me that that ruling is eminently proper; but as a matter of con- venience, and I think it will meet the wishes of the Convention, I suggest that it would be proper to consider the whole Constitution as having been read a first time. I move, thercx 3d day.] DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. 41 Wednesday,] Banks — President — DeLong — Wakwick— Fitch. [July 6. fore, that this entire document be read a first time by title — this Constitution of the State ot Nevada, as we have it here printed. The question was taken, and the motion was agreed to. The SECRETARY read the title — "Consti- tution OF THE State of Nevada." Mr. BANKS. Now there is another point upon which I de.sire informatiom myself. I wish to know whether we are to proceed with this matter as a whole bill divided into sec- tions, or to regard each section or article as one bill. The PRESIDENT. As the whole matter has been read once, the entire Constitution is be before the Convention for its action, ex- cept the Preamble, which has already been adoptf'd, and passed to a third reading ; and the Chair will, upon each successive occasion, when going into Committee of .the Whole upon any particular part of the Constitution, hold that only so much of it as is referred to tht Committee, from time to time, isunder consid- eration. The Chair may not be correct in this view, considering that we have already passed the whole instrument to the first reading ; but perhaps it will relieve the matter of some difii- culty if we understand that each article is to be considered separately and distinctly. Mr. BANKS. With the explanation of the Chair, and with the decision, as I understand it, I am content. Mr. DeLONG. I think a little time wasted in considering this matter will be a saving of time in the end. The PRESIDENT. The Chair will be happy to hear any suggestions from the gentleman's experience. declaration op rights. Mr. DeLONG. This Constitution is divided into articles, and it is impossible that in any one day, or one half of a day — any one sit- ting — we should dispose of it in Committee. And we have, in addition, to report it back Now why not treat it as if composed of sepa- rate bills ? For instance, to-day we call up the first article, and refer it to the Committee of the Whole ; then the Convention goes into Committee of the Whole to consider the first article. If they get through with it, or if they wish for further time, they report back to the Convention accordingly, and then they go into Committee of the Whole on the second article, in the same way, and we progress with our work in an orderly manner. For instance, if we agree in the Convention on the first article, as reported from the Committee of the Whole, and pass it through its several stages, there is no further amendment, but it is like a bill that has passed and become a law. We have now read that article for the first time to-day. The first reading is for information, but you can read it a second time on the same day, and re- fer it to the Committee of the Whole ; but it is required to be read the third time on the next. or some subsequent day. Now, I move to sus- pend the rules so as to read the first article of the Constitution by title, the second time, and refer it to the Committee of the Whole, to day. The question was taken, and the motion was agreed to. The SECRETARY read Article I, entitled Declaration of Rights, by title, and it was referred to the Committee of the Whole. member qualified. J. H. WARWICK, of Lander County, having arrived, took and subscribed the oath of office, administered by Judge Wright, and took his seat as a member of the Convention. declaration op rights, again. Mr. DeLONG. I now move that the Con- vention consider itself in Committee of the Whole — the President remaining in the Chair — lor the consideration of Article I, entitled, Declaration of Rights. The question was taken, and the motion was agreed to. committee of the whole. The Convention accordingly resolved itself into Committee of the Whole, (the President remaining in the Chair,) for the consideration of Article I of the Constitution, entitled Decla- ration of Rights. The SECRETARY read Section 1, as fol- lows : — Section 1. All men are by nature free and equal, and have certain inalienable right.s, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty; ac- quiring, possessing, and protecting proj^erty ; and pur- suing and obtaining safety and happiness. No amendment being offered to this section, it was agreed to. PARAMOUNT ALLEGIANCE. Section 2 was read, as follows : — • Sec. 2. All political power is inherent in the people. Government is instituted for the protection, security, and benefit of the people ; and they have the right to alter or reform the same whenever the public good may require it. But the paramount allegiance of every citizen is due to the Federal Government; and no pow- er exists in the people of this or any other State of the Federal Union to dissolve their connection therewith, or perform any act tending to impair, subvert or resist the supreme authority of the Government of the Uni- ted States. The Constitution of the United States con- fers full power on the Federal Government to maintain and perjietuate its existence, and whensoever any por- tion of the States, or people thereof, attempt to secede from the Federal Union, or forciblj' resist the execution of its laws, the Federal Government may, by warrant of the Constitution, employ armed force in compelling obedience to its authority. Mr. BANKS. I propose the following amend- ment: after the words "Federal Government," where they first occur, insert the words, "in the exercise of all its Constitutional powers." Mr. FITCH. I offer an amendment to the amendment, to add after the amendment pro- posed by the gentleman from Humboldt, the words, " as the same have been or may be de- fined by the Federal Judiciary." Also, to strike out the last clause of the section commencing : 42 DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. [3d day. Wednesday.] Banks— Fitch— NouRSE — Proctor — DeLong — Brosnax. [July 6. " The CoDstitutioa of the Uaited States confers full power." &c. Mr. BANKS. I understand, from a cursory examination of this amendment, that all the change proposed to be made by the gentleman, is the insertion of those words : "as interpret- ed by the Federal Courts ;" or substantially that. Mr. FITCH. Yes, sir. Mr. BANKS. Presuming that that was im- plied in the language of my amendment, I did not insert it ; but I most cheerfully accept the amendment. Mr. NOURSE. I move to amend that amend- ment, by striking out all after the words, "due to the Federal Government." It seems to me that we would then say, and say well, all that need be said by us, and anything more than that would be merely a gloss upon the Federal Constitution — a construction of ours, which would not affect the interpretation of that in- strument in any manner whatsoever. When we say that paramount allegiance is due to the Federal Government, of coui'se we mean, in its Constitutional powers only. Not to the men who happen to be at the head of the Govern- ment, but to the Government itself, is our alle- giance due ; an allegiance paramount to that which is due to the State Government, I think it would be the worst of errors to undertake to venture further than that, and to attempt to define the respective spheres of the Slate and National Governments, and I therefore have of- fered this amendment, to strike out all that concluding portion, Mr. BAiNKS. I just wish to state, very brief- ly, what I understand to be the philo.sophy of this section, as amended by the gentleman from Storey, (Mr. Fitch,) which amendment was ac- cepted by myself. Now, the gentleman who has just addressed the Chair and myself very materially differ as to the theory upon which this Government was framed. I understand it to be, as we propose to express it by this sec- tion, simply this, — that in the first place, as we say, our paramount allegiance under the Con- stitution, as interpreted by the Supreme Court of the United States, is due to the Government of the Unit d States, But, as a State, we also, in our Constitution, say, that whatever questions may be raised, we waive all claims to the fol- lowing enumerated rights. However the Su- preme Court may decide ; however much they may be disposed to accede ; we, as the Slate ot Nevada, waive all our claims to any rights em- braced in the following enumerated cases. No power, we say, exii^ts in the people of this or any other State of the Federal Union to per- form any act tending to im])air. subvert, or re- sist the authority of the Government. Even if the Courts give that power, we disclaim it. Again, we say that the Constitution of the Uni- ted States confers full power on the Govern- ment to maintain its existence: — And whensoever any portion of the .States, or people thereof, attempt to secede from the Federal Union, or forcibly resist the execution of its laws, the Federal Government may, by warrant of the Constitution, em- ploy armed force in compelling obedience to its au- thority. I understand, then, that we are just in this position : We recognize the Constitution of the United States as paramount ; we yield obedi- ence to that, as interpreted by the Supreme Court ; and further, we disclaim all claim or pretension to any right or authority in the cases enumerated in the latter part of the section. Mr. PROCTOR. I desire to offer an amend- ment to these various amendments : to strike out all the latter part of the section. The CHAIRMAN (interrupting.) There is already an amendment to an amendment. Mr. DeLONG. The amendment to the amend- ment was offered by my colleague, (Mr. Fitch), and it was accepted by the gentleman from Humboldt. (Mt Bank.s). Being now, therefore, a part of the original amendment, an amend- ment to that, I think, would be in order, Mr, NOURSE, I think the gentleman is mistaken. The amendment of the gentleman from Storey being accepted, I moved to amend the amendment by striking out all after the words " duo to the Federal Government." Mr. PROCTOR. I offer my amendment as a substitute. I move to strike out all after " may require it," at the end of the second sentence, so as to leave the section reading as follows: — Sec. 2. All political power is inherent in the people. Government is instituted for the protection, security and benefit of the people ; and they have the right to alter or reform the same whenever the public good may require it. Mr. BROSNAN. I rise to a point of order. I apprehend that that is not a substitute for the amendments. It proposes to strike out those portions to which amendments are pending, and those amendments must first be acted upon. Mr. FITCH. I trust, Mr. Chairman, that we shall not forget, while we are desirous of ex- pressing our individual and collective patriot- ism, that we have, at the same time, a duty to perform requiring calmness and deliberate con- sideration. I trust that we shall not cease to remember, while we are expressing our patri- otic sentiments and feelings, that we are at the same time called upon to protect our own local rights. The PRESIDENT, (interrupting.) If the gentleman will yield for one moment — there was a point of order raised by the gentleman from Storey, (Mr. Brosnan.) Mr. FITCH. I thought that had already been decided. The PRESIDENT. The Chair will rule that the point of order is not well taken. The gen- tleman from Nye, (Mr. Proctor), offers his amendment as a substitute, and it can be con- sidered as such. Mr. FITCH. I understand that the substi- tute offered by the gentleman from Nye is now before the committee. Now. Mr. Chairman, I should equally oppose what I should regard as 3d day.] DECLARATION OF IMGHTS. 43 Wednesday,] l^'rrc'H. [July 6. a manifestation of that lack of patriotism that would fail, in the formation of an organic law, to express a proper allegiance and devotion to the Government of the United States, and that enthusiastic zeal which would encumber our declaration of rights with ambiguity. We should be particularly careful to avoid either extreme, and especially should we be careful when the waves of revolution are surging over all this land, that we do not through a zealous, through what I may perhaps properly designate as an over-zealous devotion to political ab- stractions, permit ourselves to be led into inserting in our organic law provisions or ex- pressions which may properly be classed as ambiguous, and which, perhaps, those who come after us may find it extremely difBcult to understand or explain. Now, sir, if we are wedded to this phrase "paramount allegiance" — a phrase which I may be permitted to say is an unhappy combi- nation of terms at the best, because allegiance is the attribute of sovereignty, and sovereignty is supreme, an integral part of itself, an ulti- mate atom which cannot be divided, and there- fore there can be no such thing as a paramount allegiance — I say if we are wedded to this phrase, why not explain in what it consists, and wl3at we mean by the expression? As to the rest of the language of this original section — that the "Constitution of the United States confers full power on the Federal Government," etc., and that upon any " attempt to secede from the Federal Union, or forcibly resist the execu- tion of its laws, the Federal Government may, by warrant of the Constitution, employ armed force," etc., I suppose no one will insist on its being placed in the section, because it follows by implication among the powers of Govern- ment. But if we insert the words, " but the paramount allegiance of e\ery citizen is due to the Federal Government," then I am in fa- vor of adding the words, " in the exercise of all its Constitutional powers, as the same have been or may be defined by the Federal Judi- ciary." I trust that no gentleman will misunderstand my position on this question. I yield to no man in my devotion to the Federal Union, nor in my abhorrence of the doctriuts of secession and nullificatiou. And I have no hesitation iu avowiug my belief in the full and complete right and Constitutional power of the Govern- ment to put down any and all attempts to sub- vert its authority by armed force. It has that power, and I believe it ought to and will con- tinue to exercise that power, as it is exercising it now, until the last vestige of the rebellion is driven from the land. I believe that above all the flames of war, the groans of the dying, the shrieks of the wountled in battle, and above all the turmoil and strife of this wicked rebellion, the power and dignity of the Federal Government will stand unmoved, unsubverted, undestroyed. But, nevertheless, I believe that while we should express our loyalty at all proper times, and in all proper places, there is no necessity of making a useless parade of it. I do not think that by stopping here after the words " Federal Government," omitting what follows to the end of the section, and inserting instead an explanation of the paramount alle- giance therein referred to, we shall either be bringing our loyally into disrepute, or doing any injustice to those who are to come after us, and who may not, and certainly will not, with such ambiguous expressions as are here con- tained, be able to explain exactly what we meant in this Declaration of Rights. I believe, Mr. Chairman, that the allegiance, and not only the allegianee, but the property, the life, and all that he has, of every citizen is due to his Government ; but I believe there is no such thing as a " paramount " allegiance. If the Congress of the United States shall pass a law which is unpleasant, odious or repulsive to any portion of the people of the United States, and that law shall be declared constitutional by the Federal Judicial tribunals, I believe it is our duty to obey it, without any attempt at resistance. And if the local Legislature passes a law that is unpleasant to the people of the United States, and that local law passed by the local Legislature be declared constitutional, also, by the Federal Judicial tribunals, we owe just as much allegiance to that law as we do to any law passed by Congress. A constitutional law, enacted by Congress, declared constitu- tional by the Federal Judicial tribunals, and a constitutional law enacted by the Legislatui'e of the State of Nevada, declared constitutional by the Federal Judicial tribunals, are equally binding, and equal allegiance is due to both. There can be, therefore, no such thing as a par- amount allegiance, because " paramount " im- plies superior, and the allegiance due to one constitutional law is not superior to the alle- giance due to another. The allegiance of the citizen is equally due to either, whether it be a Federal or a State law. I should be sorry. Mr. Chairman, while I am earnestly desirous that the loyalty of the peo- ple of Nevada shall be properly expressed in her organic law, to see her come limping, and halting, and bound, into the Union. I should be sorry to see her come into the sisterhood of States hampered by an ambiguity. I should be sorry to see her enter the Union lied hand and foot, when such a thing is odious to the self- respect of the citizen, and is uncalled for by the necessities of the times, or by the requirements of the Enabling Act, which gives us the right to form a State Government, and become a State. I do not intend, and indeed I would not have the right to use the time of the Convention by opening up a discussion of the relative rights of the Federal and State Governments, and the relative allegiance due to the Federal and to the State Constitutions. We all under- stand that where the local laws come in con- flict with the Constitution and laws of the Uni- ted States, the latter over-ride and blot out the 44 DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. [3d day. Wednesday,] Fitch — Earl — DeLong — Proctok. [July 6. former, and therefore no paramount alleofiance, nor any other allegiance, is due to the State law in sucli case, because all allegiance is due to the one, and none to the other. But, at the same time, when our Constitution and laws are in accordance with, and not hostile to, the letter or spirit of the Constitution and laws of the United States, we owe just as much allegi- ance to the laws passed by the Stale Legisla- ture, as we do to the laws passed l)y Congress. Why, Mr. Chairman, what do gentlemen want ? Is not this language strong enough, and loyal enough ? It says that our paramount al- legiance is due to the Federal Government. How? What does it mean? Clearly that it is due to the Federal Government in the exercise of its constitutional powers. Gentlemen surely do not mean to say that our allegiance is due to the Federal Government in the exercise of un- constitutional powers ; because if we say that, we reduce all government to anarchy. We place ourselves at the absolute mercy of any despotic government which may chance by the exigencies of the hour to obtain the control of affairs. When we say '-paramount allegiance," we should define what we mean, and say that the " paramount allegiance of every citizen is due to the Federal Government in the exercise of all its constitutional powers." Is there any objection to that ? Now, who is to define those Constitutional powers? I do not advocate the theory that the State Judiciary, the Legislature of the State, or the Executive, or the people of the State, should be allowed to judge of the Constitution- ality of an act of Congress. If I were to say that, I should be advocating a wrong. I should be advocating, or at least giving my influence, to the theory of nullification, — a theory which I condemn and reprobate. But I say, "the paramount allegiance of every citizen is due to the Federal Government in the exercise of all its Constitutional powers, as the same have been or may be defined by tlie Federal Judicia- ry." That is the tribunal by which they are to be defined. Surely the most uncompromising loyalty, the most intense and unmitigated de- votion to the Government, can ask no more than that AVill gentlemen consider this question ? Why should we wish to fetter the people who will come after us with an ambiguity ? Why not define what we mean ? Tlie most intense patriotism cannot, certainly, object to our say- ing that we mean only that our allegiance is due to the Federal Government in the exercise of its constitutional powers as defined by the Federal Judicial tribunals. 1 trust that gentle- men will consider that it is a fundamental law that we are framing. — not a political platform, nor tlie resolutions of a mass met'ting. I trust that we shall exhil)it a decent, respectful, and proper patriotism ; a patriotism that shall be in accordance with the ideas and wishes of our constituents; and at the same time, that we shall frame an organic law that may be explain- ed and understood by those who come after us. and not engraft in it a wild, Jacobinical creed. We enter the Union, sir, — if the people shall decree that we enter it at this time — under cir- cumstances most peculiar. Our young State will be battle-born, but she will live and grow when the civil strife surrounding us shall have become only a memory. The organic law we are creating will be a rule of action, I trust, for a great people, when the gates of eternity shall have closed upon the old age of our grand-children. Our functions are higher than those of any body legislating only for the im- mediate future, and our sense of responsibility should be so much greater. Let us try and be prudent, if we cannot be altogether wise. Let us not mar the symmetry of the structure we hope to erect by the language. of extravagance, even if it be the extravagance of loyalty, or by the insertion of an uncomely surplusage of what those who come after us may designate as questionable, and indistinct patriotism. In a word, let us keep our political extravagances for our political platforms, and make our Con- stitution an enduring chart of government, rather than a string of glittering and unex- plained generalities. Mr. EARL. I desire to offer an amendment to the amendment, or substitute pending. My amendment is, to strike out the third sentence, or paramount allegiance clause, altogether ; and I will ask the Secretary to read the section as it will then stand. The SECRETARY read as follows :— Sec. 2. All political power is inherent in the peo- ple. Government is instituted for the pi-otection, se- curity and benefit of the people; and they have the right to alter or reform the same whenever the pubho good may require it. The Constitution of the United States confers full power on the Federal Government to maintain and perpetuate its existence, and whenso- ever any jjortion of the States, or people thereof, at- tempt to secede from the Federal Union, or forcibly resist the execution of its laws, the Federal Govern- ment may, by warrant of the Constitution, employ armed force in compelling obedience to its authority. Mr. EARL. Now, Mr. Chairman, it seems to me that this is all we want. Mr. DeLONG, (interrupting.) I rise to a question of order. It is a disagreeable duty, and esp(!cially so in the case of my colleague, but it must be done, because if the violation of the rule is tolerated in this instance it must be again. My point is, that an amendment to an amendment is as far as we can go in the way of amendments. We have tolerated a substi- tute beyond that, but we certainly cannot amend a substitute, under any rules, or under the most lilx'ral construction of any rules. Mr. PROCTOR said he would accept of Mr. Earl's amendment in the place of his own sub- stitute. Mr. DkLONG contended that still Mr. Earl's amendment was not in order, under the rules as laid down in Jefferson's Manual. Mr. PROCTOR said he would withdraw his substitute altogether, to allow Mr. Earl's to come in. 3d day.] DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. 45 Wednesday,] E.tRL— President — DeLong — Hawley. [July 6. Mr. EARL offered his amendment as a substi- tute. Ttie PRESIDENT. Tlie question now comes up whether or not a substitute is in order, an amendment, and an amendment to an amend- ment being pending. The Chair has heretofore been led into error in its ruling on this point, because we have ordinarily been governed by the rules adopted by legislatures, and what ot experience the Chair has had has mostly been in the California Legislature, in which, under the rules, or at least under the prevailing practice, substitutes have been recognized. But upon examination of Jefierson's Manual, which now governs us, I can nowhere find substitutes recognized at all. I think we can go no fur- ther than an amendment to an amendment, under the rules we have adopted, and the substi- tute is therefore not in order. The question now is on the amendment proposed by the gentle- man from Washoe (Mr. Nourse) to the amend- ment offered by the gentleman from Humboldt (Mr. BanliS). The apparent confusion has arisen from the frequent changes of the rules ; we have this morning fallen back upon Jeffer- son's Manual as embodying our only rules, and if we understand and adhere to these, there will be no confusion or difficulty in the future. Mr. DeLONG. The pending amendment oi the gentleman from Washoe, I understand, is to strike out all after " Federal Government," where those words occur in the section. Now. Mr. Chairman, I like this language which it is proposed to strike out — No power exists in the people of this or any other State of the Federal Union to dissolve theii' connection therewith, or perform any act tending to impair, sub- vert or resist the supreme authority of the (govern- ment of the United States. The Constitution of the United States confers full power on the Federal Gov- ernment to maintain and perpetuate its existence, and whensoever any portion of the States, or people thereof, attempt to secede from the Federal Union, or forcibly resist the execution of its laws, the Federal Government may, by warrant of the Constitution, em- ploy armed force in comxJelling obedience to its au- thority. It may be considered as surplusage, possibly, but in no other way, I think, can that lan- guage be deemed objectionable, at least by persons who are presumed to be of the proper way of thinking politically, that is, by m.-n who disbelieve in the doctrine of the right oi secession, which class includes the major por- tion of our community at the present time. I would like very much to see the amendment adopted which was offered by my colleague. (Mr. Fitch,) or by the gentleman from Hum boldt, (Mr. Banks,) and amended by my col- league, but striking out the balance of tbe sec- tion might give dissatisfaction to some of oui Union brethren, and really I do not know but they would have good reason for dissatisfac- tion. Mr. HAWLEY. I trust, most sincerely, that the amendment offered by the gentleman from Washoe will not prevail. The gentleman from Storey, (Mr. DeLong,) stated a moment siuca that the only possible objection which he im- agined could be urged against this latter por- tion of Section 2, now under consideration, wag that of surplusage. I have examined it care- fully, very frequently before I came to this Con- vention, and quite frequently since, and I am utterly at a loss, taking into consideration the present condition of our national affairs, to perceive that there is anything like surplusage, or anything like tautology in the section. There is not a word in it, in my opinion, which can possibly be objectionable to a man who stands hrmly and squarely upon that platform which every man who loves his country ought to stand upon at this time. It is generally understood and conceded that all rights and powers not delegated to the Gov- ernment are reserved. Now, Mr. Chairman, we delegate, negatively, certain rights to the Fed- eral Government. We insert in this section, if it be adopted, a declaration that the Federal Government has a right to compel the obedi- ence of all its subordinate members, if any at- tempt is made to set aside any enactment of the Federal Government. And that, sir, is a doctrine to which every loyal man ought to be willing to subscribe. It is a doctrine which every true man ought to be willing to see written in letters of fire upon the firmament, that he who runs may read. There is one objection, however, which might possibly be urged to this Section 2, leaving out the amendment proposed by the gentleman from Storey, (Mr. Fitch,) but it is an objection which would probably only be raised by men who are tainted with the heresy of State flights. And the amendment proposed by the gentleman from Storey covers that ground precisely and exactly. He who is unwilling to subscribe to the doctrine that the paramount lUegiance of every citizen is due to the Fed- .■ral Government in the exercise of its consti- tutional powers, as prescribed, and direct d, and exemplified by the decisions of the Federal courts, certainly cannot, I think, claim to re- present fairly and correctly the loyal senti- ments of the people of the Territory of Nevada. And, sir, I trust, in view of the position of our national affairs — in view of the duty which rests upon this Convention to place themselves fairly and squarely upon the record, that any motion to strike out this language, so eminently proper, just, and correct, may be overruled by ihe Convention, and that the motion of the gen- ileman from Humboldt, as amended by the .centleman from Storey, may prevail by the unanimous voice of this Convention. That action will do more to give confidence to the loyal people of this Territory— more to satisfy them that their delegates are men who do not -brink from their duty — than any other course whicli we might pursue. By incorporating the cunendments proposed into this section, we shall render our meaning clear and plain to every man who can read and properly construe the English language. And not only that, but we 46 DECLARATIOX OF RIGHTS. [3d day. Wednesday,] NOURSE. [July 6. shall silence every argument which could be made against this section when presented to the loyal people of Nevada— arguments which would be employed by those men who, whether openly ur covertly, are acting in sympathy with that party which has plunged this country into rebellion and war, and made a Golgotha of many a beautiful valley in the East. Mr. 5.0URSE. I wish to state very briefly my reasons for moving the amendment which I offered. If no amendment had been offend, I should have been content to let the section stand ; but if it is to be amended at all, I would like, of course, to have it so ti.xed as to satisfy my own ideas, as no doubt other gentlemen would like to amend it so as to suit their own peculiar views. On one side of the House the objection is taken, that by striking out what my amend- ment proposes to strike out. the section would be left too loyal, while, on the other hand, the gentleman who last spoke seems to think it would not leave it loyal enough. Perhaps the true medium is just between the two extremes — in medio iutis,si7nus ibis. It leaves, as the only clause in the Constitution on this subject of par- amount allegiance, the clause already there — " But the paramount allegiance of every cit- izen is due to the Federal Government." That clause — precisely that, no more and no less — is in the Constitution of the United States. It may not be necessary to insert it here in our Constitution ; but in these days of secession heresy it has been thought best that Nevada should recognize that doctrine fully in her fundamental law — that she should assert it full out, flat-footed ; and I think she should Other State.s have not done so in their Consti- tutions, it is true ; but that is because the ques- tion has not been raised heretofore practically on that point, as it has been during the lasi few years, under tiie clause in the Constitution of the United States. I understand that what we mean to express is no more? and no less than that the Constitution of the United States, and the laws of the United States, and all treaties made by the United States under the authority of the Constitution, shall be the supreme law of the land. The Constitution of the United States says that. The language of that instru- ment is : — This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and aU treaties made, or which shall be made under the au- thority of the United States, shall be the supreme law -olutiou adopt- ing the Constitution of the Unified States, ancj 3d day.] ORDINANCE. 51 Wednesday,] Crosman — Collins — President — Tozer — DeLong — Sturtevaxt. [July 6. I would like to see that resolution incorporated with this Ordinance. Mr. CROSMAN. I suppose that can be ar- ranged hereafter. I move that the Ordinance be read a second time by title, and referred to the Committee of the Whole. The question was taken, and the motion was agreed to. The Ordinance was read a second time by title, and referred accordingly. RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE U. S. COXSTITDTIOX. Mr. CHAPIN. Now I move that the resolu- tion adopted yesterday, be also referred to the Committee of the Whole. The PRt;SIDENT. That resolution has al- ready been adopted by the Convention, and it would seem superfluous now to refer it. Mr. DeLONG. We might reconsider the adoption of the resolution. Mr. BROSNAN. I suppose all there is to be done, is to give the resolution a place in con- nection with the Constitution. Its adoption is all that the Enabling Act requires. Mr. COLLINS. I suppose it should be adopt- ed with all the formalities. If through inad- vertance or haste we have adopted it in an im- proper manner, I hope we shall reconsider it. COL. CRADLEBACGH. Mr. HAWLEY. I observe that there is a distinguished gentleman in the House, whom I am sure we all delight to honor, and I move that Col. Cradlebaugh be invited to take a seat within the bar of the Convention. [Applause.] The PRESIDENT. I suppose to that motion there is no dissenting voice. Col. Cradlebaugh will please take a seat inside the bar. Col. Cradlebaugh came forward within the bar and was provided with a seat. THE RESOLUTION — AGAIN. Mr. COLLINS. To facilitate matters, I move to reconsider the vote by which the Convention yesterday passed the resolution adopting the Constitution of the United States. The PRESIDENT. The first duty of the Convention was to adopt that resolution. That was required to be done before the adoption, even, of any rules ; and the records of the Convention show that it has been done. That is all, in the opinion of the Chair, that de- volved upon the Convention to do ; and that having been done, and evidenced by the records of our proceedings, it stands in a position dififerent from any other suViject matter before the Convention. If, however, it is the opinion of the Convention that anything more is neces- sary to perfect the adoption of the Constitution of the United States, the Chair will be happy to put any motion which may be made. Mr. TOZER. The Enabling Act itself, I was about to observe, prescribes the time when this act was to be done — the adoption of the Con- stitution of the United States — namely, imme- diately following the organization of the Con- vention ; and now, after the lapse of a day or two, to reconsider the vote by which we com- plied, at the proper time, with the requirement of the Enabling Act, seems to be out of place, at least, if not out of order. I oppose the mo- tion on that ground. Mr. COLLINS. As the reconsideration does not meet with the approbation of the Conven- tion, I withdraw the motion. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE. On motion, the Convention resolved itself into Committee of the Whole, (Mr. Chapin in the Chair,) for the consideration of the Ordi- nance just previously introduced by Mr. Col- lins, in relation to slavery, religious toleration, and the public lands. ORDINANCE C0NCER^^NG SLAVERY, ETC. The Ordinance was read by the Secretary. Mr. DeLONG. I move that the Committee rise, report the ordinance back to the Conven- tion, and recommend its passage. Mr. STURTEVANT. I would inquire if this ordinance would not conflict with our right to the si.xteenth and thirty-sixth sections of the public lands, which belong to us, under the Enabling Act. Mr. COLLINS. In answer to that sugges- tion, I will say that the Enabling Act provides that the sixteenth and thirty-sixth sections in every township, or their equivalents in other lands, where such sections have been otherwise disposed of, shall belong to us for common schools; and, in addition to that, there are numerous other grants of public lands. Fur- ther than that, we are to be admitted on an equal footing with all the other States, which gives us the swamp and overflowed lands within our limits. This ordinance will not conflict with those rights and grants at all. The question was taken on the motion that the Committee rise and report the ordinance back to the Convention, and it was agreed to. IN CONVENTION. The PRESIDENT having resumed the chair, The CHAIRMAN reported that the Commit- tee of the Whole had had under consideration the Ordinance relating to slavery, etc., and had instructed him to report the same back to the Convention without amendment, and recom- mend its passage. On motion of Mr. DeLONG, the report was received and the Ordinance placed on file. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE. On motion of Mr. DeLONG, the Convention resolved itself into Committee of the Whole, (the President remaining in the chair), for the further consideration of Article I, entitled Declaration of Rights. PARAMOUNT ALLEGIANCE. The question was stated on agreeing to sec- tion two, which was read by the Secretary, as heretofore amended, as follows : — 52 DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. [3d day. Wednesday.] Brossax — DeLong — Secretary — Fitch — Banks. [July 6. Sec. 2. All political power is inherent in the people. Government is instituted for the protection, security and benefit of the people; and they have the right to alter or reform the same whenever the public good may require it. But the paramount allegiance of every citizen is due to the Federal Government in the exer- cise of all its constitutional powers, as the same have been or may be defined by the Federal Judiciary; and no power exists in the people of this or any other State of the Federal Union to dissolve their connection therewith or perform any act tending to impair, sub- vert or resist the supreme authority of the Govern- ment of the United States. Mr. BROSNAN. I now ofiFer my amendment I propose to amend section two so as to read as follows : — Sec. 2. AH political power is inherent in the people. Government is instituted for the protection, security and benefit of the people; and they have a right to alter or reform the same whenever the public good may require it. But no power exists in the people of this or any other State of the Federal Union to dissolve their connection therewith, or to do any act tending to impair, subvert or resist the supreme authority of the Government of the United States. Mr. DeLONG. I rise for information in re- gard to tbe section as it now stands. As I understood ttie Secretary to read it, we have already stricken out the latter part of the printed section — all after the words " Govern- ment of the United States' — but 1 did not so understand the action of the Convention. The SECRETARY. I so understood it. Mr. DeLONG. No. sir ; nothing was stricken out. Only the words were inserted — " In the exercise of all its constitutional powers, as the same have been or may be defined by the Fed- eral Judiciary."' The SECRETARY. I understood that the proposition of the gentleman from Storey, (Mr. Fitch), was not only to insert certain words, but to strike out the latter part of the section ; and that it was accepted by the gentleman from Humboldt (Mr. Banks). Mr. FITCH. My motion was that we leave off there — at the words " Government of the United States" — striking out that latter por- tion of the section. I regarded it as entirely unnecessary. Mr. DeLONG. Well, then, most certainly there has been a misunderstanding. The CHAIRMAN. If that was the amend- ment, I voted under a misapprehension. [Several voices — '• So did I."] Mr. BANKS. When the gentleman from Storey offered his amendment, I asked what he intended by it, and he said he intended nothing more than to add, after my amendment, the words, " as the same have been or may be de- fined by the Federal Judiciary."' It was with that understanding that I accepted the amend- ment. Mr. FITCH. It is true that I stated that as my object, but at the same time my amend- ment went further, as will be seen by examina- tion. It was read as I offered it. and in my remarks I referred to the concluding portion of the section as uanecessary or surplusage. I supposed it was understood by the Convention. Mr. BANKS. The words I sent up were I simply these : "Amend by adding after the I word ' Government,' in line seven, the words ' in I the e.xercise of all its Constitutional powers.'" j And to that was added these words : "As the j same have been or may be defined by the Fed- ; eral Judiciary." These words were inserted, ! and I certainly voted under a most monstrous ; misapprehension if anything was stricken out. Mr. DeLONG. I will ask my colleague nearest me, (Mr. Brosnan), to consent to with- draw his amendment for a moment, in order I that we may get this misunderstanding straight. I will then move to amend the section as it now stands by adding the portion which has been stricken out through a misapprehension. Mr. BROSNAN. Very well ; I withdraw it. Mr. DeLONG. I now move to amend Sec- tion 2 by adding the words which follow "Gov- ernment of the United States," in the Section as printed, to wit : " The Constitution of the United States confers full power on the Federal Government to maintain and perpetuate its existence, and whensoever any portion ol the States, or people thereof, attempt to secede from the Federal Union, or forcibly resist the execution of its laws, the Federal Government may, by warrant of the Constitution, employ armed force in compelling obedience to its authority." Mr. FITCH. I am willing to accept the amendment. I am not tenacious about it, but I do not think the language is necessary. The question was taken, and the amendment was adopted. Mr. BROSNAN. I now renew my amend- ment. The SECRETARY again read Mr. Brosnan's amendment. Mr. BROSNAN. I wish. Mr. President, to say a word or two in regard to my position, in oflering this amendment. I acknowledge per- fect adherence to and belief in the truth of the section as it now stands in the old Consti- tution. There is not an idea or a word in it to which I do not yield implicit credence and obe- dience. I consider, however, that the last part of the section, commencing with the words — " Tbe Constitution of the United States con- fers full power " might very well be left out, because all expressed therein is necessarily im- plied as one of the first principles of govern- mental existence. Every government must have that vital element of power, or it is no government. It must necessarily be able to enforce obedience to its authority in all respects. Hence, upon the ground of its being super- fluous, I would have that portion omitted. And inasmuch as some gentlemen have expressed dissatisfaction with the term " paramount alle- giance," I have omitted those words also, in or- der that we may unite as speedily as possible upon the idea, or upon a section which shall accord all the vitality and power to the Gov- ernment that could be embodied in it by the use of th(jse words, and at the same time not give oft'ense to any person. In this way, I trust, we may come to a vote speedily, and dispose of this dilScult question. 3d day.] DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. 53 Wednesday,] Sturtevaxt — DeLoxg — Chair>L'VX — Fitch — Hawley — Banks. [July 6. Mr. STURTEVANT. I desire to ask whether this is a substitute for the whole section or an addition. Mr. BROSNAN. If it is adopted as I offer it, it will be a complete section of itself. The question was taken on the amendment offered by Mr. Brosnan, and upon a division it was not agreed to — ayes, 6 ; noes, 20. The question recurred upon the adoption of Section 2, as amended. Mr. DeLONG. I move, instead of adopting the section by a vote, that when the Committee rise they report Section 2 back to the Conven- tion, as amended. I think that would be a more proper course. The CHAIRMAN. It occurs to me that we had better adopt the sections as far as we go, and then when we get through with the Arti- cle the motion to report back will apply to the whole. After the Committee has amended and adopted the sections as a Committee we can go back into Convention and adopt the amend- ments of the Committee, or further amend. Mr. DeLONG. Very well. I will ask for the reading of the section as it now stands, be- fore the vote is taken on its adoption. The section, as amended, was read as fol- lows : — " Sec. 2. All political power is inherent in the peo- ple. Government is instituted for the protection, se- curity, and benefit of the people ; and they have the right to alter or reform the same whenever the piibUc good may require it. But the paramount allegiance of every citizen is due to the Federal Government, in the exercise of all its constitutional powers, as the same have been or may be detined by the Federal Judiciary ; and no power exists in the people of this or any other State of the Federal Union to dissolve their connection therewith, or perform any act tending to impair, sub- vert, or resist the supreme authority of the Govern- ment of the United States. The Constitution of the United States confers full power on the Federal Gov- ernment to maintain and perpetuate its existence, and whensoever any portion of the States, or people there- of, attempt to secede from the Federal Union, or forci- bly resist the execution of its laws, the Federal Gov- ernment may, by warrant of the Constitution, employ armed force in compelling obedience to its authority." The question was taken on the adoption of the section, as read, and it was adopted. TRIAI, BY JURY. Section 3 was read, as follows : — Sec. 3. The right of trial by jury shall be secure to all, and remain inviolate forever; but a jury trial may be waived by the parties, in all ci^'il cases, in the man- ner to be prescribed by law; and if three-fourths of the jurors agree upon a verdict, it shall stand and have the same force and effect as a verdict by the whole jury; provided, the Legislature, by a two-thtrds vote of each branch thereof, may require a unanimous ver- dict notwithstanding this provision, Mr. FITCH. I move to amend the section by striking out all after the words " prescribed by law.'' Mr. DeLONG. As an amendment to the portion proposed to be stricken out, I move to insert after the word "jurors," the words " in civil cases," so as to read " and if three-fourths of the jurors, in civil cases, agree upon a ver- dict," etc. Mr. CHAPIN. You will find that, " in all civil cases," a line or two above. Mr. DeLONG. That only applies to waiving a jury. Mr. HAWLEY. If the gentleman will give way for a moment I will offer an amendment which I think will cover the case as he desires. I will move to insert after the words " upon a verdict," the words " in civil cases. Mr. DeLONG. That only puts it in a differ- ent place. My object, and I presume the object of the gentleman from Douglas is the same, is this : I am willing to allow a three-fourths verdict in civil cases, but I want to require a unanimous verdict in all criminal cases. As it now stands, three-fourths of a jury may convict a man of a criminal offense, the wisdom of which innovation I doubt. Mr. HAWLEY. We cannot be too explicit in cases of so much importance, where the con- struction of the constitutional provision might be diflScult, and perhaps disputed. Mr. DeLONG. I think the amendment will come in better after "jurors" than after " ver- dict," although I have read it hastily. Or sup- pose we insert it between " and " and " if," so as to read " and, in civil cases, if three-fourths of the jurors agree upon a verdict," etc. Mr. BANKS. That will make it good lan- guage. Mr. HAWLEY. I will accept that as my amendment. The CHAIRMAN. Under the rule, the ques- tion will first be on the amendment of the gen- tleman from Douglas, (Mr. Hawley,) as mod- ified by the gentleman from Storey (Mr. DeLong). The question was taken, and on a division the amendment wasagreed t.i ; ayes, 22 — noes, 6. The question recurred on the amendment offered by Mr. Fitch, to strike out all the sec- tion following the words " prescribed by law." Mr. BANKS. I have an amendment which would be in order now, but I prefer that the vote should first be taken on the proposition now before the Convention. Mr. FITCH raised a question of order, that after a vote striking out or refusing to strike out a portion of the section, it would not be open to amendment. After some discussion, the Chairman decided that it would be necessary to perfect the clause before taking the vote on the proposition to strike out. Mr. BANKS. Then I will offer my amend- ment now, as it proposes to perfect that por- tion which the gentleman from Storey desires to strike out. I move to insert after the word "if" the words "the number prescribed by law, which shall not be less than ;" also, to strike out the whole of the proviso following the words " the whole jury ;" so that the sec- tion would read : Sec. 3. The right of trial by jury shall be secured to all, and remain inviolate forever; but a jury trial may be waived by the parties in all civil cases, in the manner to be prescribed by law; and in civil cases, if 54 DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. [3d day. Wednesda)-,] Fitch — Hawley — DeLoxg — Chaikmax. [July 6. the number prescribed by Jaw, wliich shall not be less | than three-fourths of the jurors, agree upon a verdict, ', it shall stand, and have the same force and effect as a | verdict by the whole jury. j What this amuiidmeiit affects, or what I pro- 1 pose to accomplisli by it, is simply this : To provide that the Legislature shall, in its dis- cretiou, prescribe by law that auy portion of a jury above and including three-lourths shall decide a civil case. That is the proposition embraced in my amendment, and nothing else. As this section now stands there is a provision to the effect that the Legislature, by a two- thirds vote of each house, may require a unan- imous verdict ; so that, as it now stands, there 1 is a discrimination in favor of allowing three- ; fourths to render a verdict, while I propose by ^ my amendment to maiie a discrimination against the three-fourths verdict. Mr. FITCH. I will not detain the Conven- tion two minutes, but here is as good a place as any to express my opposition to this whole theory of a three-fourths verdict. I consider it an innovation, and nothing else but exper- imental legislation, and I think an organic law is the last place in the world in which exper- imental legislation should be permitted or tol- erated. I know that there are arguments against compelling an entire jury to agree be- fore returning a verdict, but I think it is bet- ter to "bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of." And I think this thing has never been attempted in any other State in the Union. It is an ex- periment taken from the jury system of Scot- land, and I believe it would be about as illy fitted to this State as to any other in the world. I have no doubt that the proposition will pass, but I desire to enter on the record my opposi- tion to it. Mr. HAWLEY. Not knowing what the ac- tion of the Convention was likely to be on this subject, I favored the amendment which was first proposed by the gentleman from Storey, (Mr. DeLong,) and for which my amendment was afterwards substituted. But my mind is decidedly made up in opposition to the innova- tion which has biicn referred to by the other gentleman from Storey, (Mr. Fitch.) I cannot conceive that any good can possibly result from it. It is a well known fact to all at- torneys and counsellors-at-law that very fre- quently parties litigant, availing themselves of the right given to them by the statute, choose to have their cases tried by a sniall(,'r number than twulve jurors. Frequently five juror.s, or seven jurors, perhaps, are selected to try a case ; and in either of these cases it would, of course, l)e impossiljle to get a tlireo-fourlhs vote of the jury ; and then the result would be that the case would have to be remanded for a new trial, an event now of very frecjuent occurrence in the case of a jury's failing to agree. I can- not (or the life of me see how any good is to result to our judicial .system from this innova- tion. I voted for the amendment because I did not know whether this part of the section would be ultimately stricken out or not ; but I intended to move to strike it out myself, if nobody else had done so. I sincerely trust, in view of the difficulties which would surround the experiment, if adopted, and in view of the facts that experimental legislation is dangerous, and that the jury system of our country, as at present organized and established, furnishes sufficient protection to life and property, that the motion of the gentleman from Storey, (Mr. Fitch.) will prevail, and that all relating to this three-fourths experiment will be stricken out by the Convention. Mr. DeLONG. If I feared that the adoption of this article, or the defeat of the amendment of my colleague, (Mr. Fitch), would ever pro- duce such a disastrous result as to compel a District Judge to divide a man up into frac- tions in order to get an exact three-fourths vote of a jury, I should certainly vote for the amendment. But I have such an abiding con- fidence in the intelligence and humanity of the judges, that I do not believe they would ever allow a case to go to a jury of twelve, or of any less number, in such a way that it would be necessary to cut anybody up in order to get a fractional verdict. Now I will state that, as my colleague has said, it is true that this is an innovation upon our present jury system, but we find a precedent for it in the Scottish law, and the experience of that country, for many years, has been favorable to its operation. It is just such an innovation, it strikes me, as we ueed in this country. In my experience as an attorney, I find it is the man that has a bad cause, rather than he who has a good one, who, as a general thing, asks for a jury, with the hope of getting upon that jury at least one man of his way of thinking, in order to "hang" the jury. The CHAIRMAN. Then that one juror would be less humane than the judge you re- ferred to ; the one would divide up one man only, while the other would hang the whole jury. [Laughter.] Mr. DeLONG. Well, I know a great many jurors that, no doubt, ought to be hung. But, in all seriousness, Mr. (Chairman, I do think that this would be an innovation which would be ind rsisd by the people. I remember that, last fall, wlicn tliis C-onstitution, which we are now seeking to alter and improve, was earn- estly assailed by men excei'dingly desirous and anxious to find something in it which they could find fault with before the people ; when they came to that clause, the only objection they would venture to urge was, its applicability to criminal cases. They referred to the hardships which might result to persons unjustly accused of crime, and cited cases where one man alone, on a jury, had stood out, with apparent obsti- nacy, against a verdict of guilty, and the event had proved that he was correct, and by his firm- ness had savi'd an innocent man from the scaf- fold or the dungeon. And they insisted that 3d day.] DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. 55 Wednesday,] E.UIL — ^Wabwick. [July 6. sach sacred rights as life and liberty should be carefully guarded, and not be allowed to be put in jeopardy by anything less than the unan- imous verdict of twelve of a man's peers — that unless a jury of twelve impartial men all agree that he is guilty, the man shall not go to the scaffold or the dungeon — that the case should be so clear as to convince the minds of the whole twelve, or that mercy should intervene with a doubt, and snatch the accused from the impending danger. But no one questioned, during that canvass, the propriety of the three- fourths verdict in civil cases, because it is well known that there is no place under the canopy of Heaven where, in the experience of men, it has been found so difficult to prevent one man at least, on a jury, from being tampered with, as in this country ; and especially in these min- ing cases, involving immense interests. One man stands out, and thus enables a company to continue in possession of a rich mine, adminis- tering its proceeds, and enjoying its revenue, to the detriment of the proper owners, all through the trickery, and dishonesty, perhaps, of that one man, until, in the course of time, perhaps a year or two, the case comes up on the calendar for a new trial. I think this is an innovation to which the people will consent, and that the verdict by tliree-fourths or more of a jury, will be found in practice fully as safe, and even more likely to be right, than where one single juror has the power to stand out and " hang " the jury. Mr. EARL. I hope the section will be al- lowed to remain as it is. I have heard in Vir- ginia City of cases of this kind, where men have been known to say in advance that such and such cases could never come to trial, be- cause, as they said, " we can hang the jury.'" I think it is necessary for the general inter- est and good of the country, and for the pro- gress and development of our mines, that we should retain that section as it now stands. The civil cases which come before our Courts are of great importance, differing in that respect from those of California, or of any other State in which we have had any experience. I think we certainly should adopt this provision for a three-fourths verdict. Mr. WARWICK. I perfectly agree w^ith the gentleman from Storey, (Mr. DeLong,) in re- gard to the amendment proposed, providing that a unanimous verdict shall be required in all criminal cases. But there is surely less danger of injustice being done by a two-thirds verdict of a jury in civil cases than there would be under the requirement of a unan- imous decision. As the gentleman has urged upon the Convention, it is the easiest matter in the world, in cases pending before the Courts with probably a million of dollars, more or less, in the balance, to get at least one indi- vidual on the jury who can be improperly in- fluenced. It would certainly be easier to do that than it would if a verdict could be ren- dered by eight or nine out of the twelve. The object, undoubtedly, of all trials in the Courts is to secure justice to all parties, and that be- ing done, it is all the law requires. The im- portant point is to get at the readiest and surest means of securing justice, and if any gentleman can prove to me that a unanimous verdict will be more likely to secure that end than a two-thirds or three-fourths verdict would, then I certainly should vote for the former proposition. Still, in a criminal case, where the life of an individual may be trembling in the balance, I should be in favor of requiring a unanimous verdict, preferring rather to allow ninety-nine guilty men to escape than that one innocent man should suffer. But in a civil case, and, sometimes, perhaps, one of the utmost impor- tance, involving millions, or, at all events, hundreds of thousands of dollars, I certainly think that a three-fourths verdict would be more apt to secure justice to all parties than a unanimous verdict would be likely to do. I suppose that there is no gentleman, either exer- cising any judicial functions or engaged in prac- tising law in Nevada, but is fully aware of the manifest injustice which time and again liti- gants are subjected to, and the sometimes im- mense expense to which they are put, on ac- count of there being some improper persons on the jury. Perhaps, while the party thinks that he has carefully guarded every avenue of approach, he finds that still, by some means or other, some one man out of the twelve has been secured to the adverse interest, and he loses the verdict. The man who is thus se- cured by the artful policy of one or other of the litigants, is enabled to defeat the ends of justice. I hope the proposition contained in this section will carry, howev(# much it may be deemed to be dr proved to be an exper- iment. But, sir, it is not altogether an experiment. I believe that it has been tried in the State of Louisiana, or elsewhere, and that it is not, cer- tainly, altogether confined to Scotland. Of this, however, I will not be po.sitive. But, whether it is or not an experiment, I do not believe in sacrificing to any time-honored evil, simply because it has the sanction of time, if our present circumstances demonstrate to us that a new condition of things would be better for us, that a new system would work better in our country than the system of injus- tice to which we have submitted in the past, I am not, for one, certainly, afraid to try the experiment. Any melioration you might at- tempt to make, either in law or ethics, would meet with this same opposition in behalf of anything which has the sanction of time. You are always met with this old-time cry of "innovation!" No, sir! although I am in favor, where right guides tlie way, of treading in the beaten path, still, if innovation is neces- sary, I am not afraid to innovate. Why, sir, our government was an experiment in the past, but it has now the sanction of a great nation. 56 DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. [3d day, Wednesday,] Chapix — NouRSE — Fitch — DeLong — Brosxax. [July 6. I hope in this case we shall not fear to innovate where the ends of justice demand the adoption of this change in our judicial system. Mr. CHAPIN. The amendment proposed by my colleague, (Mr. Fitch), is to prevent this experiment, or this innovation, and to adhere to the old law, or rule of practice, of requiring a full verdict by a jury of twelve men. I hope that amendment will not prevail, because I want to try that experiment, or that innova- tion. This is the very country to try it in. Our circumstances are not like those of any other people in these United States. "We are, as my friend from Washoe, (Mr. Nourse), remarked yesterday, mostly immigrants here. We are from all parts of the world, unknown to each other. We have our juries .sitting upon cases where millions of dollars are at stake, and we are obliged to take men for such juries who are unknown to us, whose integrity has never had a test ; and we know that it has been proved, time and again, that some of those men can be approached — that they can be bribed to stand out — and verdicts have, in that manner, been prevented in cases where the greatest injustice has thereby been done. I have resided more than four years in this Territory, and I can go out into this community and count up scores of men who have been ruined in tliat very manner ; simply because twelve men were re- quired to find a verdict, and perhaps one single man who stood out would prevent it. The re- sult has been, that where poor men have been engaged in litigation with rich companies, they have been utterly unable to come into Court to try their causes over again. I see a great deal more safety in depending upon a verdict of three-fourths of a jury, than in requiring a unanimous verdict from twelve men whom you do not know. Therefore I hope the amend- ment will be voted down, and we shall adhere to the section as it stands. It will not apply to criminal cases, but to civil cases alone. And again, there is another safeguard in the fact that we leave it to the Legislature, so that if they, in their wisdom, think that the experi- ment does not work well, they can, by a vote of two-thirds, at any time alter the law, and re- quire a unanimous verdict. I say, let us try it. Mr. NOURSE. I am opposed to the amend- ment, for the reason that I like exceedingly this provision for a three-fourths verdict in civil cases. The reason for my objection to the pres- ent sytem is, that where interests of enormous magnitude are in litigation, it is quite easy to tamper with some one of the jurymen ; but where a verdict can be rendered by three- fourths, it make the number to be tampered with larger, and therefore increases the difficul- ties in the way of such tampering. I can see no great difficulty or danger in it, for when we go into the Supreme Court, and two judges out of three decide against us, we do not complain. But the gentleman from Douglas. (Mr Haw- ley), presents an argument against it on the score of humanity. Now I suppose that if a verdict by three-fourths of the jury is required, and a larger number than three-fourths should agree to it, it would not vitiate the verdict. The gentleman seems to think it would, and that, in such a case, instead of juries being "hung," they would have to be drawn and quartered. [Laughter.] I would like to know, if in the Scottish authorities, there are any cases mentioned of the division of jurymen in that way. Mr. FITCH. Men who are engaged in the pro- fession of the law do not naturally respect the jury system. They come so much incontactwith the evils of that .system that they are willing to do anything in order to mitigate them. But, nevertheless, the people are wedded to the jury system, and I do not think we could adopt any clause which would be so hurtfi^l to the chances of the adoption of our Constitution as this pro- posed innovation. My colleague, (Mr. DeLong,) called our attention to the fact that nobody ob- jected to this three-fourths verdict modification of the jury system, except in so far as it applied to criminal cases. Now, the gentleman's mem- ory is certainly very much at fault. I can re- member of hearing the gentleman's eloquent and most sonorous periods, and his loftiest flights, during the last canvass, over in Dayton, and Silver City, and Como, where he made speeches, in which he called particular attention to this terrible innovation upon our jury system; a sys- tem, he said, which had been handed down to us from King John, from whom it was wrested in magna charta by the barons of Runnymede. That sacred guarantee of our liberties, he told us, had been interfered with by the Constitu- tional Convention of Nevada, and that innova- tion on our chartered rights he repudiated and denounced with all the force of his invective and .sarcasm. Now, while I did not altogether indorse the entire accuracy of all my colleague's historical allusions, I do think that this is an innovation of at least doubtful propriety. So far as bribing jurors is concerned, I presume that if a man can " hang " a jury by bribing one man, he can, with a little more eSbrt, ac- complish the same thing by bribing three or four men. Mr. DeLONG. Will the gentleman allow me to correct him? I do not remember the rounded periods and lofty flights to which he refers [laughter]; but if I did indulge in that style of argument, I must be pardoned for act- ing on the same principle as the man up in Ken- tucky, who, as the story runs, turned his jacket in order to save his life. But, Mr. Chairman, as all the delegates here are supposed to be politicians, I imagine that nobody is going to hold me to account for not recollecting all that I ever said on the stump [Laugliter.] Mr. BROSNAN. I am not disposed to say much on the question now before the Conven- tion, but I cannot see, for the life of me, why men are so wedded to the system of requiring a unanimous decision by twelve men. In the last Convention I introduced this innovation. 3d day.] DECLARATION OF IIIGHTS. 57 Wednesday,] Banks — Hawley — Fitch — Warwick. [July 6. as it is called, and I suppose I may be consid- ered, to some extent, bound to give the reason why I did so. I am, however, relieved from that necessity by the full explanations given by gentlemen who favor the section as it now stands. Still, I would ask gentlemen who are op- posed to the section, at what time or period of time in the history of the world it became ne- cessary to dispose of questions of interest be- tween man and man by the unanimous decision of twelve men ? As to the origin of juries, if history is not at fault, I believe they com- menced with the Goths, long before the Saxons had anything to do with them. There were two juries, the extraordinary, and what was called the grand assize, or ordinary. This ex- traordinary jury was composed in this way : A summons was issued by the Sheriff of the county to four knights, who, upon meeting to- gether, had the privilege of electing twelve others to act with them. Then these sixteen knights sat in judgment, and when any twelve of them agreed, their decision became a ver- dict. Then complete unanimity was not re- quired, and we have no authority at all for re- quiring it, if we go back to the origin of the jury system. So, in cases before the High Court of Parliament, where the peer was tried by his peers upon the principle of the jury sys- tem ; it was not necessary there that all should agree in the judgment. It was required that twelve should agree — a majority — but never less than twelve. So, in the Court of the Lord High Steward of England, it was only required that a majority should decide, but that majority must not be less than twelve. The particular number appears to have been a mere matter of fancy, but in no case was it requisite that there should be a unanimous verdict of the jury. And the practice was similar in an inquiry into I a case of lunacy. A jury in a case de lunatico inquirendo was composed of seventeen, but the ; concurrence of twelve only was necessary to 1 find the fact that the man was non compos mentis. \ And next we see further that in cases of coro- I ners' inquests, twelve was necessary to render j a verdict, and the practice came at length to I be to summon only twelve upon such juries ; I and thence, I suppose, was the origin of the I jury of twelve. When twelve only were nom- inated, of course they must unanimously agree j upon a verdict. But one of the most learned I annotators has said, Mr. Chairman, that it is strange that any such unanimity should be I required of twelve men, where their passions I and education are ditt'erent, as well in respect ' to their passing judgment upon rights between ' individuals as in regard to any other of the or- dinary questions of life. In the determination j of any other question of business, or other- wise, a majority is competent to determine ! either the right or the wrong of the question '• to be determined. Another learned commentator says : — "The unanimity of twelve men is so repugnant to all experience of human conduct, passions and under- standing, that it could hardly in any age have been introduced into practice by a deliberate act of legis- lation." With these comments upon the question, I hope, sir, that the motion of my colleague will not prevail, and that we will maintain and ad- here to the plan of a three-fourths verdict of juries in civil cases. The question was stated on Mr. Banks' amendment. Mr. BANKS. I will withdraw my amend- ment so as to get a direct vote on the amend- ment of the genleman from Storey (Mr. Fitch). The CHAIRMAN. The Chair is of the opin- ion that the vote upon that amendment would preclude any further amendment of that por- tion of the section. Mr. BANKS. Undoubtedly so. The question was taken on the amendment proposed by Mr. Fitch, and it was not agreed to. Mr. HAWLEY. Inasmuch as this innovation prevails in the Convention, and inasmuch, too, as the learned gentleman from Storey, (Mr. Brosnan), has virtually attacked the principle that twelve men should constitute a jury ; and, furthermore, inasmuch as it becomes our bounden duty to be as explicit as possible in expressing our meaning, and to leave no room for misconstruction, I move that this section be further amended by inserting after the words " unanimous verdict," the words " in such civil cases," so that the proviso will read : — Provided, The Legislature, by a two-thirds vote of each branch thereof, may require a unanimous verdict, in such civil cases, notwithstanding this provision. Mr. FITCH. There is no necessity for that amendment. I think. Mr. HAWLEY. Very well, I will withdraw it. Mr. FITCH. I desire to move to amend that proviso by striking out the words " two-thirds," and inserting " a majority," so as to provide that the Legislature, by a majority vote, may require a unanimous verdict. It may be that I am entirely wrong, and that this innovation in our jury system is entirely right. If that be the case, then of course the State Legislature will indorse the proposition and reject mine. But I think we should be willing to leave all those matters to the peo- ple, so far as possible. And if we provide here that the Legislature may abrogate this provis- ion, we give the people an opportunity to ex- press their judgment upon it. I am in favor of doing that whenever it can be done without inconvenience. The question was taken on Mr. Fitch's amendment, and it was not agreed to. Mr. WARWICK. I move to amend, by in- sertine, after the words " civil cases," where they first occur, the words, '• in all criminal cases where the ofiense amounts only to a mis- demeanor." My reason is this : as it stands at present, a 58 DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. [3d day. Wednesdaj',] JoHxsox — NoLRSE — Eaul — DeLoxg. [July 6. person charged with a small ofifense, as assault aud battery, for example, has no right to waive a jury, even though he may be willing to plead guilty to the otteuse. Therefore I offer the amendment with a view to expedite the admin- istration of justice. The question was taken, and on a division, the amendment was not agreed to — ayes, 9 — noes, 14. The CHAIRMAN. There is one matter here, in regard to which I desire to make a remark, and it is a matter which I discussed and thought of much in the previous Convention. This section seems to establish a different rule for the passage of a law than is contemplated in other parts of the Constitution, and I suggest whether it would not be well to have uniform- ity in that respect. The Legislature, by a two- thirds vote, may over-ride the veto of the Gov- ernor, and it occurs to me that this provision, allowing the Legislature, by a two-thirds vote, to make the change, would differ with the gen- eral system adopted for the passage of laws by the Legislature. Mr. NOURSE. If it is passed by a two- thirds vote originally, then of course, if it is vetoed, the Legislature will pass it again. The CHAIRMAN. But it might happen that the bill would pass by a two-thirds vote, and then after it is vetoed it might not receive a two-third vote. The question is, then, under the language of the proviso, would the bill, notwithstanding, become a law ? It seems to me that it will be better to give a delinite mean- ing and construction to our labors, as we pro- gress, so that if hereafter any question should arise, it may be determined by a reference to the reported Debates and Proceedings of the Convention. Mr. EARL. I understand, from the reading of the section, that a two-thirds vote of the Legislature is all-sufScient to make the change. Mr. DeLONG. I think that the plain con- struction of the article is, that the bill shall be passed by two-thirds nf the Legislature before it can Ijccome a law by the signature of the Governor, and then it must be sigiu'd by the Governor and returned in order to become a law. In any event, if the Governor should veto it and return it, although it is passed by a j two-thirds vote of the Legislature, it could not ' be contended that it became a law unless it was again passed by a two-thirds vote, over the ] Governor's veto. For instance' — in order that I may be clearly understood— if it is passed by a majority vote, and approved by the Gov- ' ernor, it is not a law that would affect a change in the jury system. It must be passed, in the first i place, by a two-thirds vote of the Legislature, , aud then it is immaterial whether it is ap- proved by tlie Governor or not, because if it is returned witli Ijis veto, the same vote can pass I it again, and it becomes a law over his veto. | That is my construction. [.Mr. CHA.PI.V in the Chair.] Mr. JOHNSON. The construction which I was disposed to place on this provision — a lit- tle out of place, perhaps, when occupying the Ciiair — was intended to obviate any difficulty which might possibly ari.se hereafter, in view of differences of opinion in this body. Now, as I understand the gentleman from Storey, (Mr. DeLong.) he contends that such an enactment would require the approval of the Governor, or if not so approved, would need a two-third vote of the Legislature to pass it over his veto. Afld my other friend from Storey, (Mr. Earl,) seems to entertain a different opinion. It is for this reason that I now call the attention of the Convention to the subject. I want the lan- guage so framed that there can be- no possible misconception as to what we do mean. Here are two diverse views, or constructions, given by members of this body — andto my mind, that fact is suggestive of the great need of changing the language of the section in such manner that our views may be harmonized, so that hereafter there may exist no misconception of our meaning. Now, sir, I differ entirely with the gentleman from Storey who last spoke to this question, in the construction he has given to this proviso. As a proposition of law, it must be conceded that it is competent for this body to lodge the law-making power solely in the Legislative branch of the Government ; aud if we possess this unlimited power, is it not most assuredly within the province of the Con- vention to confer on them a part of this author- ity? Most assuredly so. Mr. DeLONG. If the Chair will excuse the interruption, I will ask if this amendment will remove the doubt, — to insert after the word " Legislature," the words, " by a law passed ;" so that the proviso will read : — Provided, The Legislature, by a law passed by a two- thirds vote of each bi-aneh thereof, may require a unanimous verdict, notwithstanding this prorision. Mr. JOHNSON. Any words will do, that will render definite our meaning. If we re- quire it to be done by an act requiring the same formalities that are observed in reference to other laws, then let us express it in such lan- guage as shall leave it certain. That is all I desire. I do not suppose it was the intention of the Convention to bestow the power solely on the Legislature. I think the amendment of the gentleman from Storey will obviate all diffi- culty. I have no objection to the section, as it is proposed. I know that the reasons urged, in the late Convention, for the incorporation of this proviso, were, that it might possibly be found, being but an experiment, unadvisable to retain the three-fourths verdict clause, and that powi'r should be lodged somewhere, other- wise than in the general mode pointed out for amendments to tlie Constitution, to rcenact the old rule of requiring a unanimous verdict. It was thought that the experiment might prove a failure, and if so, then the requisite two-thirds vote of the Legislature could be readily ob- tained to effect the change. Something has been said about a majority ; but that having 3d day.] DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. 59 \\'L'dnesday,] Collins — DeLong — Banks — Brosnax — Proctor— Nourse — Fitch. [July 6. been voted down, I think it is not advisable to lodge the power with a mere majority of the Legislature to change a prominent feature in our Constitution. [The President in the Chair.] The question was stated on Mr. DeLong's amendment, to insert the words, " by a law passed," and the amendment was agreed to. Mr. COLLINS. I desire to offer a mere verbal alteration. I move that between the words "jury," and "agree," be inserted, by way of amendment, the word " shall," so as to read, " if three-fourths of the jury shall agree upon the verdict." I think the propriety of the amendment will suggest itself to every mind. The question was taken, and, on a division, the amendment was not agreed to, — ayes, 10 — noes, 10. Mr. DeLONG. I move that the section, as now amended, be adopted. The question was taken, and the motion was agreed to. RELIGIOUS toleration. Section 4 was read, as follows : — Section i. The free exercise and enjoyment of re- ligious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed in this State; ; and no person shall be rendered incompetent to be a TOtness on account of his opinions on matters of re- hgious belief; but the hberty of conscience hereby secured shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of hcentiousness, or justify practices inconsistent with the peace or safety of this State. Mr. COLLINS. I will, state that we have had before us an ordinance drawn by authority of the Enabling Act, which embodies the samt general principles in regard to religious liberty and toleration. It appears to me to be entirely unnecessary, therefore, to incorporate this in the Constitution itself. I do not see that il will add any strength or force whatever to the Constitution, or to the principles set forth in this section. Mr. DeLONG. It shuts up the bars, though, against polygamy. Mr. BANKS. It seems to me that wherever else this provision belongs, it ought certainly i to be here, in the regular order of const, - tutional arrangement. That ordinance is some- thing which we are not likely to be very fa- miliar with in the examination of the Consti tution, but as it seems to have been required separate and apart from the Coustitutiou, it : may be well to pass it separately, as an ordi- I nance ; but, at the same time, it seems to m ■ ; very well to pass this provision in this secii(jn just as it is, in the regular order of arrange- ment. Mr. BROSNAN. There is a further reason why it should be retained, and that is, there is a provision here in relation to the competency of witnesses, and also a prohibition of acts ol licentiousness, etc., neither of which are pro- ' vided for in the ordinance referred to. I ,Mr. CHAPIN. I do hope the section will pass as it is. The question was taken on the adoption of the section, and it was adopted. habeas corpus. Section 5 was read, as follows : — Sec. 5. The privilege of the wi-it of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when, in cases of rebel- lion or invasion, the pubHc safety may requii'e its sus- pension. Mr. PROCTOR. I have an amendment to ofler. I move to add to the section these words : " and then only by the Legislature, who shall be the judges of that necessity." Several voices — " No. no !" The PRESIDENT. The amendment is not seconded. No other amendment being proposed, the question was taken on the adoption of the sec- tion, and it was adopted. Section 6 was read, as follows: — Sec. 6. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor ex- cessive fines imposed, nor shah cruel nor unusual jjun- ishment be inflicted, nor shall witnesses be unreason- ably detained. No amendment being offered, the section was adopted. Section 7 was read, as follows : — Sec. 7. All persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties ; unless for capital offenses, when the proof is evident or the presumption great. No amendment being proposed, the section was adopted. the grand jury system. Section 8 was read, as follows : — Sec. 8. No person shall be held to answer for cap- ital or otherwise infamous crime, (except in cases of impeachment, and in cases of the militia when in ac- tual service, and the land and naval forces in time of war, or which this State may keep, with the consent of Congress, in time of peace, and in cases of petit lar- ceny, under the regulation of the Legislature,) except on ijresentment or indictment of a grand jury; and in any trial, in any Court whatever, the party acLUsed shall be aUowed to appear and defend in person and with counsel, as in civil actions. No person shall be subject to be twice put in jeopardy lor the same offense ; nor shall he be compelled, in any criminal case, to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, lib- erty, or property, without due process of law ; nor shall private property be taken for public iise without just compensation having been first made or secured, ex- cept in cases of war, riot, fire, or great pubUc peril, in which case compensation shall be afterwards made. Mr. NOURSE. I wish to inquire as to the effect of that first clause. It would seem that that might shut out the authority for binding over by a justice by a preliminary examination, and yet my recollection is that it is the word- ing of the Constitution of the United States. If so, it is all right. Mr. DeLONG. It is the language of the California Constitution. Mr. NOURSE. I guess we can trust it, then. Mr. FITCH. I would like to inquire in what portion of the Territory — I ask for information — we are likely to And men engaged in the '■ naval forces of the United States." Several voices — "Carson river!" "King's Canon!" "Humboldt Lake!" " Lake Tahoe I" [Laughter.] 60 DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. [3d day. Wednesday.] FrrcH — Proctor— DeLoxg — Noirsk — Banks — Johnson. [July 6. Mr. FITCH. Oh ! I did not know ; I simply I inquired for information. There might possibly | be naval forces over in Humboldt or Lauder, Bomewhere. [Laughter.] Mr. PROCTOR. I offer the following as a ' substitute for Sectioa 8 : — ' Sec. 8. All crimiual offenses (except in cases of Im- peachment, and in cases of the mihtia when in actual I service, and the land and naval forces in time of war, or which this State may keep, wtli the consent of Con- gress, in time of peace, and in cases of petit larceny and o^her offenses as may be regulated by the Legisla- ture,) shall be tried upon written complaint or accusa- tion to be made by the prosecuting attorney of the re- spective counties of this State, without the interven- tion of a Grand Jury, iinless the Legislature shall otherwise provide. Laws shall be enacted to regulate the proceeding and to give effect to this pro^^sion. And in any trial in any court whatever, the party ac- cused shall be allowed to appear and defend in person and with counsel, as in civil actions. No person shall be subject to be twice put in jeopardy for the same of- fense ; nor shall he be compelled, in any crimiual case, to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due jirocess of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation having been first made or secured. That section embodies the substance mainly of the oriijinal section, with the exception of do- ing away with the grand jury system. Whilst innovations on the jury system seem to be the order of the day, and as it has been a question in my mind for many years whether grand ju- ries should not be abolished, I have thought proper to introduce this amendment. I may state, from my own experience in regard to the jury system, that the burdens of taxation im- posed upon counties in this Territory, and in California, have arisen mainly from the extra- ordinary manner of trying cases before a grand jury. It seems to me, therefore, that some amendment of that kind ought to be adopted, or that the experiment should be tried, at least, if we are disposed to change the jury .system at all. For that reason I have submitted the amendment for the consideration of the Con- vention, but I do not propose to argue it. The question was taken, and tlie amendment was not asretd to. SECURITY FOR PRIVATE PROPERTY. Mr. DeLONG. I wish to call attention lo one thing in the last few lines of this section. It says : — " Nor shall private property be taken for public use without jnst coniijensation having been first made or secured, except in cases of war, riot, fire, or great public peril, in which case compensation shall be after- wards made." We can easily imagine a case where it is es- sentially necessary for the public good that private property should be taken for pul)lic u.se, and yet the party owning it might refuse to allow it to be taken ; and in that case it strikes me there should be a sutlicient guaran- tee of compensation, If it is taken. Would it not be proper to make use of the words " made, secured, or tendered," in^itead of as it now stands, " made or secured ?" I do not sec how it could be " secured," although I can see how it might be " tendered." I will move to amend, so that it will read •• made, secured, or tendered." Mr. NOURSE. I think the Constitution of the United States has that language. Mr. DeLONG. I do not think it has the word '■ secured." The language of our Con- stitution is different from that of the Constitu- tion of the United States in this respect. The Constitution of the United States reads: "Nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation " — and stops there. This Constitution, going on from that point, reads, " having been first made or secured." All that is additional to the language in the United States Constitution, and if we insist upon retaining that additional language, thus altering the sense of the clause, I would sug- gest that it would be better to use the lan- guage " having been first made, secured, or ten- dered," so as to prevent any party from with- holding the property until he obtains the se- curity. Mr. CHAPIN. I second that motion. Mr. NOURSE. I think we had better amend it so as to make our Constitution, wherever we can, like a Constitution which has been already adjudicated authoritatively. I would like to strike out the words " having been made or se- cured," altogether. Mr. BANKS. I would object very much to that amendment, because it has been decided in California that the security must be made before the transfer, and we know how improve- ments have been kept back by that decision. I hope that the idea suggested by the gentleman from Yuba, or rather the gentleman from Vir- ginia, [a laugh] will prevail, and that we shall adopt the words " made, secured, or tendered ;" so that it will beheld sufficient to either secure the compensation to a party, or to tender him compen,«ation. [.Mr. Collins in the Chair.] Mr. JOHNSON. We have already, in pur- suance of the Enabling Act, adopted the Con- stitution of the United States. Now, the in- quiry I am going to make is, whether it would not be an inconsistent act on our part to incor- porate or to interpolate language in the Bill of Rights which is seemingly at variance with the language employed in the Con- stitution of the United States. Tf it imports anything more than the language contained in the Constitution of the United States, we have no right to place it there; if it means noth- ing more, then it is unnecessary. Therefore, my opinion is, that we should, in this relation, use simply the language contained in the Consti- tution of the United States. For that rea- son. 1 am advcr.se to the addition proposed by the amendment, and, even further, I am in favor of striking out the additional words already there, and leaving the language ex- actly as contained in the Constitution of the United States. Mr. DeLONG. I disagree with my friend. 3d day.] DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. 61 Wednesday,] DeLong — NouRSE — Hawlet. [July 6. the President, in this. In passing that resolu- tion adopting the Constitution of the United States, we did not adopt the Constitution of the United States as our Constitution. All we did by that act was simply this : we adopted it so far as to make it the paramount law of the land — so far as to signify our willingness that in case there should be anything in our Con- stitution which conflicts with the Constitution of the United States, then our Constitution shall yield, and the Constitution of the United States shall govern. But to say that we adopt it as our Constitution, would be incorrect. We have no right to adopt anything at all as our State Constitution, but only to prepare a Constitution to submit to the people. But that Constitution must not be at variance with the Constitution of the United States, which says that private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation there- for. We can easily imagine a case, when in time of war or public peri), or even in time of peace, there may arise a necessity for the ap- propriation of private property for public pur- poses — a case which may happen unforeseen ; as, for instance, the taking of building lots on the line of streets in a city, for the purpose oi a public improvement, which would benefit noi only the public, but even the owners themselves. The owners of such lots, conceiving that they had an advantage, might stubbornly refuse tu sell without receiving an immense compensa- tion, entirely inordinate in its amount. In such a case I think it would be a sufficient guarantee of the man's rights, if he would tak< such an advantage of the public necessities, to have the money — an amount sufficient to be h fair compensation — tendered to him. Then, if h( refuses to accept the tender, what is the result? He brings his suit, or presents his bill for reliet from the State, and the jury, or the Legislature, as the case may be, will assess and determine the value of the property, and if they find thai he was tendered as much as it was worth, hf will be obliged to take the money and pay all the costs ; and if they find that the tender wa> too little, they will award him the additional amount, and the costs with it. I think thert is more danger of an individual taking advan- tage of the Government when he has an oppor- tunity, than of the Government taking advan- tage of an individual. I can see nothing in conflict with the language we propose to use, in the Constitution of the United States. I think there is a case in Peters' Reports in which the same decision was made as has been made in California— that the compensation had to be made first, before the property could be taken. Now, if that is the case, how does it work ? Why, public improvement is stopped — all work is stopped by some dog-in-the-manger, who cannot himself eat, and is bound not to let others eat if he can prevent it. He cannot eat the property, and he will not let the Gov- ernment have it until they first make compen- sation. Now a tender is not compensation. Perhaps the Government agents and the owner cannot agree, and they have to condemn the property under the right called " eminent do- main," which exists in the Government— the right to condemn property for public use in case an individual refuses to sell or give pos- session of it. We had an illustration of this subject in Cal- ifornia, in the case of the grounds around the State Prison. Estell and the old managers of that concern bad succeeded in selling to the Government a tract of land encircled within an area of land owned by themselves, which they had reserved from the sale. They then built the walls of the prison partly on the Gov- ernment property and partly on their own, and having got what they wanted, what did they do but set to work and enjoin the Govern- ment, and they refused to allow a thing to be done till compensation was first made. A tender of a reasonable amount did not relieve the matter, and everything had to be held in abeyance, until finally the State was compelled to submit to all the exactions of those men. Not a thing could be done upon the work until vv folio, for the purpo.sc of having properly engrossed the; Resolution Ordinance, Preamble, and Article I of the Con etitution. The PRESIDENT. That motion cannot be entertained without a suspension of the ordei of business. Air. IIAWEEY. Very well ; I move that the rules be suspended, in order to get the motion before the (convention. The PRESIDENT. In order that the C^ it will be adopted without amendment. Mr. DUNNE. I rise to a point of order. I believe the gentleman is speaking to the sub- stitute, while the question is on the amendment offered by myself. That amendment leaves in the portion which he is arguing ought not to be stricken out. The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman is speak- ing. I understand, to the whole subject matter which is before the Committee. Mr. WARWICK. I am willing to give way till the gentleman from Humboldt explains his amendment. Mr. DUNNE. By permission of the gentle- ^^^^^.l^V^^Z'^H^^^l^^^ from Lander, then. I will say that my , unless restored to civil rights, and no amendment simply Strikes out the word dis- fter arriving at the age of eighteen years, , loyal." The effect, as distinguished from the shall have voluntarily borne arms against the United substitute of the gentleman from Storey, (Mr. States, or held civil or military office under the so-called | it n .vnnlil he th'it whiM-eas the substitute Confederate States, or either of them, unless an am- tiovcy,) wouiu De, tnai wnueas me suDSiuuie nesty be granted to such by the Federal Government, . would prevent all persons who have voluntarily COMMITTEE' OF THE WHOLE. The Convention accordingly resolved itself into Committee of the Whole, (Mr. Fitch in the chair.) and resumed consideration of Article II, entitled Right of Suffrage. The Committee proceeded to consider the Article by sections, commencing with Section 2, which had been reached when the Article was last under consideration in Committee. ^ DISFRANCHISEMENT OF REBELS. Section 2 was read, as follows : — Sec. 2. Xo person vifho has been or may be convicted of treason or - • United States person who, after arriving at the age of eighteen years. and no idiot, insane, or disloyal person, shall be enti tied to the privilege of an elector. Mr. HOVEY. I offer the following as a sub- stitute for the section : - borne arms from voting, unless an amnesty be granted, the striking out of the word " disloyal " alone, still leaving those words in, would allow those persons who may be pardoned under the Sec. 2. No person who has been or maybe convicted ' amnesty proclamation, the right to vote ; but it of treason or felony, in any State or Territory of the I would, at the same time, prevent the man who United States, unless restored to cjvil rights, and no .j^.^^ g^.,,^,^.^ ^^ Colonel, or in any higher rank, idiot, insane or disloyal persor, shall be entitled to the privilege of an elector. in the army of the rebellion, (who are not in- 4th day.] RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. 81 Thursday,] Warwick — Hawlet — Hoat:y. [July 7. eluded in the amnesty,) from voting, witliont the necessity, in order to preclude them, of their being convicted of treason. The fact of such men holding these positions would alone, under my amendment, prevent them from exercising the right of suffrage. Mr. WARWICK. I oppose both the amend- ment and the substitute jiroposed. I can see no good reason why those who are now, or who have been, in the past, fighting with arms in their hands against the life of this Government, should be admitted to the privilege of the elec- tive franchise in our new State. It is well known, sir, the thing is patent to every mem- ber here who has traveled this Territory, that it has been made the place of refuge for the scum and offscourings of the rebel States. Un- able to bear arms longer against the Govern- ment, they have sought a refuge in our moun- tains and hills, and to-day many of them are scarcely able to restrain the treason with which they are filled to bursting in every pore. I have met them by the score in the county I have the honor to represent. Hundreds of rebels, open mouthed, are there, ready for any enterprise which is not too dangerous. Whole neighborhoods there, are infected with treason. Now, I ask if we are going to open the door to admit to the elective franchise men of that class, at the moment when we are forming a new State ? For what reason are we to be- come a State ? To add strength to, and not to weaken, the General Government. AVe are to be the first State of that chain of States which is hereafter to connect the Western borders of the Republic with the East. It is well known that our Territory is so large, and our popula- tion so spai-se and so little organized, that this is the place sought out already as the home of rebels from Missouri, from Kentucky, from Alabama, and from all the reViel States of the South-west. Unable to find any longer a re- fuge at home, they have sought it here, bearing their treason along with them. For that rea- son I am for surrounding the ballot-box here with every possible safeguard which we can de- vise. I am willing, for our own safety, until the General Government shall grant an am- nesty, at least, to say to every one of those men who have dared to raise their hands against the nation's life, " You have forfeited the right of suffrage, sacred to freemen, and never shall you exercise it again." For this rea- son I hope 'that this Section 2, as adopted by the former Convention, will be allowed to stand, line for line, and letter for letter, so that no disloyal man, no man tainted with treason, covered with the stain of rebellion, spotted with the leprosy of national murder, shall be allowed to share in the elective franchise with us who have battled to drive treason from our shores, and to save California, and Nevada, and Oregon, from the grasp of those who wouli have murdered the nation if they could. I sincerely trust that this section will stand unaltered, and that no amendment will be F allowed to imperil it in the slightest de- gree. Mr. ITAWLEY. I conceive that the duty which this Convention has to perform, in refer- ence to either the adoption of this section un- der consideration, or its amendment, is a diffi- cult one. Mr. HOVEY, (interrupting.) If the gentle- man will give way a moment, I will accept the amendment of the gentleman from Humboldt, (Mr. Dunne,) which cures the evil he antici- pated. Mr. HAWLEY. Even then, I say.— and I have but a few remarks to make— tha't tlie duty before the Convention, in either the adoption or the rejection of the section under considera- tion, is beset with difficulties. One principal objection to this Constitution, and to the arti- cle we have under consideration, when sub- mitted to the people last fall for their adop- tion or rejection, was that it legislated too much. _ Now, sir, to come directly to the point, I submit to the Convention whether it becomes us to legislate upon this subject, when, in the very nature of things, such legislation can ef- fect nothing at present. No provision of this kind can have any effect at the en.suing elec- tion. I, sir, was born and raised in the South, and have been subject all my life to the influences which have been brought to bear upon the young men of that section, and I assert that I believe no man exists who is freer from the taint of disloyalty to the Gov- ernment of ti.0 United States' than I am. And, sir, I am utterly, uncompromisingly opposed to the extension of the elective franchise to those men who nourish in their hearts one atom of hostility to the Constitution of the United States, or to the Federal Government, as it was established by our forefathers. But I never- theless question very much whether the adop- tion of this section as it now stands will be of any benefit. I submit to the Convention that it is a matter which should be left entirely to the action of the first Legislature which is to convene under our State Constitution. One thing is certain, that if this section stands, (and I have no objection to allowing it to stand so far as the princi2)lcs involved are concerned,) it can have no possible effect, however wise and judicious it may bo, upon the status of the voters at the election at which the adoption or rejection of the Constitution is to l)e deter- mined. Now, sir, you will find, by following through this section, that it is provided — and I trust that the Constitution we are aljout to frame may contain the same feature — that " Provision shall be made by law for the registration of the names of the electors within the counties of which they may be residents, and for the ascertain- ment by proper proofs of the persons who shall be en- titled to the right of suflrage as hereby established." I trust that the first Legislature under this Constitution will provide such a registiy law, and that in it they will provide not only that every man who seeks to vote shall have been 82 RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. [4th day. Thursday,] DeLoxg — Hawley — Dunne. [July 7. six months a resident of the State, and thirty days a ronidont of the county, and that it shall bca duty iiicuiiibenl upon him to have his nami' registered ))i'fore the recurrence of every gene- ral election at \vhich he seeks to exercise the right of the elective franchise, but that at the time of such registration, every man shall take and subscribe an oath to support the Constitu- tion of the United States ; that there and then he shall perform a lustration by which he shall ])urge himself of any taint of treason, if any such taint remains upon him. Now, sir, the only question with me is, whether it is expedi- ent' to retain this language in the second sec- tion ; whether it is not too much to place in a State Constitution ; whether it is not better for us to leave the regulation of the qualifications of voters to an enactment to be made by the first Legislature. I fully agree with the gentleman from Lan- der, (Mr. Warwick,) that there are men in this Territory who are tainted with the crime of| treason ; men who are hostile to the Constitution of their country and the institutions of our fore- fathers, men who. if their acts could be known and placed proi)erly before the legal tribunals, would forfeit their lives to the outraged laws of their country. And, sir, I believe in he does not go far enough in his views or opinions. It looks to me a little unmanageable ; that is my objection. Su])pose a man is challenged at the polls, how are you to determine it? Ily his simply taking the oath of allegiance? Would that be sufficient to purge him? Or what? Mr. HAWLEY. The gentleman from Storey will remember that I stated it as my desire and hope that the Legislature would pass such a law as would rencler challenges at the polls un- necessary, except in order to insure the pro- duction of the certificate of the registration of voters. Mr. DeLONG. Yes, it might, perhaps, be covered in that way. Mr. DUNNE. I think it is necessary to say but a word in support of the amendment which I have offered. No one doubts the propriety of preventing disloyal persons, or secessionists, from exercising the right of suffrage until their status be determined by the General Govern- ment, but this clause begins with disfranchising all who are convicted ot treason or felony, and then goes on to say that " No person who, after arriving at the age of eighteen years, shall have voluntarily borne arms against the United States, or lield civil or military olfice under the so-called Confederate States, or either of them, unless an amensty be granted," etc., shall be entitled to vote. Then, in God's name, is not that enough? But then you go further, and say that no " disloyal person " shall be allowed to vote. I repeat the question. Who is the '■ dis- loyal person ?" How are you to determine it ? If you know that a man is disloyal — that, as the gentleman from Lander, (Mr. Warwick.) says, treason is bursting from every pore — then make your charge, ])rove it, and convict him, if you can. If you cannot })rove the charge, you may retain your opinion, perhaps, but unless you can prove it, do not make it against a man, and attempt to dei)rive him of the right of suffrage. •We have already restricted the class of i)eople to which we stipjioscd tiiis would jjartirularly refer. We have re(£uired that every man shall be for six months an actual resident of the State before voting. You have, in that case, made a swee])iug distinction, and one which I did not api)rove, because it was in o])])osition to a prin- cii)le which has been acted upon for seven or eight years in (Jaliloruia. as long at least as it was sujiposed that the class of j)ersons coming to that State would be politically favorable to the dominant i)arty, and only when that ceased to be the case was this error discovered, and the rule changed. Dut that is not the (piestioa here. It is sinqjly whether you may be allowed to charge a man with being disloyal, and so prevent him from voting, or throw the whole burden of the investigation upon the days of 4tli day.] RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. 83 Thursday,] NouRSE— Earl. [July 7. election, when you have no one to cletei-mine it. Although the iiiau challenged may have the records of courts, and docunii'iits well authenti- cated, you have but to say — •■ This man is dis- loyal ; 'l challenge his vote," — and how is he to prove that he is loyal '! He may be ready to swear to support the Constitution, ready to take any and all oaths prescribed, but that is of no avail, and you cannot try the case on election day. I think the amendment is right, and those dangerous words should be stricken out. Mr. NOURSE. I wish to offer an amendment to the substitute, or rather to the portion pro- posed to be omitted or stricken out. I move to strike out the words in the original section, ■' unless an amnesty be granted to such by the Federal Government." The question was stated on the amendment. Mr. NOURSE. Now I desire to call the can- did attention of members to this amendment, and I hope no feeling of prejudice of any kind will prevent gentlemen from giving it such at- tention. I think the objection to that phrase, as it is inserted in the original section, arises from a misapprehension of what is intended by this exclusive clause. I do not understand, Mr. Chairman, that we are here assuming the prov- ince of the National Government, to punish these men who have borne arms against it. If that were so, I could see a peculiar propriety in putting in this clause, " unless an amnesty be granted." But we are doing no such thing. That is the exclusive work of the General Government ; and the laws of the United States provide for tl^e punishment of treason ; for the punishment of those who levy war and bear arms against the Government. And when the United States Government proclaims an amnes- ty, that punishment is at an end. We have nothing to do with that. But now the question is before us, whom will we have for our fellow electors ? To whose hands will we intrust the election of our officers, and the making of our laws ? Shall that trust be confided to those men whose hands are red with the blood of our own sol- diers ? Shall it be given to Price's army ? Shall it be given to the men who, under Forrest and Chalmers, in cold blood, mui'dered the garrison of P^ort Pillow? Shall we bestow that pri^a- lege upon the men who are now defending Richmond and Petersburg against the gallant assaults of General Grant? Shall we give it to the rel)el army now holding out at Jackson against General Sherman ? We exclude no man who does these things by compulsion. If a man is conscripted into the rebel army, that does not exclude him. But, can it be possible. I ask gentlemen to consider, that any merciful amnesty on the part of the General Govern- ment, any declaration that the Government will proceed no further in the way of punishment. will do anything more than merely whitewash them? Can it change the leopard's" spots? Can it make worthy to be intrusted with the elective franchise, and fit to hold the highest offices in our gift, the men who have willingly borne arras against the Federal Government — against the best Government the world ever knew? Can it restore to innocence those men guilty of a worse crime than parricide ? No ! I say, for one, I am not willing that my vote shall ))e off- set and neutralized by the vote of a man who has willingly served under the rebel Price, and as a guerrilla and bush-whacker has murdered pei'haps dozens of the soldiers of the United States, as well as peaceable farmers. And yet, an amnesty being proclaimed, men of that stamp will come into our State. Now it seems to me very clear, as I said before, that that saving clause is iiut in under a misapprehen- sion of what we are doing. We are not pun- ishing these men. We are only setting down our deliberate opinions — and it seems to me, with all respect, that in the framing of an or- ganic law is peculiarly the place for that — as to who should or who should not be the men to carry on the Government, and make the laws for this new State. If those men who have committed all these crimes, and the one great crime embodies them all, can be purified in heart and soul, and brought back to love of country and true loy- alty to its institutions, I would not object to admitting them to the right of suffrage. But the fact is, that the secessionists who have come hero across the plains from the eastern States, are the men who, because of their continued wickedness and bitter disloyalty, will not stay around their old homes to see the new order of things there. It galls them to see the power of the Government re-established ; the iron enters their souls. It is therefore the most disloyal of the disloyal who persist in coming here. If they persist, very well ; let them come, though they are no very desirable accessions to society in any place ; but, for God's sake, let us put up the bars against allowing thirty or forty of them to annul the votes of every member of this Convention. It seems to me that this clause, as it stands, has been misapprehended. Gen- tlemen have not enough considered it; and when it has been properly considered, I think the Convention will agree with me that it should be stricken out. Mr. EARL. I can see no objection at all to allowing this Section 2 to remain as it is. If I un- derstand it, the Amnesty Proclamations— for such, no doubt, there will be from time to time, and we have one already — will do away with our restriction. That proclamation already made sets forth who shall and who shall not be admitted to the rights and i)rivilegcs of citizen- ship ; and, in the absence of any such nile, by authority of the Federal Government, we pre- scribe oiir own rules. Now, sir, I cannot .see any such objection as has been urged here, from the very fact that the Amnesty Proclamation does set forth and prescribe who shall be re- stored to citizenship. We may, hereafter, pre- scribe men who are disloyal, by our registry law, but that is the only way we can reach them. We can alter, change, increase, or dimin- 84 RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. [4th day. Thursday,] Noibse—E-uil—Bkosxax—DeLoxg— Fitch— "Warwick— Hawley. [July 7. iiolulion was ri-ad. as follows : — Jirmlrrit, Tliat a f"oiniiiitt»'e on Pliraseolcifjy and Ar- rauK'-nicnt of tin- HcHolution, Ordinance, Preamble, and CiiuHtitutkiu, to couMint of Heven uifiubcrs Of this Con- veutiou, tie appoiuUnl by the I'rewideut. The rjucstion wa,s taken, and the resolution was ado|it<-d. The l'i:i:siI)ENT ai)pointi'd as th.- Commit- tee, undi-r the resolution, .Messrs. Kinkeai, Drosuan, iJelden, Ihady, and Mur- dock. jrmciAnY com.mittee. Mr. DkT-ONG. I move that two more mem- b(M> be ailded to the .Judiciary Committee. 1 lie (pie.-tion was taken, and the motion was agreed to. The PKIv^lDENT appointed as such addition- al meiiil>en<, Messrs. Warwick and Hawley. UICHT OK StKn!A(iE. Mr. FITCH. 1 move that the Conveution re- solve itself into Committee of the Whole, for the further consideration of Article II, entitled. Right of Siitfrage. The question was taken, and the motion was agreed to. - committee of the whole. The Convention accordingly resolved itself into Committee of the Whole, (Mr. Fitch in the Chair.) and resumed the consideration of Arti- cle 11, entitled. Right of Suflrage. DIStTt-VXCHISEMEXT OF REBELS. The CHAIRMAN. The question before the Committee is upon the amendment offered by Mr. Nourse to the amendment of Mr. Hovey to the second section. Mr. Ilovey moves to amend, by striking out the words, '• and no person who, after ari'iving at the age of eighteen years, shall have voluntarily borne arms against the United States, or held civil or military office under the so-called Confederate States, or either of them, unless an amnesty be granted to such by the Federal Government." Mr. Nourse moves to amend that amendment, by striking out only the words, '• unless an amni'sty be granted to such l)y the Federal Government."' The ques- tion now is upon the latter amendment. Mr. TOZER. Is a further ameudmeut in or- der ? The CH.URMAN. It is not. Mr. BANKS. I understand there was an amendment offered by my colleagtie, (Mr. Dunne,) to strike out the word " disloyal." The CHAIRMAN. That amendment was ac- cepted by Mr. Hovey, and therefore becomes a part ()f his original amendment. The Chair should have so stated it. Mr. WARWICK. AVas not the amendment of the gentleman from Humboldt, (Mr. Diuine.) aecei)ted by the gentleman from Storey, (Mr. Hovey.) as a substitute for his own, and not as an amendment ? The CHAIRMAN. The Chair understood it was accejited as an amendment. Mr. WAliWICK. Did it not do away with the amendment of the gentleman from .Store}% entirely ? Did he not accept it in lieu of his own, thereby doing away with the one he offer- ed previotisly ? The CH.VIRMAN. The Chair thinks the gen- tleman is correct. Mr. WARWICK. Then the original amend- ment is withdrawn, and substituted by that of the gentleman from Humboldt, striking out the words •• disloyal or," in the latter i)art of the section, ami the amendment pending of the gentleman from AVaslioe. (Mr. Nourse,) is pro- ■ posed as an auieiidmeiit to that? I The CHAIRMAN. That is the understanding of the Chair. Mr. HAWLEY. I think it would be infinitely better to retain the section as a whole, or, per- haps, striking o\it only the word " disloyal," than it would be to adopt the amendment of the geutleman from AVashoe, I believe I take 4th day.] RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. 85 Thursday,] NocRSE — Haw'ley — Coixrxs. [July 7. a position which cannot be controverted, when I assert that the Federal Government possesses the imprescriptible right of declaring the qnalificiitions of citizens of the United States, and that when the Federal Goveniment. by an enactment of Congress, declares that a man, or a class of men, are citizens of the United States, those men, so established in citizenshij) by Fed- eral enactment, are entitled to all the rights of citizens ; regulated, it is true, in a certain man- ner and to a certain extent, hj State enactments. They are subjects or citizens of the Federal Government. Now. sir, it is a right of which a citizen cannot be divested, that he should bo allowed to exercise the right of suffi'age. Mr. NOURSE. AVill the gentleman allow me t« ask him a question ? Black men are citizens, and women are citizens of the United States, but does the gentleman say that women and black men cannot be excluded from voting ? Mr. HAWLEY. I do not pretend to say that Ave cannot exclvide black men from voting ; or that Me cannot exclude women from voting, but I do say, and I assert it most positively as my conviction, although I may be wrong, that we have no right whatever to exclude a white man, who has been pronounced by the Federal Gov- ernment to be eligible to all the rights of citi- zenship, from the right of voting. There may be some questions, in this connection, which 1 shall not stop to argue, but I lay down the pro- position that if the Federal Government declares that, under certain conditions, a man who has been in the Confederate army, a man who has borne arms against the Federal Government, becomes purged of the offense he has commit- ted, and is restored to all the rights he before jjossessed, it will be impossible for this State to divest him of the elective franchise. Now, sir. the gentleman from "Washoe (Mr. Nourse) laid particular stress on the fact that the vote of one of those parties — of a man who has been in arms against the Federal Govern- ment — can offset, or nullify his vote. That may be true, but I think when gentlemen take coun- sel fi'om such suggestions, they are governed by a sentiment which is, to use the language of a great jjoet, '• an impostor to true fear." I be- lieve, sir, taking into consideration the enlarged intelligence, the more perfect understanding of our rights and duties, and privileges, Avhich Ave noAV possess, that but little danger exists of outrages, in the future, upon the ballot-box. I believe that the loyal sentiment of the Pacific Coast is so united, that the men Avho do not fal- ter in their deA*otion to the National Government are so determined, that men coming here even Avith this stain of treason upon them, will be so closely Avatched, and that tlie elections will be canvassed so thoroughly, that but little danger exists of men being placed in oflSce here Avho Avould folloAV the example of those Avho have become so infamous in our history, or who Avould even attempt to betray us, as States have been betrayed heretofore. Even admitting that we have the right to ex- clude from the right of suffrage those men who have been restored to citizenship by the procla- mation of the President, I believe that, by so doing, Ave should place ourselves in a position of antagonism to the Federal Government ; that Ave should raise questions which, to saj- the least, it would be unAvise to raise — questions Avhich could but result in long, useless, expen- sive litigation. I believe it becomes us. as men Avho onght to knoAv no such Avord as fear, in re- gard to the result of any attempt to betray our liberties here, to open the ballot-box fi-eely to receive the votes of all men who comply with the laAvs. Our duty lies not in attempting to set aside any declaration of the Federal Govern- ment, but in a firm, resolved, fixed determina- tion, to become, each and every one of us, can- vassers, and to use all those legitimate and nat- ural means of persuasion, argument, and en- treaty, Avhich will result in such Union majori- ties, at all elections to be held in the future, as to prevent forever all danger or apprehension of the election of any man. or any considerable number of men, at least, to positions in Avhich they might be enabled to do us injury, or to at- tempt to injure or betray us. And, if this section is to be retained in part, I think this Convention will be pursuing a Avise and proper course by alloAviug it to remain altogether intact. I should prefer that the qualifications of voters should be left altogether to the Legislature ; but if we are going to pre- scribe any qualifications, do not let us cut out or set aside this saving clause, for, by so doing, I think, as I before observed, that AA'e are jilae- ing ourselves in a position of antagonism to the Federal Government, only to gratify an im- pulse, or a sentiment, which, to speak for myself at least, finds no place of lodgment in my breast. Mr. COLLINS. I would inquire Avhat ques- tion is noAv before the Convention. The CHAIRMAN. The amendment of the gentleman from Washoe. (Mr. Nourse,) to strike out the Avords, " unless an amnesty be granted to such by the Federal GoA^ernment." Mr. COLLINS. Then that question does not embrace the word " disloyal," proposed pre- A-iouslv to 1)0 stricken out ? The' CHAIRMAN. No, sir. Mr. COLLINS. I am decidedly opposed to striking out those AVords proposed by the gen- tleman from Washoe, because I think the appli- cation of that amendment Avould be decidedly unjust to a great many of the citizens of this State in the future. By implication, the gen- tleman, in offering his amendment, assents to the propriety of depriving all men of the right to vote who have voluntarily taken up arms against the Federal Government, or held office, militarj" or civil, under the Confederate Gov- ernment. We occupy the double position of citizens of the United' States and citizens of a separate State, and hence I take issue Avith the gentleman from Douglas. (Mr. HaAvley.) entirely, that we have not a right to exclude any class 86 RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. [4th day-. Thursday,] Earl. [July 7. of men from the elective franchise. It is the privili'KO i)f everv State, as such, (anil it matti-rs not what the laws of the General Covfrnmcnt may W in regard to her own citizi-ns, for it is a rii^iit wliich the General Government always has aeconleil to the si-veral States,) to regulate the elective franchise. And 1 should be very s >rry indeed to think that th(> resolution we l>;Wed the other day. adopting the Constitution of the I'nited States, was going tt> conflict with that right— that the Constitution of the Tnited States would contlict in any way with the right of each State to make regulations, hy its own Constitution or otherwise, in regard to elections. I take it thatj the force of that resolution was simi>ly in regard to our recognizing the sovereignty of the Cnited States, the sovereignty of the Federal Constitution, and the laws which Congress may enact from time to time affecting the .States aiid Territories. But the action of the Federal Government must have some spe- cific and direct connection with us, or some direct and i)ositive declaration as to the act to he tlone hy the State, hefore it can he ))in(ling upon us. Look at the injustice whicli the con- struction of the Amnesty Proclamation con- tended for would do to tlie loyal citizens of this State. We may. and ])rol)ahly shall have com- ing among us men from Kentucky, from Mis- souri, anil from States which are still engaged in making war against the Government of the Cnited States ; and wlieii this rebellion shall Ije jitit down. I am strongly impressed with the ciiuviction that the mass of these men will out- llemd llerod himself in their sujjport of the Constitution of the United States. They will )m' the ardent sui)i)orters of every movement cuh'ulated to give strength to the Government, and will l)ecome the most active and determined of our h)yal citizens. IJnt if we jjroscribe them, as we should do l)y striking otit this clause, what wiinld be flu- consequence? Why, they are eligilile to any ottice within the gift of the (lovernuu-nt of the I'nited States, and the very men whom we disfranchise here, the President of the I'nited States may seleet to be Ministers at foreign courts, lie may a))])oiut these very men as Collectors of j)orts. as Postmasters, as Consuls, as .Judges. They may be selected as jurors, to decide upon the rights, and the lil)- erties even, of their fellow citizens. I am look- ing now at the injustice, at the ineipiality which would result if we .should make this discrim- ination. f remember that last year, when this section was under consideration, I was opposed to it (')()) ro-hi. ;nnl the last spei'cli 1 made in that Convention, j)revious to my long illness, ^\■as in regiird to this very subject. IJiit 1 shall not enlarge further upon this j>oint at ]»resent. I agree with the gentleman from Houglas, (Mr. llawley.) in thiiddng that this (piestjon of the elective franchise should lie lefl to the Legisla- ture. This s|>eci;il legislation on our part ]ire- sii|iposes that we know more, and understand Ijc'ter tlie wants of the jn'ojde in the future. than future Legislatures can, coming fresh from the i)eople every year, knowing the w'ants of the i)eople, knowing the exact condition of the State from time to time, knowing what the difliculties are to be met, and what forces are required to meet them. I say that such a sup- position is not well founded, and I think it bet- ter becomes us, out of deference to the people of this State, to leave this matter of legislation entirely to them. Mr. EARL. I probably was in error in the early part of the day, in relation to this section. I took the view, and it seems that the gentle- man from Douglas [Mr. Hawley] takes the same view, that we have no right to override the acts of the General Government ; but if this Convention considers it advisable to leave this section in full force as it stands here, I shall go against striking out the words proposed to be stricken out by the gentleman from Washoe [Mr. Nourse.] It seems to me that when we undertake to be rigid in our action, and to dis- franchise a certain portion of our people, we should be very cautious how we do it. If the Convention shall decide that this article may properly be put in force in every particular, I trust we shall scrutinize it very closely be- fore we ijass it. It occurs to me that, as my colleague [Mr. Collins] has remarked, we should leave this matter to the Legislature, un- conditionally. The truth is, that if we take the course which has been proposed and urged, that course will weigh very much against the adop- tion of the Constitution by the people. Would I, if I had at some time committed some treasona- ble act against the Government, vote for the adoption of a Constitution which would dis- franchise myself? No, sir. Again, we cannot draw the distinction between those who have volunteered in the Southern army and those who have not. That would be impossible. Many young men. and even mere boys, have been conscripted into the armies of the Rebellion, and the effect of the action proposed would bc^ that if they escape and come here they will find themselves disfranchised, and outlaws in every sense of the word. Would not the ten- dency be to convert them into desperadoes, and enemies of society? That would be a result which we sliould certainly deprecate and de- jilore. I believe that the strong should always l»e liberal, and I trust that if this section is to stand at all, those words will J)e rc-tained. Then it will be shown conclusively that we leave those cases to be dealt with entirely by the General Governnu'ut. If i am wrong. I hope some gentleman will correct me ; ))ut I think, now, that this amnesty clause covers the whole ground and leaves the whole matter just where I want it to be left — with the fJi'iu'ral Governnumt. Then we leave the ( lovernuK'nl to say who are citizens, and, con- seqiieiitly, voters, imd who are not. That is the correct jiosition. As to tiie (lisrraiH;hising of each and every individual wlio may have been con- cerned in the reljellion, it is true that some of 4th day.] RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. 87 Thursday,] Johnson. [July them ought to be disfranchised, but we cannot draw the necessary distinction as well as the General Government can, which will have to deal with them directly. It has been shown, or intimated, that only the worst of the rebel outlaws come to this country, but I cannot see it so. I believe that many are immigrating to this Territory now who have become tired of the war, and have come away from it on that account. Many of them have become con- vinced that it is wrong. Now, would it not be mistaken policy in us to adopt a sweeping pro- vision to disfranchise them entirely ? They may become good citizens, and therefore do not let us prevent them by cutting them off en- tirely from the privileges of citizenship. Mi-. JOHNSON. This subject has already been very fully discussed, not only during the sittings of this Committee, but also by the news- paper press of thisTerrritory, from the rostrum, and in the former Convention, charged with the performance of the duty of framing a Consti- tution to be submitted to the people. I do not propose to prolong that discussion, by putting forth my individual opinions, for the sake of any intrinsic merit they might be supposed to possess, but I simply desire, in a few words, to give my views on this subject, in order that my silence may not be construed as indicating a fear on mj^ part to take part in the discussion, or to place myself on the record on the important questions involved. I shall beg the indulgence of gentleman, in the few remarks I have to offer on the suViject before us, in order that those remarks, as is usual in Committee of the Whole, may be per- mitted to take a somewhat discursive range. There are two amendments. I understand, before the Committee ; one, that of the gentle- man from Humboldt, (Mr. Dunne), to strike out the word " disloyal," and the other, the amend- ment of the gentleman from Washoe, (Mr. Nourse), to strike out so much as relates to an amnesty being granted by the Federal Govern- ment. Now, sir, in the outset, I will state what my position is, not only in regard to those two amendments, but regarding the whole subject — the reasons why I maintain that position — why, on the one hand, I am in favor of the proposition of the gentleman from Humljoldt, and. on the other hand, am opposed to that of the gentle- man from Washoe. Various opinions have been advanced and advocated by members here as to the extent of the authority of this Convention to impose restrictions upon the right of voting. In that respect many gen- tlemen, I think, labor under a very great error. I insist that it is entirely within our pro- vince to declare who shall and M^ho shall not vote for the various offices that will be created under this Constitution, notwithstanding any Amnesty Proclamation, or any action whatso- ever on the part of the Government of the United States. Yet, at the same time, whilst I disagree with gentlemen in the opinions which they have advanced, and believe that it is within our power to do this, I say that I cannot concur in the views expressed by the gentleman from Washoe, (Mr. Nourse), when he maintained that we ought inexorably to ex- clude even those who have been or may be exempted from the penalties of the law by the the operation of an Amnesty Proclamation. And for the views and opinions I here express, so far as I am personally concerned, I am re- sponsible only to the people who sent me here. I only enunciate the same views which I have on previous occasions expressed, in the former Convention and elsewhere, and after the ex- pression of which I have had the honor to be indorsed by my constituents, and returned to this Convention, with a full knowledge of the views and sentiments I entertained on this, as well as other public questions. Now, sir, I am decidedly in favor of the amendment to strike out the word " disloyal,"' as proposed by the gentleman ii-om Hum- boldt (Mr. Dunne). I am opposed to retaining the word " disloyal." and for this reason : it would place it in the power of every petty inspector or judge of elections throughoiit the State to determine and decide the question as to who is loyal and who is not loyal. I do not propose to invest them, nor to invest any other subordinate authority ,with such extraordi- nary power. Why, sir. it might seem to be per- sonal, and, therefore, perhaps not strictly in or- der, for me to say that I have heard ascri))ed to members of this Convention, (men who have received the indorsement of as loyal constituen- cies as any of us have.) disloyal sentiments; but I will say that I have heard such sentiments ascribed in this Territory to gentlemen whom I believe to be as loyal as any man in this Con- vention. Such accusations, here or elsewhere, may have no real foundation, but would, in the hands of a petty tyrant, invested with the neces- sary authority to render effective the purposes of this clause, become an instrument of oppres- sion, and a power most likely to be abused. This elective franchise is too great a boon and privilege to be put in that way upon the hazard of the caprice or whim of any such subordinate officer, clothed with extraordinary powers ; and it is for that reason that I am opposed to this language, and in favor of striking it out. As to the other proposition, I say I am not willing to go beyond the wisdom, the intelli- gence, the patriotism, and the loyalty which has thus for marked, and which I fondly hope will continue in the future to mark the administra- tion of our Federal affairs, by Abraham Lin- coln, the President of the United States. I am willing to be instructed in my action here, as a member of this body, by the same considera- tions of humanity, the same wise and enlight- ened policy, and, withal, unselfish patriotism, which, amid the most eventful and trying period of our nation's history, have marked the career of our Federal Executive ; and I am willing that my vote and speech on this exciting ques- tion shall be tested by the platform of princi- S8 RIGET OF SUFFRAGE. [4th day. Thursday.] Proctor — Johnson— Chaplv— Kennedy. j^July pies on which tliat distinguished man now s ands. and that his oflicial acls, in connection with this unholy rcla'llion. shall serve as my guide in the i)eri'ormance of my duties here. It now ajipears as if. when this matter was under discussion in the preceding Convention, some gentlemen who were engaged in that dis- cussion must have heen imbued with the spirit of prophecy; for at that very time, while sonuMd' the members of that ('(invention were enun- ciating their views in favor of making an ex- ception in belialf of such a.s should be granted an amnesty by the Federal Government— on that very day. I say. when those utterances were made, the President of the United States was engaged at Washington in the pre])aration of this same celebrated aniuesty rroclamation, which was soon thereafter sent forth to the world. Now. sir. the position assumed on this subJL'et by Abraham Lincoln, who. I hope, is thepreferVed presidential caiulidate of us all— assuvdly is of all, save one—for I know that my friend from Nye, [Mr. Proctor,] is probably w'liting lor the unveiling of the mysteries of the Chicasro Convention Mr. PKUCTOR, (in his seat.) Oh. no ; Fre- mont. Mr. JOIIN.'^ON. Well, that is probalily about as ol»j.-ctionable. With this one excejition. I ap- jirehend that there is no man in this Convention but stands fully upon the i)latform of the Balti- more Convention, and unreservedly supports its nominees. I am willing, for one, to place my- self squarely on that platform, and now, and upon all future oecasions. to labor for the suc- eess and defend the ])ublic acts of the nom- inees of that Convention. And I say 1 am not willing to go beyond that. I am willing to trust to the wisdom and ])atriotism of the Exec- utive and of Congress, and to let them govern us in this matter of the elective franchise. For that reason, I am ojjposed to striking out that clause which has Ihtu ]U'()])osed to be stricken out by the gentleman from Washoe. I am willing to embrace within the terms of our Con- stitution, so far as relates to the rights and pri- vileges of eilizenship. all those who may be em- braced within the words and within the sjiirit of the Amnesty i'roclamation. or any siniilai' ])ro- claniation which may liere;ifter be prumulgaled, and I am desirous oi' excluding all who are not KO em))raced. I want it distinctly and emphat- ically undei-stood. that 1 indiuse the sentiments which the geiitli-man from Washoe has uttered, and the similar sentiments nllered by others, so far as they eei-sons who are required to sit on juries, whether j;rand or petit, siiall ))e electors of the State. No man. therefore, who is not an elector of the State of Nevada can find a place in the Grand Jury room of the United States Courts in the State of Nevada, noi- on juries in the State Courts either. So much for that. The United States do not assume to regulate the mat«er in any way whatever. The United States have no right to a.ssunie it ; it has never been claimed by any Administration since our Government was formed. They leave both the matters of the (pialitications of jurors and the elective fraiudiise entirely to the State, or to the Govei-nment of the State, and while in one State it is provided that a man must be a citizen of the United States in order to vote : in another, the right to vote is given to Kuch persons only as havt' resided in the State six mcMiths. as in the State of Illinois ; and so on, through other electoral qualifications. These qualifications vary in different States. Now, I wish to re])ly to a doctrine which seems to me to be a monstrous heresy, namely, that all citizens have the right to vote. Why, I can remember that there was once — though it seems to me more like a horrid dream than a reality— a decision of the Supreme Court that black men are not citizens, and that they have no rights which white men are bound to respect. Hut, at the present time, it is conceded that black nu'n are citizens ; they are so recognized everywhere; and yet we have struck them out from the list of voters, and they are excluded from the ballot-l)ox evi'n in California. We have excluded them from the franchise in our Constitution, and we fiml no ditliculty on that score. Again, there is no doubt or question but that women are citizens, just as nnich as men are, an such men as have been referred j to, who have the right of voting upon it, and I they therefore do not want to raise that issue. I Now. Mr. Chairman, I do think, in view of 1 this objection, that the political condition of things here in Nevada must be most unhealthy. [ What do we see ? With the exception of one or- ' ganizati(Hi, the Union party, we find that we have here o])en and avowed rebels and seces- j sionists of every shade and hue. They are crawl- ing into our caucuses, crawling into our con- ventions, and taking part in our deliberations. Instead of having a square stand-up fight over prinr'iples, they get the advantage of I \is by cuiniiug. Cuniung copperheads get into ] our ])olitical organizations, under otir own I Ijanner, and there they juanage to defeat the : real end and object of Union men. I say that is unhealthy. I say, with all deference, of course, that nothing could be better for this new State, than that the issue should be plainly drawn tn'twei-n unconditional Union men and reijel symi)athizers. Now, I ask gentlemen, in all sincerity, to an- I swer to themselves— I do not ask for an answer here, lint at any future time — this question. i My ac({uaiiitanee with this class, personally, is j not large, though 1 have heard of many rebels I being among us, but I would like to have gen- 4tli day.] RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. 91 Thursday,] DeLoxg — Kennedy — Collins — Banks — Nourse. [July 7. tlenien say to themselves whether they know a single man that has served in the armies of the rebels, and has got out here at last safely away from danger, that is a good Union man'i There may be one, two, three, or a dozen, possibly, here in town, but is there one such out of town? The Convention has already decided — it is said here, in our first article — that "All men are by nature free and equal." We do not mean equal politically or sociallj^, of course. We do not mean to say that all men must weigh one hun- dred and fifty pounds each ; and we have said that blacks are not equal to whites. Now that we have changed the Ethiopian's skin, I ask if we will go the whole figure and say that the leopard can change his spots? Have not we gone quite as far on that tack as we can go ? Is it possible that the large population which has come to us from the rebel armies — and more to follow, if this provision is left in the article before us — will be good, reliable Union men? They may take as many oaths as you have a mind to impose, but the reptile snake is in them still, and whenever the opportunity is given, the poison will be struck into the heart of our system of government again and again. It is because I have no faith in the taking of oaths, by rebels, to change their dispositions, and it is because I do not believe that Abraham Lincoln's pardon will purge them from their wickedness, that I go for this amend- ment. It is purely because I believe that this provision, allowing rebels to vote, will ])rove a misfortune to the State, the effects of which we do not know, and shall not know till the mis- chief is done, that I desire to have this clause excluded. Mr. DeLONG. The gentlemen who have ad- dressed the Convention on that side which is supported by the gentleman from Washoe, (Mr. Nourse,) seem to consider the effects of the Am- nesty Proclamation in a light entirely different from what I do. It is true, the proclamation only relates to the consequences of crime, and only relieves those who have been gnilty of treason, from punishment. But I submit, that wlien a man is convicted of larceny, or robbery, or murder, or manslaughter, or any other fel- ony, the punishment of which is imprisonment, and one of the consequences of which is that he is disfranchised, unless relieved by the pardoning power ; when that power does inter- vene, it operates exactly like this proclamation of amnesty. It relieves him from the conse- quences of the crime, and in thus relieving him. it restores the offender entirely to his former position. It is very disagreeable, no doubt, to gentlemen — it is to me, at all events — to see a notorious thief, who has served in the peniten- tiary, and been pardoned only a few days be- fore the election, perhaps, come up to the polls, and checkmate my influence, by casting a vote in opposition to mine. It seems to be all wrong, as in the case of the rebel, who comes up and nullifies yonr vote under this Amnesty Procla- mation. But in the former case, the wisdom of that policy has not been doubted. It is the law of every State, and, I believe, of every civilized country on the face of the globe, that among the consequences of a pardon, is a restoration to all the rights which the person pardoned possessed before the conviction. Now if the x\mnesty Proclamation intervenes, and says to those who have been shedding our brothers' blood on a thousand battle-fields, that their crimes are pardoned, and they are restored to the rights of citizens, and if the power that is- sues that proclamation is paramount, how can we say that they are not restored to those rights ? How can we say that notwithstanding that proclamation, notwithstanding the law of Con- gress, here in our midst, with the Constitution of the United States adopted over us, Avith the proclamation of amnesty supposed to be made in accordance with the Ciinstitution by the head of the (xovernment, we shall assert the negative of what the President proclaims in that procla- mation ? I do not see how we can legally do it. And I believe that anything in our Consti- tution contrary to wliat is provided in that proclamation, would have to give way to it — that any Court would determine that that Am- nesty Proclamation has the elfect of restoring the party affected by it to all the rights which he enjoyed before he became engaged in the rel>ellion. Mr. KENNEDY. I wish to ask the gentleman a question. Does he contend that we have not the right, in this Constitution, to fix the qualifi- cations of voters, notwithstanding the Amnesty Proclamation? Could not we shut out any class of men we saw fit? Mr. DeLONG. No, sir. I say we have a clause in tiie Federal Constitution which guar- antees to the citizen of each State '• all the privileges and immunities of citizens in the sev- eral States," and if we embraced in our Consti- tution a clause providing that any man who is born in Louisiana .shall be prohibited from vot- ing here, it would be not only wrong, but un- constitutional. It would be violative of the spirit of the Constitution and the laws of the Fedei'al Government. Mr. COLLINS. Will the gentleman state that proposition again. Mr. DeLONG. 1 say that I believe that if we should embrace In this Constitution a clause saying that a man born in Louisiana, or in the State of Maine, or any other State, shall not be entitled to exercise the right of an elector here, it would be unconstitutional. And that shows that we have no right to discriminate in this way. Mr. BANKS. I will ask the gentleman, since in some States negroes have a right to vote, and we have provided that they shall have no such right here, whether he does not think the same rule would apply to that provision? Mr. DeLONG. We in effect deny, by the adoption of the first section, that the negro is a citizen. Mr. NOURSE. If that be so, why do we say 92 RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. Thursday,] DeLong. [4tli day. [July 7. . ••every vshUe male citizen," showing that some citizi-ns an- i-xcliidod t Mr. I)kL(»NG. 1 e who were included by tlie auuiesty pro- clamation or not. we .should be governed by that policy which prevails in every civilized land, under whicii. when a man is pardoned by tlie pardoning power, it is held to be a lair pre- sumption that he was pardoned for good and sudicient reasons, and ihat the executive, in pmnting tlie ])ardon, ha.s done tiiat which re- iilor«'.> him to citi/.i-nship. That is my view. We con-ider that the Governor has goud reasons for his actictn, when he pardons a man from the jieiiitentiary, and restores him to citizenship, al- though he may have been convicted of an infa- mous crinu', and we do not allow ourselves to doubt but that he has a rigid to vote ; I never have lieard it doubted in any legislative body. or any convention, or elsewhere, that in such a ca.-e all the original rights of citizenship, in- cluding the elective franchise, are restored to him, as purely as if they had never been con- taminated. Now. I look upon the future, in regard to this war. a liltli- dilferently from my friend from Lyon. (Mr. Kennedy.) As I kxjk ui)nn it, the war is now being conducted by southern men nujre from a feeling of jnide for their section, than from any attachment to their so-called Con- federacy. I ))elieve that nine-tenths of the luen who are .serving in the army of Jelferson Davis, to-day, if brought right down to a fair and can- did exposition of their views, would say that they disbelieve in (he doctrine of secession, and if they were pre.ro- claimed their unionism so loudly, especially as long as any hope of the success of the rebellion exists. These men have been so long proclaim- ing the doctrine of secession, asserting the suc- cesses of tlie Confederate troops, doubting the reports of Union victories, and receiving with unquestioning faith the reports of Southern successes, that 1 am compelled to douljt all their professions of loyalty and unionism. I do not believe a word of it. I do not. to use a com- mon vulgarism, "go one cent on" their union- ism and loyalty, whoever or wherever they are. But I say, "while wc are engaged in making, not a legislative enactment, but a law for all time, a Constitution, which we hope is to endure, per- haps for centuries, wo should be very careftil how we word our legislation. After this war shall have been ended, and it .'^hall have become a settled conviction that those Mho were en- gaged in it have returned in good faith to their allegiance, our Legislature may desire to over- look the past, and allow them again to stand among us as equals ; for, if we do not take that course, we may never expect one of them, or their children, ever to be loyal again. We .shall have thrown down the gauntlet, challenging them to continue their hostility to the govern- ment, and they will continue it. A feeling of hatred, a feeling that they are lieing subjected to persecution, will animate them. They will feel that we have put them down among the ne- groes and Chinamen, and refused to give them a chance to be good citizens again, on equal terms with ourselves, if they would be. I say, our adoption of that policy would strike like iron to the heart of every i)roud-spirited south- ern man in llie Territory. They would say, and they would Ije right in it, that though they may have intended to becom^^ good citizens, yet they could not do it, because we have an odious pro- vision of tht' Constitution standing there against them, and impending over their heads for all time to come. There is no encouragement for the evil-doer to repent. 1 would like to see the amendment defeated, and then I would like to see this whole section so remodeled as to leave out this proscriptive feature altogether, leaving the section to read in this manner : — Skc. 2. No person who has l)oon or may be convicted ol' treason or felony in any State or Territory of the t'niti (1 States, unless rostoreti to civil I'iRhts, and no idiot or insane iJerson, shall be entitled to the privilege of an elector. I would not like to have that word " disloyal " left in as a constitutional provision. Then, after amending the section so as to read in that w.iy. I w(Hild put in a jn-ovision that the Lc^gis- lature may. from time to time, lix the (pialilica- ti(Uis of voters. 1 would be willing even to ^ strike out all these other provisions — to strike 4tli day.] RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. 93 Thursday.] Kexxedy — DeLong — Eakl. [July 7. out " idiots " and " insane persons," if you please ; and then, if we fear any evil results from permitting the elective franchise to dis- loyal men, we can arm the Legislature with power to prevent the]n from voting, until such time as in the wisdom of the future it may be determined that those men shall be allowed again to come into the fold as equals. But 1 cannot see any wisdom in tying up tlie Legisla- ture forever in this respect, if we wish to re- claim these men and restore them to their for- mer position of brothers. I have as much cause as any man to feel irate and revengeful towards the Southern rebellion. I have met with my losses at its hands, and have as much reason to feel indignant and outraged in regard to it as any otlier man. But \\'hile 1 sit in this Convention, I will not forget my duties to the future on account of my passions concerning the present. I say I wish to see this Constitution so modeled that no man con- victed of crime, or who is idiotic or insane, shall be allowed to vote in the present or in the future, and then I would leave the rest in the hands of the Legislature. If, when this war is over, we allow those who have been disloyal to share with us in the right of suftrage, and in all the rights of citizenship, as our ecjuals, they may, and probaljly will become loyal citizens, or else the whole doctrine of the Christian re- ligion is a mistake. The argument of the gen- tleman from Lyon, (Mr. Kennedy,) would be that this crime is of such a nature that no man can repent of the sin he has committed, and re- turn to allegiance and loyalty. Mr. KENxNEDY. That is not my idea at all. I said they could not escape the penalty, and that is in accordance with the Christian doctrine, which asserts that Christ had to suffer the pen- alty for the sins of others, in order that they might themselves escape from suffering. Mr. DeLONG. I was attempting to state only what I conceived to be the purport of the gentleman's argument — that he did not believe that those men who had willingly and actively participated in this rebellion were, or ever could become, truly loyal, and that he believed for generations hereafter their descendants would be imbued with this same spirit of dis- loyalty and hatred towards our Government. For my part, I look forward to no such state of affairs. I believe that this war will convince those men that there is inherent within our sys- tem of republican government, such immense power to enforce its own laws and protect its existence, that they will be compelled now and forever hereafter to respect it. I believe that they were led into disrespect towards our Gov- ernment from a mistaken idea of its power, and that they are now convinced of their mistake, and, in my opinion, there would not to-day be left a corporal's guard of secessionists in the United States of America if they could only escape from the consequences of their rebellion and be restored to the same civil rights which they formerly enjoyed. I believe that they have become convinced of those two fatal mistakes which led them into the war— first, that the Northern men will fight ; and, second, that they will expend their money, as long as they have got a cent of money or of credit, or a machine with which to make paper, in order to get the means to put down this rebellion and sustain the Government. If they had only known these two things before the rebellion, the knowledge of which has cost them so dearly, there never would have been an organized rebellion in our Union. These mistakes are what underlaid the whole of it, and they are willing now to get out of it in any way they can, with the loss of everything but honor. That is my opinion, and I do insist, on behalf of men who I know are not secessionists at heart, men who do desire to return to their allegiance, men who do desire to become good citizens, and to retrieve their past errors, that we shall not cast such men aside, and throw a shadow over their names, so that they may not hope, for long years to come, to stand fairly be- fore their fellow men on the score of loyalty. I hope we shall not compel any man to remain disloyal. I desire that, if they will come in as good citizens, under that Amnesty Proclamation, and demean themselves properly, they shall not be reduced to a condition of vassalage, but shall be received as equals. But if this provi- sion stands, they are branded and stigmatized, just as long as they are living and breathing men. I do not see why we should consider our- selves more wise or more patriotic than all who are to come after us. and should, therefore, re- fuse to allow the Legislature to determine who shall and who shall not exercise the elec- tive franchise, so long as we take the pains to say that they shall not admit to the rights of suftrage any man who has been convicted of treason or felony, or who is insane or idiotic. And I do not see what benefit the Amnesty Proclamation would be to any white man, pos- sesssing the soul, and spirit, and lu'ide of a white man, if by that prochunatiim he is to lie merely relieved from the punishment inflicted upon the traitor, but not restored to any of the rights which belong to white men. I do not believe that that is the spirit of the proclama- tion, or that that is its intention. I believe it is intended to act like the pardon of the Governor of a State extended to a culitrit in the peni- tentiary, restoring him to all his former civil rights. And if we had the power to run coun- ter to the spirit of that proclamation, I do not think we ought to do it, but we should rather act in accordance and in harmony with the spirit of those who are high in power, ad- ministering the affairs of the nation. ]\Ir. EARL. I shall not, upon this question, detain the Convention long. I am glad to see that there is a spirit of liberality manifested here. 1 feared at one time that this proposition would be defeated, but I now feel that the way is clear again. I ask if it would not savor somewhat of State Rights doctrine if we here, 94 RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. [4th day Thureday.] Hawley— Crosmax — TozEK— LocKwcon. [July 7. in the face and eyes of the Government, stand np unJ siiy tliat the Govornnu'iit has done wninj; in f'xU'iidiiijr it-' ninncsty to those iiu'ii who have hei-u eiiira^'eil ill relnllion. I tliink, for my iiart. it woiihl savor strongly of State Kif:lits. It wiiiiKl he one of those extremes which we ought to avoid. Now, sir. in regard to the disfranchisement of those iieople. we have but to look at other nations. If you look at the history of Scot- hind, what do you find? They have become a tlioroiighly loyal people to the British (Govern- ment, because, alter they were practically sub- jugated, tiiey were not Itorne down l)y the power of (Jreat IJritain. but were treated as ecpials. (»n the other hand, look at Ireland. As long as her people have left tlie spirit of men within them they will be ct)nstantly endeavoring to re- volutionize, and the time may come when they will succeed. And wiiy ? Because they are and hav»' been down-trodden by the British Govern- ment, just as the people of the South wouhl be if we attt-mpted to tread them under foot. Those people, so long as they had a spark of man- hood in them, would resent it. 1 hope, if the Beclioii remains at all. that the Convention will not strike out the words proposed to be stricken out by the gentleman from Washoe, which wtuild di-i|'raneliise them in every way. 1 would prefer to leave the whole matter to the Legislature, believing they would be better judges llian we as to who should be admitted, from time to lime, to the privilege of the elec- tive franchise. .Mr. IlAWi.EV. I hold that all acts of the Legislature wiiich can have no practical ellVct. are worse than sui)ertluous. Now. sir. I submit to the gentlemen who have advocated the striking out of this paragrajdi which has led to so long a debate, wiiat metiioil can l)e iulopted l)y the autliorities to discriminate between those j)artics who ha\ e borne arms, and held civil and mili- tary oflices under the Confederate (xovernment, ami .John Smith, or John Jones, or any other individual? Is the State of Nevada to .send Commis-ifuiers to the Confederate capiUil, to demand of.b'if. Davis's Ailjiitant (leneral an in- Hpeeiion of tile muster rolls of the Confederate army? Are we to send Connnissioners to the Be vera! so-called Confederate States, and to de- mand of their respective Secretaries of State that our Commissioners be allowed to examine tlie connnissions of all tiu-ir several officers? The enai-tmeiit. if it is an enactment, must, in tJie nature of tilings, prove inoperative. It would be a work of Herculean dilliculty to achieve anv residts under an enactment of this kind, providing that tlie classes of men speci- fied therein shall lie ileprived of the elective franchise. For lliat rea-im. if Ibr no other, I think, with ail resjiect to tlie gentleman who offered it. that this amendment shonhl lie re- jected l»y tlie Convention, and llial either tlie Hection should remain lus it is, or tlie whole siili- ject matt«T should be left to the Legislature of the proposed new State, in order that liiey may i prescribe the regulations controlling elections, ' and determine who shall and who shall not ex- ercise the elective franchise. .Mr. CUOSMAN. 1 have but a few words to offer in relation to this matter. In the first place, i will state my position, which is this : I am ojiposed to any alterations of the Article before us. Tiie first proposition of the gentle- man from Washoe (Mr. Nourse) w'ould not meet with my ajijiroval. for the reason that, in my judgment, it would lie a violation of the princi- jiles of liberty and justice. The doctrine we started out with at an early day, the doctrine which we wish to carry out, is that those men who have been engaged in the rebellion have erred — that those men who have been shedding the blood of our brothers have gone astray, but that if they are willing to come back, and \ be good citizens, we are willing, or I am will- ing, at least for one, to forgive them, although, ' under the circumstances, it may seem hard. It would be hard to see men coming up to the ballot-boxes whom we know are still traitoi'S I at heart ; but w'e know that there are many who I have sincerely re])ented. Doubtless there are ' many still in the rebel ranks who have repented, and who remain there, perhaps, from the force of circumstances over which they have no con- , trol. The progress of events may have forced , them along until they found themselves in the rebel army. Some such men have got away, peihaps. as soon as they could, and now, if they are willing to take an oath of allegiance to the ! Government. I am willing to extend to them the hand of friendship. I think that humanity demands it. I think that that is shown to be the policy of our (lOvernment. and 1 think that we ought to extend our approval to that policy, if these men come among us. So far as relates to striking out the word '■ disloyal." I can see no necessity for it. If the Legislature is going to pass laws for the regulation of the ballotdjox, they may lu-ovide a suitable oath for parties to take who are suspected oi disloyal acts. The j Article, as it stands, suits me, and I do not see the necessity for any alteration whatrver. i Mr. TOZi'^R. I "hope the Convention will come speedily to a vote, and act upon the va- rious (piestions pending before it. And. without discussing the matter further, or giving any reasons why and wherefore. I will only say that I hojie the amendments will V)e voted down ; and, if they are, I have prepared an amend- ment, in accordance with the suggestions of my colleague. (Mr. DeLong,) which 1 hope M'ill then be adoptecl. ; Mr. LOCK WOOD. I have not occupied the 'time of tlie Convention hitherto, and the state ()f my health will not permit me to make any . exf^-nded remarks upon this cpiestion. But , there seems to me, from listening to the discus- sion thus far. to be a disposition here to pander to the disloyal sentiment existing in the Terri- tory. One gentleman tells us he is fearful that this Constitution will not be adopted if we do not amend this section. I, for one, like the 4th dav.] ]IIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. 95 Thursday,] Kexxedy — TozER — Warwick. [July 7. clause just as it stood, exactly. There has been a great deal said about justice. Justice to whom? A great deal has been said about Con- stitutional obligation. Obligations to whom ? Justice and Constitutional obligations to the men who have been trying to stab to the heart one of the best Governments ever known in history? Have we so soon forgotten the brave men who have gone forth to battle for our lib- erties ? Shall we so soon forget the new-made graves all along the banks of the Potomac and all over the South, that we should be over prompt to do "justice " to those men that are trying to stab the Government to the heart? If those men have proved to be traitors once, if they have, under certain circumstances, tried to destroy this Government once, what guarantee have we. I ask, that, under like circumstances, they will not attempt to do the same thing again ? Who would be so inconsistent as to hire a thief to guard his treasure ? I consider that the ballot- box is. as another has said, the palladium of American liberty, and I would guard it, and hedge it around in every possible way ; and I believe that here in our organic act is the place to hedge it around ; the place to build bulwarks for the protection of that sacred pi'erogative. We should provide that no one having even the taint of treason upon him shall be allowed to come to the ballot-box. side by side with us Avho have sustained the Governmeut in its hour of darlvest peril. We should not permit them to come up and vote with us. Shall they be permitted to govern this new-born State ? Now, sir. you talk about justice. I feel, for one, that it is but justice to those brave men who have given all, even their lives, to their country ; to those men who have fallen around Richmond like leaves in the autumn forest, that those who par- ticipated in this cursed rebellion should be for- ever excluded from the elective franchise. I know there are many loyal men in that section of our country, and some of them may have reached our Territory, but they are the exceptions to the general rule. I say that our ballot-box should be securely guarded, and controlled only by loyal men. 1 agree with the gentleman from Lander, [Mr. Warwick], as to the character of our immigration. I know of men here who are just from the rebel ranks ; men who have served under Price, in Missouri, and if we leave the ballot-box open to that class, enough of them may come by and by to carry the elec- tions. I think if a man were ever so virulent a copperhead, he could scarcely show brass enough in his face to come out and attempt to oppose this Constitution for the reason that we have retained the word " disloyal " in it. I believe that it is good enough as it stands. I was not a member of the last Constitutional Convention, and therefore I can, with propriety, do that Convention the justice and the courtesy to say that I believe that clause as it stands is just what it should be, and I trust this Conven- tion will leave it just as it is, voting all these amendments down. Mr. KENNEDY. The objection is made here to the use of this word " disloyal " that it is vagiie and impracticable, and to meet that ob- jection. I desire to read one section from the Constitution of Vermont, as it was passed in 1793 :— Sec. 21. Every man of the full age of tw'eiitj--one years, having resided in this State for the si)ace of one whole year, next before the election of represcuta- tives, and is of a quiet and peaceable behavior, and vnU take the following oath, or affirmation, shall be en- titled to all the privileges of a freeman of this State. Now. since 1793, they have had no trouble in Vermont in making that language practica- ble. Have we in this State less sense than the people of Vermont, so that it is impossible for us to make this provision, in regard to the dis- loyalty of persons, something that shall be of practical benefit? The question was taken on the amendment offered by Mr. Nourse, to strike out the words. '• unless an amnesty be granted to such by the Federal Government,"' and the amendment was not agreed to. The question recurred upon the amendment offered by Mr. Dunne, to strike out the word •' disloyal." Mr. TOZER. I move, as a substitute for the section, the following : — Sec. 2. No person who has been or may he con- tacted of treason or felony in any State or Territory of the United States, unless restored to ci^^l rights, and no idiot or insane person shaU be entitled to the privileges of an elector. And the Legislature may by law determine for what other reasons or causes any other class of persons than those mentioned shall or may be disqualified from exercising the elective fran- chise. Mr. WARWICK. For the same reasons, sir, that I opposed the first amendment offered this morning, I oppose the present amendment. I am adverse to the idea of striking out that por- tion which I read this morning, and which is the portion, above all others, of this section that 1 desire to see incorporated in the oi'ganic law that we are now about perfecting — that portion which reads as follows : — No person who, after arriving at the age of eighteen years, shall have voluntarily borne arms against the United States, or held ci\Tl or military office under the so-called Confederate States, or either of them, unless an amnesty be granted to such by the Federal Govern- ment. Until such time as that treasonable act shall be covered by the Amnesty Proclamation, to which we all look forward for the peaceful and triumphant solution of the war. I desire to ex- clude those who have been guilty of treason from participating in the elective franchise. I know it is said to be noble to have a giant's strength and yet not use it like a giant. But I contend now, as I contended this morning, that every principle of self-preservation demands that this section, above all others, should be incorporated in our organic law. Why is it that gentlemen now, in this our hour of peril, while we are battling for the life of the nation, desire to have men whose hands are red with the blood of our fathers, and brothers, and sons. 96 RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. [4th dny. Tbursday.] NOCRSE — Baj.'ks. [July 7. come in. and fharc with us in the elective fran- chise urouiid tliut s.u-iv.l palhuliuiii ot freoiloni. the h.ilU.t box r Why do thi-y .U-sue to havo thin iiix.vi^ioii striL-k.-ii out. wbu-h. ahoyo all olhen*. is ih.' iiii|)iTial s.ilVjriuiril ot our rights. What is it we a-kr .^iiiiply that those who are enttajteil in rebellion now — uot those who httve bei-ii iiiii>res.si'il ; not those wlio. under a contioii act have been conipelled to bear inns whether willing' or not -should be ex- cluded. Ihil the man who ean stand up and Bay, •• 1 have not willingly borne arms against uiv'eouutrv -no, I was forced into the ranks. add 1 ii'pent mv action." is not e.vchulid. This iiro\ i^iim tloes not cover him. 15ut gentlemen are not satislied with that. They claim that all the others should be allowed to come in — that though their sin be as scarlet, yet shall they be a** white x-' wool. Now all 1 ask is. that those who \oluntarily went forward and raised their KK-rilegious ha'mls against the Government — thos«- who have sought to tear it down ; those who have struggletl to murder it. when the life of the nation was trembling in the balance ; Iho-^e who willingly went forward — not these who were compell«"-d to join in that treasonable work— shall be excluded from the elective fran- chise in the coming State. Why. here we are surrounded witli rebellion. It is well known that there is no Slate or Territory in the Union which hits become so much a harbor of refuge for secessionists as Nevada and California. As u gentleman who preceded mc remarked, it is here they tly as to their city of refuge. In my own county of Lamler. I know that treason is blut.mt in" almost every hamlet and village. Therefore we ask that this provision be incor- |>imit<-d in our Constitution, whatever else you wc tit to strike out. We do not ask that those who have been forced into the ranks of rebel- lion shall be excludeil from the ballot-box. l)ut tho«- who hav4' viduntiirily l)orne arms ; those who have contributed to aid the rebellion — from wh itever motive ; whether it be southern cupidity, or southern pride, or hatred of north- cm institutions — all those men who have vol- untarily sought to overthrow the (Jovernment. at leiL«t until riiat (iov<-rnment be placed again upon u stable foundation. Let us use every means in our jtower for the .security of our lilj- erties. uiid our rights. Now, then, the proposition niaile here, to Rtrike out these words, " disloyal persons," it w«'ms to me, ouglit to rover every ground of obji-ction. Tin- only objectitui raised is. that tlje words are vague, ami that it would be al- nioMi impossible to define the character of the offiMife. We know, nn ha.<» been stated on the floor of thi.s Convention, that men dilfering in opinion, whow loyalty is liki- the virtue of Ca-siir's wife, not only ])ure liut above susjii- cion. hive been (•hargeolitical doc- trines may be promulgated, and, for the time, the popular ear may be controlled )>y them ; the i)opnlar mind may be deceived ; and the populai' heart may be made, for the time being, if not altogether wrong, at least to move in a wrong direction. Take an instance which is within the memory of all. I recall the time when men, from the press and the pul])it, and other prominent points, began declaiming against our citizens of foreign birth, and in time a dangerous sentiment was aroused, to such an extent that had a Legislature then met, possess- ing the power which this amendment proposes to confer, of deciding who shall and who shall not be permitted to vote at our elections, all that class of our fellow-citizens would have been excluded from the exercise of the elective franchise. Now, sir. I ask, with our present feelings upon that subject, would we be willing to have any such event happen in our Territory '! I hope the right to exercise this high prerog- ative will l)e so fixed in the Constitution that passion will not be able at any time to exert such an influence upon it as it might do under the provision which this amendment proposes to place in our Constitution. I see no diflSculty in allowing the section to stand as it is, with the word " disloyal "' stricken out. "We shall then leave our Legislature to be guided by a certain rule, and all persons who have raised their arms against the Government will be ex- cluded until that Government sees fit to pardon their offenses. AVe then secure every advan- tage to be derived from such persons becoming rejientent. We all know that men judge more wisely as they grow older. I have myself; in common with many others here, stood on the stump, and acknowledged Avith shame — aye, with burning shame — that I once trained in the ranks of the Democracy, and proclaimed slavery to be a divine institution. I was willing at one time, as others were, to march in those ranks, and to maintain that doctrine. But we feel that we were monstrously wrong in the position which we then held, and in our declarations of what we were willing to do in an emer- gency in defense of the principles which we then believed in, and we now repent of that wrong. Now if you or I, Mr. Chairman, at the outbreak of this rebellion, had belonged to the State Rights party, and had lived in the South ; if we had been roused to enthusiasm in the support of those principles, in which we fully believed, who knows but we, too, might have raised our hands against the Government of our country ? We might, perhaps, have been G promoted to positions above that of the rank of Colonel, and then we could not even have come in under the provisions of this part of our Constitution. Now, in view of all the circumstances of the case, in view of what we know of human na- ture — that men may be thoroughly wrong one day, and at heart and in principle right the next day — in view of the past history of our country, in view of what we know in regard to the dan- ger likely to arise, why should we give the Le- gislature the power to determine that no one who is not a gray-headed man, or a bald-headed man, or any other description of a man they please, shall be allowed to vote, or that the volunteers, or any other class of our citizens, shall be excluded from that right ? In view of the dangers, I say, arising from human passions exercised in that way, I do hope that we shall adopt no such monstrous provision as is con- tained in this amendment, allowing a temporary majority in the Legislature to control so im- portant a matter. Mr. FRIZELL. I rise to make a few remarks in support ot the amendment offered by my friend and colleague from Storey, (Mr. Tozer.) Gentlemen will perceive, by close attention to the section, as proposed to be amended, that everything which properly belongs to a consti- tution, or which should be fixed in a State con- stitution, in this regard, is contained in that amendment. The amendment reads in this^wise : "No iiersou who has been or maybe convictecl of treason, or felouy, in any State or Territory ol' the Uni- ted States, unless restored to civil rights, and no idiot, or insane person, shall be entitled to the privilege of an elector," etc. All that, in the middle of Section 2, as printed, which applies or relates to disloyal persons, is omitted from this amendment, and left entirely to the Legislature of our future State of Nevada. I think that is the proper course, and I will pro- ceed, in my feeble manner, to tell you why I think so. Gentlemen are aware that I have made Tnit few remarks in this Convention, ov*'- ing to indisposition, and I am scarcely able to address the Convention now. As to the rights of the different States in the regulation of the rights of suffrage, it will be observed that the different States have taken quite different action upon this subject. In some States, as has been remarked by the gentleman from Washoe, on my left, (Mr, Nourse,) colored men have been allowed to vote ; in othoir States, again, the statutes have required a pi'operty qualification ; and in still others, the Legislature have i-equired men to pay a poll-tax, as a prerequisite to the right of voting ; but none of the requirements or measures advocated by gentlemen, so far as I have examined, have been inserted in the Con- stitution of any State. Another particular rea- son for leaving this subject to the Legislature, is this : that the very nature and course of this rebellion may, and probably will, take different shapes and shades every year, and what form it may ultimately assume, we cannot foresee. ;iS RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. [4tli cla^^ Thursday,] Coixixs. [July 7. Now. the gentlorann from Humboldt who la«t *iiok<' [Mr. Hanks] roforrcd to passion. Ho d.ii.l timt the Li-i.'islntiuv niisht ))l' actnatvd by 1. i"i..ii. Itiit wi> mi'i't hiTi' ill till' most critical i»-;."l. as I l.iok at it. of the rebellion, and wc jir..]...M' now t'> (i.v. and establish, and stamp, a law in our State Constitution that is almost ir- revocable—a law which is to govern in all fu- ture times, notwithstanilinji the fact that this n-bellion will inevitably take ditferent sliades fri.m ye;ir to year. 1 certainly tliink it would be t.etter t.. leave it to tile Le.u:i>l:»tun'. Why sh,. lid not a Lef^islature of the State of Ne- vada, a fjreat State, as we hope it will be in the future, comiu}? up fresh from the people, be the proper bo«ly to refer such a subject to? It n>uv be larger in numl>ers. and even a more in- telliircnt and ilijrnitied ))ody than this Conven- tio'.i and wliy siiould we be afraid to entrust our rijrht* to such a body ? If we refer back. ^Ir. Chairman, to the his- i-irv of other nations, to the civil wars of Eng- land, to tlie wars of the Jvosc:*. or the wars of the Lonjr I'ariiament with James or Charles. w.- will lind that after once tlu> wars had closed the ditliL-ulties were healed up and forgotten; and tliat there was no persecution against those whii had been in arms. Now. I hold that any- tliin'^ like this in our State Constitution would be jiersecution. I say. let the rebels ))e pun- i^he 1 if the Keileral Government sees fit. and to tlie ext"nt it sees lit. but do not persecute ; and I apjieal to you, Mr. Chairman, whether you ever knew of any sect, political or re- iifjious, which was persecuted for its pe- culiar tenets. Imt what that sect increased and jirospered ■/ I say. then, punish, but do not jieiN.'cnte. Leave tlu' door open for tlu' rebels to retnrn to their allegiance, and leave it to the Legislature of our future State to regulate, frtim year to year, this subject of the elective franchi-'e. I do think that this ])oison of seces- nioii. tijMiken of by the gentleman on my left [Mr. Nourse].as being infused in the veins and vitals of the Republic, can be eradicated. and that the best way to eradicate it from so- ciety would be to leave those men a chance to return, und not persecute them. If this matter is left to the Legislature, they could shape a law Jir laws, from time, to time, to meet the ca-e ill all its phitses. Mr. CI iLLINS. I do not feel at liberty to al- low this subject to come to ii v(de without say- ioif a few words in Veganl to it. I tiiink that tin- amendment ]iro]Mised by my colleagiu' [.Mr. Tellion is crushed, as it may be at an early day, the loyal sentiment of the country will be ample to absorb and control the hostile element. I believe that those men who are now contending against the Government, when they shall cross the moun- tains and the plains to this State, will be- come as firmly convinced of their wrong as we now are — that their suffering, and self-denial, and poverty, will be a lesson that will teach them to appreciate the blessings of free institu- tions. And when they mingle with us, and find that we receive them in a liberal spirit, that the right hand of fellowship is not withheld, I do be- lieve that there will l)e no difficulty in moulding them into good citizens. Having full faith in this moral power, in the efficiency of free Then comes in this section, proposed by my colleague, to be amended so as to read : — Sec. 2. No person who has been or may be convicted of treason or felony, in any State or Territory of the United States, unless restored to civil rights, and no idiot or insane person shall be entitled to the privileges of an elector, and the Legislature may, by law, deter- mine for what other reasons or causes' any- other class of persons than those mentioned shall or may be dis- qualilied from exercising the elective franchise. Now, I would like to invite the serious attention of the Convention to another matter, and that is, the entire impracticability of this section, or clause, proposed to be stricken out. I want gentlemen to look at it carefully. It is gener- ally admitted, by the members of the Conven- tion, that the word "disloyal," in that last clause, shall be stricken out. And why? Merely because it is so difficult to decide as to who is disloyal. A man may have been disloyal last year, and to-day he may be exceedingly loyal. Why, sir, I can remember, twenty, twenty-five, or thirty years ago, that when a man dared to stand up, in the Northern States, in New England, in New York, in Ohio, in any of the Northern States, and declare that he believed slavery was wrong, that it was contrary to every principle of republican government, and to the teachings of the Gospel, those very men, who now are the loudest and most earnest in their hostility against slavery, the most earnest advocates of the war, the readiest and firmest supporters of the President and of the Emancipation Procla- mation, Avere then the readiest and most eager to throAV addled eggs at the man Avho declared those sentiments. Do they entertain such feel- principles, in the efficacy of free schools, and ings noAV ? Certainly not. And Avhy ? Because in the power of this free i)eople, Avith its intel ligence, its industry and its energy, I am confi dent that we shall be more than equal to the absorption of all of that rebellious element which may come among us. A little buncomljo has been introduced by some gentlemen Avho have spoken on the other side, to the effect that if this amendment shall be adopted, as introduced by my colleague, the Legislature may exclude from A'oting the bald- headed men, or gray-headed men, or, perhaps, the red-headed men, Avhieh I suppose would in- clude my friend from Humboldt. [Laughter.] They tell us that there is danger of such classes of men Ijeing proscribed. Why, if gentlemen will read the first section of this Article, they Avill find that this difficulty is all made clear. I Avill read it, for the benefit of those gentlemen, that they may know that they are entirely mis- taken, and that the Convention may see that this argument is merely for buncombe, and nothing- more : — ■ Section 1. Every white male citizen of the United States, (not laboring under the disabihties named in this Constitution,) of the age of twenty-one years and iipwards, who shaU have resided in the State six months, and in the district or county thii-ty days next preceding any election, shall be entitled to vote for all officers that now are or hereafter may be elected by the people, and circumstances have transpired to change the prevailing sentiment, and the sentiments of men have therefore been changed, so that those men are to-day among our best and most devoted Union men. Then, I say, are we to shut down and close forever the gates against future re- pentance ? Sir, I knoAV of men Avho have been earnest secessionists, men who have been zealous enemies of the Government of the Uni- ted States, Avho have already seen their folly, and Avho noAV stand, shoulder to shoulder, de- fending their country against the assaults of re- bellion. I ask Avhether there is to be no door of escape for them? Are they to haA^e no hope? Are not the power and force of free principles, and the power and force of the arms of the Federal Government, equal to the task of couA'crting and persuading them to a better life, and to good citizcnslii]) ? My faith in the good that is in men, and in the poAver of justice, is such as to lead me to rely on that good and that poAver. My friend, the gentleman from Lyon, [Mr. Kennedy,] has attempted to arraign the good old State of Vermont, and has brought her Constitution here, when the argument of imprac- ticability Avas presented in regard to this word ^ _ " disloyal." He says that certainly if such lan- upon all questions submitted to the "electors at such | guage was good enough for Vermont, it Avill be election. I good enough for us Now, I have to say that I 100 RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. [4th day,^ Thursday.] Kex.vedy — DeLong — Collins. [July 7. have a little knowledge of the history of that tiwte. and 1 know tlu- tioubk'. perpUxity and annovaiice that thi' pcojtK- have siirtV'ied iiiuKt that i>r.>vi>lon which hi- has ivad. on accuiiiit of iho ch ip_'»-> whioli liad or ovor-/A'alt)US nu-u liavi' »>nni}:ht ag.uiisi tiiose wliom tiii-y desired to jiroscrihe. For nearly twenty years the citizens of Vermont strufr^'leirearnestly to that end. and finallv. in l^If^, they succeeded in dianginfj; the Constitution in snefi a way that tiiat ambiguity and tiuulde wa.s entirelv removed. Mr. KENNEDY. Did they change that clause ? Mr. Ci >LLINS. They did change that clause. Mr. ICKSNEDV. It does not appear to have lieeu changed in this published volume of •• American Constitutions." Mr. COLLINS. In Vermont, in 1828, the Constitution was amended as follows : — S',. ).. r- u who is not already a freeman of this State f]: 1 lo exeri'i.erRon who, after arrivinR at the age of •■i«ht<e inciimliunt upon the Convention tocstaldi^h u(;ourt liy whiuh this whole matter vhall be adjudicated. What Court is going to decide it? An immigrant comes over, and Madame Rumor, with her thousand tongues, pr(»claims that the man was in the reltel army, or that lie held an ollice under tlie civil govern- ment of the relM'llion ; and how an- you going to prove it? As my frieml froin Douglas lias atiked. are you going to send a Commissioner to the Capital of the Confederacy, (and where that Capiiul is to be ne.xt year or next montli (ifxl only knows,) and there to ascertain whether John Jones or Uicliard Williams, or any other man, has ever Itoriie arms under tlie Confederacy against the I'nited .States? And suppose it to be true, how is it to Ix! adjudged, or how are you going to prove it? J low are you to know his age ? The yonng man may say '•I was only fifteeen years of age," and there is another question to be brought out on proof. He may say tliat he went into tlie rebel ranks involuntarily ; that he was conscripted and forced into the rebel army. And when you have proved all these things, I ask what then ? Allowing it to be possible that such a thing-could l)e proved, what then? Why. you might chance to fall upon one of the very best Union men in the State of Nevada, who may be laboring shoulder to shoulder with you to sustain this State, and to uphold the Federal Government. He may be one of the mo.st earnest Union men we have, and he may be assailed, while there arc hundreds and hun- dreds of others who may be inditt'ereiit or opposed to the Government, whom you cannot bring to the bar. Thus the Union man may suffer disfran- chisement while those others escape. I tell you it is a dangerous instrument of power. It is a dangerous declaration to insert in our or- ganic law, when we are liable to do so much injury to individuals by means of that declara- tion. I say it were better to let ten secession- ists escape, than that, in the future, one Union man should suffer at our hands. Now, the proposition is, to leave this matter to the Leg- islature ; that is, to the bodies of men who come directly up from the people, chosen to de- liberate upon the wants of the State; to those men who know precisely what the wants of the State are. But I will trespass no longer upon the Con- vention, as I am courteously informed by a friend here that I have already spoken over fifteen minutes. Mr. DeLONG. I think there is no limit to the debate, as to time, in the Committee of the Whole. Several voices — "Go on !"' "Leave !*" "leave !" Mr. COLLINS. I desire only to say that the Legislature is the proper body to take this matter into consideration ; that it is better (pialified for it than we are. One gentleman — 1 think it Mas the gentleman from Humboldt, (Mr. Banks.) — has suggested that the Legisla- ture would be excited and impassioned on the suliject. As I said before, we are the body that is most likely to be excited and stimulated by passion. I want nothing incorporated into the Constitution that is not al)Solutely neces.sary. I consented, yesterday, in that section relating to imramount allegiance, to allow a gloss to pass upon the Constitution of the United States, after we had adopted it as a whole. I was willing that tlie meaning might be clearly ex- pressed, because I thought it might do some good, and certainly could do no harm. But I am decidedly opposed to employing in the organic law of the State any language which is not really necessary, and which may con- spire in its operation to do immense harm to individuals. I do not see how this language can possibly do any good. I believe that when this rebellion shall be overcome there will be a 4t]i day.] . RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. 101 Thursday,] Collins. [July 7. general reunion and sympathy of feeling all over the North and the South. The people of the South will feel that the people of the North are of a ditfereut character from what they had been led to understand. They have had the impression, as my colleague, (Mr. DeLong,) has said, that Nortliern men would not fight. They have imaij;ined that the Northern people were composed of a class of men in whose pockets every sixpence would stick, as if made of putty or dough ; that they were too mean to spend their money to defend their free institutions. But they have been convinced thoroughly in this war — first, that the North will fight ; and, second, tliat they will pour out their money like water to defend their liberties and their rights. And when they shall have been thor- oughly and completely overcome, they will acknowledge their condition. They will cry for peace, and they will freely harmonize with the men of the North, and of the entire nation. They will be glad to coalesce and cooperate with you, and endeavor with you to build up a government of which they will themselves be proud. They undoubtedly possess a spirit of patriotism, although instead of being ex- panded so as to embrace the whole nation, it is now confined to their particular State or their particular section. But they will here- after transfer that spirit from the State to the nation, and will be as ambitious of the glory of the nation, and as proud of its prosperity and greatness, when a few years shall have passed away, as you are. I remember that a few years ago there was a great war between the cantons of Switzerland. While that war raged, the people of those can- tons were brought into antagonism, and as strong passions were excited, and as strong prejudices aroused, it seems to me, as ever have existed between the North and the South. But when the Northern cantons overcame the Southern cantons, and peace was proclaimed, then universal harmony was soon reestablished, and now you can hardly see the scars of that great gash that almost severed the country in twain. I remember being in Ireland just before the last insurrection, and, in consequence of my acquaintance with men in that country, when that rebellion did break out, I watched its pro- gress and history with earnestness. When the British Government had overcome those who had taken up arms, and Meagher, and Mitchell, and others were convicted, and sentenced to be drawn and quartered, the Government having fully vindicated its authority, that sentence was commuted to banishment to New South Wales, and a general amnesty was proclaimed ; no man, save a few of the leaders, being proscribed. Now I ask any gentleman, if Ireland is less loj'al to-day, in consequence of that leniency? I remember, too, the history of the whiskey re- bellion, in Pennsylvania. When Washington ordered out troops to subdue the insurgents, and when that rebellion had been put down, and the authority of- the Government rees- tablished, there was no trace ot bitterness left. The Federal Government, having .sus- tained the law, has proclaimed that all under the rank of colonel, if my memory serves me correctly, who should come in, in obedience to the proclamation, and take and subscribe an oath of allegiance, should there))y be ab- solved and purged from all taint of trea- son, and thereafter entitled to all the rights and immunities of citizenship, the same as if they never had been rebels. That is what is done now, right in the heart of the re- bellion. Right in the midst of it, while the graves of our soldiers are yet green, while their bones on the battle-fields are yet whitening, while the weeds of the widow, and the orphan, and of the aged parent, bereft of support, are yet to be seen all over the free States: in spite of all this, the Government has issued that proclamation. If they could do it there, I ask. how much more should we do it here — three, four, or five thousand miles removed from the scenes of strife — where only a few stragglers reach us, now and then, across the rocky moun- tains, and alkali flats, and arid and desolate plains. I ask, how should we receive them? Should it be with the uufrieudly greeting — " clear out, you worthless devils, we know you not?" Rather let us say, — " we know your folly, and your wrong-doing; yet, notwithstanding, if you come here to work with us, to cooperate with us, as true and loyal citizens should, you shall be received into all the rights and privileges of citizenship ; but if you do not, there stands a provision in our Constitution by which our Legislature is authorized to proscribe and drive you from the polls, and deprive you of cit- izenship." I ask it that is not a thousand fold better than it would be to foster captiousness and strife, and to legislate here as if this rebel- lion was to exist for all time to come ? And when this rebellion is put down, if we adopt this policy, it will not be planted merely to sprout up again, like the heads of Hydra, if you cut otf one of which, ten others would spring up anew in its place ; but when once it is put down, it is put down for all time in the future. Its memory will be a monument for all coming ages to look back upon, and when men regard its history, they will tremble at the might and majesty of that Government which unsheathed the sword, and put down a rebellion of such power and magnitude as this which is now raging. I ask the Convention to look at this Constitu- tion as an instrument which will go down to posterity. You, and I, sir, may die, but this Constitution never. I ask, then, if this immor- tal instrument shall be so framed as hereafter to be pointed out to every man who crosses the plains, who has been in the confederate army, although he may be now as good a Union man, and as devoted a republican as you and I — I a&k if this instrument shall point at and 102 RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. [4tli day/ Thursday.] Kennedy — Fitch. [July 7. ;.va brand and stigma upon liim? Is it for ibv piml of our State that that provision Phonld I -main tUcrt-r I trust that the Couvonliou will 1 .ok at this matter earnestly, and without pas- -.on. and tbeu decide according to its best ulpinent. [The I'ltKsiPENT In the Chair.] Mr. K KNNKI) V. I desire to make a personal cxplanaiiou. I have read a section from the Cjustitution of Vermont, and the gentleman from .^torey. who has just taken his seat, seems to think that that section has been repealed. I wi.-^h. in order that I may be placed in a proper position before the Convention, to read the two sections which have been referred to. The lirst section to which I referred and read, was Sec- tion 21 of Chapter H. which reads as follows:— " Ev.-ry mail vt the full aai.- of twenty one years, liav- - - '. I Ml this Stiito for the space of one whole re the e!e>-tion of rel)ro^^eutativl•.s, and is 1 in-aeeable behaviour, and will take the 1. .^iij or atUrniation, shall be eutitled to all llie i)rivueyi-i< of a frieniaii of this .State." The article which the gentleman refers to as repealing this section, i.s an amendatory article, adopted in 1828. and reads as follows : — •• Xo pi>rson, who is not already a freeman of this SUK-, Khali be entitlL-d to exercise the privilege of a Irt-i-m.in unKss he be a natural-boru citizen of this IT >.'iin- one of the United States, or until he shall hav.- I..CU naturalized agreeably to the acts of Cou- f."riKs." That amendatory article simply provides that a citizen shall not be made such without uatu- raliztition. and has no reference to the section which I previously cited. Mr. FITCH. It was not my purpose, Mr. '"hairinaii, to have occupied the time of this Cotninitiee in the consideration of this section of Article II. but, inasmuch as the debate has taken a turn unexpected to me, and inasmuch as a jtortion, and a large portion, of tiie delegation Irom Storey County, of wliich I have the honor to be a member, have assumed a position upon this (pi'-sliuu unluoked for l>y me. I feel myself e:illeject of dueling. Mr. DeLONG. Well, then, I will .«ay, let th< in frame the oath which they desire to pre- scribe, and insert it here, aud if it suits me, I will iio lor it. Mr. KKXNEDY. Suppose we do not adopt any oath. Mr. DkLOXG. Then the amendment would be eutirely si-nseless. Mr. KI-^.NNI^DY. Suppose we see fit to adopt an oalh of loyalty hereafter. Mr. DkLoSg. Then it may not suit me. If the Chair ph-ase. I am opposed to the amend- ment until the oath is prepared which it is pro- positi to adopt. If it is not yet drawn, how can we tell whether or not it would be wisdom to rf(|uire it to be taken 7 The gentleman shouhl have been prepared to submit the oath at the same time with his amendment, aud should have said, that no man shall be allowed to vote who has been convicted of felony, etc., or who is idiotic, or insane, or, if he refuses to take the following oath — then and there recit- iug the oath. Mr. H.WVLEY. I move to lay the .section on the table, for the present, in order to give the gi-ntleman time to draw up a form of oath. Mr. CIIAI'IX. I hope that course will not Ik* tak.-u, but that we .•-hall linish the suly.'ct now. J think if the mover will modify his ameiiduii-iit a little, we can act upon it now. •Mr. 11A\VLI-:V. I did not make the motion out of any opposition to the amendment. 1 Lave uo objection to the requirement jiroposed by the ameudmeut, and 1 will withdraw the moti'in. .Mr. IS-VNIC.*^. I wish to offer an amendment. I propoH- to insert the oath prescribed in Sec- tion 2. of .\rticl.- \V1. of the old Constilutiou. I regard it as an adiniralde oalh to aecompli.sh the purpose which I desire, whatever may have been the object of the original mover of the amendment. It will then liesignate this oath an the oath to be taken : — " '• . '!'> Koleiiiiily Mw.ar (or amrni) that I will •iiiiiH.rt. lin.t.Mt.antl.lef.ii.l theCoiiHtiliiti.Mi and (Jov- • riiiiiint ..f th- IiiU.mI SUileH. and llioCi.iiwtitutiim and *''"'■" ''<■ Ktat<' of Nevada, aKainm all ene- '"'• ' ;■ "til- or foreign, and that I will hear tril' : '■ and loyalty to the h;iim>', any ordi- IUIK-. , .. r .Mill .11 ,ir law of any Htale, Convention, or Lcglalaturc, to the contrary notwithbUiuding ; aud, 1 further, that I do this with a full determination, pledge, [ and purjioi-e, without any mental reservatiou or evar .'^iiin \vli;its(i(ver. Aud I do further solemnly swear, (or iilHrni,) that I have not fouf,'ht a duel, nor sent or aeeei)ted a challeiiKO to fight a duel, nor heen a second to either party, nor in any manner aided or assisted iu such duel, nor been knowingly the bearer of such challenge, or acceptance, since the adoption of the Constitution of tlie State of Nevada, aud that I will not be so engaged or concerned, directly or indirectly, iu or about any such duel ; so help me God." The question was stated upon the adoption of the amendment to the amendment. Mr. BANKS. The oath to wliicli attention has been directed, .seems to cover all the ground desirable, under the circumstances. A man comes up to the ])olls, his loyalty is questioned, and then he is sworn to support the Constitu- tion of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of Nevada ; that is one proposi- tion, lie is sworn lirst to abide by tliose con- stitutions hereafter ; and then he is also sworu as to participating in a duel. ifr. DkLONG. I wish to ask the gentleman a question. This says, tliat uo man shall be allowed to vote who has fought a duel since the adoption of this Constitution. I wish to ask if he intends it to apply to those who may come to this State hereafter, having previously Ibught a duel elsewhere, without any know- ledge that there was such a provision iu our Constitution ? Mr. BANKS. I presume it would apply to them, if the courts should rule as strictly as the giaiMcinan intimates, but we can guard against that by inserting an amendment, when we come to it. adding after "fought a duel," the words " in this State," and then there will be no ambiguity. I presume that the courts would clear up the matter by their decisions, but to avoid any such necessity I will propose to have those words inserted. The reasons why I advocate the oath proposed are not the reasons which the geutlomau has advanced, but I believe thev are sulficient. j Mr. KENNEDY. With the permission of the Convention,! will modifj'^ my amendment by ! inserting that oath which we have already i taken. The CHAIRMAN. I think it will hardly be ' in order, unless the gentlenuin from Humboldt withdraws his amendment. Mr. BANKS. I consider my amendment I much better. I Mr. DiiLONG. Take either position— wheth- I er he inserts the words " in this State " or not ; — the gentleman from Humboldt is at sea. 1 What good will the provision do, when we I have put that in '! If two men want to fiyht a I duel they eau cross th(! line and light it in the j State of California, in order to avoid the civil authorities here and the penalties you impose. If you do not put that in, then a party who m ly have fought a duel in another State, with- out any knowledge of the provisions of the Nevada Constitution, upon coming ' to our State would be deprived not only of the right 4tli day.] RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. 107 Thursday,] DeLoxg — Banks — Kennedy — Collins — Crawford — Warwick — Frizell. [July 7. of voting, but of the right to sit ou a jury. I think that oath is all fudge. The CHAIRMAN. I do not think the oath refers to fighting a duel " in this State."' Mr. DkLONG. No, sir ; but the gentleman from Humboldt said he would amend the oath in that respect, so as to avoid couvicting a man who had fought a duel in another State, where there may have been no such legal penalties. Mr. BANKS. I had not examined the lan- guage of Ihe oath particularly. I was not pro- posing or trying to amend it at that time, but I was simply olFering it by way of throwing out a hint of what amendment might be made, in order to obviate the difficulty. We might use ditfcrent language from that. We might say, perhaps, that, " while a citizen of this State " he shall not have fought a duel. But it seems to me that there is no necessity for us to consider the exact phraseology at this time. The question was taken on the amendment proposed by Mr. Banks, and it was not agreed to. Mr. KENNEDY. 1 now move to insert the oath which we have all taken, omitting only the words "that I will well and truly discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter." I will ask that the concluding portion of the section be read as it will then stand. The SECRETARY read as follows :— And no idiot or insane person, or any fierson who refuses to take the toUowing oath or affirmation, to wit: — "I , do solemnly swear that 1 have never voluntarilj' borne arms against the United States since I have been a citizen thereof; that I have voluntarily given no aid, countenance, counsel, or encoiiragemeut to isersons engaged in armed hostility thereto; that I have neither sought nor accepted, nor attempted to exercise the functions of any office whatever, imder any authority, or pretended authority, in hostility to the United States; that I have not yielded a volun- tary support to any pretended government, authority, power, or Constitution within the United States, hos- tile or inimical thereto. And I do further swear, that to the best of my knowledge and ability I will suii- port and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same ; that I take this obhgation freelj', without any men- tal reservation or pur^iose of evasion — So help me God," — shall be entitled to the privilege of an elector. Mr. DeLONG. a person cannot take that oath who comes under this Amnesty Proclama- tion which we have already adopted ; so that after all they would be excluded, notwith- standing the President's Amnesty Proclama- tion. He cannot swear that he has not borne arms against the General Government, al- though he might take an oath that after hav- ing done so he had been pardoned by the Amnesty Proclamation. Such a man comes here and finds that, notwithstanding his full pardon, he is not allowed to vote unless he swears that he never was in the Confederate service. That conflicts with the provision which we just now refused to strike out. Mr. CHAPIN. I am in favor of that oath in its proper place, but I do not think this is the place for it. Mr. DeLONG. But the man who comes un- der the Amnesty Proclamation cannot take it, anyway. Mr. COLLINS. This seems to me not only unnecessary, but manifestly wrong. It oc- occurs to me that it will necessarily deprive many men of the right of voting who are en- titled to it by the previous part of the sec- tion. And then, under peculiar circumstan- ces, a combination or conspiracy may be made at the polls, by which every man may be challenged and required to take this oath, and the consequence would be that you would not get one hundred votes polled in the course of the day. There are some polls, in the populous counties, where there are from twelve hundred to two thousand votes to be cast, and under a provision of this kind, l)y which every man could be compelled to take this oath, you would not get one quarter of them in. It seems to me that the provision is unjust and unnecessary, and I hope it will not prevail. Mr. CRAWFORD. I desire to offer a substi- tute. I move to amend, by substituting for the oath here proposed, the hrst part of the oath contained in the old Constitution, and which reads as follows : — -, do solemnly swear (or affirm) tliat I will "I,, support, protect and defend the Constitution and Government of the United States, and the Constitution and Government of the State of Nevada, against all enemies, whether domestic or foreign, and that I wUl bear true faith, allegiance and loyalty to the same, any ordinance, resolution or law of any State, Convention, or Legislature, to the contrary, notwithstanding ; and, further, that 1 do this with a full determination, pledge and purpose, without any mental reservation or evasion whatsoever." Mr. KENNEDY. I will accept that amend- ment. We will change it, however, before it reaches its final passage, I think. The question was taken on the adoption of Mr. Kennedy's amendment, as modified by Mr. Crawford, and it was agreed to. Mr. WARWICK. I think it is necessary to add something to that. I think we should add the words " so help me God," in order to make it perfect. I move to add those words. The question was taken, and the amendment was agreed to. The question was taken on the adoption of the section as amended, and, upon a division, it was adopted — ayes, 19 ; noes, 5. residence of voters. Section 3 was read, as follows : Sec. 3. For the purpose of voting, no person shall be deemed to have lost a residence by reason of his absence while employed in the service of the United States, or of this State, nor gained a residence while a student in any seminary of learning. Mr. FRIZELL. I move to amend, by striking out the words " nor gained a residence while a .student in any seminary of learning." I think if there is anything which should qualify a man to cast an intelligent vote, that is the very thing ; a man who is in attendance upon a col- lOS RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. [4tli day. Thursday.] Hawlev-Crosmax-Fbizell-Lockwood- -CnAWFORD— DeLoxg— Brosnax. [July 7. Weo or a temiuarv of learning ought certainly to Ik- .iualili.-.l tocast an intelligont vote. The rilAlKMAN. If the tominittce will allow the Chair, in order to save time, I will gu"L'i«t that the ettl'Ct would be that a man would lose residence by being absent at a semi- uarv of learning in another State. As it is now. after an absence of twelve months, he would be entitled to vote, notwithstanding such al*seoeo. ,,..•■ . Mr. IIAWLEV. The words " or lost do not occur in this part of the section. It reads, '•nor gained a residence.*' ! Mr. CUOSMAN. I apprehend that the point to l>o avoided is this : I understand if there should be a seminary of learning here, contain- ing, perhaps, .some three or four hundred students, unlei^s there were a provision ot this kind, those students might control all the local ofliee.>i. Sucli things will l)e lilcely to occur if we have seminaries of learning, as we bi.pe we shall have, under this Constitution. I hope, tlierelore. that the section will remain. If bv a si.\ months' residence in a seminary of learning, students could gain a right to vote, thev might combine in a way which would be prejudicial to the interests of the permanent population, they themselves being only tran- sient residents. Mr. rUiZKLL. The argument is, that in some particular locality, three, four, or five hundred men. who should be students in a seni- inarv of learning, might control the vote of that" particular locality at the polls. No\v, if that urirnineiit is good, what do you say in re- gard to the army ? That constitutes a perfect | comliination. and not only that, but they have I a military organization, and nevertheless they | are allowed to vote. I think, if there is any j class of men in the world who should be allowed to vote away from the i)laces of their actual j residence, it is that class of men who may be i found in an institution of learning. Mr. LOCKWOOl). The gentleman refers to tlie soldiers' vote ; but soldiers are only allowed j to vote for olliecs in their own States or local- ilies, and not for olliees in the State or locality ] where, at the time of voting, they happen to be station" d or on service. Mr. FKIZELL I am aware of that, sir. Mr. C!£.\\VK()IU). In onler to make it more distinct, I move to insert after the word " have," in the first part of the section, the words *'gain«'d or,*' so as to read. '• U>r the juirpose of voting, no person sliall be deemed to have gained or lost a resiikMiee."' etc. .Mr. DkLO.N'G. 1 would suggest to the gen- tleman whether it would not be well to sub- stitute the language which is to be found in Section 1. .\rtie|e II, of the California Consti- tution, wiiieli. 1 think, covers the idea of both gentlemen. It reads as follows : — '•KiirtlM-inirjioBPof v;LONG. I object to that motion ; the Committe;^ cannot.ask leave to sit at a certain time. Tlie Y ^^^^ "^""'y ^^^ leave to sit again, and the Coi'*^''^"*^'°" directs the time of that sitting. ^ . . Mr. BANKsf- ^ ^^^'^'^ °° objection to modify- ing my'motio!P' *^ ^^ involves a question of parliamentary law. I will move that the Com- mittee rise, report progress, and ask leave to sit again, and tlien the Convention can deter- mine the parliamentary question. The (jnestion was talien, and the motion was agreed to. IN convention. The PRESIDENT having resumed the Chair, The CHAIRMAN reported that the Commit- tee had had under consideration Article II, en- titled " Right of Sutfrage,'' had made some progress therein, and had instructed him to ask leave to sit again. The report was received, and leave granted accordingly. Mr. DeLONG. I move that the Conventiou do now adjourn. Mr. FltCH. I hope the gentleman will withdraw that. I have a very necessary and important motion, and I am sure the gentle- man will withdraw his motion, if he under- stands the object of mine. Mr. DkLONG. I do not withdraw it, for any such purpose. Mr. BANKS. I rise to make a motion, which is in accordance with parliamentary law ; I move that when this Convention adjourn, it adjourn to meet this evening at seven o'clock. I b(dieve that that motion has to be put first. ]Mr. DeLONG. I rise to a point of order upon that motion. Mr. FITCH. I rise to a point of order, that no point of order is in order when there is a motion to adjourn. [Laughter.] The PRESIDENT. The Chair will hear the gentleman's point of order. Mr. DeLONG stated that his point of order was, that the motion of Mr. 15anks was an amendment to a standing rule, and that the question must first be taken on the motion to adjourn. After some discussion, the point of order having been overruled. Ou motion of Mr. BANKS, at five o'clock, the Convention adjourned until seven o'clock in the evening. EVENING SESSION. The Convention met at seven o'clock, P. M., and was called to order by the President. member QUALIEIEI). J. G.McCLINTON, Delegate from Esmeralda County, took his seat as a member of the Con- vention, having first taken the oath of office before Judge Wright, and subscribed the same. RIGHT OF SfKFRAGE. Mr. WARWICK. I move that the Conven- tion resolve itself into Committee of the Whole, for the further consideration of Article II olj the Constitution, entitled " Right of Suffrage.' The question was taken, and the motioil! was agreed to. 4tli da)'.] RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. Ill Thursday,] Bkosxax — JoHxsox — Hawley — DuxxE — Earl. [July COMMITTEE OP THE WHOLE. The Convention accordingly rcsnlved itself into Committee of the Whole. (Mr. Warwick in the chair,) and resumed consideration of Article II. entitled Ris^lit of Suttraue. The CHAIRMAN. Section 5 having been disposed of at the previous sitting of the Com- mittee, the Secretary will read the next section. Section 6 was read, as follows : — Sec. 6. During the day on which any general election shall be held in this State, no qualified elector shuU be arrested by virtue of any civil process. ; No amendment being offered, the section was adopted. Section 7 was read, as follows : — Sec. 7. AU elections by the people shall be by ballot, j and all elections by the Legislature, or by either branch j thereof, shall be viva voce. No amendment being offered, the section was adopted. , REGISTRY LAW. Section 8 was read, as follows : — | Sec. 8. Provision shall be made by law for the regis- tration of the names of the electors within the coun- ties of which they may be residents, and for the ascer- tainment, by proper proofs, of the persons who shall , be entitled to the right of suffrage as hereby established. Mr. BROSNAN. I am not quite satisfied, Mr. Chairman, with the provisions in this Con- stitution, or its instructions to the Legislature, in regard to regulating the mode of holding elections. This section, to my mind, is not snfticiently full on the subject, and the only ' other section we have touching it is Si-ction .5, which may be considered as merely providing for the voting of the soldiers. I would there- fore move, as an amendment to this section, the following :— Sec. 8. Prorision shall be made by law for the regis- tration of the names of the electors within the counties of which they may be residents, and for the ascertain- ment, by proper iiroofs, of the persons who shall be entitled to the right of sutl'rage as hereby established; to in-eserve the purity of elections; and to regulate the manner of holding and milking returns of the same. Mr. JOHNSON. I will make a suggestion, I whether we cannot obviate that difficulty by striking out the word " such,'' which is next to the last word in Section 5. as printed, and in- serting the word " all '* in lieu of it, so that that , provision would read : — I " Provision shall be made by law regulating the man- I ner of voting, holding elections, and making returns j of all elections, except as herein other\nse provided by this Constitution." I Mr. BROSNAN. My object is that there shall be no mistake about the action of the Convention on the subject. Mr. JOHNSON. I would inquire whether that would not obviate the difficulty and save the necessity of adding a considerable num- ber of words at the end of this section. ; Mr. BROSNAN. I am afraid it would not imeet the difficulty altogether. I would state that this clause, " to preserve the purity of elections," would necessarily imply the power to impose penalties on persons guilty of infrac- tions of the law, and I deem it proper to inter- polate that language here, with that view. i\l- thoughthe Legislature would undoubtedly have a right to impose penalties for infractions of the law, still I prefer to .see it written plainly in the Constitution, so as to have no question about that right. The question was taken on Mr. Brosnau's amendment, and it was agreed to. Mr. HAWLEY. I move to add, after the word "established,'' in Section 8, the words, " and the Legislature shall prescribe the proof required to be made in such cases." As I have previously remarked, I consider Section 2 as partaking more of the character of a legisla- tive enactment than properly belongs to a con- stitution ; but, in this case, lest there should be some misapprehension — lest there should be no enactment to which reference could be made in the case of disputed and contested elections, in order to prevent the trouble which might arise, I propose to incorporate that language, I that the duty of the I egislature shall be so de- fined that they will not neglect to make the required enactments prescribing the proper I proofs of the qualifications of an elector. It : may be regarded as sur])lusage, but I submit it to the judgment of the Convention. Mr. DUNNE. I do not think the amendment is necessary at all. because the greater includes the less. In the last amendment adopted, we give the Legislature the power to make laws to ' jjreserve the purity of elections, and I think all that this amendment proposes is embodied iu that. Mr. HAWLEY. I am inclined to think so myself, on reflection, and I will withdraw the I amendment. ! No further amendment being offered, the sec- tion, as amended, was adopted. POLL-TAX. I Section 9 was read, as follows : — Sec. 9. The Legislature shall provide by law for the payment of an annual poll-tax of not less than two, nor exceeding four dollars, from each male person resident iu the State of the age of twenty-one years or upwards, ' one half to be applied for State, and one half for county purposes; and the Legislature maj- make such payment a condition to the right of voting. j Mr. EARL. I move to strike out this section. As I remarked previously to-day, it savors too much of a property qualification. Sir. I have seen the time in California, at an early da^^ when to compel me to pay that four dollars would have taken away my pork and beans. We may all possibly see such a time again. We have even now a pecuniary crisis ujjon us, and do not know where it will end. I certainly think that section should be stricken out, for I it may preclude many good citizens from the j exercise of the elective franchise. ! Mr. HAWLEY. Before making the motion which I propose to make to amend the gentle- man's amendment, I desire to say that it seems to me he is unnecessarily alarmed. This poll- tax is left discretionary with the Legislature. 11-2 RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. [4tli day Thursday,] E-Uii. — Hawi^et — DeLoxg— JOHXSOX. [July 7. The section says thfy " may •' levy it. it doei? doi-.< not say tlu-y " /inill " do sn. uiid I am very mucb iiiciiiled to tbluk it would be diflicuU to get together a legishilivi' liudy iii tills State which would do so. Mr. E.\liL. If the gentleman will allow me, I will u,«iv him this questiou : Is " shall '' dis- cretionary'' Mr. H.\\VLEV. The word is •• may ;"' it is in the sulfjiuKtlve mood. Mr. UkLONG. But •• shall "' and " may " are gynonvuious term^s iu law. Mr." II.VWLEV. Very well. I move to an-end the freutloman's amendment, liy strik- ing out of the section all after the word '• pnr- posos;" that is, to striice out "and the Leialure may raise funds, and that those funds shall he devoted to certain purposes ; and 1 think we are interfering too much with the province of the Legi.-lature. Mr. DkLONG. this provision is under the head of liigbt of Saftrage. Now, if you strike t this concluding sentence there is not asiiigle thing left in the section which relates to the right 01 sullVage. It merely provides what the Legis- lature may do ; that it may levy a certain ta.\ upon c Ttain p rsons. and that one-half shall be applied ft>r State and one-half for county purposes. There is nothing in that which af- ftcts the right of sutlrage at all, and therefore there is nothing whicli gives it a place under the head of tlie Right of Snlfrage. If that sentence is stricken out, I sliuU go for striking out the wholi section. Mr. IIAWLEV. It is well known that in al- most every .State all men are liable to pay a poll tax, and certain means are prescribed by legi.-lative enactm'-nts for the collection of eueli lax. I thiidv, by delining the purpose to which such tax is to be applied, and author- izing and refpiiring the Legislature to levy it, we do nothing more than we ought to do. Mr. 1)kL(JN(;. Then put the provision in another jdac. .Mr. JOHNSON. I am opposed to both am'Midments. Jn the (irst place, as to the legal proposition, though I may encounter difficulty, p'rhaps, by calling out the gentleman from Storey. [Mr. DeLong.] to explain his interpre- tation, yet I must say that where, in the same section, the word " nny " is used in one place, and •• Miall " in another, it is a])parent that they are used in contradistinction to each other ; that is. " may " is used with a diller- enl meaning from that which attaches to the Word " shall."' and you cannot, by any reason- able conslrnction. determine in such a case that, wh<-n you say " may " you mean to say •' shall." Mr. 1)kIJ)SG. I made that remark in reply to the gentleman from Douglas [Mr. Ilawhry]. I will fuy this, that in all public acts where a public iKMly in directed to do a thing by t*ie ! word " may." it is held that it means " shall." But where the language applies to individuals and not to a public body, " may " means '• may." ' We had that (lueslion argued the other day, be- ' fore Judij;!' North. j Mr. JOlIN.>()N. AVill the gentleman allow me to interrupt him ? Does not he mean that, I when api)lied to public bodies, the word '• may " ! means '■ may," and when applied to private iudi- j viduals it means " shall "' " I Mr. De LONG. No, sir ; there was a case ar- 1 gued a few years ago in which a large number of leading members of the bar participated, and the whole argument was upon the con- struction to be given to the words •' may "' and "shall" in the statutes, where a municipal corporation was directed. And it was con- ceded, after a very full argument, that the word ■' may " meant '• shall " iu a law or ordi- nance which directed a body corporate to do a certain thing. But when the right of private parties was involved, it was dilferently con- strued by the court. Mr. JOHNSON. It matters not what con- struction may have been given ; if it is what we mean by that section it will be so held. In this case both words are used in the same section. In the one case it is imperative, and the word '• shall " is used, and in the other, the word used differing from that which pre- ceded it, evidently conveys a different mean- ing. In the first part of the section we say that '• the Legislature shall provide by law for the payment of an annual poll-tax," etc., and then following that, we say, '• and the Legislature »uiy nrake such payment a condition to the right of voting." I under- stand the proposition of the gentleman from Storey is, that the use of this word '-may" renders it imperative upon the Legislature to make the payment of the poll-tax a condition prt.'Cedent to the right to vote. Am I correct? Mr. DeLOXG. 1 do not make it my argu- ment at all, but the same language was used in the act relative to the consolidation of actions, and that is where the argument sprung up to which 1 have referred. The act said in one sec- tion, that iu certain cases the courts •' shall " consolidate, and in another place, in other cas^s it said, the court '• may " do it. The counsel on the opposite side were contending for this very interpretation of the act — that though the two words were used in the same statute, as here they are used in the same section, they meant the .'^ame thing, and must be so construed. And that opinion was concurred in by the Judge with the concurrence of eminent counsel after that argument — that in an act directing a thing to be done by a public body, " may " meant "shall."' Mr. JOHNSON. I do not think that is a fair illustration. There it is confessedly acknow- ledged that -'shall" was used in reference to a portion of the practice act, and, of course, there was no escaping the binding force of that word. Iu the other case, where "may" was 4th day.] RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. 113 Thursday,] JoHxsox — Banks — Hawlet. [July employed, it was dependent upon that which preceded it, so that it could not avoid the operation of tiie stronger or more manda- tory word which preceded, to wit, the word '• shall."' Therefore. I say, it is not a fair illus- tration of the proposition as contained in this section. Now, sir, this section applies to two subjects, and that is an additional argument to that which the gentleman has suggest- ed. If you strike out the latter part of the section, then there is nothing left pertaining to the right of suffrage ; therefore there are here two propositions, neither of which is depend- ent upon the other. One is mandatory, and the other discretionary. Now. sir, I do not like to invoke the action had by the former Convention, because that is a delicate matter, so far as I am concerned, and so far as many other members of this Conven- tion arc concerned ; but there are some mem- bers of this Convention who participated in the deliberations of the former Convention, and in the discussion of this subject, and every one of them will remember full well the report which emanated from the committee of which I had the honor to be chairman, and the discussion which ensued upon it. They will remember the change which was made, and the reasons which suggested that change, in the language of this section. I am free to say that I did then infinitely prefer that the word ".shall" should be used where ''may "' occurs. I was in favor of adopting words conceded to be of a compulsory nature, and we re- ported it from the committee in that condition, but it was afterwards changed. My friend on my left. (Mr. Brosnan.) made an eloquent and timely appeal to that Convention, which, at a later stage of tbe proceedings, had a controll- ing etfect, for, with almost unanimous voice, the Convention consented to substitute the word '•may '' for the word ■' shall," thus leaving it, according to the understanding of that Con- vention, discretionary with the Legislature to impose a poll-tax as a condition precedent to the right of voting, or not, as they in their best judgement saw fit. That is my recollec- tion, and I will ask the gentleman from Storey. (Mr. Brosnan,) if I am not right. Such is, at all events, my recollection of the proceedings in that Convention, and I know that members at that time entertained the opinion that tbere was a marked distinction between those two words. So much for the one branch of the proposition ; now for the other. In the first place, if we establish here a State Government, I say now, and I may have occasion to repeat it hereafter when we come to consider a more important feature of this instrument, that I want ti to be a self-sustaining Government. I want all within our borders to contribute their just pro- portion towards the support of that Govern- ment. "Whether they have little or much prop- erty, their interest in the well-being and pros- perous condition of the State is the same, and H the man who has not a great deal of this world's goods should yet be compelled to pay his quota in that small tlegree which he has. And such is the object and intent of this section. It is not property alone, but the man himself who is also protected, in all his various relations and inter- ests, by the Government; and it is provided in this section that all male citizens of the age of twenty-one years or over, be they white or black, yellow or copper-colored, shall pay an annual poll-tax in addition to any tax that may be assessed upon their pn perty, for the protection which the Government attbrds to their persons. I want this clause extended so as to reach every class of individuals. You know. Mr. Chairman, and every gentleman on the floor recognizes the fact, that there are many persons who are the owners of property which is never reached by the tax-gatiier':r. although they are abundantly able to pay ; and I propose, as one individual member of tl.ij Convention, that there shall be incorporated in our Constitution such provisions as are best calculated to reach that class of persons. As to the matter of the right of voting, I am willing to accede, as I did on that occasion, iu the former Convention, to the opinions of the majority, and not make the obligation impei'- ative upon the Legislature to incorporate into the statutes a provision that the right of voting .-hall be conditional upon the payment of the poll-tax. I am willing to leave that to the dis- cretion of the Legislature, If the times be hard, and men find it difiicult to raise the small amount of a poll-tax, then the members of the Legislature, coming fresh from the people, may not deem it wise to incorporate into the statutes a provisiou of that kind ; but the next ensuing session the case may be ditferent, and they may deem it the part of wisdom to take that action, I propose, therefore, to leave it to the repres }ntatives of the people in the Legis- lature, although, as I said before, I would per- sonally prefer to make it compulsory upon every voter to pay this poll-tax. Now, 1 do hope that no part of this section will be stricken out — nei- ther the one making it compulsory upon the Leg- islature to levy a poll-tax, one-half of the pro- ceeds of which are to go to the State, and the other half to the county ; nor the other pro- position which authorizes the Legislature in their discretion to make such payment a con- dition to the right of voting, 1 am in favor of I allowing the Legislature to put in operation such a law whenever they may deem it expe- , dient. I Mr. BANKS, To avoid the difficulty sug- I gested in regard to construction, I will offer an amendment. Mr, CHAIRMAN. The Chair will call the gentleman's attention to the fact that there is already an amendment pending. Mr. HAWLEY. I am fully satisfed as to the proper construction to be put upon this language which I propose to strike out, and Jjeing fully of the opinion, as expressed by the lU RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. [4tli da}'. Tbureday,] B.vxKs—E.vuh—NouiwE— Johnson— Brosnak. [July T. eeotleman from Ormsby, (Mr, Jobnson,) that Ihe poll-tux >huuia be collected, and that the p-naliv. if auv. should be left discretionary with t e Legislature, I now withdraw my aoiL-udiu-nt, in order to leave the section as it n iw g'.auds. Mr. HANKS. Then I suppose my amendment will Ix- in order. 1 oiler it to obviate tiie ditii- cultv in reuard to the construction. I move to add.' after the word " may," the words, " in its discretion."' Kvery lawyer knows how easy it is to cite authorities, and to make arguments upon the construction of the words •• may " and ".shall.' 1 have often. lhou;xh 1 am not a lawyer myself. participated in such discussions, and 1 have tound that it was just as easy to advocate one 8ide as the other. [Laughter.] And I often had occasion in the Legislature of Galiroriiia to advocite the insertion of these same word.'^. •• in its di.scretion,'' in order to avoid that very diiticulty of construction. I so fully and ex- actly agree with the gentleman from Orm-iby, (Mr! Johnson), as to the necessity of requiring every man to aid in the support of the Govern- ment, and especially at this particular time. wlii-n we are just entering upon our career as a ,State. that I will not add anything to his re- marks npi.-n that suliject. Mr. E.\11L. If we are going to say that the Legislature may, in their discretion, do this. why not leave the section out altogether aiid b't tliem use their discretion'.' Why should we dictate to t'icni in this matter at all ? Has it come to this, that we must have a prop- erty qualification'.' Why. sir, I could find you two hundred men now in our city of Virginia who would be unable to-day to pay that four dollars. I say it savors of property qualifica- tion, and I hope to God this Convention will not tolerate the idea. Are we to be disfron- chiwMl merely because we are not able to raise four dolliirs? Is this a rej ublican government. or is it not? Are we to disfranchise not only the young, but the old, because they do not poiMies* wi-.iUh'.' Is that the proposition? I hope the Convention will strike out the sec- tion. .My frii-n I fnmi Wa-hoe, (.Mr. Nourse). has prepared an amendment to another clause of thiB (constitution, and in the event that this HKl'utn must go into the Constitution, I hope that ain'-ndnienl will lie adopted. J5ut it seems to m«' that if we ntl-ct a moment we shall see that it in taking away the ritrht of voting from many good citizeuK. and shall therefore repudi- ate the iilea altogether. Mr. XOITRSE. I cannot feel the force of the remarks of the gentleman from .Storey, who hi'' lust spoken. It s'ly — the protection of per- HonK and the protection of property ; and that while properly should p.iy its share for the sup- port of the (iovernment. and for its jirotection, pcr^onH should also jmy their share for the pro- tection alforded them by the Government. Aa(i I am particularly and peculiarly in favor of retaining this section, especially that portion of it giving this power to the Legislature — and I hope the Legislature will use it — for the e.speeiul reason that it will tend greatly to pro- mote the purity of elections. If there should be one or two cases of hardship, such as the gentleman from Storey, (Mr. Earl), suggests — and the number of such cases must be very few, where a man cannot raise one, two, three or four dollars — still tlu; advantage to be gained in the aggregate will more than compensate for those cases of hardship. AVliy. sir, this poll-tax would not amount to nius of this character was not recognized : but ' it was because the Constitution had laid down ciriain rules and conditions regulating the rii:ht of voting, and it was not within the power of the Legislature to transcend those provisions prescribed in that instrument. These are some j of the reasons, sir. why California has passed through many ."icenes of peril ; why California has. in earlier years, been a by-word and a re- proach, in respect to the exercise of the elective Iranchise. Sir, the hands of the legislative de- ]iartmeut were tied — were securely bound — by ' the jirovisioas of the Constitution. Now, sir, I I do not propose further to discuss this ques- ' tioa : I am content to submit it, as a legal' I>ropisition, to the consideration of every re-' tl'vting mind in this Convention. And. whilst; 1 have tlie greatest of regard and appreciation. ' as the honorable gentleman from Storey full t well knows, for the general correctni^ss of his \k'\\n upon questions of constitutional and stat- utory construction, yet. sir. I must, as I have gtatvd, ditlcr entirely with him upon this prop- osition. But, again, I would not leave this a ques- tion of doubt, if it could be regarded as at all doubtful. I propo.«e, in unmistakable lan-j guaje, to vest the power in the Legislatures which are to come after us. in the representa- tives of the people in the legislative department. of incor|>ordting in our statute books a condi- tion of tills character. I cannot foresee any of the hardships to result which gentlemen have aiiliciiiated. My friend from Storey. (Mr. E-.irl,) wh.j is opposed to this system, and my olher friend from Storey, (Mr. hrosnan.) have sug- gested evils to follow sucii action, but I can see none of those evils. Sir, tho.se who would most j)rate about the i)altry two dollar poll-tax— those in the comnmnity who would be most likely to oppose its payment— are generally that cli«-vi of men wlio would be 'ikely to spend more in a day for rot-gut whiski-y than would sufiBce ' to pay the wliole of their tax. Mr. BiiOS.NWN. Will the gentleman allow me to m.ike an inquiry, which is merely for in- formation, and that is. has the Legislature of Ciilifornia enacted a poll-lax law for wliich Ihep; is no jirovision in the State Constitution. I Mr. JUH.N'SON. Yes. sir; they have a poll- tax law : but the Constitution gives the Legis- lature the jiower to impose taxes, and thatj ne.jes-arily involves the power to levy a poll- tax. Th'.- word lax is used in the Constitution w.ihout fpecifying wheth'y. (Mr. Karl.) says he may not be able to pay ii. but I think he is able to pay fifty dollars where I am able to pay one, and I am willing that that should go into the record against me ; ami, if I cannot raise the two or four dollars, which- ever it may be, then I am willing to be dei)rived of my right of sntlVage, although I probably think as much of it as any other man upon this floor, ill have not the money I shall go to work by the day, if necessary, or take any other hon- orable means to obtain it. in ord'r to secure my right of suffrage. And I think it will be so with every young man in this State. I know of no persons who would be unwilling to pay the tax, unless it be those per.sons who are alio:;i-tlier opposeil to our State Government. The opposition to this feature comes from them, and I know it, because I discussed this question list fall in our county, and 1 know what the feeiitig is there. I expressed myself freely, as I always do. and I found that the only men who opposed this feature in the Constitution were the men who opposed the State Government en- tirijy. and for no other reason in the world than bi-cause tliey were unwilling to a.ssist the I'ederal (iov( lament. Mr. .NOIRSK. I listened with a great deal of pleasure to the remarks of my friend from Storey, (Mr. Karl), although I thongiit him on the wrong .side of the fiuestion. On one point, in the lieut of his di'sire to carry his point. I think he has certainly been a litib; disingiju- UOU-. mid not (piite fair ; though, of course, the g'-ntlernan did not intend it. His argumenirt, t!ioiigii very able, do ntjt .seem to me to lie ol' a character well calculated to get at the truth in regard to this matter. It seems to mj thut he did not present this point in its proper light : it is not that we seek to sell this privilege of voting ; wiih all respect to the gentleman, that is not so. The point is this : here this Govern- ment protects the persons and property of all that live under it. It protects persons no Ic-^s than property. Property is taxed without ob- jection to pay for that protection. The tax upon that property can be collected and se- cured, for the property is there to ansv/er the demand upon it. Then the person is taxed for the protection that Government gives to the person, but that we cannot collect with cer- tainty. We cannot sell the person. How, then, shall we secure the tax ? We fay that Governnrent having performed its duty to the person, having given the protection of its laws, all the time, to the man, and he having neg- lected or refused to do his duty in return, to perform his part of the contract, he shall not be allowed to take part in our elections, in forming our government or electing otiicers to cary it on, until he docs perform his part of the contract. There is no sale of the right of vot- ing about it, but the man owes so much to the Government ; every man owes it, whatever his proportion may be ; and we compel him to pay it under the penalty of forfeiting his share in the Governiuent. We call it a poll-tax, and it is only from two to four dollars a year, as I said before — merely one day's work at the out- side. Now the gentleman froiu Storey makes the broad assertion that there are thousands in Vir- ginia City, or in Storey Couny, who cannot pay that amount ; but I am yet of the opinion that, except in a very few exceptional cases — cases of sickness or something of that sort — there will be found no person, or no considerable number of persons, at least, in this Territory, who can- not in the course of a year, without any trouble, if he be industrious and temperate, lay aside this amount without any difficulty. We say to every person that he can and nmst do this. There may be some exceptions, but they only serve to i)rove the rule. We sny to every man, it is your duty to do this, and if you do not comply with this obligation to your Governmiuit, you shall have ntj share in the election of the offi- cers of that Government. Now, is not that fair? and does that savor of property qualifica- tion? Mr, MURDOCK. I trust the committee will indulge me in making a few remarks. I am not aecustomed to speaking, but I feel that I could not return to my constituents with a good face without expressing the reasons why I am going to vote no on this occcasion. In the first place, I can see nothing in this provision short of a property qualification for tlie voter. We have in the first place said, tliat every white male citizen shall be allowed to vote". Now shall we turn around and say that if he hap- pens to l(e so unfortunate as not to have one, two, three, or four dollars, he shall not vote? The principle is the same — I do not care for 4th day.] RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. 119 Thursday,] KeXXEDY — MURDOCK — EaRL — LOCKWOOD. [July 7. the amount a picayune — it is the principle I contend for. I say it will impose a hardship in the county I come from. Tbougjh I happen to be the only one from that county, yet I rep- resent more territory, and more sage-brush than half a dozen of these gentlemen who rep- resent one county. I represent a great extent of our territory, a large amount of sage-brush, and very few, and very poor men. My constit- uents are digging and delving in the ground, prospecting and trying to develope the mines. They pay their poll-tax, and I am willing the Legislature should impose upon them a poll-tax of two. four or six dollars, if they wish, and they will pay it. They may make it as string- ent as tliey please, and tliey will take their coats otf and earn it. But for God's sake do not say they shall not vote if they cannot raise the money. Now, gentlemen, would you not be ashamed to say to an old man like me, who should step up to the polls to vote, that he was disf'rancliised because he was minus four dol- lars? I would not mind it, perhaps, but that is not it ; it is the principle. In my native State of New York, they once had a provision that every voter must be a house- holder to the tune of two hundred and fifty dollars, lint that provision became obnoxious, and tliey aljolished it. What are you doing here but the same thing? Now the gentleman from Ormsby says, that if you leave this out, the Legislature would have no power to make the poll-tax a condition. Well, I hope to God they will have no power. That is what I stand here to prevent. I should go back with sharae- faccdness to my constituents, if I did not stand up here and oppose a property qualification for the voter. Mr. KENNEDY. I desire to ask the gentle- man a question. How much is Churchill Coun- ty paying in the way of poll-taxes now? Did it pay fifty dollars last vear ? Mr. MURDOCK. I cannot answer that. I was there last year myself, but I was not the collector. I know that some of them paid, and I know that this year they are paying the poll- tax readily, and they are willing to pay it. I know they are generally disposed to pay their fixes, and, if they are not, I object to their being swindled out of their right to vote. Our county is as loyal, I believe, as any county, and I want every man in it to vote. You may make your law as stringent as you please ; j^ou may stop men in the roads and pull oft' their coats, and pull off their boots, to pay the tax. but, for God's sake, do not deprive them of the right of voting. Those are my views. It is the principle, and not the four dollars, that I am after, though I may not myself lie able to pay it. and do not know that I will. Mr. LOCKWOOD. In Ormsby County, at the present time, I am informed that the poll- tax hardly pays for collecting. Now, sir, I take it that no man in this Convention is trying to disfranchise anybody. The only question. to my mind, is, is it necessary to collect a poll- tax? and if it is necessary, we propose to adopt the most efficient means Now this bugbear, that any man that is a man, and ought to be entitled to the right of sufl'rage, cannot raise the paltry sum of two dollars, seems to me like nonsense. I undertake to say that the sum of two dollars would not weigh as much as a feather in the mind of any man in the whole Territory of Nevada, and I believe there are few- men in the Territory who did not, during the last year, spend more than two dollars for whiskey. Why, sir. I have no doubt that a ma- jority of men in this Territory have paid out, at the very l^-ast, from twelve to twenty-five dollars a year in that way. Now, sir. the man who has not the energy, if he is allo\ved a whole year to do it, to raise two dollars to pay his poll-tax. ought not, in my opinion, to be allowed to vote. Mr. EARL. Will the gentleman allow me to ask him a question ? Mr. LOCKWOOD. Yes. sir. Mr. EARL. I want to know if you make it four dollars, or, if you please, you make it a horse, and demand the four dollars or the horse for the poll-tax, which is it that votes — the four dollars, the horse, or the man? Mr. LOCKWOOD. Really. I do not under- stand that there is any question about it. I was not talking about horses voting. I was talking about collecting a poll-tax of two dol- lars, and (he most efficient way to do it. One half of this tax, in our county, goes to sup- port the hospital, but we have got no hospital yet, and the fact is. that the tax is not colh cted. iSTow, I arrived in California without anything, and I have held my own pretty well for ten years, but I always paid my taxes ; somehow, they always found me. [Merriment]. How does it work? AVhy. you go to ask a man for his tax one day, and he tells you he has got no mnupy. and you must come some other day. They all say that. Well, you visit him three or four times, and charge the county ten dollars for it. while you only collect two or three dollars. I think this provision will secure the payment of the tax, and I think it is just and ample. To hear gentlemen talk here, one would think that the poll-tax was sorne- thing new. or something preposterous : while in fact it has been in force ever since we have had a government of any kind. I hope the amendment will be rejected, and the section pass, exactly as it is. Mr. KENNEDY. I wish to make one .state- ment in regard to the speech of the gentleman from Churchill. (Mr. Murdock.) as I am a little acquainted with the finances of his county. I know that that county, in connection with Lyon, ran in debt, the first year of our organi- zation, five thousand dollars, and Churchill County, since that time, has not paid fifty dol- lars in poll-taxes, and. I believe, never will. Mr. MURDOCK. I have lived there some time, and I happen to know something about that. They do pay their poll-tax now, in pro- 120 RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. [4tli day. Thursday.] Mi-kdock— DeLoxg — Hovet— Sabl— Brosxan— Nourse — Hawlet. [July 7. portion to the number of inhabitants, and the amount tbey have paiil will come to much more than that, accordiup: to the records. I think they have paid as much, if not more, than the county which tliey were so unfortunately at- tadied to. and (hey will have no more dolin- ijueut!?. in proportion to their population, than that county will. Mr. KENWICnV. During last year ? Mr. .Ml'KDOi'K. Yes, during last year. Now. then. I wish to say .something to the gen- tleman who was last up, (Mr. Lockwood.) wiio spoke al)0ut poll-taxe.s as not being new and unheard-of. Everybody knows that poll-taxes have been collected, and it is not so terrible a thing to collect them as some gentlemen sup- )>ose ; people grumble a good deal, but tbey pay. I have done some of that collecting business in California, and 1 know it is not a hard thing to collect poll-taxes:. Another reason why I am opposed to this section would be this : A man being a little short, and unable to rai.«!e four dollars, politicians would liover around him. and try to get him to go for Whafs-his-name, for .SherilT. on condition that they would pay his poll-tax. I know that some men, for the privil.'ge of voting, would be willing to vote for the devil, for high-priest [laughter], and so. for the privilege of voting, they would sell their votes to politicians. I do not want that class of men to have anything to do with it. Mr. DeLOXG. I would like to inquire of the gentleman, if that illustrative remark ap- plies to Churchill County. Mr. MUIiDOCK. No, sir; not particularly. I know tliat tlie poll-tax is no new thing, but the idea of making it a condition of voting is what I object to. I would as soon a man should say to me, •• y.iu shan't vote unless you own a pair of good horses," as to say. " you shan't vote uuless you have got four dollars." If you can make it four dollars now. when the times are easy you might put it up to twenty-five or fifty d.)llars, and so make more money by it. In thiit way. by making it a condition of vot- ing, we would have a rich Stale here presently. 1 but I do not want a rich State on any such ; terms. It is (lie principle that I go for. 1 Mr. UeLONG. I wish to ask if there are ' going to lie many candidat-s for office in case this Constitution is adopted, because if iren- tlemen are themselves going to be e;uidiilates. they had better vote against it. or all the l,iun- ni.T< will l)e after (hem to pay their poll-ta.\es Th.- CIlAlllNf AN. The r'hair would suggest that, in his opinion, there is no gentleman in thi' Convention better f|nalilie(l to answer Ijiat qu'^-tion than the gentleman from Storey him- fcelf. [Laughter.] •' Mr. DkF.ONG. I accept the explanation. But in all si-rictUHness. I would say to those who int^'Md to be candidates, that tliev had better vo(e a-,iinst this whole section. " I ho])e (hat gentl.-men will vote for this amendment, how- ever, so that if th.; section is not stricken out, it may at least be improved. The question was taken on the amendment offered by Mr. Banks, to insert after the word '• may," the words, "in their di.scretion," audit was agreed to. Mr. IIOVEY. I move to amend, by striking out the words " of the age of twenty-one years or upwards," and inserting instead the words " between the ages of twenty-one and sixty years," so that the section would read : — Sec. 9. The Legislature shall provide by law for the paynieut of an animal pt>ll-tax of not less than two nor exceeding four dollars from each male person residtait in the State, betwi en the at,'es of twenty-one and sixty years, one-half to be applied for State and one-half for county purposes; and the Legislature may make such payment a condition to the right of voting. Mr. EARL. I shall vote for this amendment, because I want to make it as little olnioxious as possilde ; but I hope the section will not be adopted. The question was taken, and the amendment was agreed to. Mr. DeLONG. I move to amend the section by inserting after the word "ispwards," or rather after the words " sixty year.*,-' as now amended, the words "Indians excepted." The question was taken, and the amendment was agreed to. The question was then taken on the motion of Mr. Earl, to strike out the entire section, and it was not agreed to. Mr. BROSNAISr. I propose to amend the section by striking out the words, " one half to be applied for State, and one half for county purposes," and inserting in lieu thereof, the words, '• to be devoted to the support of com- mon schools." Mr. NOURSE. Then we lo.se every dollar for county revenue. If this poll-tax is taken from general purposes, and applied to schools, we certainly shall be short in our county finances. I think we should be just before we are generous, and provide the means for the payment of our county expenses, which must be met liefore we go to giving away money to the schools. Mr. IIAWLEY. As superintendent of pub- lic schools in the county I live in, I have had occasion to examine very closely the general condition of the .school fund, and the approxi- mate amount, at least, likely to be realized from the taxes which will be devoted to the purposes of education during the next year. So far as my own county is concerned, I am satis- fied tliat ample provision is made by the enact- ments already on the statute book, to meet all the necessary and ordinary expenses, and to leave, proliably. a surjilus over and above those •'xpenses. And in conversations I have had with the SujH'rintendent of Puldic Instruction for the Territory. I have been led to believe that the common school system will derive from the present system of taxation— which will proba- bly be continued, if we become a State, until (he Legislature shall see fit to remodel it — a sufficient amount of revenue to meet all neces- sary and ordinary expenses in all the other 4th day.] RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. 121 Thursday,] Eakl — Chapix — Bkosxax — Ckosman — Hawley. [July 7. counties in the Territory or State. I, sir, would not probably be a member of this Con- ventiou it' it had not been for the earnest desire in my county, that some man from that county should be sent here, who would take a peculiar interest in the subject of education. I came here for the purpose, more particularly, of pay- ing special attention to that subject, more than to any other that may come before us. I will state, that in my opinion, the position taken by the gentleman from Washoe, (Mr. Nonrse), is correct, that the new State will need all the rev- enue derivable from all sources in the way of taxation, to enable it to carry on the functions of government without embarrassment ; and therefore I hope that the amendment of the gentleman from Storey will not prevail, but that the funds to be derived from the poll-tax- will be applied in the manner originally pro- posed by the section under consideration, as adopted by the former Convention, whose labors we have lakeu as the basis of our action. Mr. EARL. I shall vote for the amendment, and I hope it will pass. It is true, the gentle- man from Douglas, (Mr. Hawh/y.) seems to think they will obtain all that bj necessary to maintain the schools under the pi'esent system, and the gentleman from Washoe, (Mr. Nourse.) is of the same opinion. I think it is very likely that that is true in our agricullural counties, but we have a very heavy population in our county, and a great many children to take care of, and I submit to this Convention whether we should not prepare ourselves for the education of those children. Are we to let them grow up without education? I have seen and felt the want of education myself, and I hope we shall have a large and liberal fund for educa- tional ))urposes. Mr. CHAPIN. I beg leave to say only a few words on this subject. I should regret very much to have the amendment offered by my frieud and colleague adopted. Not but what 1 feel as deep an interest as any man in the wel- fare of common schools. But if gentlemen peruse this document — the old Constitution — through, tbey will see that the most ample pro- visions have been made for common schools, lu regard to Storey County, I will say that that county, at this time, needs money more for hospital and other purposes than she does for common schools. And it is the same \a this county, and every other county. They need it for county purposes, and I do hope my colleague will withdraw his amendment The State will need her share. The tax will raise a handsome fund. If we have 14,000 voters, as we probaljly shall have, a tax of two dollars apiece will raise §28.000 ; or, if the Legislature fixes it at four dollars, it will amount to $50,000. That will be a very ma- terial aid in the .support of our new State Gov- ernment, and lor the payment of the necessary expenses of the counties. I do hope that the section will remain as it is. Mr. BROSNAN. My friend and colleague, (Mr. Chapin.) refers to the ample provision which has been already made, in that Constitu- tion which has not been adopted by the people of this Territory, for our common schools. I would remind the gentleman of the fact, and that is one of the reasons why I offered the amendment, that by the Enabling Act a large portion of the fund upon which we then calculated for public schools, is diverted from that channel — that is to say, the percentage derived from the sales of public lands. By the terms of the Enabling Act we cannot devot" that percentage to the common schools, and therefore we are divested of that item so far as relates to educational purposes, being constrained by the Enalding Act to devote it to other purposes. That is accord- ing to my construction ot the Act, and that is one of the reasons why I have moved this amendment. I am sorry to say, Mr. Chairman, that I can- not entirely agree with the gentleman from Douglas who has just spoken, (Mr. Hawley.) in regard to the prosperous condition of our com- mon schools. If I am correctly informed by the State Superintendent, there is great need of funds for building school houses. I am in- formed that even in Douglas County a man might thrust his hands between the planks or boards which cover the school house there, and, if that be the case. I can think of no more sacred use to which this fund derived from the poll-tax can be put, than to the building and re- pairing of school houses for the improvement of the rising genei'ation. Mr. CROSMAN. Like other gentlemen who have spoken on this subject, I am willing to do what we can for the common schools, to nourish them and aid tliem ; but I hope all tlie friends of this section will vote against this amend- ment, because it is not a friendly move towards the section. This money will be more needed for the purposes of the State and county gov- ernments tlian for the schools. Mr. HAWLEY. I rise for the purpose of explair.ing a statement which appears to have been made by th'' Superintendent of Public In- struction of this Territory, in relation to a school house in Douglas County. It is very probable that when he was there he found the school houses in a very dilapidated condition. But since he has been there, in the extreme .southern district of the county, they have built a frame school house, at a cost of five or six hundred dollars, and it is now completed and will be hard-finished. In the Genoa precinct, a brick school-house, to cost about $2000, is building. It will be ready for occupancy in January, and only four hundred dollars remain unpaid of the entire cost. Twelve hundred dollars were raised by private subscription. In the extreme northern district, thej have raised two hundred dollars, and preparation has been made to expend it for repairs. The school house will be thoroughly repaired, ceiled, painted, and furnished anew, and I think I may 122 RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. [4th day. Thursday,] BKosxAX—KiRL— Proctor— FrrcH—JoHysox—CROSMAx. [July 7. eay, without boasting of our affairs at all, that we sliall have as jruod school accomiiioclations, and as aceoinplisLed teachers, also, in the three districts of our county, as can be found, at any rate in any of the cow counties, in this Territory. We cannot expect to compare, of conrse, with the wealtliy county which the gen- tleman from Storey represents, l)ui I think onr schools are in a very creditable condition. Moreover, we have received from the public school fund three or four hundred dollars to expend in supporting our scliools. and we do not owe any teaciier a dollar. We have four or live hundred dollars to our credit, besides a prospect of probably a thousand dollars before December next. Mr. I3R0SXAN. I wish to remove an im- pression whicli seems to rest u])on the mind of my friend from Lyon. (.\Ir. Crosman,) that this is not a fVietidly move. I declare to the gen- tleman that I have no hostile motive what- ever respecting this provision, and have been actuated liy no such feeling in offering this amendment. The question was taken on Mr. Brosuan's amendment, and it was not agreed to. Mr. HROSNAN. I give notice that I shall move that amendment in Convention, and call for the yeas and nays upon it. Mr. EAUL. I move to amend the section by striking out so much as provides that the tax shall he devoted to State and county purposes. and inserting instead, " to the Sanitary Fund during the war." The CHAIRMAN. The Chair will rule the amendment out of order. No further amendments being offered, the section was adopted. TUE VOTE UPOX THE COXSTITITIOX. Section 10 was read, as follows : — Sec. 10. .A.U citizens of the United States and hona Jitlt re.-uleuts of th.- Territory of ^'evada, at the time provided in this Constitution for the first election to be held under its provisions, and who shall possess the other quaUfications of electors herein provided, shaU be entitled to vote for the election of all ollieers to be elected at such election, and upon the question of adoptni),' or rejecting this Constitution. Mr. PROCTOR. I have an amendment to offer as a sulistitute for Section 10. Tile SKCRETAIIY read tlie amendment, as follows : — 8ec. 10. All citizens of the T'nited States and hona fidt residents of the Territory of Nevada on the twenty- first day of March, A. D. 181i4, (lualiiied bv law to vote for representatives to the General Assembly of said Territory, shall be qualified to vote for or against this Constitution. Mr. PROCTOR. My object in offerinsr this amendment is to comply with the provisions of the Kuabling Act, which I will read :— Ki;<-. rj. And be it fiirthfr ena<'tcd, That all pcr- Bons qualitied by law to vote for n-iiresentatives to the General Asseiably of said Territory, at the date of the passage of this act, shall be qualilied to be elected, and they are authorized to vote for and choose representa- tiv.st'iforni a Convention, under such rules and re^'u- lations as the Governor of said Territory may prescribe, and also to vote for the acceptance or rejection of such Constitution. This act was approved March 21. 1864. Mr. FITCH. I do not exactly see the oc- casion of this amendment, and 1 hope it will not prevail. As I understand the Enabling Act. it provides that all persons who were qual- itied to vote for representatives to the last General Assembly shall be competent to vote for delegates to this Constitutional Convention. I\fr. PROCTOR. Yes, sir, and to vote for or against this Constitution. Mr. FITCH. But cannot we extend the priv- ilege ? Mr. JOHNSON. It reads that they may vote for or against the Constitution "under such rules and regulations as the said Convention may prescritie."'" That is the language. Mr. CROSMAN. I move to strike out the section entirely. It belongs iu the schedule. I move that as an amendment. Mr. JOHNSON. I think the gentleman is mistaken ; but even if it does belong iu the schedule, it is in the power of the Convention to arrange it afterwards. This appears to me, however, to be the proper place for it, right here in the article on the right of sullVage, be- cause it is prescribing the qualifications of voters. And furthermore, I think my Iriend from Nye, (Mr. Proctor,) is laboring under a misapprehension as to the purport and mean- ing, not only of this section, but of the lan- guage employed in the Enabling Act. Now, sir, by reference to that act. I find that it is true in part, as stated by him, that the laws which had existed in the Territory shall and do prescribe the qualification of electors in the election of delegates to this Convention. But, sir, beyond that Congressional action has not gone. Beyond that it is left in the power of this Convention to prescribe the qualifications of those who are to vote for or against this Constitution. I will read the provision : — Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That all persons quahtied by law to vote for representatives to the Gen- eral Assembly of said Territory, at the date of the pas- sage of this Act, shall be qualified to be elected, and they are authorized to vote for and choose representa- tives to form a Convention under such rules and regula- ticms as the Governor of said Territory may prescribe ; — This absolutely fixes the qualification of voters for that election ; and what follows is divided from the first part by a semicolon: — — "And also to vote upon the acceptance or rejection of such Constitution as may be formed by said Con- vention, under such rules and regulation as the said Couventiou maj- prescribe." Here are two clauses — one clearly relating to the election of delegates, and the other as clearly relating to voting upon the acceptance or reji'ction of the Constitution. Such being the fact. I think it is entirely within the pro- vince of this Convention to prescribe the quali- fications of voters upon this instrument, and from thenceforth. All that Congress proposed to do was to fix tlie qualifications with reference to the electiou of delegates to the Convention, 4tli day.] RIGHT OF SUFFEAGE. 123 Thursday,] Crosmax — Proctor — Comjxs — Johnson — DeLong. [July 7. and the representatives of the people so elected ■vvure then to have the power to prescribe such conditions of voting thereafter as. in their p;ood judgment, might he deemed proper. And for the reasons which I suggested in the first place. I trust that the motion to strike out entirely will not prevail ; and for the further reason, that the section does not conflict with the Enabling Act. I hope the motion of my friend from Nye to amend will not prevail. Mr. CROSMAN. I was under the impre.=sion that this Enabling Act provided for this election, and therefore I thought the section was out of place. Alter the explanation given by the gen- tleman irom Ormsby I am satisfied, and will withdraw my motion. Mr. PROCTOR. I look upon this portion of the Enabling Act as giving us power to provide how the election is to be held. l)ut not power to fix any rule touching the qualification of voters at all. Mr. COLLINS. Upon reading this section, I am rather impressed with the conviction that the gentleman from Nye is correct in his inter- pretation. I will read it all : — " That aU persons qualified bj' law to vote for repre- seutativts to the general assembly of said Territory at the date of the passage of this Act, shall be qualified to be elected, and they are authorized to vote for and choose reijresentatives to form a Convention, under such rules and regulations as the Governor of said Ter- ritory may prescribe" ; — That is for the election of delegates, and that which follows, providing for the election upon the Constitution, relates to the same persons who were qualified to vote on the 21st of March last. It is a continuation of the same sentence, conjoined by the word " and," as gentlemen will perceive : — — ".\nd also to vote upon the acceptance or rejection of such Constitution as may be formed by said Con- vention, under sxich rules and regulations as the said Convention may prescribe." Not in this instance under rules and regula- tions prescribed by the Governor, but the sanu' persons are to vote under such rules and regu- lations as the Convention may prescribe. I think the language is very clear and explicit, and that those persons who, under our Territo- rial laws, were entitled to vote at the time the Enabling Act was passed, by the very reading | of that Act will be entitled to vote for the ac- 1 ceptance or rejection of this Constitution. Mr. JOHNSON. I am very sorry indeed, ; on this or any other occasion, to be under the necessity of disagreeing with my friend from Storey, (Mr. Collins,) but my convictions are the same now as when I before addressed ' the Committee on this matter. I cannot con- ceive that there is any doubt of the power of this Couvention to prescribe rules and regula- i tions for the voting on the Constitution. Now. ' sir, the gentleman from Nye, (Mr. Proctor,) has i sought to make a distinction between a rule and a law. What is a law but a rule? Wiiy. sir, one of the very earliest writers upon law, | in one of the first text-books placed in the ; hands of the student, defines law to be a rule of action. Upon this point there could, I think, be no question— namely, as to what was the intent of Congress in adopting that section. They had no conception probably of what provisions were contained in our Territo- rial laws in respict to the qualifications of voters, but so far as Congress has legislated, it has proposed to indicate what should be the manner of electing representatives to this Convention, and when that was done, then the Convention was clothed with the power pre- scribed in that Enabling Act. Then the Con- vention, composed of representatives of the peo- ple, had authority to say who should vote upon the adoption or reji ction of the instrument they were framing, as well as who should vote for the officers thereafter to be elected. From thenceforth was removed from the halls of Con- gress the power of prescribing to us the rule of action, in respect to the qualification of voters. I repeat that the word "rule." or "regula- tion," cannot be construed in any other sense than it would be if the word " law'' had been employed instead. Why, sir, it is perfectly preposterous and absurd to say that an instru- ment shall be framed containing certain propo- sitions, and that while you give a certain class power to vote upon the rejection or approval of that instrument, you at the same time say that the framers of it shall not have the right to de- clare that certain persons shall be prohibited from voting for the rejection or approval of that instrument, though they may have the right, at the same time, to declare who may and may not vote for officers to be elected under it. It is too preposterous for belief that Congress ever sought to do any such thing. Now, sir. in my mind, there is no doubt that the latter clause in the portion of this section which has been read, invests the Convention absolutely with the power of prescribing the conditions upon which all or any persons shall vote for or against the Constitution, and for officers to be elected un- der it. For that reason, I think this section .'should be retained as it now stands. Do not let us assert that Congress has said, much less done, so foolish and inoperative a thing as to prescribe the qualifications of voters upon this instrument. Mr. DkLONG. L^pon examination of this Section 3 of the Enal)ling Act, I have come to the conclusion that it would be very dangerous to subiuit this Constitution with a provision regulating the qualification of electors different from what is prescribed in this section. The section s ys as plainly as anything can be, that all persons qualified by law to vote for repre- sentatives to the Assembly at the date of the passage of this Act. which was March 21, 1864, shall also vote upon the question of the accept- ance or rejection of this Constitution. Now, why cannot we just as well save the whole mat- ter by amending this section in the old Consti- tution so as to read in the language of this Act :— 124 RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. [4tli day. Thursday.] Jduxsox— DkLoxg — Banks— Fitch. [Jiily ".UI persons who arc citizens of the United States, and" (inalitii-d rl.'ctors, and hona Jide residents of the Ttrritory of Nt-vada on the twcntrj-first day of March, 11S04, shiiJl bi- eutitlud to vote," A:c. That. I think, would roach the whole thing. I think it would be unsafe to diwiuahty a man who wa-s a qualified voter at the time of the election of delegates to this Convention. IVrhaps it would be as well to provide that all who were voters on the twenty-lirst of March, or have since become so, shall be entitled to vote. Mr. JOHNSON. "Will the gentleman read the whole clause, or sentence? Mr. DkLONG. Yes, .sir. it says :— " That all xx-rsous qiiaUfied by law to vote for reiire- sentatives to the General .\ssciiibly of said Territory at the date of the passaj^'e of this act, shall be qaiaUtied to be electA^'d, and they are authorized to vote for, and choose representatives to form a Convention, under sxieli rides and regulations as the Governor of said Territory may prescribe"; — That is one complete provision, and then fol- lows : — — '• .A.nd also to vote upon the acceptance or rejection of such Constitution as may be formed by said Con- vention, under such rules and regulations as the said Convention may prescribe." Now, will it be pretended that the Conven- tion may prescribe such rules and regulations as will not allow them to vote at all ? It says tht-y may vote under such regulations as we may prescribe, but we cannot prescribe such regulations that they shall not be able to vote at all. Jlr. J(,)HNSON. We might prescribe rules which would prohibit anybody from voting. 1 think it is absurd to say that we cannot pre- scribe whatever rules and regulations we deem proper. Mr. DkLONG. I say it is absurd, also. We agree, possibly, better than the gentleman sup- poses. I think we had better pass over that one clause, and give members an opportunity lietween this tim(; and the next meeting of the Convention, to draft a section whicli will suit the purpose. I am a little afraid to vote upon it. either one way or the other, as it now stands ; 1 do n(d think it will answer the purpose. 1 certainly do nut think we can prohiliit any man from voting on tiie Constitution who was a (pialilicd elector at the time of the election of the delegates. I think we have got to say they may vote, and as to permitting any person to vote that wa.s not a voter on the twenty-fir.'^t day of March, I am not so ceen referred to except by the gentleman from Ormsby, (Mr. Johnson.) incidentally ; that is, that those who might not have been electors upon that day named, although they would be entitled to vote upon other matters to be voted upon at the coming election to he held for the purpose of adopting or rejecting the Constitu- tion, would not be entitled to vote upon that very question. Now if we construe this En- abling Act as conferring power to vote on this question upon a certain class, and that those upon whom that power is not conferred cannot vote upon it, then we must arrive at the con- clusion that those who were not voters on the tweuty-flrst of March last, cannot be permitted to vote at all upon this Constitution. And I understand that the amendment offered hj the gentleman from Nye, provides for just that thing — that those who were qualified at that time, shall be allowed to vote upon the accept- ance or rejection of the Constitution, and that all other persons who, since that time, may have become qualified voters, shall not be al- lowed to vote upon that question. Mr. PROCTOR. I will suggest that a clause has been prepared which will cover that ol sec- tion. Mr. FITCH. I desire to call the attention of gentlemen to another clause in this same En- abling Act : — Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, that in case a Con- stitution and State Government shall be formed for the people of said Territory of Nevada, in compUance with the provisions of this Act, that said Convention forming the same shall iirovide by ordinance for sub- luittiug said Coustitutiou to the iieojjle of said State, for their ratiflciitinii or rejection, at an election to be held on the second Tuesday of October, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, at such jjlaces and under such regulations as may be prescribed therein, at which election the lawful voters of said new State shall, ' ' etc. Mr. BANKS. That says " the lawful voters of said new State." I would like to hear an ex- pression of the opinions of gentlemen upon that point before we vote. I would like to hear the section read as now proposed to be modi- lied by the gentleman from Nye. The SECRETARY read as follows:— "All citizens and bona, fide residents of the Territory of Nevada on the twenty-tirst day of March, A. D. 18^4, qualified by law to vote for re preseutalives to the ti-en- eral Assembly of said Territory, and all who have be- eonie qualified voters and electors since that date, shall be qualified to vote for or against this Constitu- tion." Mr. BANKS. I understand that that covers the ground entirely. It provides that all who 4tli day.] RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. 125 Thursday,] DeLoxg — Pkoctor — Banks— DuNXE — Hovey. [July were voters at the date mentioned, whether they have gone out of the Territory, or in any other way have become disqualified under the Territorial laws, or not, shall be allowed to vote, and, also, every person who since that date has acquired a residence and the right to vote in this Territory. I understand that thnt is the condition of the thing, and, under the provisions of the Enabling Act, I certainly feel that it is indispensable for us to adopt that amendment. As I look at it, it is necessary for us to adopt a provision in conformity with this Enabling Act. Mr. DeLONG. Why should we leave out that they are " entitled to vote for the election of all officers ?'' I do not see why that is left out. Mr. PROCTOR. I thiuk that is provided for in the Organic Act. Mr. BANKS. I understand that last year the officers were to be elected at the same time th'at the people voted upon the ratification of the Constitution, but this year I do not under- stand that there are any officers to be elected at that time. Mr. DUNNE. From all the lights I have be- fore me in the case, I do not think the last amendment proposed is necessary, nor that it will be in accordance witli tiie Enabling Act. I think one great cause of the difficulty of un- derstanding this subject has been, and is. that gentlemen forget the circumstances under wbicli we are forming this Constitution. We are act- ing here under very peculiar circumstances. We are forming this Constitution simply and entirely by the permission of Congress. Con- gress has provided that if we comply with cer- tain restrictions and requirements, which are laid down by the Enabling Act, in framing our Constitution, the President of the United States may, Ijy proclamation, admit the State into the Union, with that Constitution. But there is no \ power to admit the State unless we do comply in all respects, and it depends wholly upon our having complied strictly in every particular with the Enabling Act. The case is therefore different from that of a community seeking of its own motion to become a State in the Union. In such a case, the Convention might make whatever limitations, rules and regulations they might see fit, because they would have still to go before Congress with their Constitu- tion, and with their rules and regulations in connection with it, and then, if Congress chose to approve of their action, well and good ; they would be admitted. Under such circumstances we would have a right to make these exper- iments — to make whatever regulations and re- strictions we pleased, and then take our chances for admission by Congress. But we have no such lil)erty allowed to us here, as I under- stand it. The President can only, by procla- mation, admit this State into the Union, if the people should adopt the Constitution, when it can be shown that wo have complied in every particular with the Enabling Act granting us permission to form that State Constitution. Now Congress has pointi d out, as I think, most distinctly, what course we are to follow in this regard. It defines most clearly who the per- sons are who shall be allowed to vote upon the adoption of the Constitution. It says most distinctly that only such persons shall vote upon that question as were 'authorized to vote for representatives under the Territorial law at the time of the passage of that Act. Mr. BANKS. "Only?" Where does the gentleman get that word "only?" Mr. DUNNE. It limits and defines it as dis- tinctly as it can be done, in these words: — " And be it further enacted, That all persons quali- fied by law to vote for representatives to the General Assembly of said Territory at the date of the passage of this Act, shall be qualified to be elected, aud they are authorized to vote for and choose representatives to form a Convention, imder such rules and resulatious as the Governor of said Territory may prescribe ; and also to vote upon the acceptance or rejection," etc. As I understand it, thei-e are no other per- sons qualified to vote upon this Constitution, and if we allow any other persons to vote upon it, our Constitution will have been unlawfully adopted. And the same would be true if we did not allow all those persons to vote. Now, in the first part of Si'ction 5, which has been referred to by the gentleman from Storey, (Mr. Fitch,) where the phrase '-lawful voters" is used, it means, to my mind, not lawful voters under our laws, for the election of all officers, but lawful voters under the Enabling Act, un- der which this Constitution is framed, and according to this Act, those only are lawful voters who were legally qualified" electors for lepresentatives on the 21st day of March last. As I understand it, we have no right to allow any other persons to vote upon the adoption or rejection of the Constitution, and if we do al- low other persons to vote, then ihe election would be frandulent of itself, and the President would not be authorized to admit the new State by proclamation. Mr. HOVEY. I understand that the report- ers for the press here would like some oppor- tunity to prepare their reports, and, as many of us are pretty well tired out, I move that the Committee rise, report progress, aud ask leave to sit again. The question was taken, and the motion was agreed to. IX COXVEXTIOX. The PRESIDENT having resumed the Chair, The CHAIRMAN reported that the Commit- tee of the Whole had had under consideration Article II of the Constitution, had made some progress therein, aud had directed him to ask leave to sit again. The report was accepted, and leave was granted accordingly. Mr. DeLONG. If the Convention is going to hold evening sessions, I propose that we meet at ten in the morning, instead 'of nine ; then we can sit till twelve j meet again at one o'clock, 126 EVE>^ING SESSIONS. [otli day. Friday.] Ckosmax — DeLoxg — Kennedy — roHxsoN. [July 8. and 8it till five; then take a recess till seven o'clock, and sit iu the evening as late as we please. I therefore move that the Convention adjourn till to-morrow at ten o'clock. The re- portiT-s nuist have some t'uie to write out their notes, or we shall be entirely ignored by the press. Mr. CROSMAX. I move to adjourn till to- morrow at nine o'clock. .Mr. DeLO.N'G. Very well. I am agreeable; I am siitislii'd that I am generally wrong on time. [Merriment.] The question was taken on Mr. Crosman's motion, and it was agreed to. Accordingly, at twenty-live minutes past nine o'clock. 1*. M.' the Conveution adjourned. FIFTH DAY. Carson, July 8, ISfi^. The Convention met at nine o'clock, and, in the temporary absence ol' the Tresident, was called to order by Mr. KINKEAD, on whose motion Mr. COLLINS took the Chair as Presi- dent pro ttin. The roll was called and twenty-seven mem- bers were present. Those who failed to re- spond to their names w^re Messrs. Ball, De- Long, Fitch, Haines, Jones. .Morse, Parker, Sturtevant, Wellington, Wetherill, Williams, and Mr. President. Prayer was ohl-red by the Rev. A. F. White. The Journal of yesterday was read and ap- proved. During the reading of thj Journal the Pres- ident appeared aud took the Chair. EVENING SE.SSIONS. Mr. KENNEDY. Pursuant to notice given yesterday, I otter the following : — Rit'ilwil, Tiiat the Conveution, on and after this clato, Uold evening sessions, commencing at saveu ©•cloek. P. M. The (piestion was stated on the adoption of the resolution. [Mr. Cou.ixs in the Chair.] Mr. JOIIN.SON [the President.] I had hoped that there would i»e something said upon this J^ul'j'ct by some other member of the Conven- ii(ui. fur it occurs to me there are potent rea- .-o:is why we ought not, at least at this stage of ient time to write up his minutes, or he will be unable to give us, the next morning, an intelligible record of our proceedings of the preceding day. After a week or two, when tlie committees shall have completed their labors, and wo find that the Convention has nothing to do but to discuss the matters before it, if it shall appear that the session of the Convention is being unrea- sonably protracted, it may be well enough to hold evening .sessions, but at present it occurs to me that it is altogether uuadvi.sable. I re- ally do not think we shall gain anything by it. Mr. KENNEDY. I would like to ask the gentleman a question. How long did the Com- mittee on the Judiciary, of whicli he was a member, sit during the last Convention? Mr. JOHNSON. There were several mem- bers of that committee who did not attend its sessions. At one session I remember there were four in attendance for about a half an hour. Subsequently, Mr. Stewart, the Chair- man, made repeated ettbrts to get the committee together, but faild to do so, except on one oc- casion. After that the business of the com- mittee was transacted mainly by .Mr. Stewart and myself. The committee was not in ses- sion, as a committee, to exceed perhaps two hours iu the aggregate, but if the members of that committee had performed their duties as they .should have done, the committee would have been iu session a much longer time. I bestowed a great deal of labor upon the business properly belonging to that committee, and Mr. Stewart did the same, and we then compared notes. It does not follow, however, that the committee ought not to have met, or ought not to have had oi)portunities for meeting. I hope this reso- lution will not be passed this week, at least ; let us see what progress we make, and then, if we find it necessary, we can hold evening ses- sions. Mr. KENNEDY. I will amend the resolution so as to hold evening sessions commencing next Monday. 5th day.] EVENING SESSIONS. 127 Friday,] Johnson — Tozer — Dunne — Chawx -Kenneby— Bkosnan. [July 8. Mr. JOHNSON. My only objection to that ] our labors very much. As to the Secretary, I is, aside trom considerations existing at the also recognize the point that it will be im- present time, that we do not know that there possible for him to write up his minutes and will be any necessity for evening sessions, report them the next morning, if he has to Though I am opposed to the proposition now, attend here at the deslv in tiie evening ; and as yet at some future stage of our proceedings, we wish to get through speedily, and it is all when I conceive the necessity has arisen. I may one thing whether we do it by working an ad- be in favor of evening sessions. I prefer to ditional time at night, or during the day, I postpone the subject till the necessity shall would be in favor ot having an additional See- arise hereafter, if it shall arise. I retary to write up the minutes — anything and Mr. TOZbiR. The labor of the Judiciary everything to shorten the session. I hope the Committee of the last Convention, or the re- resolution will prevail. suit of that labor, is now the property of tbe Mr. CHA.PIN. I have been in favor of hav- people of this Territory, and this Convention ing evening sessions, in order to accomplish all has resolved to make use of that public property, i we can, if it was any way consii^tent to do so ; The gentleman from Ormsby tells us that indi- 1 but there are many objections urged against vidual members bestowed a great deal of labor evening sessions, and now, as a sort of a com- upon the subject. Very well ; we have adopted : promise, until we can hold our sessions a larger the results of their labor as a part of our own, | number of hours, I propose this as an ameud- and therefore we have all the benefit, without raent to the resolution : — the necessity of losing time upon the subject. ! ^,,,,„,,,_ That the daily sessions of this Conveution I do not know that any new matter is likely to be as follows: From niue o'clock, A. M., to oue o'clock, come before the Judiciary Committee, or be- ; P. M., and from two o'clock, P. M. to six o'clock, P. M. fore any other committee of this Convention,' Thus we gain one hour, in broad daylight, that will so occupy them that we cannot hold ; for the business of the Convention, and have evening sessions lor an liour or two each even- '• the evening before us for the labor of the com- ing, at least, and so greatly expedite our labors, mittees. I am sure that will shorten our and bring about an early adjournment. We labors. now meet at nine o'clock, and occupy a consid- j Mr. KENNEDY. I wish to state my objec- erable part of the time in parliamentary quib- tion to that resolution. It provides for a ses- bles and pointless debates, which enlighten none I sion here, from nine o'clock in the morning till of us. If we continue that course we shall i one o'clock in the afternoon — four hours, with- prolong the session a week or two unneccs- out intermission or rest — and I do not want to sarily. and few of us can afford that. j be shut up in this room for four hours at a Mr. DUNNE. I agree with the gentleman ; time. I would prefer, if gentlemen are anxious who last addressed the Convention, in regard to give the committees an opportunity to meet, to the time required by the Committee on the ^ that we should give them till three o'clock Judiciary to make their report. I think they j some afternoon, or even give them the whole of will, in all probability, have ample time, even | some afternoon in which to make up their re- if we hold evening sessions, to prepare their re- ' ports, but let us have our night. sessions — more port between now and Monday, and I do not frequent sessions, but shorter, at any rate ; I think there is any chance of reaching that arti- ; do not care whether they are in the night or cle, in its regular course, before that time. I not. By having more frequent and shorter imagine there is but very little change pro- 1 sessions we shall get through with more busi- posed to be made in that regard, upon the i ness, because, after we have been sitting here basis of action which we have adopted here : ; three hours at one time, we are all tired out, and I think there will be plenty of time for the i and unable to do anything well. Besides, this committee to do all they have to do between resolution would keep us here during the heat this time and Monday. In regard to the Official of the day, and I think that is possiblj' a mis- Reporter. I recognize most distinctly the point t^ike in the present arrangement. We ought made by the gentleman from Ormsby. our ^ not to meet till two o'clock in the afternoon, worthy President, respecting the additional j and so give all the officers and the committees labor which will be imposed upon him by hold- \ the time from twelve till two o'clock. That, I ing evening sessions, and I will also recognize | think, is the best time to get the committees the propriety of giving him additional compen- together ; because I remember, at the Conveu- sation, in consideration of such additional tion last year, it was very difficult to get meet- labor ; and in the event of the adoption of this ings of the committees in the evenings, and we resolution. I shall propose to pay him one half- used to call meetings after the adjournment in day's additional salary for each evening ses- j the morning. I think this amendment of the sion. I am willing to make this distinction in ' gentleman from Storey would certainly wear favor of the Reporter only, for as to these other \ us all out. gentlemen, I do not think if we continue in j Mr. BROSNAN. I will move as an amend- session in the evening, it will make any con- 1 ment, that we meet at nine o'clock, sit till siderable or material addition to their labors. \ twelve, and then take a recess till two o'clock. I would like to see these evening sessions de- i Mr. BANKS. Does that contemplate eveu- cided upon, because I think they will shorten i ing sessions? 128 EVENING SESSIONS. [5th dky Friday,] Brosx-vx—Chapis—Dcxne—Fbizell—Tozek—DeLoxg— Warwick— Mckdock. [July 8 . Mr. BROSNAN. It leaves that matter open for tlu' pro.sout. I will ask for the reading of the resolution as it would be with my amend- ment. The Secretary read as follows : — /f.<.,'.-<-.(. That the daily sessions of this Convention be a^ l.)Uows: From nine o'clock, A.M., to twelve o'clock, M.; and trom two o'clock, P. M., to six o'clock, P. M. Mr. CHAPIN. I do not like that amend- ment ; it is cutting our time all up. I would rather retain the old arrangement, giving the cotuinitees the whole evening, and in that way they can accompli-sh much more. Now we only get"fairly warmed up, and ready for work in the morning. Mr. 1)L'NNE raised a question of order, that the original resolution being an amendment of the rules, the amendment of Mr. Grossman was an amendment in the third degree, and could not. therefore, be entertained. The ]>oint of order was not sustained. Mr. FUIZELL. Industry and close applica- tion are good things, but it is within the bounds of possibflity to have too much of a good thing. I have never heard of a deliberative body that la'iorcd more hours than we do. Mr. TOZER. And brought forth lcf?s. Mr. FRlZb-LL. And brought forth less. Wtiy. sir, our fathers, during tiie war of the rieviilution, when there was real danger around them, did not work harder. Beu. Franklin and Sam. Adams and the other great men of that day, did not work harder, even when in the midst of danger. I am working, as we all are, for what I believe to be the best good of my constituents ; but, at the same time, I do not wish to sit here and work more than nine hours out of the twenty-four. I really want time to sleep and take my meals, and, as it is an office of some dignity, I want an oppor- tunity occasionally to take a cocktail and smoke a cigar, and get my feet up as high as my head, .S'j as to show that I am a free Amer- ican citizen. [Laughter.] I hope this resolu- tion and all tliese amendments will be voted down, and that we shall continue to sit here nine hours a ainvtly upon the question of adopt- insjor rfj"etin;j this Coiistitution: and, further, that ■ifiitizoas of the Tuited St;ites, Imna fide residents of sa' 1 Territory at the time provided in this Constitution for i!iu first i-lectiou to be holdeu under its provisions, BUd who shall possess the other qualifications of elec- tors herein provided " — That is, ia tliis Constitution provided — — "Sliall be entitled to vote for the election of all officers tob • eleelid at sueh election." Mr. COLLINS. The first part of it refers to thiit which is embodied in Section 3 of the En- abling Act. It says:— ••.\U persons qualified by law to vote for representa- tives to the General Assembly of the Territory of Ne- vada on the 21st day of .March, 18G4." That embodies, in substance, the language em- ployed inS ction 3. Then, six months, or nearly that, intervening between the 21st of March and the second Tue.sday in October, the time originally fixed for the election upon the Con- stitation," the writer of this Enabling Act saw the injustice which was being done to all those who would become legal voters in the interim, and he add-; the words in Section 5, which are substantially embraced in the following clause : ".And all other persons who may be lawful voters in. Slid Territory." That is, who may be lawful voters under the laws of the Ti-rritory of Nevada. Because the Lnalding Act, in Section 3, says that all persons who may be legal voters of the Tenitory of Ne- vada on the 21st of March, li^lH, shall bo enti- tled to vote, etc., therefore we have a right to suppose that the writer, when he drew the 5th Section, had in view the si.x months intervening tinii'. and the idea that a consideral)le number of ixTsons might l)ecome voters in the interim, a;id therefore provided that all other persons who might become lawful voters should be al- lowed to vote for the acceptance or rejection of this Constitwiion. Hence we provide, by this arnoinlment. that Ijoth classi's, or all who come within either deseri])tion, on the lirst Wednesday in .■^••ptenil)er, tlie date when, under the Act ami'iidatory of the Enabling Act, the Constitu- tion is to be .submitt<'d, •• shall be entitled to vote directly upon the ipu'stion of adoi)ting or rejecting this Constitution"' Now what follows that language has nothii;g to do with the vote upon the Constitution. The Enabling Act makes no provi?ou the question of adopting or rejecting this Constitution." Both subjects are embodied in the same sec- tion, and I have taken the liberty of doing the same thing here in my amendment. jAlr. BANKS. I am glad the gentleman has exi)lained the matter, and I think we had ])etter divide his amendment into two sections. Here he has provided for voting on the Constitution, recognizing the; two classes of voters provided for in the Enabling Act ; and he has provided in the latter part, which ought to constitute a sep- arate section, I think, for the exercise of the constitutional right of suffrage under the Con- stitution, after its adoption. So far as the adoption of the Constitution is concerned, the construction of the gentleman from Orinsby, (Mr. Johnson.) is not, I think, justified by the langimge of the amendment, and I hope it will be adopted substantially as proposed by the gentleman from Storey. Mr. DL'NNE. I confess that, notwithstanding the lengthy discussion we have had, I am still of the same opinion I was last night. I adhere to that opinion for this reason : I believe that the general rule in regard to the construction of statutes is, that where there are powers granted in any two different portions of the same stat- ute, and where the subsequent portion seems to distinctly and intentioiuilly enlarge or abridge the power granted in the first portion, and 5th day.] RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. 133 Friday,] JOHXSOX — DUXXE — Frizei-l. [July 8. where it was evident that it was the intention distinctly of the Legislature so to do, the sub- sequent portion of the statute governs. I think gentlemen have been in error, or else I am, in considering that Section 5 of the Enabling Act intentionally enlarges the powers granted in Section 3. The powers are distinctly recited in Section 3, and Section 5 relates to another sub- ject altogether. Section 3 relates to the right of suffrage ; it defines who shall be allowed to vote ; and Section 5 applies to another snbject altogether, because it does nothing to further, explain, limit or abridge, in any way whatever, the right of suffi'age. It relates expressly to a different subject, and whatever else is mentioned in it is mentioned incidentally, because the ob- ject of Section 5 is merely this — to empower the President of the United States, by his proclama- tion, to admit the new State, after it shall have complied with all the provisions and require- ments of this Enabling Act. That l)eing the intention of the section, and the words in it relating to the right of suffrage being used only incidentally. I do not think it can be considered as enlarging the powers granted in Section 3. I consider, again, if I understand the gentleman from Ormsby correctly, that I differ with him materially with regard to the jjowers which the people of this Territory have, by their re2)re- sentatives here in Convention assembled, with regard to limiting the right of persons to vote npon the ratification or rejection of the Consti- tution which we may adopt here. Because, I conceive, tliat whatever of }iolitical rights we have in this Territory, we derive altogether from the General Government. Mr. JOHNSON (interrupting). I do not as- sume that Congress had not the power to re- strict us — bv no means. Mr. DUNNE. Will the gentleman state his explanation again. Mr. JOHNSON. It comes to this : I say that Congress has not done it ; not that Congress had not the power to do it. Mr. DUNNE. Then we still differ ; because Congress has defined. I think, what powers we have. That is the point of difference. I hold that the only powers the people of this Territory possess, are derived from the express grant of Congress — that until our Organic Act was passed, we constituted no ])art of the people of the United States. We had no hand, nor vote, nor voice, in the making or framing of the laws : we had no power in regard to our own local affairs ; we had no ])olitical rights what- ever. The Organic Act is, in one sense, a Con- stitution to us. It is a charter of rights granted to us by Congress. Congress has the power of enlarging those rights, or of limiting them. ■The Enabling Act being subsequent to the Oi'- ganic Act, so far as it contains anything in con- flict with that act, is an amendment of it, and fc-'upersedes it. and from that I think it follows that we have no rights whatever, except what are expressly granted to us in this Eimbling Act. Then the question in my mind is, whether j or not Congress has prescribed the persons who are to be allowed to vote on this Constitution ; and, then, if my theory be correct in regard to j the effect of Section 5 — that it docs not enlarge the powers granted in Section 3, because it does not expressly relate to the Right of Suffrage, but ! mentions it incidentally, employing only the words "lawful voters," and not defining what are lawful voters — I think that the" word : " lawful," there employed, refers back to the I third section of the Enabling Act, Avhere the right of suffrage is specifically defined. If that position be correct, and 1 thiiik it is, I shall be obliged to vote against the amendment. I Mr. FRIZELL. I suppose this debate has continued about long enough, but I propose, nevertheless, to say a few Avords on the subject. Here we find that Section 3, which section ap- plies almost entirely to the organization of this Convention, to the election of its members, contains certain provisions in regard to voting. j Then we find in Section 5, where the Enabling Act directs that the Constitution shall be sub- j mitted to the people, that the same language j precisely is used, or its equivalent — the phrase '•lawful voters" — that we find in Section 8. Now. the query arises, as propounded l)y the gentleman from Ormsby, (Mr. Johnson), what meaning or construction you are to put upon that term " lawful voters." By taking Section j 3 and Section 5 in conjunction, considering both I together, I think the construction to be put on the two is perfectly and easily apparent. Then I again, when you consider that this Section 3 ap- plies tliroughout its entire construction, every j way. to the organization of this body ; that one ! portion of the section merely says who shall be ' legal or lawful voters at the time of voting for the delegates to this Convention, and also who shall be eligible as delegates to this Conven- tion, I tliink it is rendered still more plain. It there declares who are the lawful voters. Now, I how are they lawful ? Under what laws ? What j law could it be that should make them lawful voters but the law of this Territory ? Of course. Congress knew we had an organization and laws here under the Organic Act which liad Ijeen passed by Congress, and it must be })lain that this term '■ lawful voters," used in Section 3. refers to voters under the Territorial laws. Now, Mr. Chairman, when we come down to Section 5, you find it reads : — And he it further enacted, That in case a Constitution and State Government shall be formed for the people of the said Territory of Nevada, in compliance with the provisions of this Act, that said Convention forming the same shall provide by ordinance for submittuig said Constitution to the peojile of said State for their ratification or rejection, at an election to be held on the second Tuesday in October, ISGi, at such places and vmder such regulations as may be prescribed therein, at which election the lawful raters of said new State shall vote directly for or against the in-oposed Consti- tution. Here we find precisely the same term used^ !'• lawful voters." Now. looking at the matter [ philosophically, and from the point of law, are : we to suppose that Congress, in passing this 134 RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. [5th day. Friday,] Ghapin— Ckosman— Pkoctok— Brosxax. [July 8. Act, on the 21st of March last, intended to decliire that the men who wore then lawful TottTs in this Territory should be the only men allowed to vote at an "election to be held six months tliereafter ? Did tiiey intend, in other words, to eut otf every man that should become a lawful voter within one. two, three, or four months after that date ? Certainly not. Con- sequently. I think, on the seore of reason and good sense in tiie interpretation of the lan- guage, the meaning of the Enabling Act un this subject is perfecllv i)lain. Mr. CHAl'lN. ' 1 desire to say just a few words only, in explanation of uiy views. 1 think there is no use in trying to get around that third section. We have got to face that, and to ju-ovide that every person who was entitled to vote under our laws on the 2l3t of March last, shall be allowed to vote for or against this Constitution. Now this fifth section Contains a ftirther provision, by which we are also to allow every person who is a lawful voter in tliis new State to vote upon the adop- tion or rejection of our Constitution — that is, every person who shall have become a voter eiace the 21st of March, is also entitled to vot*,'. That is my construction ; and even il I ha Act. 1 Now, if w^e were going to submit the Consti- I tution, after its adoption, to the next Congress, j and ask for admission into the Union under it, I it might be well enough to go outside of the provisions of the Enabling Act. But we are ; going to do nothing of the kind. We have got I to comply strictly with the terms of that Act, I and if we do not do that, we cannot hope for i admission by the President's proclamation. And, sir, I shall move, before the vote is taken on my amendment, to strike out the addenda, or latter portion of it, for the reason that I do not think we have any right to confer the right of voting upon anybody who became a legal voter of the Territory after the 21st of March last. I hoi)e the amendment of the gentleman from Storey will not prevail ; and at a i)roper time, 1 hoi)e we shall pass an ordinance con- taining the necessary provisions, in conformity with the Enabling Act, for submitting the; Con- stitution to the peo])le. If this amendment is voted down, I give notice that I will move to amend my amendment. l)y striking out the latter portion, relative to those who may have become (jualitied voters subsequent to the pass- age of the Enabling Act by Congress. Mr. BPvOSN.VN. 1 have given this subject some consideration, Mr. Chairman, and the re- sult of that consideration is briefly this: 1 consider, in Ihe first phu'c, that the terms, so to sj)eak. of this filth section, are wholly non-essen- tial in this matler. even taking the section in its literal sense. I conceive! that, in regard to the adoption of the Constitution which wo may frame here, if it })e voted ui>on and adopted by the per)]>le and then ])resented to the I'resident of the Ciiited States, it will make no difference how we have regarded that section, because 5th day.] RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. 135 Friday,] Brosnan — Collins. [July 8. it will not be at all considered. It will not be regarded as material, whatever way the peo- ple may have voted, provided they have been legal voters and have given a majority for the Constitution. There are conditions precedent which I think are essentials, and which we have complied with, thus far. Now, it will be re- membered that the intention of Congress could not certainly have been to disqualify any voters in this Territory. It must be assumed that the members oC Congress who passed this Enabling Act understood the qualifications required in the Territory of Nevada, to entitle a citizen of that Territory to vote. That may reason- ably be assumed, and therefore we may infer that they knew that the time required to be- come a voter in our Territory, so far as rt;si- dence is concerned, was six months. And Con- gress fixed and established those qualifications in this third section, both for those who might be eligible as delegates to this Convention and for those who were to vote for such delegates, as electors. Then the act provides that after that body of delegates, so elected and by such electors, have in Convention formed this Con- stitution for the new State, the legal voters may vote upon the question of its adoption or rejec- tion — that is. the legal voters of the Territory. The act says " the lawful voters of said new State,'' but in place of that, suppose the words '• of said Territory " had been used. It would not have made the slightest difference, and there can be no question that the legal voters of the Territory are intended, for necessarily there could be no State at the time of voting on the question of becoming a State. The lan- guage of the act assumes the ftict of its being a State the moment the Constitution is framed, and if j'ou follow out that language strictly, no person could vote at all, because there would in reality be no State. I say, then, it would be unreasonable to consider, or to believe, that Congress did intend to disqualify legal voters in this Territory from voting upon the adoption or rejection of the Constitution. Now, who are the lawful voters ? \Vliy. they are the legal voters of this Territory at the time of voting. Besides, the Chair and the Convention will remember, in connection with that, that this Constitution was at first to be submitted in the month of October, a longer period after the passage of the act than was necessary to make a man a qualified elector by residence in the Territory. Is it, then, a possi- ble, or rather, is it a reasonable construction, to say that Congress intended to cut off every per- son from the right of the elective franchise on so momentous a question, who did not happen at that time to have been six months in the Ter- ritory ? Is it reasonable to believe that Congress would not consent to allow any man, though qualified by the laws of the Territory, to vote upon a question so important to his welfare, and to the welfare of the community ? I cannot come to any such conclusion. " I would prefer to see this section, as proposed by my colleague, (Mr. Collins,) separated, so as to have that portion which relates to the adoption of the Constitution by itself, and that which relates to the first election to be held under the Constitution as adopted, stand also by itself; which would greatly simplify the mattev, and then I should be willing to vote for both propositions. Mr. COLLINS. While I agree in the main with my respected friend the gentleman from Storey who has just spoken, I differ with him entirely upon the construction which he gives to this Section 5 of the Enabling Act. Now, I believe it is a general principle of interpreta- tion that where two sections differ, or come in conflict, or do not perfectly harmonize, the gen- eral spirit and intention of the author should be discovered, if possil)le. Now, what is the general spirit and intention of Congress in giv- ing us this Enabling Act ? It is, first, that we shall organize a State government. It provides that electors shall be chosen as delegates to convene here and frame a Constitution. And in making that provision. Congress declares ex- pressly that all persons in the Territoiy, who are legal voters at the time of the passage of the act, under the laws of the Territory, shall vote for the election of those delegates, and further, following that, that they shall also be permitted to vote for the acceptance or rejec- tion of that Constitution which their delegates may frame. Now, while Congress contemplated giving us a State Government, and a State Con- stitution, it also contemplated that every legal voter should have a voice in the establishment of that Constitution and State Government. And how often, Mr. Chairman, have you and 1, in drafting some document, omitted or failed to insert in the body of the document, some thought or idea which properly belonged there, and when the document was perhaps half written, the thought presenting itself, we have availed ourselves of the first opportunity to throw it into a subsequent portion, without re-writing the document. I take it that this was the way it was in Congress in the drafting of this Enabling Act. When the authors were writing the sec- tion providing for the election in October, tho thought disclosed itself to their minds that they might be doing injustice to a great body of men who might subsequently to the passage of the act come in, gain residence in the Territory, and become legally qualified electors, and they availed themselves of the first opportunity to throw that provision in, in order to give that class the right to vote also on the acceptance or rejection of the Constitution. And I will show you, I think, by the very language, that that was what it contemplated. It is speaking of the State Government for the new State, and of those who are to be qualified to vote upon its adoption, and here in Section 5 it says : — "At an election to be held on the second Tuesday of October, 1864"— The thought coming to the writer of the dis- 136 EIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. [5th day. Friday.] Brosxax— Collins— Proctor— Johnson. [July 8. tancc of time betM-ccn the elections, and the vrc;»t iniustice whidi would Ije done to those who woiiKl Vieconio lejral voters iu the interinK he then endeavors to remedy the difficulty and re- move the injustice, and goes on to say :— — •• \t su.'h places and under such regulations as may l>e pns. rilxd tlnriiu. at which election the lawful voters of taid new State/' — "Lawful voters!"' Now, if it had referred )iarticnlarlv, or only, to those lawful voters descriheil "in f^ectioii 3. it would have said ■ said lawful voters."' ]5ut it goes on. imme- diatelv following that, to refer to the State— •• the lawful voters of said new State"— so that ;here sliu\ild be no niisunderstauding. If the writer had contemplated to embrace only those referreil to in Section 3. those who were elec- tors on the 21st of March, he would have drawn it to read, "at which election the said lawful voters."' Mr. BROSNAN. In that I agree with the gentleman. Mr. COLLINS. Then I have certainly mis- understood my colleague. Now, I tliink it uuist be i)lain to the Convention that such must have l)teii the intention of Congress — the mean- ing of the Committee or member that drafted, and the meaning of Congress in adopting this section. Xeitiier you, nor I, nor any one else, can bi'lieve that Congress had a desire to dis- franchise any of the lawful voters of this Ter- ritory. The aim and object of Congress was, as evinced l»y the declaration or language used in Section 3, to frame an l->nabling Act, coming under the provisions of the Federal laws in respect to the right of voting ; and whoever our law has declared to be a voter, Congress, also, l)y making use of that language, declares to be a voter. Now, I am willing to bow to the will of Congress, and however bene- ficial we might deem it to be to disfranchise certain classes, I believe that every loyal man here, when he sees it clearly, will be willing to obey th<" bi'hests of Congress. Hut ail interitretation so monstrotis as has been put by some ujton this language, should certainly not be received, if it can be avoided, .•^hali Wf, liy one sweejt, disfranchise perhaps one-half of the voters of the Territory? Who believes tiiat (.'ongress ever dreamed of such a thing.' I ask gentlemen to look at it. Of course, if we are forced to it by the ])lain lan- guage of the Act, we must do it ; but 1 say, if tliere be u shadow of a ]»ossil)le doubt, then we Imve a right to construe it in favor of those who, according to the opinions of some gentle- men, were intended by Congress to be dis- franchised. Now. as to the proposed division of the sec- tion. I sJKMild have no objection at all to that. Tlie original ,.\. My motion is, to .strike out entirely the latter pr)rtion of the section, begin- ning — '■ .\nd further, that all citizens of the I'nited States " Ac.,— so that the section will be left in this wise : — Section 10. All persons qualified by law to vote for representatives to the General Assembly of the Terri- tory of Nevada on the 21st day of March, 1864, and all other persons who may be lawful voters in said Terri- tory on the first Wednesday of September next foUow- ing, shall l)e entitled to vote directly upon the question of adopting or rejecting the Constitution. The part I propose to strike out can possibly relate only to the election of officers at the same time that the Constitution is submitted. Mr. HO^'EV. I certaiialy cannot see that this language proposed to be stricken out, has ref- erence to the election of officers at the time the Constitution is submitted for adoption or rejec- tion. It reads in this way : — "And further, that all citizens of the United States, bnna fide residents of said Territory at the time provi- did in this Constitution for the first election to be holden under its provisions, and who shall possess the other qualifications of electors, herein provided, shall be entitled to vote for the election of all officers to be elected at such election." It does not seem to me to bear the constnic- tion the gentleman puts upon.it, and we have got to specify, in some place, who shall be the electors of the officers to be elected under the Constitution. Mr. JOHNSON. That is already specified, in a previous section, which takes effect immedi- ately after the Constitution is adopted. Mr. HOVEY. Very well ; I am satisfied. The question was taken on the amendment proposed by Mr. Johnson, and it was agreed to. The question recurred on the adoption of the section as amended, and it was adopted. DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS. Article HI, entitled Distribution of Powers, was next taken up by the Committee of the Whole, and read, as follows : — ARTICLE III. — BISTBIBUTION OF POWERS. Section 1. The powers of the Government of the State of Nevada shall be divided into three .separate de- partments — the Legislative, the Executive, and Judi- cial — and no persons charged with the exercise of pow- ers iiroperly belonging to one of these departments, shall exercise any functions appertaining to either of the others, except in the cases herein expressly directed or permitted. No amendment being offered, the article aa read was adopted. LEGISL.VTIVE DEPARTMENT. Article IV, entitled Legislative Dcipartment, was next taken up by the Committee of the Whole. Section 1 was read, as follows : — Section 1. The Legislative authority of this State shall be vested in a Senate and Assembly, which shall be designated, " The Legislature of the State of Ne- vada," and the sessions of such Legislature shall be held at the seat of government of the State. No amendineni being offered, the section was adoi)ted. BIENNIAL SESSIONS. Section 2 was read, as follows : — Sec 2. The sessions of the Legislature shall be bi(auiial. and shall commence on the first Monday of .January next ensuing the election of its members, un- less the Governor of the State shall, in the interim, con- vene the Legislature by prochimatiou. 5th day.] LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 139 Friday,] Johnson — Brosnan — B.\kks — Dunne. [July 8. Mr. JOHNSON. I will state right here, as there may be some contrariety of views in re- gard to ))iennial sessions, that gentlemen will find in the latter portion of this Constitution, provision made for having annual sessions of the Legislature for the first two years, and thence after, biennial sessions. As it was thought proper by the Convention to inaugurate the system of biennial sessions, and as biennial sessions were to be the rule, and annual sessions the exception, it was deemed advisable — and I think there can be no better plan — to adopt the section as it reads here, and then provide sub- sequently in the Schedule, or in Miscellaneous Provisions, as may be judged best, in what years annual sessions shall be held. Mr. BROSNAN. My recollection is that of the gentleman from Ormsby on this subject, but I would like to have him refer to the subse- quent section, where provision is made for annual sessions. Mr. JOHNSON. I will refer my friend to Sections 14 to 17 of the Schedule, as here print^'d. Mr. BANKS. I move to amend the section by adding these words : " except as hereafter provided in this Constitution." Mr. JOHNSON. I have no objection. The question was taken, and the amendment was agreed to. The question was taken on the adoption of the section as amended, and it was adopted. Section 3 was read, as follows : — Sec. 3. The members of the Assembly shall be chosen bienuially by the quahfied electors of their respective districts on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November, and their term of office shall be two years from the day next after their election. Mr. BROSNAN. I suggest that this section should be amended. I do not see the utility of the words — " on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November." Had not we better fix the dav directly. Mr. JOHNSON. The reason of that language is, that it is the day on which the Presidential election occurs. AVe expected the State Gov- ernment to go into operation last winter, and gentlemen will find by referring to the '• Mis- cellaneous Provisions," and " Schedule," in the old Constitution, that provision was made that the members of the first Legislature .should hold office until their successors should be elected and qualified. Then, tliis ))eing the first regular election, the next election would occur at the same time, and I think there was great propriety in the arrangement. The same rea- sons which existed then, exist now. The idea is to obviate the necessity of having two elec- tions in the same year on which the Presidential election occurs. Mr. DUNNE. I suppose, if the Constitution is adopted this fall, we desire to have a repre- sentation in Congress, the members of which will be there to take their seats at the opening of Congress. Is it possible to do that under such a provision? Mr. JOHNSON. Yes, sir. The 9th of Sep tember is the time on which the Constitution i.s to be submitted. Then it will necessarily take two or three weeks to collect the election returns and to transmit the report to the President, who is thereupon authorized to de- clare the State admitted into the Union. That will throw us necessarily into October, and it would not be possible before the time men- tioned for the Presidential election, to hold a political election under the provision of the State Constitution. It will be remembered — and we have the evidence of it before us in the shape of the Enabling Act — that originally it was provided that the vote upon the Constitu- tion should be taken in October ; but after the passage of the Enabling Act, as it is here printed, a memorial was prepared and signed by many prominent citizens — the Territorial officers and others — asking Congress to amend that act so far as to provide for the submission of the Constitution to the people at the time of the Territorial election, on the first Wednesday in September. This was done with a view not onl,y to obviate the necessity of hold- ing anotlier election so soon afterwards, but also to give time within which the election could be held, the votes canvassed, return made, and the State thereupon admitted into the Union, that we might, in part, then en- joy the privileges of a State. I think this may be accomplished, probably two or three weeka before the Presidential election, for we may be advised by telegraph of the action of the Pres- ident in i.ssuing his Proclamation, and when that act is done, we are at once admitted, and telegraphic information of the fact is sutficient to authorize us to proceed to put the machinery of the new State in operation. That would give time for the assembling of a Convention, and the nomination of candidates, if deemed necessary or advisable, and the presentation of the claims of those candidates before the people previous to the November election. Mr. DUNNE. The object is, I understand, to have all the candidates elected on the first Tuesday of November ; that gives us some eight or nine weeks, and if the election takes place at that time, which will be towards the clo.se of the first week in November, it will then take a considerable time to get the returns of the votes in order to hold a session of the Leg- islature for the election of United States Sena- tors. Then it will require another month for the Senators, after their election, to get to Washington, and I do not see how we could expect them to get there before the latter part of Februar)'. Mr. JOHNSON. I believe it is advisable to hold the election at the earliest possible time, and in that I agree fully with the gentleman from Humboldt ; but I scarcely think under the operation of this provision, as we are to vote in September, and the votes have to be can- vassed, the, returns made to the President, and his proclamation issued upon those returns be- 140 LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. [5tli day. Friday,] Bbosxax— JoHxsox— Crosman — Stcrtevant— Warwick. [July 8. fore we are invested with the right of electing nuy officon. is the general frame-work. and the exceptions to tbiit frame-work should properly be incbnled within the scojte of the Schedule, (u- the article on Miscellaneous Pro- visir)ns. Though it may be a little out of ])lace here, I will say that I was heartily in favor of the anienrjment jiroposed by tlie gentleman from Humboldt. (Mr. iJanks.) l)eca>ise this is Hm- ;.'eneral frame-work, and any exce])tions ought to b'' incorporated elsewhere, .so that there may be no conflict in this ](ermanent por- tion of the Constitution. .Mr. <'l{0.>M.\N'. There is one other objection to till- s.-riion, which occurs in the last iine. as it striio's me. It says: -their term of ollice Hhiill be two vears from the day ne.\t after their plcftion." Now we are aware that it is impos- sible to know, for a few davs after the election. who are elected and who are not. It is all very well for the first election, and perhaps that miglil be provided for in the Schedule. But in all tlu' States in which I have lived, there ha.s b.'cn an interval of at least sixty days after the election before the officers elected took office, I suggest that it be amended so that their term of office shall be two years next after the 31st day of December, ensuing. The amendment was not seconded. There being no further amendment, the sec- tion was adopted. TKRNf.S OF OFFICE. Section 4 was read, as follows : — Sec. 4. " Senators shall be choseu at the same time and places as members of the Assembly, by the qiiali- tied electors of their respective districts, and their term of office shall be two years from the day next after their election. Mr. STURTEVANT. I move to amend the last clause of the section by striking out the word '■ two,-' and inserting the.word '• four," so that it will read — "And their terni of office shall be foiir years from the day next after election." Mr. WARWICK. There appears to me to be very good reasons for that amendment, for, in Section 14, of Article XVIII, I find the follow- ing language : — " At the general election in A. D. 1864, and thereafter, the term of Senators .shall be for four ye;ir.s from the day succeeding such general election, and members of Assembly for two years," etc. Therefore, in order to have some uniformity in this document, it Avill be necessary to make this amendment, providing that the term of Senators shall be four vears. Mr. JOHNSON. My recollection is that this is a misprint, and that the last Convention adopted the term of four years for Senators. The question was taken, and the amendment was agreed to. No further amendment being offered, the sec- tion, as amended, was adopted. Section 5 was read, as follows : — Sec. 5. Senators and members of the Assembly shall be duly qualilied electors in the respective coun- ties and districts which tliey represent, and the num- ber of Senators shall not be less than one-third, nor more than one-half of that of the members of the As- scmblj-. No amendment being offered, the section, as read, was ado))ted. Section (i was read, as follows : — Sec. 6. Each House shall judge of the qualifications, elections and returns of its own members, choose its own officers, (except the President of the Senate,) de- termine the rules of the proceedings, and may punish its members for disorderly conduct, and, \rith"tiie con- currence of two-thii'ds of all the members elected, ex- pel a member. Mr. WARWICK. I move to amend bv in- serting instead of the word "elected," where it last occurs, the -word •• present." 'file amendment was not seconded. No further amendment being offered, the sec- tion was adopted. Section 7 was read, as follows : — 5tli day.] LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 141 Friday,] Kennedy— JoHXdON — Fitch — Bkosnan — Lockwood. [July 8 Sec. 7. Either House, diiring the session, may pun- ish, by imprisonment, any person not a member, who shall have been guilty of disrespect to the House by disorderly or contemptuous behavior in its presence ; but such imprisoiuiieut shall not extend beyond the final adjournment of the session. No amendment being offered, the section, as read, was adojited. OFFICES OF PROFIT. Section 8 was road, as follows : — Sec. 8. No Senator or member of Assembly shall, during the term for which he shall have been elected, nor for one year thereafter, be appointed to any civil office of i)rofit under this State which shall have been created, or the emoluments of which shall have been increased during such term, except such office as may be filled by elections by the people. ]\Ir. KENNEDY. I move to strike out the words. " nor for one year thereafter."' Jlr. JOHNSON. Now, Mr. Chairman, it must be apparent to the members of this Committee what is the object of the incorporation of this provision. I think it is right as it is, and I hope those words will not be stricken out. It is to prevent the creation of offices which can be filled by those persons who themselves cre- ate them. Sometimes it may occur that a val- uable and important office is proposed to be created by the Legislature, and a combination can be made to secure the passage of the bill establishing such an office by the efforts of the expected incumbent. Under this provision, if the amendment be adopted, the incumbency might be so arranged as to ex]nre within a short time, and then it would, of course, be necessary to supply the office. Mr. KENNEDY. I withdraw the amendment. No other amendment being offered, the sec- tion was adopted. Section 9 was read, as follows : — • Sec. 9. No person holding any lucrative office under the G-overnmeut of the United States, or any other power, shall be eligible to any civil office of xjrofit under this State ; provided, that Postmasters whose compensation does not exceed five hundred dollars per quarter, or commissioner of deeds, shall not be deemed as holding a lucrative office. Mr. FITCH. I move to amend the section by striking out tlie words, '' postmasters whose compensation does not exceed five hundred dollars per quarter, or," so that the proviso will read : — "Provided, that commissioners of deeds shall not be deemed as holding a lucrative office." Mr. JOHNSON. I have no objection to mod- ifying this provision, but to strike out the whole clause, I»think, is not advisable. Mr. FITGH. If the gentleman will move to make it '• per annum," instead of " per quarter," I will accept it. Mr. JOHNSON. Very well; I will make that motion, to strike out the word " quarter," and insert the word " annum." Mr. FITCH. I accept the amendment. The question was taken, and the amendment as modified was agreed to. No further amendment being offered, the sec- tion, as amended, was adopted. BKIBERT. Section 10 was read, as follows : — Sec. 10. Any person who shall be convicted of the embezzlement or defalcation of the public funds of this State, or who may be convicted of having given or offered a bribe to procure his election or appointment to office, or received a bribe or reward to aid in the pro- curement of office for any other person, shall be dis- qualified from holding any office of profit or trust in this State. Mr. BROSNAN. I move to amend that sec- tion by adding the following : — "The Legislature shall, as soon as practicable, jirovide by law for the punishment of such defalcation, bribery, or embezzlement, as a felony." Mr. LOCKWOOD. I move further to amend by striking out the following language : — "Or received a bribe or reward to aid in the procure- ment of office for any other person." I wish to-say, in explanation of my amend- ment, that because I may happen to desire to get some man, whom I believe to be capable, to fill a certain office, or to prevent some man, whom I believe to be incapable, from filling it, and because I may take a notion to spend money in order to get my friend into that office, I do not believe that I ought for that to be dis- qualified from holding any office of profit or trust in this State. I do not believe that is a consequence which should follow from doing such an act. when I believe I am doing a ser- vice to the public. Mr. JOHNSON. I do not believe that such an interpretation can be given to the section, and I think the whole force and vitality of the section would be impaired, if not destroyed efiectually. by the gentleman's amendment. Gentlemen will see how easy it will l)e to avoid the operation of the provision. Here, for in- stance, I am a candidate for office. — [a laugh.] Well, there are a good many in the same cat- egory, I think. [Merriment.] A man is a can- didate for office, and, under the operation of this section, as it is proposed to be amended, he may go and otter a reward to an individual to aid him in procuring the apj^ointment or election to such office. We incorporate a pro- vision here prohibiting him from doing this, but there is nothing which would prevent some other person from acting for him, and thus the whole effect of the law would be destroyed. I hope these words will not be stricken out, for they certainly could not have i the application Avhich my colleague has sug- j gested. I Mr. LOCKWOOD. I would suggest that it would take only the same amount of evidence to prove that the candidate was instrumental in getting some other man to offer a bribe for him, that it would take to prove that he offered it himself It seems to strike at the glorious pre- rogative of electioneering for a man's friends. If I have a friend whom I believe to be particu- larly fitted for a particular office, and I have a desire, for the sake of the public good, to get him into that office, I have a right to use all 142 LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. [5th day. Friday,] HovKT— Banks— Fitch— Wakwick—Proctok— Johnson. [July 8. honorable moans to that end, and, if it is neces- 1 Mr FITCH. I would like to inquire what «"r" ™' buy u little whisk.-y . also. _ I would ho the interpretation of the lan-uage of .Mr. lloS'KV. Another objection i that it this section. Does it mean tliat one body can- might cut off some of the revenue of the State in the way of poll-taxes. The question was taken on the amendment offered by Mr. Lockwood, and it was not agreed The question recurred on the amendment offered bv Mr. Brosnan. Mr. IJ.VNKS. I move to amend by striking out. after the word " bribery,'' the words, " or reward." It does seem to me that those words would cut off the power or rigid to contriljute money to the funds of a county committee, for in- fiUince. for the purpose of securing the election of a jtarticular man. There ai e a great many legitimate expenses connected willi an election. We have to pav for the jtrinting of Itallots. and their distribution, and I fear that these ex- penses might be construed as coming within this provision. I do not know that I am right, but I fear that that would be considered a legiti- mate construction. The question was taken on the amendment not adjourn to another place without tiie con- sent of the other, or that they cannot adjourn to any other place at all? It seems to me that one construction of this section would be that neither House shall adjourn for more than three days without the consent of the other, nor adjoilrn, in any event, to any other place than that where they may be holding their ses- sions. Mr. WARWICK. Having seen this question tried under rather peculiar circumstances, I think I can enlighten the gentleman. When that contest comes, the House can go where it pleases, as our Chairman very well knows. ■\Ir. rilOCTOR. I would inquire if this lan- guage will not preclude either the Senate or the House from holding a secret session. I think it would ; and I would ask other members if they do not think it would amount to a pro- hilntion of secret sessions. Mr. JOHNSON. In my opinion it would, and I am in favor of preventing them, as I was in the last Convention. Mv view of the sub- proposed by Mr. Banks, and it was not agreed to. j^ct is, that the Senate and the House are com- The question was taken on the amendment posed of representatives of the people, and proposed by Mr. Brosnan. and it was agreed to. therefore they should possess no authority to No further amendments being oflered, that transact any business of which their constit- Bocticm. as amended, was adopted. Section 11 was read, as follows :— Sec. 11. Members of the Legislature shall be privi- leged from arrest on civil iirocoHS during the session of the Legislature, and for lilteen days next before the commencement of each Bession. No amendmei>t being offered, the section was ailopted. Section 12 was read, as follows : — Bec. 12. When vacancies occur in either House, the Governor shall issue writs of election to fill such va- csncy. No amendment being offered, the section was adopted. Section i:i was read, as follows : — Sec. 13. Mu-h Uou> uencies shall not have full knowledge. I do not think there is anything so sacred that can gathei' about an organized body, termed a Sen- ate or a House of Representatives, which should give it the right to transact any public busi- ness whatever, without the people knowing what it is. The CHAIRMAN. We have had occasion in California to exclude the lobby. Mr. JOHNSON. Yes, sir. But we have a provision here which you did not have there to protect the Legislature against the lol)by. Here that power is given, in a preceding part of this article, which reads : — A majority of all tlie members elected to Either House, during the session, may puuish, by hhall constitute a quorum to transact busi- I uiipriscmnunt, any person not a member who shall h;ivc been guilty of disrespect to the House by disor- d<'rly or conttinptuous behavior in its presence ; but such imprisoumeut shall not extend beyond the final adjournment of the session. This provision is additional, I believe, to the clause of the California Constitution, and gen- tlemen who were present during the discussion on this subject, in the former Convention, will recollect that the application of this feature was referred to. As the body has ample ))rotection against any contemptuous or dlsor- was read, an follows : — to ask liiin a question — and that is, whether in 5th day.] LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 143 Friday,] Johxso\—Pkoctor—Sti-rtevant— Banks. [July 8. case of a rebellion, it might; not be necessary, at some time, to have a secret session ? Mr. JOHNSON. I think that would l>e one of the great occasions -when the people ought to know exactly what their representatives are doing. Mr. PROCTOR. I would certainly be in favor of making an amendment here, giving the Sen- ate the right to close its doors while doing a certain class of business ; as, for example, in cases where the concurrence of the Senate is required in nominations to office by the Gover- nor. In such a case, if the doors Avere open while the Senate were engaged in discussing the character of the person recommended, there would undoubtedly be a certain amount of restriction thrown around the members of the Senate. I mean that a man would not like to express his opinions as treely in the presence of the whole world as he would if there were nobody present except the members of the body. I move to amend, by inserting after the word " session/' in the second line, the words " except the Senate, while sitting in executive session."' The question was taken, and the amendment was agreed to. No further amendment being offered, the sec- tion, as amended, was adopted. VACANCIES. Mr. STURTEVANT. Before we go any further, I think we should make a little amend- ment to Section 12, and I wish to call the at- tention of the Committee to it, although not strictly in order. [" Leave, leave."] It is this word " shall." The language of the section is : — When vacancies occur in either House, the Governor shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancy. I will move, if there is no objection, to amend the section by sti'iking out the word "shall " and inserting the word "may," and I will give my reasons for proposing the amend- ment. It may be that a member would resign, or a vacancy might be caused, either by resig- nation or otherwise, within the last few days of the close of the session ; and yet by this pro- vision there would be no option with the Gov- ernor. It says he " shall " issue the writs of election in any such case, although it might be impossible to have an election before the ses- sion would actually expire. Mr. JOHNSON. The change of words which the gentleman from AVashoe proposes is sus- ceptible to this objection : If the Governor is clothed with this discretionary power, it may possibly happen under circumstances such as have occurred in our political experience, not in this Territory, but where political par- ties have been so evenly balanced that it was impossible to effect an organization of one branch of the Legislature without the presence of all the members of that body, that no organi- zation could possibly be effected without sup- plying a vacancy through the instrumentality of an election.. Under such circumstances, the Governor might chance to belong to a political party differing fi-om the one supposed to pre- ponderate in the place where the election was to be held, and for that reason he might refuse to issue the writ calling such election. This matter was discussed somewhat in the formei' Convention, and for these reasons — and I conceive very properly— it was deemed neces- sary by that Convention to incorporate here the word '• shall," or in some way to make it imperative upon the Governor that in case of a vacancy, from any cause whatever, the duty should devolve at once upon him to apply to the people to fill that vacancy, so that no county should be deprived of its just re- liresentation in the Legislature. it may be very important that the Executive shall have no power to refuse to provide for such representation. It might never hajipen that the Executive would do anything of the kind, but it is best to prevent the' possibility of such a case occurring. The question was taken on Mr. Sturtevant's amendment, and it was not agreed to. Section 1(5 was read, as follows :^ Sec. 16. Any bill may originate in either House of the Legislature, and all bills passed by one may be amended in the other. No amendment being offered, the section was adopted. Section 17 was read, as follows : — Sec. 17. Each law enacted by the Legislature shall embrace but one subject, and matter properly con- nected therewith, which subject shall be briefly ex- pressed in the title; and no liiw shall be revised or amended by reference to its title: but, in such case, the act as revised, or section as amended, shall be re- enacted and pubUshed at length. No amendment being oflered, the section was adopted. FINAL PASSAGE OF BILLS. Section 18 was read, as follows : — Sec. 18. Every bill shall be read by sections on three several days, in each House, unless, in case of emer- gency, two-thirds of the House, where such bill may be pending, shall deem it expedient to dispense with this rule ; but the reading of a bill by sections, on its final passage, shall in no case be dispensed with, and the vote on the passage of every bill, or joint resolution, shall be taken by ayes and noes, to be entered on the journals of each House; and a m-ijority of all the mem- bers elected to each House shall be necessary to pass every bill or joint resolution, and all bills or joint resolutions so passed, shall be signed by the presiding officers of the respective Houses. Mr. BANKS. Is it intended by this section that the ayes and noes shall be taken upon the reading of the bill, or only upon the final pas- sage ? Mr. JOHNSON. Fpon the final passage. Mr. GIBSON. That is what it savs. Mr. BANKS. It says— "But the reading of a bill by sections on its final pas- sage shall in no case be dispensed with, and the vote on the passage of every bUl or joint resolution shall be taken by ayes and noes. " Now, upon the final pa.ssage it must be read lU LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. [5th day. trjday,] Johnson— Proctou-Warwick—Chapin—Sturtevant— Dunne— Fitcii. [July 8. l»v Bections, but is it intended that tlie ayes and hIk'.- sli:(ll b.' taken upon fach of the readings? Mr. JOHNSON. The bill cannot be pivssed but once. , , , ,, Mr. I'.ANKS. "Well. I thuik that wouUl be the reu-'inable constrnction. Mr. I'KOCTOK. I see one very serious ob- joctioii here, as it appears to nie, and that is, that il requires a majority of all the members I'lected !i) pii^s a bill, and the House mijrht get di»w!i sii low that, under this jjrovi.sion, one vote might kill a bill. We might have a (luorum of oniv one more than a majority; that is, forty members constituting the House, only twenty- oiu- might be present, and then one man could kill a liill. under this section, as it was read. _ I movi- to strike out the word -'elected," and in- sert the word -present." Mr. .JOIIN.-^ON. Now. it must be apparent to gentlemen who have had legislative experi- ence, and even to tho.se. also, who have not, what the object of this provision is. It Is to prevent a great deal of unnecessary .special legis- lation, and not only that, lull to defeat the usual course of proceeding of outside operators. If they have a bill before the Legislature, and that bill has not enough merit in it to secure the votes of a majority of all the members elected, I am, for one, prepared to say that it ought not to i)a.ss. I concede the extent of the objection mae we say the Legislature shall pass a law pro- viding for salaries, instead of fees. Then, the way it would be adjusted would properly be, that where the receipts are greater, the salaries should be greater in proportion. Of course, the general expenses of the office would be paid from the fees, and the salaries would be liuid from the county treasury. The fees being paitl into the county treasuiy, the Legislature could provide that in cases "where the fees so paid by the County Recorder reached a certain amount, the salary should be so much, aud where the fees reached another certain amount, it should be so much more, regulating the mat- ter iipon a scale very nmch like that es- tablished in the nuttter of mercantile licenses. In that way they could have a general law which would be adajjted to the wants of each particular county, no matter what amount of business was done in such county. Mr. COLLINS. Take the case of a Post Office, for instance. Mr. BANKS. Yes. sir ; that is an illustration exactly in point ; I did not think of it. ilr. FITCH. I wish to expreess my opposi- tion to this amendment. I think that the'granting of toll-i'oad and bridge fnmchises, when granted at all. should be left to the Legislature ; and I suppose the gentleman does not propose to prohibit them altogether, but only to leave them to the local authorities — the various li^ile local Legislatures of the respective counties — and I have to say, in respect to that, I am of opinion that franchises of that kmd are abso- lutely necessary to the development of a nt w country, and the granting of them can be left with greater safety to a Legislature consist- ing of from fifty to seventy-five men, and often a larger number, than to a Board of C(juuty Commissioners, consisting of only three, five, seven, or nine men. For that reason I op- po.se the amendment. Mr. HAWLEV. I observe that in the Sched- ule, it is provided that — ■ " Bodies corpoi'ate, including counties, towns, and cities, shall continue as if no cliange had taken plarf, and all process which may issue under the authority of the Territory of Nevada, previous to its admissjLin into the Union as one of the United States, shall b. .:s valid as if issued in the name of the State of Nevada." And Section 2 provides as follows : — Sec. 2. All laws of the Territory of Nevada, in force at the time of the admission of this State, not rep^.ig- uant to this Constitution, shall remain in force tmtil they expire by their own limitations, or be altered or repealed by tiie Legislature. Now, sir, it occurs to me, although I may be jumping hastily to the conclusion, not having paid especial attention to the subject heretofore, that if we incorporate a provision that the Le- gislature shall have no power to grant these franchises, by that act. the several acts of in- corporation under the local and special laws 143 LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. [5th day. Friday,] Banks— Hawlet — Hovet — Collixs. [July 8. exisring at IhU time on the statute books of the TiTritory of Xeviuhi. granting to these bodies corporate, enunu'rateil as counties, towns, and cities, certain powers, become, to a certain ex- tent, at le.i-t. invalidated. j Mr. BANKS. No, sir ; they have their vested risThts. \Mr. HA\VLf3V. Well, even if that view is' correct, still 1 am very much disposed to think. takin? into consideration the immense value of man V of tlie franchises which have lieen j^ranted to individuals, and Imdies corjiorate — for m.iny ; of thfin are extremely valuable, and held by individuals as individual jtropcrty. without any act of incorporation — I say.it ai)pears to mcj that we are impi-riling the rights of tlie owners of such jiropcrty. Now, sir. any intelligent man who will take into consideration the cost of tlie construction of the Kingsbury (Jrade or the King's Canon road, or many other of our toll-roads which have lielped to give us access i to the world outside, and by that means have conferred such inestimable benefits upon the Territory, will. I think, come to the conclusion \ that those public benefits are such as should ! entitle the holders of those franchises to every safeguard which can be thrown around their ! rights. It certainly cannot be the wish of this ' Convention, nor. I think, of any memlier of it, to interfere with their rights in any way, shape, or form. Now. sir. taking it for granted that my first suggestion was founded neither in law, nor fact, nor reason — .netting that aside altogether, still. I say. that, by this provision, we take the power of granting and regulating those and similar franchb^es out of the hands of a body infinitely better capable to legislate upon and determine with ju-opriety the question of a renewal of any fra:iL-hise. than wcudd be. ))y any i)ossibilitv. a b.i-.ird of county couuuissioners composed" of twu. three, four, five, or six niembers, as they are now. or may hereafter be organized in this | Territory : ami I say there is danger that we may imp-Til ilie rights of men who have in good faith invented large uniounts of capital in these import- ant enterprises, and who deserve, instead of the line and cry which has been raised against fran- chises, llic thanks of the comnnmity. These frauchi.se.s liavo been of almost inestimable value to the Territory. By means of them, jpiiblic works have been constructed, under the only au>]iiees whicii could have resulted in their con-itruction. and, in conse(|uence, we to-dav occupy a po>ition far sni)eriorto that whicii we shouhl have occupied in re.-^j)eet to our general lu-o-jierity, to say the lea.st of it, without these iVr.nchises. It would be a very dangerous movement, it ajipe.irs to me. notwithstanding the vari- ous allegations of fraud and corruption which have been made from time to time, to transfer tin- control oftlie.se franchises to the boards of coiiniy commissioners in this Terri- tory. Already charges of fraud and C(»rriiption have been brought against these la.^t named bodies, and grand juries have been sitting upon and investigating their deeds. They have been examining and inquiring carefully into the acts of certain boards of county commissioners, and in some cases tliey have reported adversely upon the acts of such boards, although they have been governed in a few cases, it may be, by a disposition to allow niembers of those Ijoards to retrieve their past errors, more than by a sense of duty in the present, which would have impelled them to present those members to the authorities by indictment. I say, while such a condition of aifairs exists in this Terri- tory, it is infinitely 1>etter that we should leave the disposal of these enterprises, in which so much money has been and is continually being invested, and the prosecution of which has con- duced so much to promote the interests of this Territory, to a legislative body coming fresh from the whole people, consisting of men who are well prepared to determine the rights of applicants, and who will be mote disposed, if I may say so without retiection upon the char- acter of the people of this Territory, to do jus- tice in granting or regranting these rights, than any little body of county officials can be. Now, sir, I submit my first proposition to the consideration of the Convention, and, of couive, I shall yield to their views upon it. If it be disputed, I freely admit that I am not pre- pared to assert or maintain that it is cor- rect ; but I say that on the face of it, it would appear that by incorporating this pro- vision suggested by the gentleman from Hum- boldt, (Mr. Banks), we should be interfer- ing with vested rights ; and 1 repeat that, in my opinion, we should be taking the matter from the hands of the hodj infinitely better calcu- lated to do justice to applicants, and placing it in the hands of boilies. which do not, to say the least, stand fair and above reproach in the dif- ferent communities in which they exercise their I functions. 1 Mr. ll(.)VEY. As salaries have been men- tioned in tills connection, I would like to move, when it shall be in order, to strike out so much I of this section as relates to salaries. The CHAIRMAN. The motion would not be in order at this time. j Mr. COLLINS. I am decidedly in favor of the amendment of the gentleman from Hum- boldt. (Mr. H-anks). The great curse that has alllicted this Territory, aiul that afflicts every .State and Territory where it is not i>r(jscribed by law, is this matter of special frauchisi's. I am therefore in favor of proscribing it, so far ' as it can po.ssibly be done consistently with the I wants of the public. Now we had thought that the two Legislatures of this Territory, i)re- cedirig the last, had given away everything that could be given; but if you look at the proceed- ings of the last session of the Legislature, you will find that nearly one-third of all the acts of that body consiste(i in thi' giving away of fran- chises and sjiecial privileges, to individuals who were lobbyists about the Legislature. [5tli day. LEGISLATIVE DEPAIITMENT. 149 Friday,] Fitch — Collins — Bkosxax — Johxsox. [July 8. Now, why should not these matters be conducted in such a way as to allow those franchises and lirivileges to l)e equally open to every citizen ? The first Legislature granted numerous special railroad franchises ; and what is the result ? Why. sir, those franchises have been knocking at the doors of capitalists for three j'eai's past, and still our railroads have not been built. And if they remain in the same hands, thej' will not be built for, perhaps, ten yeai's to come, and possibly never : whereas, if there had been a general law on the subject of railroads, a party could go and locate his road, and set his men to work upon it without delay, and I venture to say that, between the valley of "Washoe and Eagle Valley, and the valley of the Truckee, \\e shouM to-day have been enabled to hear the steam-whistle, and see the locomotive tramping up and down upon the iron rails. I say this special legislation ought at once to have the brakes placed upon it, so far as the public safety will admit. Open, if you please, the lids of the volume which contains the enactments of the last Legis- lature, and there you will find some thirtj-four or Ihirty-five special acts, in that neighborhood at least, providing for the building oi' toll-roads and toll-bridges, for floating logs down the rivers, etc. They have left nobody else a right, even if thej- own ever so much upland, to float logs down the adjacent streams ; but, by these special franchises, they have locked up the rivers as effectually as if they were chained by ice. The amendment proposed by the gentle- man from Humboldt puts a veto upon this kind of legislation. It goes still farther ; it not only prohibits this special legislation, in respect to ])uilding bridges and toll-roads, but it goes into tlie cities, and attacks that other system of mo- nopoly, in regard to the railroads which traverse the streets of cities and towns. I would like to see the .SA'stem of free competition extended to water-works, gas-works, and hundreds of other tilings which I might mention, in regard to ■\vlii(.h. in my judgment, there should Ije no spe- cial privileges granted. Let them all be open to every citizen. But it is suggested that if a railroad is built across the country, lietweeii certain points, some- body else will find an adjacent line upon which he can build another and competing road, which will injure the one first constructed. Now. when capitalists invest their money, they invest it with their eyes wide open, and they will exer- cise more judgment when they are investing it under general laws than they would manifest by coming here to lobby for franchises under a system that would tie them tip forever. A rail- road from here to Virginia has been proposed. Now, suppose that road was built : then, I say. if capitalists will run the risk of running another road over the same route, by all means let them do it. The owners of the first road have pushed it forward at their own risk, and let the others do the same. I have no fear but that the com- mon sense and judgment of business men mil be sufficient for their protection, and, in the end, these matters will regulate themselves. I have no fear of any bad consequences likely to result from leaving them to regulate them- selves, and I am decidedly opposed to special legislation. The fact is, we are already legis- lating too much, and the sooner we put the brakes ou the wheels, the better for us and for the new State we desire to establish. Mr. FITCH. I do not see that the amend- ment offered by the gentleman from Humboldt is calculated to reach the evils of which the gentleman from Storey, (Mr. Collins,) com- plains. The amendment of the gentleman from Humboldt is merely to the effect that the Legislature shall not have power to pass spe- cial laws granting franchises for t(dl-bridges, toll-roads, and street railroads. It says nothing whatever about the navigation of rivers or about gas pipes and water pipes, and those other and various evils concerning which my colleague coiuplains ; and I do not think it reaches even what it is intended to reach. It simply proposes to take the power of granting franchises from the Legislatiire and to vest that power in bodies of less responsibility, becau.- e they are less numerous. Mr. COLLINS. Under general laws. Mr. FITCH. Under general laws, of course ; but ttnder general laws by which you give this power to Ceuntv Commis.sioners. Mr. BROSNAN. I call attention to the next section, which supplies the omission to which the gentleman refers. Mr. FITCH. I perceive it, but in regard to special legislation I do not agree, Mr. Chair- man, with the views which have been expressed. I think there is nothing so well calculated to develop and open up a new country as this very special legislation, about which so much has been said. I think that the present system of granting toll-road and toll-bridge franchises, while it has its evils, secures more than compensating bene- fits. If these franchises had never been granted, and these roads and bridges never built, the country would not have been developed as it has been. It is true that lobbyists do surround legislatures, but that is an evil inseparable from the existing condition of things. I do not see any way to avoid it. I think that the good pre- vented "from being done by this amendment of the gentleman from Humboldt would be greater than the evil it proposes to destroy, and for that reason I oppose the amendment. [Mr. DeLoxg in the Chair.] Mr. JOHNSON. I desire in the outset. Mr. Chairman, to be understood in this, that I am op- posed, as a matter of princijile. to the whole sys- tem or scheme of special legislatioii. and, so tar as it can be made applicable, I desire all legis- lation upon those several matters to be general in its character. But it will be seen, I think, that general legislalion. on the subjects embraced in the amendment of the gentleman from Hum- boldt. (Mr. Banks.) cannot be made aiiplicalde. Now, let us suppose a case, m connection with 1.30 LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. [otli day. Friday.] JoHxsox — Collins. [July 8. t<»ll-road:» ami bridcres. These are subjects upon whiili a irreat deal of U'frislation has been hud hereti.lore. and ^'eneral laws, similar to such a* are now pn.])i>sed. have been enacted. The p-.wer has ordinarily been lodjred in a Hoard of S'lpervisors or ntl'ounty C'onmiissioners to i,M-ant t'ranehiBi's uf this natvne. under certain restric- tions antl reffuhitions. We all admit, in tiie fi'-st ])laee. liiat in very many cases these sjte- cirtl franchises are beneficial to tlie i)nl)lic. and very often they inure to the 1)enetit of tlic jmldic in a mndi ^rreater deixree than tliey do to the i)ro- tii of the individuals who undertake tlie enter- prises contem]>lated ))y sudi francliises. Now, in respect to toil-roads and brid<;;es. it will ))e seen tiiat dilliculty will be encountered in tlu> del- egation of the ]iower(ditose. and it is no unreasoiial)le or im- pndjable snjii)osition. that one county may happen to be in favor of granting the francliise, but the otlier is oi)poscd to it : or that there is a conflict of private interests — that whilst one County is in favor of giving the franchise to one ajjplicant. tlie otlier county is equally as favor- vorable to granting it to anotlier applicant. In that niannrr. the granting of a franchise, which might have resulted in conferring incal- culable Ijenefits ujjon the public, would be utterly and entirely defeated by the practical dfffcts of the law. it is only necessary for me to refer to the prnvi-is the liill aski-d for. The JioviTiior, for ironstiluiional reu'^ons which hi- alleged in hix message, vetoed the bill, but upon argunu'Uts aijvanceil and reasons assigni'd In III.' Legislature, that, and other similar bills. received the ni s^^aiy coustiiuiiduiil majorities nnd became laws, not withstanding llie (Jovern- or'K objection-^. There have been in California. undoubtedly, instances where beneficial enter- prises would have been defeated l)y the legiti- mate operation of a constitutional provision like this now under consideration, and it is not mi- reasonalile in our own casi' to sn]>pose that there may be similar cases arising iu the State of Ne- vada. Again, take the case of bridges. There are streams which at present do not mark the bonmlaries of counties, but they may do so in the future, as our ))opulation increases. Consider the Truckee Kivei' as a lioundary between two counties, for example. Every gentleman fami- liar with that stream, knows the tact that it is impos.^^ible. at most seasons of the year, to cross it without a bi-idge or a ferry. Now sup- pose a county were organized on one side of the Truckee River, and another on the other side, in that valley, and in that condition of alfairs, a person or a company desired to build a bridge across that stream. Apjilication is made to the local authorities of the two coun- ties, but the authorities of one county reply that citizens of their own county shall have the franchi.se, Mhile those of the other county in- sist that some of their citizens shall have it, and consequently refuse to concur in the action of their neighbors ; so there is, and can be, no united action had in the matter. Although the public necessities demand the construction of the work, yet the public interests are sacrificed, and the enterprise defeated ))y the incorporation of a feature of this kind into our Constitution. Mr. COLLINS. Will the gentleman allow lue to ask him a question? Mr. .JOHNSON. Most undoubtedly. Mr. COLLINS. I would ask if there is any- thing in this rule, as prescribed in the Constitii- tutions of most of the States, which would ])re- vent the Legislature from ju'ovidiug. by a gen- eral law, for the regulation of toll-roads, so that where a road passes through two or more counties, its construction can, nevertheless, be provided for? I think it may be done in the saiue manner as in the case of railroads. There are general laws in relation to railroads which prescribe the mode in which property shall be condemned, etc.. and 1 ask if the same rule could not be a])iili(Ml to toll-roads, by a general law framed under the sanction of this Constitu- tion? Mr. .JOHNSON. I can see that, under the operation of the proposed amendment, cases might ari.se which no legislation could reach. Take, for instance, the county of Ormsby and the county of Douglas. Here is a road to be constructed material to the welfare of each ; but those counties are jealous of their respec*«- ive rights, and if it is proposed to incorporate in the law a ))rovision that the county of Ormsby shall have the right to dis])o.>\ Mr. Banks, and upon a division, it was not agreed to — ayes, 11 ; noes, 12. COMPENS.VTroN OK ("OINTY OFKICERS. The (piestion recurred on the adoption of llie original section. Sir. FUIZI-vLL. I move to amend the section. by striking out after the words '• county and townsjiip dtTicers," the words, " and their com- liensuiioii ;" also, by striking out the words, " in relation to fees and salaries." The SFCRKTAin' read the section as it would stand with the proposed amendment. Mr. FiaZFLL. Now, Mr. Chairman, and gentleiiu-n of the Committee, my motives in orti'iiiig this aiiicndiiii.'nt are th<'se : 1 do not think that any law can ))e made which will bear uiiir>>riuly in regard to the fees and sala- rie-i of oflicers in this ]truposed SUite. I do not think that any gi-neral law can reach that sub- ject fairly, if a general law can be made to reach it at all. 1 have no sinister mcjiive in jiroposing this amendiuent. but I think the su))- ject is siifliciently regiilateli'. JJiit, cjiiscieii- tioii^ly sjieaking. [ ilo not see that any general law can opi-rate uniformly and correctly in this inittiu" of the compensation of otTicers. and therefore f jiroposed to stiike out those words. Then if till' f.egi^lature find that such a law «• in bi» III ide to wirk uniroiinly. jiHt as well, of course, under S.'ction 21. it is obligatory on the L"gLs|ature to pass such a law. The question was taken, and the amendment was agreed to. INTEREST ON MONKEY. Mr. JOHNSON. There is another matter here to whicli I desire to call attention, and that is in rcdation to the interest on money. I do not think that subject ever had any proper place in this instrument. I will, therefore, submit an amendnuMit to strike out the words, '' in relation to the interest on money." It is not likely that the Legislature ever would ])ass a sjtecial law npini this matter of interest on money ; but this section appears to have been copied from the Constitution of Kansas, and, possibly, it was found also in the Constitution of Indiana. It seems that it was at the solicita- tion of one memlier of the committee to whom the mailer was entrusted that this language; was retained ; but, inasmuch as it is not i)ro- bable that the Legislature would ever pass any special act in relation to a subject of that kind, I deem it to l>e entirely out of place, and, therefore, hope it Avill be stricken out. The ((iiestion was taken, and the amendment agreed to. Mr. McCLTNTON. I propose to amend this section further, by striking out the words, "])ro- viding for their compensation," in the clause relating to petit jurors. The (lueslion was taken, and tlie amendment was not agreed to. No furl her amendment being offci'ed, the sec- tion, as aineuded, was adopted. Section 21 ^vas read, as follows : — SF.r. 21. In all casos enumerated in the preceding sections, and in all oUier cuhcs where a genei'al law oau be made ai)x>liial)le, all laws shall be general, and of uuiforiii operation throughout the State. No amendment being offered, the section was adopted. Section 22 was read, as follows : — Sec. 22. Provision may be made by general law for bringing suit against the State as to all liabilities oiigi- natiiig alter the adoi^tiou of this Constitution. No amendment being ofl'ered, the section was adofited. Section 23 was read, as follows : — Sec 23. The enacting clause of every law shall be as follows: "The people of the State of Nevada, repre- sented ill Senate and Assembly, do cwM-t as follows " — and no law shall b(; enacted excipt by bill. No amendment being ofl'ered, the section was adojited. Section 21 Avas read, as follows : — Sec. 21. No lottery shall be authorized by the State, nor shall the sale of lottery tickets be allowed. No amendment being offered, the section was adopted. Section 2.5 was read, as follows : — Sec. 25. The Legislature shall establish a system of c/iunty and township governuieut, which shaU be uni- form throughout the State. No amendment being offered, the section was ado)ite(l. Section 2G was read, as follows :— otli day.] LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 153 Friday,] Proctok — Johnson — Fitch — Stortevant — Kennedy. [July 8. Sec. 26. The Legislature sball provide for the elec- tion of a Board of County Commissioners, in eath county, and tliosc Coimty Commissioners sliaU jointly and individually perform such duties as may be pre- scribed by law. No iiiiieiulmeiit Ijeing oftered, the section was adopted. QrALTFICATIOXS OF .JURORS. Section 27 was read, as follows : — Sec. 27. Laws may be made to exclude from serving on jiu'ies all persons not qualified electors of this State, and all persons who shall have been convicted of bri- bery, perjury, forgeiy. larceny, or other higli crimes, unless restored to civil riglits ; and laws shall be passid regulating elections, and prohibiting, under adeipiate penalties, all undue influeiue thereon, from power, bri- bery, tumult, or other imi^roper practice. Mr. TROCTOR. T move to amend Section 27 by strikiu"- out the words, "all persons not qnalitled electoi's of this State, and." My rea- son is simply this : that ]ierliaps it would he found a very diflicult matter to get twelve men, or twenty-four men, rather, to serve on a jury, who have paid a poll-tax, and a man may pur- posely refuse to pay the poll-tax, in order to get rid of iurv dutv. Mr. JOliXSON. "The gentleman will recollect that it is within the power of the Legislature to adopt such an enactment or not, as it pleases, and it can also make the non-payment of a poll-tax a ground of exemption or not. Now, I would prefer that laws should be made to exclude from jury duty all excei)t qualilied electors, so as to prevent tlie picking u]i of jurors f(ir a particular occasion, or a particular action, ^\■ll() have Ijeen, ])erhaps. but a short tinu' in the Territory. I think the section had better stand as it is. The question was taken, and the amendment was not agreed to. Mr. FITCH. I move to amend the section by striking out the words. •• bribery, perjury, forgery, larceny, or other high crimes,"' and in- serting, in lieu thereof, the word "felony." Tlie qnesti(ui was taken, and the amendment was not agreed to. .Mr. ST'URTE\'ANT. I move to amend by striking out the word " may." and inserting tiie word " shall " in the first line. My reason is this : I think it is a very important section, and I do not like to have it left optional with the Legislat\ire whether such laws shall be made or not. I think it is very essential that those laws should be made. The (pu'stion M'as taken, and on a division the anuMidiuent was agreed to — ayes, 12 ; noes not counted. No further amendment being offered, the sec- tion, as amended, was adopted. Section 28 was read, as follows : — • Sec. 28. No money shall be drawn from the .State trcas- m-j-as salary orcomiiensatinn to any officer oremploye of the Legislature, or either branch tliereof, except in cases where such salary or compensatinu has l)ern fixed by a law iu force prior to the elcctiou lU- appoiutment of such officer or employe: and the salary or cunipeu- satiou so fixed shall neither be increased nor dimin- ished so as to apply to any officer or employe of the Legislattire, or either branch thereof, at such session ; j)>-uvuhd, that this restriction s]iall not apply to the first special and regular sessions of the Legislature. No amendment being offered, the section was adopted. Section 29 was read, as follows :— Sec. 29. The first regtilar session of the Legislature under tliis Constitution may extend to ninety days, but no subsequent regular session sliall exceed sixty days, nor any special session convened by the Governor ex- ceed twenty days. No amendment being offered, the section was adopted. THE HOMESTEAD. Section 30 was read, as follows : — Sec. 30. A homestead not exceeding one hundred and sixty acres of land, outside of the hmits of a town or city, or not exceeding one acre within the limits of any town or city, occupied as a residiiice In- thi> family of the owner, together with all the improvements on the same, of the aggregate ViUue of five thousand dol- lars, shall be exempt from forced sale under any pro- cess of law, and shaU not be aUenatcd withoitt the joint consent of husbaud and wife, when that relation exists; l)ut no property sliall be exempt from sale for taxes, or for the payment of obligations contracted for the ijur- ehase of said premises, or for the erection of imjirovc- ments thereon: proridcil, the pro\-isions of this section shall not apply to any process of law obtained by virtue of a Ueu given by the consent of both Imsband and wife; and laws shall be enacted iirovidiug for the re- cording of such homestead witliiu the county iu which the same may be situated. Mr. KENNDEY. I move to anu-nd this sec- tion by striking out after the word " home- stead,"* in the first line, to and including the words " five thousand dollars ;"" and inserting in lieu thereof the words " as provided bylaw."' I ^\ill state briefly my reason for this amend- ment. I do not think that we ought, iu this Constitution, to fix the amount or value of this homestead to be exempted. At some time it may happen that five thousand dollars would be an excessive amount, and at others it may be too small. I think tlie amount is properly sometliiiig for the Legislature to fix upon, and I am therefore in favor of leaving it for the Legislature. The (piestiou was taken, and, on a division, the iinu'iulment was agreed to — ayes. 17; noes. 6. m-. JOHNSON. I give notice that at the proper time, in the Convention, 1 will move to re-inctu'porate the words which have been stricken out. Mr. BANKS. I had risen with the intention of giving the same notice. No further amendment being oflered, the section, as amended, was adopted. SEPARATE PROPEKTT OF TIIE WIFE. Section 31 was read, as follows : — Sec. 31. All iiroperty. both real and iiersonal, of the \rife, owned or claimed by her before m.arriage, aud that acquired afterward by gift. de\nse or descent, shall be her separate i3rt)perty; and laws shall be passed more clearly detinuig the rights of the wife, in relation as well to lur separate property as to that held in com- mon with her husband. Laws sh;dl also be passed providing for the registration of the wife's separate property. 154 LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. [oth day. Friday,] Stiktevaxt — Wethekill — Fkizell — Bbosnax — Chapix — Fitch. [July 8 Mr. STURTEVANT. I move to strike out the iMitliv si'ttion. Mr. JdllNSoN. I would like to hear the reason for tliut motion. Mr. STIUTEVANT [in his seat]. I do not like he-women. [Laughter.] The question was taken, and tlie amendment was not agreed to. No other amendment being offered, the sec- tion was adopted. SOLE TRADERS. Section 32 was read, as follows : — Sec. 32. No law shall be passed authorizing married woiueu to carry on business as sole traders. Mr. FITCH. I move to strike out that sec- tion. .Mr. WETIIERILL. I hoi)e the section will not be stricken out. We liave seen tlie evils of the .«ystem of " sole traders " in California, in divers instances. It has led to abuses through- out the State. Dishonesty is practiced under it in every shape, and I hope the .section will be retained. Mr. FRIZELL. I hope, too, that section will not be stricken out. In striking out tliat sec- tion you Ijonefit no class of men or women save one. and that is the jjroprietors of news- papers ; for every newspaper will be likely to have about twenty advertisements a day, of wonu-n wlio are going to set up for themselves as sub- trailei-s. Mr. VAU )>S.SS. I hope the Convention will not strike out that section. I recollect that in the la.st Convention there was a great deal of discu.ssion on this subject. It occupied much of the time of that Convention, and although this Convention is not, of course, bound by the action of that, yet some consideration is due to the investigation and the consideration which was given to this inijxirtant section ))y that body. As has been remarked by the gentleman from E-^meralda. (Mr. Wetherill.) thts business of sole trading has been a fruitful source of framl and litigation in California : in fact it be- came at one time a by-wonl and reproach in that State. Cases were tried in the Courts of that State, in wiiidi it appe.ired that the most unl>ecoming occupations were pursued. or .said to have lieen pursued by the female liranch of the domestic circle — classes of busi- ness, sir. that female modesty would blush at, but which, neveriheh'ss. were carried on, or Haid to Ije carried on. liy wives, as sole traders, although in reality merely for the i)nrpose, as was frefpuMitly found there by jiu'ies, of cover- ing up the iiideliiedness. or the projierty, ratlier. of tlie head of the family, so tliat he might avoid liie payment of iiis iionest de))ts. For instance, wives have J)een known to carry on. r).stensibiy. the farming business, and the farm and the imi»iemeiits of agriculture, the horses, the cows, and everything of that descrip- tion jiertaining to the farm, was said to be owned and managed by the wife, whilst she VfiiH still living under the roof of tlie husband. owning property to the amount of thousands of dollars, while, at the .same time, some laboring man who had perhaps a few hundred dollars due him for work done for the husband, was unable to (detain his pay. Mr. STFRTEVANT. I rise to a point of order. The gentleman is charging these things ujjon the farmers ; now, in my opinion, farmers do not do such things ; they are done more in the big cities. [Laughter.] The CHAIRMAN. The point of order is not well taken. Mr. BROSNAN. I was stating that such cases had been before the courts in California, where the heads of families have been sued for indebtedness due from tliem to their employers, and have setup as a defense, in order to escape from that indebtedness, that the property all belonged to their wives. Cases of that kind have not been infrequent, and it was with the knowledge of these things, of the great abuses and evils which might possibly arise from allowing a man to carry on business under the cloak of the wife's doing business in her own name — the possibility, I say, that under such a system great wrongs might be perpetrated, and honest creditors defrauded by debtors — that I was in favor, in the other Convention, of in- serting that section in the Constitution. I have seen nothing since then calculated to change my views. It is etpuxlly as necessary now as it was then, and I hope the section will be re- tained in the Constitution which we are going to adojjt. Mr. CHAPTN. The gentleman has alluded to the passage of this section in the last Con- vention. It did so pass, but it was by a bare majority only, and 1 have heard the most bitter complaints about that provision in that Consti- tion since that time. I am more firmly con- vinced now than I was then, of the importance of having it stricken out. Most of us are aware that many wives in this Territory are now suffering from having miserable, intemper- ate husbands who are incapable of transacting business, and those wives only get a living by carrving on business for themselves. Mr. FRIZELL [in his seat.] Well, let them get a divorce. Mr. CHAPIN. They are doing that to a liberal extent here now. [Laughter.] And now I propose to strike out this provision, and let them, if they will, go into some honorable, lionest ))usiness, and get a living by it. I hoi)e the section will be stricken out. The question was taken on the motion to amend, by striking out the section, and, upon a division, it was not agreed to — ayes, 11 ; noes, Mr. FITCH. I give notice that T shall renew the motion wlien the question comes up in the Convention. _ No other amendment being offered, the sec- tion was adopted, upon a division— ayes, 13 ; noes, 10. 5th day.] LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 155 Friday,] Fitch — Eael — Johnson— Kkxxedt — Warwick. [July 8. COUNTY OFFICERS. Section 33 was read, as follows : — Sec. 33. The Legislature shall provide for the elec- tion by the people of a Clerk of the Supreme Ctourt, County Ck'rk.s, County Recorders, who shall be ex- officio County Auditors, District Attorneys, Sheriffs, County Siu'veyors, PubUc Adnimistrators, and other necessary officers, and fix by law their duties and com- pensation ; provided, that in no case such compensa- tion shall exceed in the aggregate, as salary and fees in office, the sum of four thousand dollars per annum, to any one of such officers, exclusive of the necessary expenses attendant upon the discharge of the duties of the office, except the Sheriff's, whose compensation in fees and salary shall in no case exceed the sum of six thousand dollars per annum, exclusive of ex- penses necessarily incurred in the discharge of the dvities of said office. County Clerks shall be cx-officin Clerks of the Courts of Kecord in and for their re- spective counties. Mr. FITCH. I move to amend the section by striking out, after the word " compensation," the proviso down to and including the words. •• duties of said office,'' so that the section, if amended as I projjose, would read thus : — Sec. 33. The Logi.slature shall provide for the elec- tion bj- the people of a Clerk of the Supreme Court, County Clerks, County Recorders, who shall be ex- ojjhAo County Auditors, District Attorneys, Sheriffs, County Surveyors, Public Administrators, and other necessary officers, and fix bj" law their duties and com- pensation. Coiuity Clerks shaU be er-oiiicio Clerks of the Courts of Record in and for their I'espective coun- ties. My reasons for proposing this amendment, are brietiy these : I wish to leave the fixing of all salaries, especially those of local and county officers, to the Legislature, and I do not desire to have those salaries defined and fi.ved in the Constitution. That was one of the main objec- tions to the old Constitution when it was sub- mited to the people, and the same objection ^\ill, of course, be urged against the new one if we retain such a proviso. I regard it is as bad policy to fix, in the fundamental law of the .State, the amount of salaries, which, by the operation of changes in the currenc}', or on ac- count of some increase or decrease of values, may, in a very short time, be practically greatly reduced or increased. Perhaps the salary of the County Clerk, fixed now at four thousand dol- lars as a maximum, may be entirely correct and sufficient at the present time, but the na- tional currency may hereafter be adopted, and a large increase of values result ; in such a case, four thousand dollars would be an in- significant and paltry sum. For that reason I am opposed to putting that or any other spe- cific sum in the fundamental law of the State. I think it is exclusively within the province of the Legislature, and altogether out of place here. Mr. EARL. I agree fully with the gentleman in the opinion that, in the event of our having a paper currency, the amount here established will not be sufficient, especially in some of the counties ; indeed, I know it will not be suffi- cient. I also concur in the objection that it is improper to specify the amount of any salary in our fundamental law. Mr. JOHNSON. If we could do it— if it were practicable, as it seemed to be at the time this Constitution was framed in the former Conven- tion, to make a ma.ximum for the salaries of all these officers— I should, for one, like to adopt that course. But I tell you, Mr. Chairman, that I have learned one thing since that time, and that is, that these county officers wield a very potent influence, and I am not willing to incor- porate in this Constitution the elements of its own destruction. I am willing to leave this whole question of salaries and fees to the Leg- islature, rather than incorporate such a pro- vision here, because I do not desire to provoke any opposition which can be avoided. The question was taken, and the amendment was agreed to. No further amendment being offered, the sec- tion, as amended, was adopted. COMPENSATION OF THE LEGISL.\TURE. Section 34 was read, as follows : — ■ Sec. 34. The members of the Legislature shall re' ceive as compensation for services, the sum of eight dollars for each day's actual attendance upon theii- leg- islative duties, at any regular or special session, and thirty cents for each mile traveled by the usual route in going to and returning from the place of meeting of the Legislature, and no further compensation or aUovv- auce shall be made to any member of the Legislature for the performance of his official duties; -provided, that an appropriation may be made for the payment of such actual expenses as members of the Legislature may incur for postage, express charges, newspapers and stationery, not exceeding the sum of forty dollars, for any general or .special session, to each member; and furthi:rmore provided, that the Speakerof the Assembly, and Lieutenant Governor, as President of the Senate, shall each, during the time of their actual attendance as such presiding officers, receive an additional allow- ance of two dollars per diem. Mr. KENNEDY. I have an amendment here which I desire to otter. It is a copy of the provision contained in the California Constitu- tion on this subject, and I move its adoption a;3 a substitute for the section. The SECRETARY read as follows :— Sec. 34. The members of the Legislature shall re- ceive for their services a comiJensatiou to be fixed by law, and paid out of the public treasury ; but no in- crease of the compensation shall take effect during the term for which the members of either House shall have been elected. Mr. FITCH. I suggest that there should be an amendment to provide for the compensation I of the first Legislature. I Mr. AVARWICK. I will move to amend, by I allowing the members of the first Legislature \ eight dollars per day, and thirty cents for each I mile of travel. i Mr. KENNEDY. That can be done in the ! Schedule. I Mr. WARWICK. There is a suggestion on my left that it can be altered in the Schedule, and I therefore I will withdraw my amendment. Mr. JOHNSON. I am opposed to the sub- stitute. So far as the provision is made appli- j cable to members of the first Legislature, 1 am not particular about it ; but, Mr. Chairman, I 156 LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. [5tli day. Friday,] Warwick— Kexxedy—Johxsox—Ba^ks — Fitch — Lockwood— Ckos>ux. [July 8. jini eanu'stly in favor of the proviso contained in tills section, to wit : — Provideil that an appropriation may be made for the pavnitnt of siuh actual expeiist-s as members of the Le'^,'i>ilatnre may incur lor postafjo, express charges, newspaiHTs, and stationery, not exceeding the sum of forty dollars for anj' general or special session for each member. You may fix the aninunt at forty, sixty, or one hundred dolhirs, if you please : but you and I know, that a o-rcat pro]iortion of the items which go to make u]) the sum of h'jiislative ex- penses, consist of these ajjparently trittin^u; mat- ters. My observation has shown me that these small items amount in the aggregate to an enor- mous sum, and I propose, by this provision, to make every member responsiliU' lor wliatever of expense for stationt'ry. ]>apers, etc., he in- curs — to provide such guards and restrictions as will previ'nt members of the Legislature from being rpiarteri-d on tlie Treasury, so far as to com pel" the State to pay not only for what they use. l)ut also for what they may choose to carry away, or waste and destroy. I care not what amount may be fixed upon, but. at all events, let us designate some amount, so as to make each member the guardian and custodian of the public revenue, and, if yon do that, you will avoid what I know has been a crying evil in the State of California — more particularly so there, perhaps, than here. As to the salaries of members. I am quite satificd to leave that matter to the Legislature, after we shall have fixed the salaries for the first session. In that respect. I do not think it is necessary to have such a guarded restriction. Mr. WARWICK. I miive to amend the ann-ndmcnt by striking out ''eight,-' and in- serting " ten.'' Mr. KfJXXEDY. I am inclined to accede to the views of the gentleman from Ormsby, (Mr. Johnson.) who has had more experience in the.se legislative matters than 1 have ; but I think the sum named here is entirely too small, and will suggest that it be auicndcil. S(j as to make the amount named in the proviso eight}', in- stead of forty dollai'S. Mr. JOHNSON. I .suggest that we pass over the section temjjorarily. I think we can har- monize our views, and readily agree upon the amount to be allowed. No obji'ction being made, the section was passed over t<'mporarily. KI.ECTIO.VS OK UXITKI) STATE.S SENATOIt.S. Section 3') was read, as follows :^ Sec. 3.5. In alt elei-tlonK for TTnitid States Senators, such elections sliall lie held in joint convention of both Houxes of the Legislature. It sliall be the duty of the LeKislaturc wliich conviMies next prec(^dinf{ the expira- tion of the term of sudi Senator, to c-lect his succes.sor. It a va<'aucy in such Senatorial representation from any cause occurs, it shall be the duty of tlie Legislature then in session, or at the succeeding sessifin thi^reof, to supply such vacancy. If the Legislature sh;Ul at any time, as hirein provided, fail to unite in a joint con- vention within twenty days after the commencement of the scMsion of the Legislature, for the election of ■ucU Senator, it shall be the duty of the Governor, by proclamation, to convene the two Houses of the Legis- lature in joint convention, within not less than live days, nor exceeding ten days, from the publication of his proclamsitiim, and the joint convention, when so assembled, shall proceed to elect the Senator, as herein provided. Mr. BANKS. I wish to offer a slight verbal amendment here, althotigh it is not a matter of great imi)ortance. It says : '• If a vacancy in such Senat()rial rejjreseutation from any cause occurs." I think the word should be " occur," using the subjunctive form. I move to amend, by striking out the letter "s" from the word ■' occurs." The question was taken, and the amendment was agreed to. No further amendment being offered, the sec- tion, as amended, was adopted. I PAY OF THE LEOI.STATIRE — AGAIN. The consideration of Section 34 was resumed. Mr. I'TTCII offered the following, which Mr. I Kennedy accepted, in lieu of the substitute which he had offered : — I Sec. 34. The members of the Legislature shall re- i ceive for their services a compensation, to be fi:scd by law, and paid out of the piiltlic treasury, but no in- ' crease of compensation shall tate etl'ect during the term for which the memVjers of either House shall have been j elected ; provhlcd, that au appropriation may be made ' for the XJaynient of such actual expenses as members of the Legislature may incur for postage, express ' charges, newspapers, and stationery, not exceeding j the sum of eighty dollars for any general or special ses- , sion to each member. Mr. LOCKWOOD. I see that there is no provision here for the additional compensation of the Lientcnant-Oovernor and Sj)eaker. The CHAIRMAN. The substitute will have to be amended in that respect, perhaps. Mr. FITCH. 1 think the Legislature may be allowed to fix the compensation of the Lieuten- ant-Governor and Speaker. They can place it higher than that of the other members, if they choose. The question was taken on the adoption of the substitute, and it was agreed to. Mr. CROSMAN. Now. I move to amend the substitute, by striking out the word "eighty," and inserting the word '•fifty." Mr. FlTedl. I would suggest that this is not only the allowance for jiostage, but for news- papers, and stationery, also. A large amount of stationery must l)e used, and as green- liaeks may be adojded as the currency, it seema to me that fifty dollars would l>e too small an allowanci' for a three mouths' session. Mr. CROSMAN. It is proposed that the first session oidy shall contimie for three months, and that is "provided for elsewhere. After the first session the time is to be materially shortr ened, being fixed at sixty days. I believe. Be- sid<'s. we do not expect greenbacks to remain at ilieir i)resent rates a great while. We can fix the amount to lie allowed for the first session, in the Schedule. Mr. FITCH. If we place the amount a); eighty dollars, we do not necessarily thereby compel members to use the whole. 5tli day.] EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 157 Friday,] Crosm-vx — Fitch— Johnson— Kexxedt—Chapix — Duxxe— Earl. [July 8. m. CROSMAN. I would ask the gentleman if lie ever knew a case of a limitation of that kind, whore the limit was not reached. I have witnessed it repeatedly. Mr. FITCH. I will state, in answer to the gentleman's inquiry, that I know of thi-ee or four members of a recent California Legisla- ture, who went away and left a hundred dollars worth of stationery, which they might have ap- l>ro]>riated as well as not, if they had seen fit to do so. Mr. JOHNSON. I M-ill state, on the other hand, that I have known of .some who sent away trunks full of stationery. Mr. KENNEDY. Gentlemen should inquire what it costs for newspapers, .and for letter post- age, as well as for all the stationery used. I do not think that the sum mentioned will pay the ■whole cost of those things, and I know, that for mv own part. I use more than that amount. Mr. CROSMAN. This amendment is to ap- ply, as I understand, to the State Legislature only when the State Government shall he in working order, which will j)rol)al)ly be about two years hence. The Schedule will be likely to fix the per diem and expenses of the first Legislature, if we do not do so in the body of the Constitution. It may be, that greenbacks are not worth now more than fifty cents on the dol- lar, but two years from now, when the Consti- tution will be fairly in operation. I calculate that fifty dollars in greenbacks will be fifty dol- lars. The question was taken on the amendment offered by Mr. Crosman, and it was not agreed to. Mr. CHAPIN. I move to amend, by striking out •• eighty," and inserting '• sixty."' The question was taken, and, upon a division, the amendment was agreed to — ayes. 13 ; noes, 12. No further amendment being oft'ered, the sec- tion, as amended, was adopted. THE \'ET0 POWER. Section 3(5 was read, as follows : — Sec. 36. Every bill which may have pa.ssed the Le- gislature, shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the Governor. II' he approve it, he shall sign it; but if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to the House in which it originated, which shall enter such objections u^jou the journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, it again jiass both Houses by ayes and noes, by a majority of two-thirds of the members ele«ted to each House, it shall become a law, notwitlistandiug the Cioveruor's objections. If any bill shall not be returned within Ave days after it shall have been i^resented to him, (Sunday excepted,) exclusive of the day on which he received it, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Legislature, by its final adjournment, pre- vent such return, in which case it shall be a law, unless the {.Tovernor, within ten days next after the adjourn- mc!nt, (Sunday excei)ted, ) shall file such bill, with his objections thereto, in tlie office of the Secretary of State, who shall lay the same before the Legislature at its next session, in like manner as if it had been re- turned by the Grovernor; and if the same shall receive the vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each branch of the Legislature, upon a vote taken by ayes and noes, to be entered upon the journals of each House, it shall become a law. Mr. JOHNSON. I suggest a verbal altera- tion in this section. Where the word "Sunday"' occurs a second time, the plural form should be used — '• Sundavs.'" The CHAIR'MAN. It is a verbal error only ; the Secretary will make the correction. No further amendnu'nt being proposed, the section was apdoted. EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. The Committee of tlie Whole next took up for consideration Article V, entitled Executive Department. Section 1 was read, as follows : — Section 1. The supreme executive power of this State, shall be vested in a Chief magistrate, who shall be Governor of the State of Xevada. No amendment being oft'ered, the section was adopted. G0VERN0R"s TERM OF OFFICE. Section 2 was read, as follows : — Sec. 2. The Governor shall be elected by the quali- fied electors at the tune and iilaees of voting for mem- bers of the Legislature, and shall hold his oflice for two years from the time of his installation, and imtil his successor shall be qualified. Mr. DUNNE. I move to amend by striking out the word '• two," and inserting the word " four,'"' so as to read— -.shall hold his ofiice for four years from the time of his installation, and until his successor shall be qualified.'' The question was taken, and upon a division, the amendment was agreed to — ayes, 1(5 ; noes, not counted. No further amendment being offered, the sec- tion, as amended, was adopted. ELIGIBILITY OF GOVERNOR. Section 3 was read, as follows : — Sec. 3. No person shall be eligible to the office of Governor, who is not a quaUfied elector, and who, at the time of such election, has not attained the age of tweuty-tive years ; and who, excex^t at the first election under this Constitution, shall not have been a citizen resident of this State for two years next preceding the election. Mr. EARL. I wish to offer an amendment ; to insert in the second line, after the Avord •' elector,"' the words, " who has served one term,'' so as to read : — " No ijerson shall be ehgible to the office of Governor, who is not a qualified elector, who has served one term, and who, at the time of such election," iS:c. My idea is, that after a person has served four years, he should not be eligible until he passes over one term. The question was taken, and the amendment was not agreed to. No further amendment being offered, the sec- tion was adopted. ELECTION RETIRN.S. Section i was read, as follows : — Sec. 4. The returns of every election for Governor, and other State officers voted for at the general elec- tion, shall be sealed up and transmitted to the seat of Government, directed to the Secretary of State, and ou the third Monday of December succeeding such elec- 158 EXECUTIVE DEPARTMEXT. [5th day. Friday,] McClixtox— DuxxE— NouRSE — Fkizell — Banks— JoHNSox. [July 8. tion, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the Associate Justices shall moot at the office of the Secre- tary of Stite, and open ami cimvass the election returns for" Governor and all other State officers, and forthwith diclare the result, and piiblish the names of the can- didates elected. Tlie persons having tin- hi^'best tim- ber of votes for the respective offices, sliaU be drclared elected, but in case any two or more liave an equal, and the highest number of votes for the same office, the Le"islature shall, by .ioint vote of both Houses, elect one of said persons to fill said office, Mr. l^kCLIXTON. I move to strike out tliLs section, for tlie re;i>;ou tbul we can provide for all tiiat in the Scliedule. Tlie question was taken, and the amendment was not agreed to. No further amendment being offered, the sec- tion was addjjted. .Section 5 was read, as follows : — Sec. 5. The Governor shall be Commander-in-Chief of the niiUtary forces of this State, except when they shall be called into the service of the United States. No amendment being oflered, the section was adopted. Section G was read, as follows : — Sec. 6. He shall transact all executive business with the officers of the Government, civil and military, ami may require information, in writing, from the utiirers of the txecutive Department, upon any subject relat- ing to the duties of their respective offices. No amendment being offered, the section was adopted. Section 7 was read, as follows : — Sec. 7. He shall see that the laws are faithfully exe- cuted. No amendment being offered, the section was adopted. VACANCIES IX OFFICE. Section 8 was read, as follows : — Sec 8. When any office shall, from any cause, be- come vacant, and no mode is provided by the the Cou- stitvition and laws for tilling such vacancy, the Gov- ernor shall have the power to till such vacancy by granting a commission, which shall expire at the next election and quaUficatiou of such officer. Mr, DUNNE. That section seems to require some amendment, I do not know exactly what it sliuulil be. but there should be some change ill thi' cnneluding lines--" wliich [commission] shall expire at the next electic»n and (pialiflca- tioii of such otticer."' That seems to apply to the next inctimbent. Mr. NOL'llSK. I will move to amend the section in that particular l)y striking out the words '• such officers " and inserting in lieu thereof the words "tlie person elected to such office, " so as to read, '■ wliich shall expire at the next election and qualilication of the per- son elected to such office.'' The (pu'stion was taken, and the amendment was agreed to. Mr. FItlZHI.L. I do not think that all offices which it is in the power of tlie Covenior to till by api»oiiitmeiit are tilled by issuing a commis- sion. The language of this section is to the effect that the tiovernor shall issue a commis- sion, and it occurs to me that it would read belter if we should strike out the words " by granting a commission," and insert jthe words " by appointment," I will move that as an amendment. This is a question, I confess, as to the facts of which I aiu not very well posted ; nevertheless, it occurs to me that many ofifices are filled by the Governor for which it is not necess.iry for him to issue a commission. Mr. BANKS. The real object is to reqtiire the Governor to appoint by giving a commiss- ion, and whoever receives such commission takes it as he would a certificate of election to the body appointed to receive it, and upon that he takes his seat, or enters upon the duties of his office, as the case may be. It is merely providing what shall be the evidence of appointment. The question was taken, and the amendment was not agreed to. Mr. JOHNSON. There is one matter, in this connection, to which I desire to call atten- tion. When this section was adopted by the former Convention, in the language which is used in the printed copy, the Convention proceeded on the theory that no provision was to be made by law for appointment to office by the Governor, except to supply vacancies. If it is the sense of the Committee that it is proper to invest the Governor, in any case, with the power of original appointment, then it occurs to me that something more is necessary to be added here. If, however, this Convention agree with the preceding one in withholding from the Governor the power of appointing to office, ex- cept in cases of vacancies, then it will not be necessary to make any change. If the Conven- tion do not agree in that particular with tiie for- mer Convention, then I suggest that we insert, after " next election," the words " or appoint- ment." That, it seems to me, would be neces- sary if you give the Governor original appoint- ing power. I do not make a motion, but simply suggest the matter to the Committee. No further amendment being offered, the sec- tion, as amended, was adopted.^ Section 9 was read, as follows : — Sec. 9. The Governor may, on extraordinary occa- sions, convene the Legislature, by a proclamation, and shall state to both Houses, when organized, the pur- l)ose for which they have been convened, and the Legislature shall transact no legislative business ex- ccjit that for which they were specially convened, or such other legislative business as the Governor may call to the attention of the Legislature while in ses- sion. No amendment being offered, the section was adopted. Section 10 was read, as follows : — Sec. 10. He shall communicate, by message, to the Legislature, at every regular session, the condition of the State, and recommend such measures as he may deem expedient. No amendment being offered, the section was adopted. Section 11 was read, as follows: — Sec. 11, In case of a disagreement between the two Houses, with respect to the time of adjournment, the Governor shall have power to adjourn the Legisla- ture to such time as he may think proper ; provided, it be not beyond the time fixed for the meeting of the next Legislature. 5th day.] EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 159 Friday,] Brosxan — JoHxsox — ^NouKSE — HovEY — Baxks. [July 8. No amendment being offered, the section was adopted. Section 12 was read, as follows : — Sec. 12. No person shall, while holding any office wnder the United States Government, hold the office of Governor, except as herein expres.sly provided. No amendment being offered, the section was adopted. PARDOXIXG POWER. Section 1.3 was read, as follows : — Sec. 13. The Governor shall have the power to sus- pend the collection of lines and forfeitures, and to grant reprieves for a period not exceeding sixty days, dating from the time of conviction, for all oli'enses, ex- cept in cases of impeachment. Upon conviction for treason, he sh.all have power to suspend the execution of the sentence until the case shall be rex)orted to the Legis- lature at its next meeting, when the Legislature shall either pardon, direct the execution of the sentence, or grant a further reprieve. And if the Legislature should faU or refuse to make final disposition of such case, the sentence shall then be enforced at such time and place as the Governor, by his order, may direct. The Governor shall communicate to the Legislature, at the begining of every session, every case of tine or forfeit- ure remitted, or reprieve, pardon, or commutation granted, stating the name of the convict, the crime of which he was convicted, the sentence, its date, and the date of the remission, commutation, pardon or re- prieve. Mr. BROSNAN. I move to amend this sec- tion by striking out the words, " to suspend the collection of fines and forfeitures."" 1 do not like to give that power to anv single man. Mr. JOHNSON. I think it will not be found that this section invests the Executive with that extraordinary power. It will be seen by a close examination of the section, that it does not propose to invest the Executive with the power of pardoning at all, but he is to consti- 1 tute one of a board which is ifivested with that power. Now, the object of this and the succeed- ing sections, and the extent to which they go, is merely this— that until such time as the I'ardon- ing Board can meet to consider any given case, it shall be within the power of the Executive to suspend the enforcement of sentence — " to sus- pend the collection of fines and forfeitures, and to grant reprieves, for a period not exceeding sixty days." Then, after such suspension, the pardoning power is lodged in this Pardoning Board. 1 had the honor of submitting this .sec- tion to the former Convention, and I then con- ceived it (piite improper that the Executive should have the extraordinary power of abso- lutely pardoning any one. and for the strong reason that the responsil)illty should not rest upon one man alone. This portion of the sec- tion only operates to confer a power of suspen- sion until such time as the Pardoning Board can pass upon the case, and I think the gentleman from Storey, (Mr. Brosnan,) will see the propri- ety of that provision. *Mr. NOURSE. Was it intended that the sixty days limitation should apply also to the matter of fines and forfeitures ? Mr. JOHNSON. I think the language can bear no other construction. Mr. NOURSE. Then I think the word " to " should be stricken out where it occurs before the word - grant,'" so as to read, '• and grant re- prieves.-' etc. Mr. BROSNAN. Upon examination of the section, I see that the gentleman from Ormsby is right — that the power here grantwl is merely to postpone sentence. I, therefore, withdraw my amendment. But I am not satisfied with the .section yet. It says : — " The Governor shall communicate to the Legislature, at the beginning of every session, every case of tine or forfeiture remitted, or reprieve, pardon or commuta- tion granted." Now, if a forfeiture is remitted, it is blotted out forever. If these things are to be done by the Governor, there is no use, it seems to me, in applying to any ultimate power, stating the name of the offender, the character of the offense, and what is to be, or has been done, in regard to such offense. Mr. HOVEY. I would suggest that the gen- tleman refer to the next section, by which the Pardoning Board is to be established. Mr. BROSNAN. AVell. the language here is, nevertheless, inappropriate. For. I hold that the word " remit,"' implies to blot out en- tirely. It says "the Governor shall com- municate every case of fine or forfeiture remit- ted;' etc. The CHAIRMAN. The Chair begs leave to suggest that the ]iardonlng power is exercised by the board, and the Governor is merely re- quired to rejiort their action to the Legislature. Mr. JOHNSON. That is it, exactly. And I think the recollection of the gentleman from Storey, (Mr. Brosnan,) will serve him in that particular. We thoiiglit. in the la.^t Convention, that the Governor would bo the ])roper person upon whom to devolve the duty of reporting to the Legislature the official action of the Board of Pardons, of which he is ex-officio a member. Mr. NOURSE. I think a careful examination of the first few lines of the section will show that, as it at present stands, the power of the Governor is unlimited, for the sus])ension of fines and forfeitures, at all events. In order to make sure of this matter, I suggest that we strike out the word •' to," after •' forfeitures, and." Mr. BANKS. I hope that will be done, and that we shall also strike out the comma after the word •' forfeitures," also. ]\rr. NOURSE. No ; I think that is not neces- sary ; the meaning is plain, if we take out the word " to." I move to strike out the word •' to." The question was taken on BIr. Nourse's amendment, and it was agreed to. No further amendment being offered, the sec- tion was adopted. Section 14 was I'ead, as follows : — Sec. 14. The Governor, Justices of the Supreme Court, and Attorney General, or a major jjart of them, of whom the Governor shall be one, may, upon such con- ditions and with such limitations and restrictions as they may think proper, remit iines and forfeitures, commute punishments, and grant pardons after con- IGO EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 5th day.] Friday.] Xuukse—Bkosxax—Baxks—Prootor— Dunne— Johnson— Lockwood. [July 8. vicUous, in aU cases except treason and impeachments, subject to sui-b regulations as may be providea by law, relative to the manner of applying for pardons. No anu-udiiiLMit being ottered, the section was adupted. STATE SEAT,. Section 15 was road, as follows :— Sec 15. There shall be a seal of this State, which shall be kept bv the Governor, and used by him ofli- eiaUy, and shall" be called the "Great Seal of the State of Nevada." .Air. XOURSE. I supposed that the practice was that the great seal of State should be kept by the Secretary of State. I will ask whether tliat is not the case ? Mr. BROSNAN. I think the custom is. that it is kept by the Governor, and I think the gentleman from Ormsby, (Mr. Johnson,) will tell vou tlie same. Mr. BANKS. I believe the Governor is sup- posed to keep it, l)nt the Secretary of State reallv keeps it for him. No amendment being offered, the section was adoi)ted. Section 16 was read, as follows : — Sec. 16. All grants and commissions shall be in the name and the authority of the State of Nevada, sealed with the Great Seal of the State, signed by the Gover- nor, and coimtersigntd by the Secretary of State. The CHAIRMAN. I suggest Avhether the M-ord ■• by " sliould not be inserted there before the words •• tlie authority.'' Mr. NOURSE. Most certainly. I move to insert the word ■' by " between the word " and '■ and the word " the,"' so as to read " in the name and by the authority of the State of Ne- vada."' The question was taken, and the amendment was agreed to. No further amendment being offered, the sec- tion, as amended, was adopted. Section 17 was read, as follows :— Sec. 17. A Lieutenant Governor shall be elected at the same time and places, and in the same manner as the Governor, and his term of office, and his eligibility, Hhall also be the same. He sliall be President of the Senate, i)ut shall only have a casting vote therein. If, daring a vacancy of the office of Governor, the Lieu- tenant Governor shall be impeached, displaced, resign, die, or become incai)al)le of iierforming the duties of tlic office, or be al)seut from the Slate, the President jiro U-mpore. of the Senate shall act as Governor, until the vacancy be filled or the disability cease. No amendment being offered, the section was adojjted. Section 18 was read, as follows : — Sec. 18. In case of the impeachment of the Gover- nor, or his removal from offiee, deatli, inability to dis- charge the duties of the said office, resignation, or ab- Kence, from the State, the powers and duties of the office shall devolve upon the Lieutenant Govenior, for the residue of the term, or until tlie disability sliall cease. But when the Governor shall, witli tlie consent of the Ligi^ilature, be out i)f the St;ite in time of war, and at the lieiid of any military fone thereof, he shall con- tinue (Jommauder-iu-Chief of the military force of the State. Mr. NOrR.SE. I would like to know how that compares with the former section, which provide-i that the Governor shall be Comman- der-in-Chief of the militia, except when called into the actual service of the United States ? I sujjpose, however, as a State we shall have no war. Mr. B.VNKS. We m.ay have an insurrection in this State. No amendment being offered, the section was adopted. SURVEYOR GENERAL. Section 19 was read, as follows : — Sec. 19. A Secretary of State, a Treasurer, a Con- troller, and an Attorney General, shall be elected at the tune and places, and in the same manner as the Gover- nor. The term of office of each shall be the same as is prescibed for the Governor. Any elector shall be eligi- ble to either of said offices. Mr. PROCTOR, I move to amend the sec- tion by inserting after the word " Controller," the words •■ a Surveyor General,'' so as to read, " a Secretary of State, a Treasurer, a Controller, a Surveyor General, and an Attorney General, shall be elected," etc. The question was taken, and the amendment was not agreed to. Mr. DUNNE. I move to amend the section by inserting after the word " Controller " the words " a Superintendent of Public Instruc- tion." Mr. BROSNAN. There is another section which pi'ovides for that. Mr. DUNNE. Very well ; if that office is provided for I will withdraw the amendment. No further aincndment being offered, the sec- tion, as amended, was adopted. SECRETARY OF STATE. Section 20 was read, as follows : — Sec. 20. The Secretary of State shall keep a true record of the official acts of the Legislative and Execu- tive Departments of the Government, and shall, when required, lay the same, and all matters relative thereto, before either branch of the Legislature. Mr. JOHNSON. I am not prepared, at the present moment, to say that this section is, or is not, exactly right, but it occurs to me that it is not. Would it be right to require the Secretary of State to keep a true record of the proceed- ings of the Legislature, when the recoi'ds of the proceedings of that department are also re- quired to be kept by the proper officers of the respective branches of the Legislature ? He is made, or should be made, the custodian of the records of the Legislature, when prepared by the proper officers, as well as of the otlier de- partments. The language of the section can be amended hereafter, however, if necessary. Mr. LOCKWOOD. I would like to inquire if the term of the State Treasurer and the other I State officers is intended to be four years. I see it says they shall be elected at the "time and I place and in the same manner as the Governor. j The CHAIRMAN. The Cliair thinks the term must be the same from the reading of the sec- I tion. If there is any eiTor, the Chair will en- I tertain a motion to reconsider. Mr. LOCKWOOD. I shall certainly oppose I that in the Convention. 5th day.] EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 161 Friday.] DuxNE — Banks— LocKwooD — Collins — Brosnan — Johnson. [July 8. Mr. DUNNE. I think their terms should be the same as that of the Governor ; but as there is to be a reconsideration moved hereafter, in re- spect to the term of the Governor, I will not offer any amendment at this time. No further amendment being offered to Sec- tion 20, the section was adopted. Section 21 was read, as follows : — Sec. 21. The Governer, Secretary of State, and At- tornej' General, shall constitute a Board of State Prison Commissioners, which Board shall have such super^'i- sion of all matters connected with the State Prison as may be provided by law. They shall also constitute a "Board of Examiners," with power to examine all claiips against the State (except salaries or compensa- tion of officers fixed by law,) and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law. Mr. BANKS. I move to amend this section by adding to it the following : — ,, And no claims against the State, except salaries, or comiiensatiou of officers fixed by law, shall be passed upon by the Legislature, without having been consid- ered and acted upon by said Board of Examiners." Mr. LOCKAVOOD. I may be more obtuse than other gentlemen, but I really do not un- derstand that amendment. Mr. BANKS. It merely provides that no claims against the State shall be acted upon by the Legislature without first passing through the hands of the Board of Examiners. The Chairman will recollect that in California, hav- ing no constitutional provision on the subject, the Legislature passed a law, and agreed to be bound by it, of the same purport. It was a sort of tacit understanding, by which succeed- ing Legislatures required all claims presented to be first passed upon by the Board of Exam- iners. Under that understanding, so long as it was observed, they stood in California just where this provision would place the Legisla- ture of the new State of Nevada ; but, some- times, ignoring that law, gentlemen would bring in claims, and have them acted upon in the Legislature, by means of lobby influence, in spite of the Board of Examiners. Now, I want this rule understood and firmly established, that all claims, except salaries fixed by law, shall first pass through the hands of the Board of Examiners before they can be obtruded in any way upon the Legislature. The question was taken, and the amendment was agreed to. Mr. COLLINS. I rise to make an inquiry. I see it is provided here that — " The Governor, Secretary of State and Attorney Gen- eral shall constitute a Board of State Prison Commis- sioners, which board shall have such supervision of all matters connected with the State Prison as may be provided by law." Now, I think, that at the time of the election under the old Constitution last year, a person was chosen as Attorney General who was a resident of Lander County, and I would inquire if the intention of this section is that the Attor- ney General shall be required to be a resident at the Capital of the State ; and whether it would not be more proper to constitute some other of the State oflicers a member of that board ? "Would it not be better, for instance, that the Controller should be named, who, with the Secretary of State, would be at the Capital at all times, when required to consult with the Governor. It seems to me that would be better than to impose this duty upon a party who may reside at the remotest part of the State. The CHAIRMAN. I would suggest that this objection could be removed by requiring all the State officers to reside and keep their offices at the Capital. Mr. BROSNAN. That matter was discussed at the former Convention, and it was then thought that there was not salary enough at- tached to the office of Attorney General to justify such a requh-ement. Mr. JOHNSON. It will be seen that the Attorney General is one of the State officers who are not required to reside at the Capital. As the gentleman from Storey, (Mr. Brosnan), remarked, it was thought, in view of the lim- ited amount of salary, and for other reasons, perhaps, that it was not advisable to require him to keep his office here, and I will state one special reason, which has not been adverted to, why I it was thought best to designate him as one of the members of the State Prison Board, pre- mising it with the suggestion that, for my own part, I do not think it absolutely necessary that either of the members of this Board should re- side at the seat of Government. They will undoubtedly have stated times for their meet- ings. I know it is so in California, where they act under the operation of a law similar to this provision ; and the Attorney General may be occupied in Washoe, in Storey, in Lyon, or in any other county, perhaps in some one of the more remote counties, so that it possibly may not be convenient for him to be a frequent attendant at the meetings of the Board. Yet, even if he were absent, there would still be a quorum for the transaction of business, and therefore I do not know that it is essential for him to attend upon all the sessions. Now, the reason why these other officers should not be placed upon the Board of State Prison Com- missioners is this — that in such case, in the capacity of members of the Board of Exam- iners, they would be required to pass upon their own expenditures. For example, the Con- troller would have to issue, and the Treasurer would have to pay the warrants drawn by the Board of which, respectively, they are mem- bers ; and it was deemed improper to con- stitute an officer a member of the Examining Board, whose duty it would thereupon be to pass upon his own accounts. The members of this Board of Examiners are not clothed with extraordinary powers as individuals, but they may, as a Board, refuse to pass upon claims brought before them ; hence the Attorney Gen- eral was mentioned as one of the officers to constitute this commission, and I think the reasons I have mentioned should influence the committee and induce it to retain him in that position. 162 CORPORATIONS. [5 th day. Friday,] DrNXE—CROsMAN—DELoNG— Banks— Chapin—Noukse— Proctor. [July 8. No further amendment being offered, the sec- tion was adoptoti. t>ectit)U 22 was read, as follows :— Sfx. 2*2. Tlje Secretary of State, State Treasurer, Ktati CoutroUer, Attorney General, and Superintendent of Public Instruction, shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law. N»i anu'udmeat being ofifered, the section was adoptt'il. Mr. Dl'XXE. I move that the committee rise, report progress, and ask leave to sit again. Mr. CIIOSMAX. No, no! Let us recommend the p;ussage of the articles we have gone through with. Mr. DU.NyE. "Very well ; I will make that motion, then. The question was taken, and the motion was agreed to. I.V COXVENTIOX. The PPlB^IDENT having resumed the Chair, The CH.\IUMAN reported that the Commit- tee of the Whole had had under consideration Articles HI. IV, and V of the Constitution, and had made sundry amendments thereto, in which thev had directed him to ask the concurrence of the Convention. The report was accepted. Mr. I^UNN'E. I move that the rules be sus- pended, and that the articles just reported from the Committee of the Whole be ordered en- grossed as amended, for a third reading. The question was taken, and the motion was agreed to. KEraREXCE OF ARTICLES. Mr. DCNXE. As Article VI, entitled Judi- cial Department, has been referred to a com- mittee. I will move that Articles VII, VIII, IX, X, and XI, be taken up and committed to the Committee of the Whole. The PRE.SIDEXT. Has the Convention taken action upon referring the article on the Judi- ciary? I do not recollect such action ; and if is was had, I think it must have been taken at 8ome time when I was absent. Mr. DLXXE. If there be any question about that action, it had Ijctter, perhaps, be decided. I will withdraw my former motion, and move instead, that Article IV, entitled Judicial De- partment, be referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. Mr. DkLONG. I move to amend the motion by referring, also. Article VII, entitled Ini- , peachment and Removal from Oflice, to the same comtnitt<,'e. Mr. DUXXE accepted the amendment. The question wa.s tixken, and the motion, as modilied, was agreed to. (In motion of Mr. DCNXE, Article VIH, on- titled Muni(ij)al and other Corjjorations ; Arti- cle IX, entitled Finance and State Debt; Arti- cle X, entitled Taxation, and Article XI. entitled Salaries, were taken up, read a second time bv title, and referred to the Committee of the Whole. COMMITTEE OP THE WHOLE. Mr. DeLONG. I now move that the Conven- tion resolve itself into Committee of the Whole for the consideration of these articles. The question was taken, and the motion was agreed to. The Convention accordingly resolved itself into Committee of the Whole, (Mr. DeLong in the Chair), and proceeded to the considera- tion of the matters referred to it. MU.VICIPAL AND OTHER CORPORATIONS. Article VIII, entitled Municipal and other Corporations, was first considered. Section 1 was read, as follows : — Section 1, The Legislature shall pass no special act in any manner relating to corporate powers, excciJt for municipal purposes ; but coi-porations may be formed under general laws ; and all such laws may, from time to time, be altered or repealed. No amendment being ofifered, the section was adopted. TAXATION OF CORPORATION,?. Section 2 was read, as follows : — • Sec. 2. All real property and possessory rights to the same, as well as jjersonal property in this State, belonging to corporations, now existing or hereafter created, shall be subject to taxation the same as prop- erty of individuals ; provided, that the ijroperty of cor- porations formed for municipal, charitable, religious, or educational isurposes, may be exemiJted by law. The CHAIRMAN. The Chair suggests an inquiry, whether this does not contain the cele- brated mining-tax clause. Mr. BANKS. I think not. Mr. CHAPIX. I move that it be adopted. Ml', DUNNE, I wish to propose an amend- ment. Mr. BANKS. All that this section provides, if the Chair will allow me to make a sugges- tion, is just this. It provides that corporations, like individuals, .shall be taxed on whatever property they own — that corporations having property, and A, B, and C, as private individ- uals, having property, that property shall all be taxed under the Constitution and laws of this State, the property of corporations being taxed just as though it were held by individ- uals. Mr. NOURSE. That is all it does. Mr. PROCTOR. But w^hat does "possessory rights" include? The CHAIRMAN. It includes anything that a man has possession of, or a legitimate right to hold and use. Mr. DUNNE. I move to amend the section by the insertion of these words, after the words "hereafter created" — "mines, and possessory claims thereto." Mr. CHAPIN. That is provided for else- where. Mr. NOURSE. This section simply provides, as the gentleman from Humboldt, (Mr. Banks,) has said, that corporations shall be taxed just as individuals are taxed. I suppose nobody objects to that. 5th day.] CORPORATIONS. 163 Friday,] DrxxE — NouKSE — Banks — Hovey — Warwick — Earl. [July 8. Ml'. DUNNE. Yes, sir ; I object to the tax- ation of mines. Mr. NOURSE. But it does not relate to the taxation of mines. It only provides that where an individual would have to be taxed, whether upon mines or anything else, a corporation shall be taxed just the same. It only provides that all property subject to taxation shall be taxed just the same, if in the hands of corpora- tions, as the same property would be taxed if in the hands of individuals. Mr. DUNNE. I see the point the gentleman makes, and I withdraw my amendment. No other amendment being offered, the sec- tion, as read, was adopted. Section 3 was read, as follows : — Sec. 3. Dues from corporations shall be secured by such means as may be prescribed by law; provided, that corporators in corporations formed under tlie laws of this State shall not be individually liable for the debts or Uabihties of such corporation. No amendment being offered, the section was adopted. Section -t was read, as follows : — Sec. 4. Corporations created by or under the laws of the State of Nevada, shall be subject to the pro\-is- ions of such laws until the Legislature shall pass laws regulating the same, in pursuance of the provisions of this Constitution. Mr. BANKS. I think the word " State," in the second line, has been accidentally sub- ptituted for •• Territory." It is obviously a clerical error. The section should read — " Corporations created by or under the laws of the Territory of Nevada, shall be subject." &c. I will move to amend, by inserting the word " Territory," in place of the word •• State."' The question was taken, and the amendment was agreed to. No further amendment being offered, the sec- tion was adopk'd. Section 5 wa.s read, as follows : — Sec. 5. Corporations may sue and be sued in all Courts, in like cases as individuals. No amendment being offered, the section was adopt<.'d. CITRREXCT. Section 6 was read, as follows : — Sec. 6. No bauk notes or paper of any kind shall ever be permitted to circulate as money in this State, except the Federal currency, under the laws of Con- gress. Mr. HOYEY. I move to strike out that sec- tion. Mr. NOURSE. "VATiat is the object of that ? Mr. BANKS. So that we can have banks here, if we want them. Mr. NOURSE. And paper money? Sevekal Members. Yes ; paper money. Mr. NOURSE. Well, I go against all such stuff. Mr. WARWICK. There is one very good reason why this section should be stricken out. and that is. that as it stands now, it is in contra- vention of the laws of the United States. It is well known that under the General Banking j law passed by Congress, banks which issue I paper money can, and doubtless will, be estab- i lished here. and. quite probably, during the \ coming year. That may be expedient, or other- j ^yise ; and whether it is or not. is an open ques- I tion, in my own mind : nevertheless, we have I the fact staring us in the face, that a general banking law has been enacted by Couo-ress, and that under it we may look, daily and hourly, for the circulation of paper money in our mids*. under the sanction of the Government of the United States. Mr. NOURSE. Yery well ; I understand that all those banks are included in the term. •■ Fed- eral currency." They are established by the Federal banking law, and their issues being thus made currency by the Federal Govern- ment, therefore become Federal currency. Now does the gentleman wish to have any other kind of banks ? This provision. I understand, only keeps out State banks, that is. all banks whose currency would be other than Federal currency. Mr. WARWICK. There is little doubt, I think — and any man who has watched the cur- rency for the last year can hardly doubt— that ; before many years, the national currency will j absorb every issue now emanating from "eveiy bank in the Fnited States. Consequently, ar.y such provision as this stands in contravention of the law of the United States. Judging fi-om I the peculiar circumstances under Mhich we start out as a State, and from the general demand ^ which is coming up from the ])eople throughout i the State for a change, or at least, for some al- 1 teration in our currency, there is no doubt in my mind that, under the banking law enacted by the Federal Government, in spite of any I and every law which we can enact, banks will be established in this State ; and that those banks, established under the sanction of the National Government, and issuing the national currency, will, in spite of anything which we can enact, go into operation immediately here in our midst. Consequently. I am in favor of striking out this whole section. Mr. EARL. I hope the section will be stricken out. because of the fact that if we do have a paper currency here, we may at some future time want to regulate it in a little differ- ent way from the provisions of that Act of Congress. We may want a paper currency here redeemable in a particular manner, differ- ent from that in which the paper currency cir- culating in other States is redeemed, founded upon a basis more especially appropriate to this coast. We may want a currency, if von please, redeemable in gold and silver. Biit if this clause remains we cannot have it : we can have only a Federal currency under the laws of Congress. We can have no other class of banks than those which are established or au- thorized by the Act of Congress. I think we shall undoubtedly want some change ; and we desire to establish a banking system peculiar to our owa interests and necessities here. la 16^ CORPORATIONS. [5th day. Friday,] Fitch— Eael—Nourse— Johnson— LocKWOOD— Banks. [July 8. order that we may do that, I hope this section will Vte stricken uiit. Mr. FITCII. I have an amendment here which I thiuk will meet the case and be gener- ally acceptable. I propo.se to amend the sec- tion so as to read as follows : — Sec 6. No bank notes, or paper of any kind, shall ever he permitted to cii'culate as money in this State, except the Federal cui-reucy under the laws of Con- gress, and the cm-reucy of banks established under acts of Congress. Mr. EAlvL. That is the same thing. Mr. NOURSE. I wish to say a few words in regard to that amendment. 1 know that most ot'^the members of the Convention have lived in California, where they have only a metallic currency, and consequently they have had lit- tle or no experience in this infernal paper trash which has cursed almost every one of the East- ern states. 15ut I come from a State which has |jeen cursed for years with paper money, and } go for sustaining the currency of the United Stat4.'s, and the national banking law, which provides for a uniform system of paper money that will be safe and reliable. How far that can be done here, is a matter of business ex- periment, and not at all a matter to be settled bylaw. I hope gentlemen will profit by the experience of other States in regard to general banking systems, and that they will not, after seeing State after State swamped with paper money — after seeing all the evils which have come'upon those States year after year, in con- sequence of having banks of issue which were I)erfectly worthless — attempt or consent to throw our new State right into the same vortex of ruin in which those States have been en- gulfed. In Minnesota, before the crash came, in 1^.\>7, there was plenty of gold and silver ; but from the time of the crash not a dime re- mained, but year after year we had nothing but county scrip or State scrip, indorsed sometimes by swindling bankers. We had the Gosport Bank, from the State of Indiana Mr. JOHNSON. That was the best you had, was it not 't Mr. NOL'RSE. Well, if it was, that was not Faying much for the rest. The last I saw relat- ing to that bank, was a notice stuck up on a little buililing in the reai" of another building, ^vllich read in this way : " Gosport Bank taken liere at par."' That was about the only thing- it was til for. Mr. JOll.N'SOX. How much was the balance of your banks worth then? Mr. N(jL'USE. The gentleman can draw his own inference. We had railroad banks, and all sort.s of wild-cat banks. They would adorn their bills beautifully, with the prettiest of pic- tures, so lus to makt,' them currt.'nt, and just as soon a.s they got into circulation down they went, until they struck the bed-rock. Then we took the Illinois and Wisconsin State Banks, and thought that their notes were particu- larly safe ; but just as soon as they ))egan to apjiear prosperous, down they went, to some- where about forty or forty-eight cents on the dollar. How many men were ruined by this means, it is impossible to say ; but I know that the whole community was crushed under the load. I do hope that gentlemen will not insist on inaugurating such a system here, when they know that such has been the history of every State where paper currency has been tolerated. Now we are not going to set ourselves up against the action of the General Government. I have no doubt that " when this cruel war is over," greenbacks will go up so as to be worth about their face in gold, and continue so ; and the bonds of the United States will be as good as gold, and will buy gold at par. But as to having anything else foisted upon us here — as to attempting to set up a system of State banks, with the right to issue bank-notes, and all that sort of trash — I tell you , if we do it, we shall be guilty before God and man. We shall have such a sin to answer for, that we^shall not know where to hide our heads, because if we sin in that way now, we do it with our eyes open ; we do it with the experience of the whole coun- try before us, and Avith the full knowledge of all the ruin that has been brought about in other States by this miserable, Avild-cat. paper trash. I hope the motion to strike out will not prevail, but that this section, substantially as it is, will be adopted. Mr. LOCKWOOD. I propose to act upon this matter somewhat in the light of expediency. I have been opposed to such action as might endanger this Constitution before the people, upon the loyalty clause, but I warn members of the Convention that if we strike out this clause, or insert the clause proposed to be inserted in the Constitution, authorizing the issuing of paper money, it will be the skull and cross- bones of the coming canvass. It is my honest conviction, Mr. Chairman, that not one third of the people in this Territory will vote for this Constitution with such a clause in it as that proposed to be inserted here, authorizing banks of issue. Designing men M'ill go before the people, and tell them all about banks which have broken in the Eastern States, and ruined the people of those States. Mr. BANKS. Will the gentleman give way one moment ; I believe he is mistaken as to the nature of the question. It is not proposed to insert any clause here authorizing a general banking system. Mr. LOCKWOOD. I will speak of that in a moment. I am not, myself, opposed to banks, if they are founded upon a proper basis. If the Congress of the United States, sitting at Washington, has passed laws which provide for a general banking system, whether we will or not, that system will certainly be established amongst us. We cannot prevent it by any con- stitutional provision whatever. And, sir, provid- ed such a system shall come among us under cir- cumstances like that, then this provision cannot be made a bug-bear of in the canvass, when we take this Constitution before our constituents. 5tli day.] CORPORATIONS. 165 Friday,] "Warwick — Fitch — Johnson— Banks— Chapin — Kennedy— Earl. [July 8. If it were proposed to inaugurate here a gen- eral system of wild-cat banking. I certainly sliould vote against it, and against a Constitu- tion containing such a provision ; but if, upon the other hand, it is only proposed to sanction what Congress has done, which we are bound to do, nolens volens, it does not amount to any- thing that could be used against us. Let us look at this matter just as it is, and act accord- ingly. ilr. WARWICK. The people seem to have a holy horror of banks. Mr. FITCH. I desire to make a verbal alter- ation in my amendment. I will modify it so as to read as follows : — Sec. 6. No bank-notes, or paper of any kind, shall ever be permitted to circulate as money in this State, exceiit the Federal currency and the iiotes of banks authorized under the laws of Congress. Mr. JOHNSON. Now, sir, I am in favor of adopting the amendment rather than striking out the whole section. From my political an- tecedents, I think I cannot be regarded as be- ing opposed to any and every system of banking ; yet, sir, 1 am as much as any gen- tleman opposed to this wild-cat banking system which has been spoken of. 1 think, however, that by adopting this section, with the amend- ment as it is now proposed, we shall relieve the new State from any possible danger of any such evils arising as have been suggested by some gentlemen who have preceded me on this occa- sion. I aiu therefore in favor of retaining the section with this amendment ; otherwise I would advocate the striking out of every thing relat- ing to this subject. Mr. BANKS. Let us hear the amendment again. The SECRETARY read the section, as pro- posed to be amended by Mr. Fitch. Mr. BANKS. Now that is about right, and I hope it will be adopted. The question was taken, and the amendment was agreed to. No further amendment being offered, the section, as amended, was adopted. RIGHT OF WAT. Section 7 was read, as follows : — Sec. 7. No right of way shall be approjiriated to the use of any corporation until lull compensation be first made therefor. Mr. BANKS. I desire to move to amend by inserting in that section the words, " or se- cured,'' so as to read : "until full compensation be first made or secured therefor." But before submitting the amendment, I wish to ask a question. My recollection is that the word '• tendered " was not inserted in the section of the Declaration of Rights relating to taking private property for public use, which was un- der consideration the other day, and my desire is to make this section correspond in its phrase- ology with that. I would inquire whether or not my recollection is correct ''. The CHAIRMAN. No, sir ; we did not in- sert the word '• tendered." That is the recollec- tion of the Chair. Mr. B^YNKS. Then I move to amend this section, by inserting after the word " made," the words " or secured.'' The question was taken, and the amendment was agreed to. No further amendment being offered, the section, as amended, was adopted. MUNICIPAL INDEI3TEDNES.S. Section 8 was read, as follows : — Sec. 8. The Legislature shall provide for the organ- ization of cities and towns by general laws ; and re- strict their power of taxation, assessment, borro\\'ing money, contracting debts and loaning their credit, ex- cept for i^rocuring supplies of water. Mr. FITCH. I suggest whether it would not be well to strike out this exception — " except for procuring supplies of water." Mr. WARWICK. It is the experience of every town and county, that sometimes public debts are necessary, and actually requisite for the well-being, and for the carrying on of such Governments. It is sometimes absolutely nec- essary that the credit of the town or city should be loaned. Mr. FITCH. Will the gentleman alloM- me to interrupt him. This section does not pro- vide that the Legislature shall prohibit these powers, but that it shall restrict them, and the words which I propose to strike out, would in- timate that, in tliat respect, cities and towns should be under no restriction. Mr. CHAPIN. I hope it will not be stricken out. That subject was very thoroughly dis- cussed in the former Convention. It was there considered that this was a privilege which should be accorded to every town in the State. Do not, for heaven's sake, restrict the towns in regard to procuring supplies of water, but let the section remain as it is. Mr. KENNEDY. There is one objection which I have not heard advanced in connection with this subject, and that is, how can you make a general law which will be applicable in cases like tbis? For instance : in the town of Austin a much larger expenditure of money may be required to supply the town with water than would be necessary to supply other towns, and for that reason I think we cannot make a general law in regard to this matter. It is an absolute necessity to have water, and if a town needs it, let it go to as heavy an expenditure for that purpose as it sees fit. Mr. EARL. The only argument in favor of the exception that I can see, is this : that if a city has been limited to an expenditure of two or "three hundred thousand dollars, and if the authorities of that city find that that amount has been exhausted in endeavoring to procure supplies of water, without this provision they must have their charter amended before they can have the right to exceed that amount of expenditure. I do not know but it would bo as well, on that account, to leave the section as it is now. 166 PACIFIC RAILROAD. [5tli day. Friday,] Frrcu— Proctor — Bakks — Nourse — Jounson. [July 8. Mr. FITCH. I am not particular about the aiiu-ndmoiit. I un.lcrstaud it wa.s loft in at the J. articular ri-qiu'.-^t of 8i>nie gentlemen Mho are eatrajjed in a project for supplying the city of Yirfrinia with water. Mr. ClIAPIX. No. sir ; that is not so. Mr. FITCII. Then I have been misinformed. The question was taken on the amendment projiosed hy -Mr. Fitch, and, upon a division, it was not ajireed to~ayes, V> ; noes, not counted. No further amendment being olfered, the sectiun was adopted. PACIFIC RAILROAD. Section 9 was read, as follows : — Sec. 9. The State shall not donate or loan money on its credit, subscribe to or be interested in the stock of any company, as.sooiatiou ov corporation, except corjiora- ti >us I'ormed for educational or charitable purposes ; ji -./riWfi/, that the State may issue bonds to an amount not exii<-ding three miUiondollars, on such terms as the I^-t,'isUiture may prescribe, to the company that shall first lomplite a" railroad to the State line connecting this Stiite with the navigable waters of California, or ■with the na^•igable waters of the Mississippi Kiver ; tut no law to issue bonds shall be effective, unless sauc- tn'Ued by a vote of the peoi)le. Mr. rilOCTOR. I move to amend the sec- tion liy striking out the word ''three "in the pi'oviso where it ocuurs before the word "mil- lion," and inserting, in lieu thereof, the w^ord '• ten."' The question wa.s taken, and the amendment T>"as not agreed to, Mr. HANKS. I move to amend by striking out the word " three;, "' and inserting the word ' five;" also by Inserting after the word " bonds," the words •' or .secure the payment of principal anil interest, or both principal and interest on bonds so issued." I have also a further amend- iiient to offer to the section, when these shall Lave been disposed of. The section was read as proposed to be anientled l)y Mr. I'anks. Mr. FITCII. If we are going to give five niiliuus, I do not know but it would be as T>ell to go a little further. I move to amend I'V striking out '• five," and inserting " twenty- five." Mr. NOURSE. That is it; I second the amendment. The (piestion wivs taken on Mr. Fitch's BTnendmenl, and it was not agreed to. Mr. JOHNSON. Now, Mr. Chairman, I think this is getting a little heavy, [laughter] and jKUiii'ularly so. when we consider that we .shall ii.ue to go before the jjeople with this Consti- tution. 1 am perfectly content to go belbre the people, and say that we have given the Legislature ])ower to issue bonds to the extent of three millions of dollais, to aid in this rail- T'^ad enterprise. I am (piite willing to let the Miction stand without any alteration or change. JJut if you increase the amount, I am oj)- jiosed to it. Now, sir, three millions of dol- lars is a large sum of money — quite as large as we can attbrd to contribute to this enter- prise. And, in my judgment, the people of this State in prospective, will not be willing to see incorporated into their Constitution, not only a possibility, but indeed the probability, of very soon having added to the indebtedness of the State, an amount of five millions of dollars. I believe that if we make this amendment, it will exercise a most potent influence against the adoption of our Constitution. Independently of that fact, sir, we have not the means to justify us in issuing these bonds. We shall not be able to pay the five millions of dollars when the bonds become due, nor to pay the interest upon the bonds, and support a State Govern- ment at the same time. What was the great objection of the people last fall, against the adoption of a State Government ? It was, that we could not then support a State Government. We are not much better able now, than we were then. This is a matter which is proposed to be left to the people, it is true, and the peo- ple have the power to ratify or reject it here- after ; but the amount specified 'in this amend- ment would induce many men to vote against the Constitution, who would otherwise vote for it. As I said before, I am willing to leave the section just as it stands in the old Constitution, but I am opposed to increasing the amount a single dollar. Mr. FITCH. Is another amendment in order at the present time ? The CHAIRMAN. It is, if it is an amend- ment to the amendment. Mr. FITCH. I propose to amend by insert- ing after the word •' dollars," in the amendment now under consideration, the words, '• provided further, that no bonds shall be issued bearing interest for a greater sum than ten per cent, per annum. The question was taken on the amendment proposed by Mr. Fitch, and it was agreed to. The question recurred on the amendment of- fered by Mv. Banks, as amended on the motion of Mr. Fitch. Mr. BANKS. At the request of a number of gentlemen who are interested as much as I can be in the construction of the Pacific Railroad, I withdraw so much of my amendment as pro- poses to strike out •' three millions of dollars " and insert " five," leaving that portion of the section as it stands now. The CHAIRMAN. I do not think the amend- ment can be withdrawn, after it has been amended. Sevkrai, Member.s. "Leave, Leave!" The CHAIRMAN. If there is no objection, the amendment may be withdrawn. The Chair- man hears no objection, and the amendment is withdrawn. Mr. B.\NKS. The reason I have for propos- ing to insert th(> other words contained in my ainendnuMit is just this : I desire that the power shall exist in the Legislalure to jjrovide for the payment of the interest upon the bonds of the comi)any, instead of having bonds issued di- rectly by the State. That is a policy. in the en- couragemciiit of railroad enterprises of this Sth day.] PACIFIC RAILROAD. 167 Friday,] Lockwood — Johnson^Fitch — Warwick — Nourse — Brosnan— Collins. [July 8. kind, which I think is ftilly as good as, if not better, than that of the issuing of bonds direct- ly by the State, and I want to leave the Legis- lature discretionary power in that matter. The proviso will then read : — " Provided, That the State may issue bonds or secure the payment of the principal or interest, or both prin- cipal and interest of bonds to an amount not exceeding three millions of dollars ; provided, further, that no bonds shall be issued bearing interest for a greater sum than ten per cent, per annum, on such terms" — etc. — I will suggest, however, that this latter jjro- viso ought to be made a separate section. Mr. LOCKWOOD. I propose, as an amend- ment to this section, to strike out all after the words " charitable purposes," so that the sec- tion will read as follows : — Sec. 9. The State shall not donate or loan money or its credit, subscribe to or be interested in the stock of any company, association, or corporation, except cor- porations formed for educational or charitable pur- poses. Mr. JOHNSON. I think that amendment is not in order just at present, as there is an amendment to an amendment already pending. Mr. FITCH. I will suggest that my amend- ment, already adopted, will read better if in- serted immediately after the words " navigable waters of the Mississippi River." The CHAIRMAN. The Secretary will read the section as it will then stand. The SECRETARY read the section, as pro- posed to be amended by Mr. Fitch. Mr. FITCH. I perceive a still further diffi- culty with that sentence, as it applies only to the issuing of the bonds, and not to the security upon the bonds. If the Convention will per- mit me, I will withdraw it. No objection being made, the amendment was withdrawn. Mr. FITCH. Now I move to add, after the words " three millions," the words '' at a rate of interest not exceeding ten per cent, per an- num." The question was taken upon Mr. Fitch's amendment, and upon a division it was agreed to — ayes, 18 ; noes not counted. The question recurred on the amendment proposed by Mr. Banks. Mr. JOHNSON. Now I propose a further amendment, which is, to strike out the word " ten," in the amendment just adopted, and in- sert the word " seven," so as to read — '' at a rate of interest not exceeding seven per cent. per annum." Now, sir, I do not propose to go before the people of this Territory with a Constitution which provides, if we become a State, for paying ten per cent, interest on our State secu- rities. That is a rate of interest far beyond any which can be found established by any State of this Union, and I think the rate I propose is quite enough. At seven per cent, per annum, if the credit of the State is to be established upon a just basis, there can be no question but that the bonds of the State will be as good as any railroad bonds in the market ; and to issue bonds bearing the rate of ten per cent, would only operate to the injury of our credit. Mr. FITCH. I will say, that I shall be en- tirely satisfied with that rate of interest. I think seven per cent, is enough. Mr. WARWICK. I desire to ask if the gen- tleman from Ormsby is aware of the present rate of interest paid by the General Govern- ment? Mr. JOHNSON. I believe it is less than sev- en per cent. Mr. NOURSE. It is seven and three-tenths per cent., I believe. Mr. WARWICK. Is there not some portion of the government loan on which ten per cent, is paid ? That is my impression. The question was taken on the amendment of Mr. Johnson, and it was agreed to. The question was next taken upon Mr. Banks's amendment, and it was agreed to. Mr. BROSNAN. I move to amend the sec- tion by adding the following : — ■ "Provided, further, that the amount of money ao raised, if raised on State bonds, shall be expended up- on such railroad within the boundaries of the State." Mr. FITCH. I am opposed to that amend- ment, because I consider it to a certain extent impracticable. For instance : if the Legisla- ture enacts that such bonds, to the amount of a million or more, shall be given to the railroad first reaching the State line, then under due pro- cess of law those bonds are issued, and although of course the railroad company cannot expend them until they get them, yet after they are is- sued the State has practically no control over the direction the money shall take, as to wheth- er it shall be expended within or without the State. Mr. COLLINS. I would like to inquire the reasons for the amendment proposed by my colleague ? Mr. BROSNAN. My reason is, that the money could then be expended in doing some of the work within the State, and not to do it all within the limits of another State or Terri- tory. That is the only reason. Mr. WARWICK. I sincerely hope that this proviso will not be adopted. The main object of this Territory or State is, or should be, to secure a connection with navigable water. It is well known that we are now paying out millions and millions of dollars for freights, and it is exceedingly desirable that we should have, as early as possible, some means of com- municating with navigable water. The propo- sition made here, is for the encouragement of the building of a road for our own benefit, and we offer this as a bounty to the railroad com- pany, for that end. 1 contend that we are just as much benefited by the road reaching our doors, if the greater part of the expenditure for the improvements are made in another State, as we should be if the whole of the three millions were expended within our own borders. The benefit derived will still be commensurate with the amount expended, wherever it may be 168 PACIFIC RAILROAD. [5th day. Friday.] Hawley — Fitch — Nourse. [July 8. necessary to expend it upon the road, and I tiinoeivlv hope, therefore, that this amendment may not be incorporated into the section, but that this boiuitv will be granted to any line wliich will lirst connect this State Mith naviga- ble waters, without specifying whether it shall be expended within our own borders or in reaciiiiig our borders. The requirement is, that the road should connect us with navigable waters, and for that jjurpose alone, the people of the .State are authorized to make such a loan. It is well known, Mr. Ciiairman, that we are paying luit enormous sums, annually, for freiglit.s. We carry on an immense Ijusiness with the other side of the mountains, and that business is increasing every year, causing im- men.«e outlays for the building of roads, and for freights. ' The nnuiey which we shall pay for freights withhi the next two or three years, would, of itself, be suthcieut to pay this loan ten times over. And. in addition to that, by .securing the construction of this road, we shall be developing our State, to an unexampled extent. 1 do not know but it would be worth twice or three times the amount proposed here, if the railroad cpuld be made to reach the far- off County of Lander, so as to connect that region with navigable waters. It is well known that we have fabulously rich mines in that coun- ty, many of which are still undeveloped ; but they will be opened very speedily when we once olitain facilities for communication, such as u r.iilroad would gi^•e us. Why, sir, if the railroad were once completed to Lander County, there are thousands of tons of rock now lying there, regarded as worthless, which would make their owners millionaires. It is for tiiese reasons that we propose to offer this bounty, and I sincerely hope that no selfish project for ruining the value of this loan, by attempting to .secure its expenditure withiii our own borders, will be allowed to prevent the completion of this grand railroad. The (juestion was taken on Mr. Brosnan's amt'iidnicnt, and it was not agreed to. .'.Ir. IIAWLKV. I have been absent a few hours, and have not had an oijjjortunity to con- verse witli gentlemen upon this question ; but the idcii lias suggested it.«elf to my mind, that it is an invarialde rule thiit when an article of this sort is incorporated into a State Constitu- tion, it slinulil prescribe the manner in which tli<- interest shall ])e paid. If I am mistaken on that jioint. I should like to be corrected; but I tliink tli(! Legislature should l)e author- iz<'d to issue bonds, with proper coupons at- tached. Mr. FITPir. The section provides that the bonds shall be issued " ui)on such terms as the J^egislature may prescribe." and the Legisla- ture can attend to those matters of detail. Mr. NOL'liSL. I understantl the question to l)e now on the adojjtion of tiie section as amemied. If that is the ca.se. I move to strike out all after the word " incorporation,"' so that the section would read na follows : — Sec. 9. The State shall not donate or loan money or its credit, subscribe to or be interested in any stock of any company, association or corporation. I suppose I shall be in the minority on this subject, but I am used to that. [Laughter.] Nevertheless. I wish to say that I think I ha^e had experience, which perhaps not all the members of the Convention have had, and op- portunities of seeing the working of these things. I propose to state to the Convention, in about two minutes, the result of my experi- ence and observation. I do not make any charge for it. [Merriment] I am as desirous as any member of having the Pacific Railroad built, and indeed, it would be very singular if any man living in Nevada Territory could be found who was opposed to having a railroad built to cross our mountains and reach our mines here. I suppose nothing could be more desirable than that for this community ; and if I supposed this proviso would help the road at all, or, at all events, to a degree bearing any- fair proportion to the amount of debt which it provides for incurring, I would most certainly be in favor of the section as it stands. But I wish to strike out all that latter portion of the section, because I believe, and I tell yon, Mr. Chairman, that you will hereafter find it to be true, that instead of hastening the road by this means, we shall be putting it back. That may not seem to be a sensible conclusion, but I will tell you how such a provision will work. In Minnesota, I was one of a minority of sixty-six, when there were twelve hundred votes against us, opposed to granting aid of this sort for a railroad in that State. For the want of such a railroad our business there was prostrated, and this railroad was expected to build it up. The railroad was to run through some of the finest lands in the world, and it had liberal grants from Congress, consisting of alternate sec- tions of land for a breadth of six miles, for the whole length of the road, to begin with, and the route was one over which it was easy to construct a road. We were all impatient. We must have a railroad ; and as we thought we could not wait until it could be built in the natural course of things, by the develop- ment of the industry and the resources of the country through which it was to pass, we were called upon to aid it. We were asked to give our credit to the extent of five millions of dollars to this and other railroad enterjirises in the State. Well, we went through that operation, and voted to issue the bonds, and the result was that, at the end of only one year from that time, instead of i)arely sixty-six, who originally voted against the proposition, you could not have found, if the question could possibly have been submitted again, six men in the State who would have voted for it. Now, how does it work? Thia railroad, which we are asked to aid, has secured, in the first place, most magnificent grants from the General Government. It is abundantly aided by the Government— so abundantly that, 5th day.] PACIFIC RAILROAD. 169 Friday,] NOCRSE, [July 8. if there is any good faith about its manage- ment, I believe it will be built very speedily, provided you will only let it alone. It can and will be built reasonably fast, if there is nothing to be gained by delay. We cannot get it here in a minute, do what we will, but it will be built as fast as it is possible to build it, if it is not interfered with. But you leave this clause in your Constitution, giving the railroad another chance for securing help from the public, and you find the managers hanging back, and hang- ing back continually, until they get their hands upon that three millions of dollars. If you shut down on that, if you make them understand that the State cannot give or will not give a cent, knowing that they have sucked the Fede- ral Government dry, and have got all the help that they can expect to receive from the State of California, they will be ready to push on and try to make the road, and will expect, as good managers, to make it a paying road. They will display whatever energy they possess, and they will undoubtedly get it through in some way. They have enough means already to put it through in a reasonable time, but they are like other men, and if they can see a chance of getting anything more they will try to get it. If, in addition to the magnificent United States grants, and the help they have already received from California, they obtain the three millions which they are endeavoring to get from Neva- da, they will be able to build this road without the cost cf one dime out of their own pockets, or a liability of one dollar upon the road itself Of course they will do that if they can, and if you sanction tbisproject of agrant tothem by the Legislature, or a loan of the credit of the State, you in effect hold out an inducement for them — to do what? To hurry up the road'.' No ; but to hang back, and keep hanging back, until they can grab that three millions of dol- lars. Now I assure you that that was just the result in the State of Minnesota. Tbey went on l)uilding and grading the road, and appa- rently putting forth great efforts, as long as they could get Ijonds issued to them, and when they had got all they could, then the thing col- lapsed ; and now tbe State of Minnesota is saddled with the load of two and a half mill- ions of those bonds, upon which not a cent of interest has ever been paid. The State has struggled along under this burden until she stands at last in a position where she must ei- ther repudiate those bonds outright, or she must pay them. And the brokers are .^o confident that she will have to pay them eventually, thai they are now paying from 2(J to 30, and even, in some cases, 40 cents on the dollar for the bonds. Now sir, for my part, I do not believe that this system of State loans is a good sys- tem anywhere. Let us look at the history of other States, and I ask, should we not learn something, gentlemen, from the experience of other States? If you look through the history of about every State in this Union, you will find that that system has proven to be most in- jurious. Take New York, if you will ; a State which has derived more benefit from internal improvements than any other, and has been more liberal, perhaps, than any other in grant- ing State aid. But what do we find ? That the Erie Railroad, which was so munificently aided by that State, had at last to be built by private enterprise. As long as it was the child of public patronage, living upon public plun- der, it hung fire, and never did get through until all hope of further State aid had been ex- hausted. Then, and not till then, it was put through by private means, and became a good paying investment. So it has been in every other State. The system of State loans to in- ternal improvements has in every State proved a disastrous failure, and in every State where it has been adopted, the load of debt has been saddled at last upon the State. That has been the experience of New York, of Pennsylvania, of Missouri, and of many other States which I might name. Look at the enormous debt with which some of those States have beeen saddled for .the building of railroads which have never been built, and some of which very likely never will be built. Now, shall we, with all this ex- perience before us, when the cry against our State organization is " poverty, poverty, pov- erty !" when the people say " we cannot possi- bly afford to run a State Government," adopt this same ruinous policy? If we cannot pay for the running ex- penses of a State Government, what is going to be the value of our guarantee to pay the inti rest on these bonds, the interest alone on which will amount to two or three hundred thousand dollars a year ? How much is such an indorsement worth ? It is ruinous to us, because it plunges us hopelessly into debt, and it does not help the parties to whom we give such a guarantee. It is entirely useless to them — a mere mockery. AVhile we are plung- ing ourselves into debt, we are not helping any- body. Now, will not gentlemen pause before they assume so grave a responsibility? Cir- cumstances are very difl"erent now from what they were when this section was passed by the other Convention. Our ability to pay is cer- tainly smaller at the present time than it was then. What will be the value of our scrip or of our bonds, which we shall be obliged to issue for the necessary expenses of the Gov- ernment, if we also guarantee the payment of this enormous amount of interest, to the tune of two or three hundred thousand dollars a year, which we are to pay for the benefit of this already rich corporation, in addition to the two or three hundred thousand dollars which we shall have to pay for our running ex- penses? It is well enough to be generou.s, and far-seeing, and not niggardly, but certainly I think we ought to take care to cut our gar- ments according to our cloth. We certainly have not the means to pay this enormous amount of interest ; then why should we go through the farce of guaranteeing it ? 170 PACIFIC RAILROAD. [5th day. Friday.] Fitch — Nocrse — Stcrtetant — Chapix. [July 8. I do not know as I shall have on this ques- tion a single vote to help me, but I could not refrain from giving the results and coneliisions which a little experience has impressed upon my mind. And 1 do not see why we should take stock even in corporations fur educational or charilalile purposes. Anytliing we have to do in that line we can better do for ourselves. without taking part in somebody else's enter- prises. There is no saying better or wiser than this, tiiat that governm.'nt is bust which gov- erns ieust ; and when we come to taking stock in corpurations of any kind. I think we go far beyond the proper sphi re of government. Mr. FITCH. I admire the ingenuity with which the gentleman from Washoe has argued his side of the question, but it occurs to me, eir. although I may periiaps in that do the gen- tleman injustice, that there may be other rea- sons underlying his opposition. Now, sir, if I were so fortunate as to represent the county of Washoe, 1 might jierhaps be opposed to grant- ing aid to this road, or to any other road de- signed to connect this State with the naviga- ble waters of the Pacific Ocean, or the navi- gable water.s of the Mississippi River. For, however important such a road may be to the rest of the community, it is well known that the county of Washoe has grown rich, and is to-day roUiug in wealth, on account of the neces.-.ities of Storey County. Our miners in Storey County are developing mines of enor- mous wealth, of extraordinary richness, Init the high prices of freight which they are com- pelled to pay, and the high prices of all the necessaries of life wliich are an inevitalde conse- quence, have resulted hitlierto in preventing all but a very small proportion of that wealth from remaining in Storey County. Now, thei^e high prices of freight would l)e obviated by a rail- road across the mountains. But we have no railroad, and the consequence is that the pro- duce of Washoe County has sold and is selling at enormous prices, and Washoe to-day is rich, while the county of Storey, which produces more wealth than all the rest of the Territory togi'lher. is poor. Mr. NOIIISK. Will the gentleman from Storey allow me to interrupt him? I wish to say merely that I am .sorry such a motive as that suggested liy tlie gentleman could have bee. I atiriljuled to me. No thought ever en- t«'red my mind in n-gard to the effect upon Wu.shoe County. My own view of the matter is this — that Storey ('duiity is this Territory. Without Virginia there could be no Wa>hoe and no Carson, and iis \'irginia pio.'ipers so do we pro>pi r. No such idea as that which the geiiiliiii:iM suggests ever crossed my mind. Mr. I'"IT(3H. I am glad that the gentleman bos liiiil no such idea, but nevi rtheless, it is a fact that, while we find Washoe rich ami her representative.s clad in purple and line liuen, driving lilood horses, and drinking champagne cocktails, on the other liand, we find the re- presentativea of Storey County in a .st^te of impccuniosity. [Merriment.] Now, I do not want a blow struck against AVashoe County, lint I want to see some portion of the wealth of Storey County allowed to remain at home. I would like to see the miners of Storey County reaping some portion of the rewards of their toil ; and not only the miners in Storey, but in some other portions of the Territory, in regard to which it is not necessary for me to speak at length. We all know that if we had railroads we should not only be enabled, by the reduction of the enormous tariff of freights and the high cost of food, to get the necessaries of life at a low figure, but also to send a larger amount of our ores to points where water power, fuel and labor are comparatively abun- dant and cheap, and thus we should vastly in- crease the wealth of the Territory. I honestly believe that if the whole three millions of dol- lars here provided for were issued, the first year after the railroad .should be completed it would save three times that amount to the peo- ple of Nevada in the matter of freight alone, to say nothing of numerous other important advantages. Now, as to the assertion that State aid will not build the railroad, I can only say that the Pacific Railroad is now in process of construc- tion from Sacramento in two ditt'erent directions, and is making very considerable progress ; but the managers are impeded in their progress by a lack of money, and by the indisposition of capitalists to invest in the enterprise, because it does not promise immediate returns. Now, if we authorise our Legislature to provide for offering a bounty for the first road which shall cross the mountains to our boundary, it is not to be supposed that they will necessarily go to the full extent of the three millions of dollars, i)ut they may fix it at one million, or two mil- lions, or any other sum they please. The re- sult of that will be, that the most desperate efforts will be made by the rival roads, to get to the State line first, and probably the build- ing of th(; road would be expedited in that way as much as twelve months, or six months, at the very least. I believe it would hastea the; completion of the road a fnll year; and by having the road here one year sooner than it would otherwise come, we should save three times the amount it would cost us. But I will not dilate on this subj>ct at great length, lest members should wish me to die ca'ly. Mr. STUliTEVANT. I desire to ask a ques- tion of the gentleman from Sto:-ey. If we will go for this railroad provi.so, will the gentleman coincide with the views of the Washoe delega- tion in relation to Article X? Mr. FITCH. I think when that article comes up, the gentleman from Storey will be found not very far from the Washoe delegation. Mr. CHAl'IN. It seems to me that the gen- tb-man from Washoe (Mr. Nourse) has entirely overlooked the careful provisions made in this section. This donation cannot be made until the road shall have reached the line of the [5tli day PACIFIC RAILROAD. 171 Friday,] LOCKWOOD — NOURSE — Haavxet. [July 8. State, and I cannot see the philosophy of the argument of the gentleman, when he states that there is every inducement for the man- agers of the road to hold back, and not prose- cute the work until this grant is made. Why, sir, it seems to me there is every inducement for them to hurry up, and put the road through rapidly, so that by reaching the line they may secure this bounty. I think, when it reaches that State line, we shall be in such a condition that we can well aflbrd to grant these three millions of dollars ; and we could well afford to give even five millions, to secure that olyect, and still save money by it. We should be the gainers, by hastening the road one year, upon transportation alone. 1 had thought that there was every possible inducement for them to put forth all possible speed in order to secure this grant ; and, certainly, the amount which the State would save in a single year, will more than twice cover the cost. Mr. LOCKWOOD. I desire to offer an amendment to the amendment offered by Mr. Nourse, and it is one which strikes me as being highly proper. The CHAIRMAN. It will not be in order until the amendment proposed by the gentle- man from Humboldt (Mr. Banks) shall have been disposed of. Mr. NOURSE. I think the Chair is in error. I think the amendment offered by the gentle- man from Humboldt was adopted. The CHAIRMAN. The Chair stands cor- rected ; the amendment will be in order. Mr. LOCKWOOD. I move to amend, by striking out all after the words " charitable purposes." The difference between this amend- ment and that offered by the gentleman from Washoe is, that my amendment leaves in the words, " except corporations formed for educa- tional or charitable purposes." It still strikes out all of the proviso. Now, it is well known that provision has been made by act of Con- gress for donating to this State, when it shall be- come a State, certain lands, for the establish- ment of a State Seminary. If we inaugurate a State Government, the State will be inter- ested in that matter ; and I do not believe we ought to cut the State Government off from the privilege of taking an interest in a corpo- ration of that kind. Now, gentlemen have talked here very flip- pantly and lightly about this amount of three millions of doHars. lu the commencement, how- ever, let me disclaim any motive of hostility to the Pacific Railroad. I think we are all in favor of that enterprise ; but for one, while I would like to be possessed of property, still I do not believe in the propriety of robbing somebody else in order to obtain it. The taxable prop- ety of this Territory amounts, at the present time, to about twenty-five and a half millions of dollars, and there was paid into the Terri- torial treasury last year about ninety thousand dollars for taxes. I am referring now to facts and figures. The interest on this three mil- lions of dollars, at seven per cent, per annum, is two hundred and ten thousand dollars a year, or about three times as much as we re- ceived for taxes last year. Now, Mr. Chairman, a proposition of this kind, under such a state of affairs, reminds me of an anecdote which is re- lated of a gentleman in my county who, it was well known, did not own property to the value of a cent, in the world, but who, one day, supposing himself to be in the last stages of his existence, sent for a lawyer and requested him to draw up his will. The lawyer went on, and the man proceeded to bequeath a hundred thousand dollars to this charitable institution, another hundred thousand dollars to that char- itable institution, a like sum to another, and so on ; and upon the attorney asking him where the money was to come from to pay these mu- nificent bequests, he replied, that it was no matter about that, he only wanted to show his good will. I do not believe that this grant of three mil- lions of dollars would bring the railroad one month sooner into our State than it would otherwise come. I do not believe that the peo- ple now inhabiting this Territory are able, iu addition to the expense of s ipporting a State Government, to pay the interest on those three millions of dollars. These are facts — stern, stubborn facts — and they will stare the people in the face when they come to vote upon the adoption of the Constitution we are framing. Do gentlemen believe that this railroad, which is to cost a hundred millions of dollars, is going to be expedited in its onward course by a paltry grant like this, or that it is going to be retarded for the want of three millions in bimds of the poor little State of Nevada? I am utterly opposed to doing anything of the sort, and shall certainly vote against it. I hope that some gentleman who is advocating the issuing of these bonds will show us how we are going to pay them. Mr. HAWLEY. I wish to say a few words on this subject, and more especially since the amendment proposed by the gentleman from Washoe, (Mr. Nourse.) which I had expected would have fallen stillborn in the Convention, has met with a second. But for that fact I would not have taken occasion to trouble the Convention with any views of my own upon this matter. If there is any one subject which has attracted my attention more than another throughout my life, it is thi.« subject of internal .improvements, and I therefore desire to offer a few remarks in opposition to the views ex- pressed by the gentleman from Washoe. My attention has been called, however, to the fact- that the hour of adjournment has about arrived, and I will move that the Committee rise, report progress, and ask leave to sit again. The question was taken, and the motion was agreed to. IN CONVENTION. The PRESIDENT having resumed the Chair, 172 TPIE JUDICIARY. [6th da5^ Saturday,] Dixxe—McClintox—Sturtevaxt—Tozer— Fitch— Banks. [Jiily 9. The CHAIRMAN reported that the Com- mittee of thf Whole ha.l had under considera- tion Article Vlll. entitled Municipal and other Corporations, had made some progress therein. and had directed him to ask leave to sit again. The report was accepted, and leave was granted accordingly. Mr. BROSNAN gave notice that the Judici- arv Committee would meet this evening. bo motion of Mr. DkLONG, at Ave o'clock, the Conventiou adjourned. SIXTH DAY. Car-sox, July 9, 1864. The Convention met at nine o'clock, A. M., and «as called to order by the President. The roll was called, and twenty-eight mem- bers responded to their names ; those who failed to respond being Messrs. Ball, Fitch, Fol- sora. Haines. Jones, Kennedy, Morse, Parker, AVarwick, Wellington, and Williams. Prayer was offered by the Rev. Mr. Riley. The journal of yesterday was read and ap- proved. On motion of Mr. DUNNE, leave of absence was granted to Mr. Warwick until Monday aftt-ruoon. Mr. McCLINTON. I wish to statu the rea- son, of the absence of my colleague, Mr. Wel- lington, as a matter of justice to him. I am informed that he is so much indisposed as to be unable to be here. Mr. STL'RTEVANT. My colleague, Mr. Fol- Bom, al.«o is quite unwell, but I think he will be here, nevertheless, in a short time. Mr. TOZER, from the Committee on Engross- ment, reported that that committee had care- fully corni)ared the ordinance, prcamljle, and Article I of the Constitution, entitled Declara- tion of Rights, and found them severally cor- rectly engros-sed. On motion of Mr. DkLONG, the ordinance, preamble, and Article I, were ordered on the general lile. JLDICIAKY SV.STE^f. Mr. DUNNE offered the following resolution, which wa« read by the Secretary: — Rfxolrrtl, That a coniiuittco of five be appointed by the Chair, Vt lete a railroad to the State hue con- necting' this .State with the navi^'able waters of Califor- uia, or with the navigable waters of the Mississippi river ; but no law to issue bonds shall be effective, unless sanctioned by a vote of the people. It is this concluding clause that prevents any waste, or any lavisli expenditure, and that is the clause that obviates every reasonable objec- tion. It is not that we foist it upon the people, not that we say the Legislature shall do so and BO ; but we .say to the people of Nevada that if they themselves will it. then they sliall have the power to enact it in this particular case — and why? That the State may be developed, and that we may take that stand which we ought to take, as one of the foremost States of this Union. The gentleman from Washoe (Mr. Nourse) refi-rred yesterday to tiie case of Minnesota, but there is a practical dilference in our case. Minnesota is an agricultural State, and between ber and the great waters are a great nlany oth- er agricultural communities, which could un- the wisdom of the people who have called us together here. And a great and mighty people shall in their wisdom long continue to sanction and applaud the measure which I now have the honor to advocate. Mr. DkLONG. With much that was said by the gentleman who has last spoken I fully agree, for the reason tliat it accords, in my judgment, with the results of the observations and investigations of every tliinking man. Cal- ifornia, our sister State, started out fifteen years ago in the race of empire, attended by the most glowing promises of a glorious future that any young Slate ever had before it. It had an unparalleled wealth of agricultural soil, mineral possessions claimed to be unsur- passed, and a population composed of people drawn from every quarter of the globe, repre- senting the enterprise, the intelligence, the in- dustry, and the bravery of all the nations on the earth. It had a seaboard which promised to unite the commerce of the Indies with Amer- ica, if not with the entire globe. With all these advantages held out before her, Califor- nia, I say, .started upon the race of empire a few years since, with the most glowing promise and prospect of a brilliant future unfolding be- fore her. Yet, strange to relate, to-day she is der-3'11 her in any of the markets of the world i the poorest State in the Union — without credit because of her greater distance from them, at home or abroad, with more poor men in her She could not compete with the State of Illi- midst, with less of public improvements, with nois or Iowa, or with others closely connected I less of all of which a State may well feel by a railroad system with the great lakes and 1 proud, than any other State in all the sister- riva>t, which, if we were to draw from them everythinj; iu the fhapc of mom y except their gold' and -silver, would have left a dollar ai)icce lur all the inliahitants. England would not have it, nor any nation of Europe ; and there is not a nation or a State on the glohc. outside of California, and Orr'.sron, and this Territory. th;it would have it. And what would be the r-'sult iu other communities, if they were sud- d lily reduced to a specie currency ? Why, sir, enterprise, business, industry, internal improve- mi-ntri — everything would be forced to stand still. The interest on money would be en- hanced beyond all bounds, and not a railroad or a canal would be built. I say, then, reach the difficulty, aud apply the remedy, in another dir. ction. You cannot encourage and assist these great enterprises by ajipropriations of this cliaracter. Even three millions of doll rs is but a drop in the bucket iu the building of that road, and vhen you reduce that amount down to less than one million, as I contend this, in effect, would be reduced, because we have already limited the intere.-t to seven per cent., which is a Ijeg^arly rate of intirest here, it will be of no jierceptible advantage whatever, to the en- terprise. Men in this country would not buy those bonds. They will not be such fools as to invest in seven per cent. State bonds, when they can get three or four times as much for the use of their money ; and we shall, there- fore, be CJinptlled to seejv Eastern ca])ital. And then what would ))e the result ? Why, your own people, although really lending no substantial aid to the railroad, would, never- theless, be obliged to assume t!ie responsibility of paying this interest. That burden would come upon your State, upon the back of the cuireni ("xpi-nses ever)' year. We do not wish to be called upon to pay the interest upon bonds to that amount, unless, in some way, we derive a corresponding benefit. I do not be- lieve the bonds would ever sell for more than fifty cents on the dollar, payable iu greenliacks, in New York, and yet the Slate of Nevada woulil have to pay the interest on the entire amount of th,- Imiids, amounting to several liu.idred thousand dollars a year. I say the loss to the people is too great to be compen- ^at.■d \,y the hope of advantages held out iu tlw anticipation of this road getting here a little stjoncr. Now there arc two railroad enterprises which liavi; be<;n fo.-tered by the General Government. Thi-y are rivaling each other, and both striving miglit and main to reach the i)0rder of our niMV State, not for the .sake of any premium which we are i-xp' cted to hold out, but for the sake of securing iheir own support by the peo- ple of Nevadi. as well as the support of the people where those roads are building. Let them go on and run their lines across the coun- try, and across the mountains, just as fast as it Ls possible for them to do so ; and they will build them no faster, sir, on account of any aid which we here can bestow. They will work just as hard without it. and then you save to Nevada the three millions of dollars with which you are now asked to saddle her in her infancy. You can hasten these roads luore, as I have al- ready said, by striking a blow in another di- rection — by giving us some currency other than coin. The moment you do that — I do not care whether you give us greenbacks or bank- ing institutions — you make the country rich and prosperous, because you reduce the rate of interest, and force money into the market, to bo loaned at so much per month, to be used in the building of railroads and canals, aud all sorts of public improvements, in addition to the opening and developing of our mine.'. That is the way to reach and to remedy the evil — by striking a blow at this infernal cent-per-cent. This is a subject upon w hich we ought to gain wisdom by our knowledge of California — by our experience as citizens and as pioneers there. That experience tells us that the men who laid the foundations of that State ; the men who pre- pared the foundations upon which to build up a great and magnilicent State ; the men who opened the roads to the mountains and lu'ought water from the streams to the placers ; the men who built her cities, who prepared and improv- ed her farms ; tho.se men, the early and adven- turous California pioneers,have generally gone from our sight, or are beggars or paupers to- day. And who is it, I ask, that has reaped the rewar.l of their toil ? Who are they who are living in the fine houses which those men reared to be the homes of their families? They are these threc-per-cent. money-brokers — the men who crawl into their little narrow dens ten feet by twelve ; men who never built a house thera- .selves, and never employed a laborer ; men who never did anything to develop the country, ex- cept to make otiier people pay two and three per cent, per month for the use of their money. They have loaned their money in that way, and have rolled it over and over, gobbling up every thing, until the poor pioneer was stripped of all he hiid. turning it over to these drivers of liard bargains. Many of that class of men have found their way here, and arc now driving the same hard bargains throughout our Territory, and playing exactly the same role. Are we to place ourselves in the hands of those men? I say give us a different fate from thai. Let us adopt what all the world, except California, has dioided to be the part of wisdom to adopt, and that is a paper currency. Let us allow these paper evidences, or representatives of currency and value, to circulate, and then a few mi'u who have happened to get hold of all the g(jld and silver in the land Avill not be able to play into each others' hands in such a way as to crush down any and every mau whom they may choose to crush. 6tli day.] PACIFIC RAILROAD. 183 Saturday,] DeLoxg. [July 9. Two or three men in San Francisco hare ! really had the State in their power ever since j California was a State. And Nevada Territory, with all her enterprising merchants and busi- ness men, is equally in the power of those men who know how to crush and ruin business at any moment they please. And I believe they are pressing us even now. They go to work upon an elaborate system. They allow a man to pledge his stocks in the banks, and then to draw about twenty per cent, as a loan secured by his stocks in the mines. They continue that very liberal system until every man whose necessities bring him within their power is em- barked, and every man's stock pledged, and then, by a secret combination and understand- ing, they shut down, and every one of their victims is forced to go into Montgomery street with his stock. Once they get the stock into the market, these men gobble it up, as they did the fine farms and the big stores and ware- houses, and other property in California. That is what is going on all the time, and it is the natural result of an exclusive gold and silver currency. If we want railroads, if we want these men to come out with their money and make investments in railroads and other enterprises, we must have ottyjr representatives of value to answer instead of gold and silver as a medium of exchange. Then we shall apppreciate and enjoy the full value of the home article, for the production of which men are toiling and ex- hausting their bodily strength here in our midst. Now this idea of submitting the proposition to grant aid to the people, is no doubt a very good thing on the stump, when we are going to talk about it before the people. It is all verv fine on paper. Why, sir, that clause pro- j viding for submitting to the people of the State j the question, whether or not they will vote this three millions of dollars, at the time of elec- tion would be so far lost sight of that you you could get fifty men to vote for it on condi- tion that fifty others would agree to vote for a favorite candidate for constable. If every political party would, by agreement, put " Rail road Contribution — Yes,'' on their tickets, then it would be universally voted for, and scarcely anybody would notice it during the flection ; and if, on the other hand, by a like agreement, they put " Railroad Contribution— No,'' on their ticki'ts,then it would be as universally voted down. People, in the time of an excited election, would pay no attention to such a matter. It is not that which people get excited about. The burdenfallslightly upon each one, and the voter thinks but little about it, or if he thinks at all. his reflection is, that what he pays is but a trifle, not worth minding ; consequently there is no strife on the subject. The strife is only for the success of the party, or the election of favorite candidates. I say, then, that this talk about submitting it to the people is all hum- bug and bosh, because the people will not pay attention to it at a general election. If you wish to obtain a fair vote upon that proposi- tion, provide in your Constitution that it shall be submitted as a separate question, at a time when men's minds are not excited over a general election, or about the success of this or that officer to be elected, and then, by their votes, the people will show their honest senti- ments on that question, because they will vote with their attention directly called to it, and with nothing to distract such attention. It strikes me that we should not willingly and knowingly, with the lessons of the past before us, and the knowledge that these railroad com- panies will do all they can to carry such a proposition before the people, trust the decis- ion of the question to the hazard of a general election, at which other important issues must be decided. It is a fact which gentlemen must recognize, that these companies will labor zealously, because they will have a great inter- est at stake, while it is nobody's business in particular to oppose them. It is said that this appropriation will hasten the building of the road, but I do not think so. They are building the road now as fast as they can build it, and they could not hurry it at the present time, no matter how much money might be at their command, for the simple reason that they cannot, for love nor money, oljtaia rolling-stock fast enough. There is a lack of that material, owing to the necessities of the Government ; it cannot be furnished fast enough. Railroads are building and have been built throughout the South for our mili- tary lines. The cost of rolling-stock is there- fore very heavy, but these railroads are buy- ing it up at any cost, when it can be had, and shipping it out here. They cannot do it any faster than they are doing it, and in my opin- ion, we shall have the railroad here just as quick without this constitutional proviso as we shall with it. Now, sir, I would vote in favor of a provis- ion granting aid to this railroad in one way, and that is. to provide that this money shall be taken and used to commence a section of the proposed line of road, on either of these routes across the mountains, and complete it as far as the money would carry it, on that proposed line, within this State. I would go for that most heartily, because that would help us some, while I insist upon it that this provision would not help us at all, but, on the other hand, that it would crush the State down into absolute bankruptcy. It will subject us to enormous taxation in order to pay this interest of two hundred thousand dollars a year. Where do gentlemen expect this money is to come from? Let them figure a little on our ways and means. We shall have to pay the salaries of our judges and other officers of State, and we shall have to pay the current expenses of the State, and you may add to that twenty-five thousand dol- lars a year as interest on our public debt already accrued. Then if you issue these bonds, you depreciate your State scrip, and start off 1^4: PACIFIC RAILROAD. [6th day? Saturday,] DeLoxg — Collins. [July 9. on your career of State prosperity with scrip at tweiity-live or thirty cents on the dol- lar, and not taken at that, except by those otfict-rs who are oblijied to take it in lieu of money. I say it wonld destroy us as a State, and I am willing to run any risk there may be of bein<( called an old fogy on account of my opposition to tbis measure. liut I am not opposed to the constructioa of the railroad. No man in the world lives or Ijreathes who can say that be has a more glow- ing hope of the grand results to follow in the fu- ture, from the construction of a railroad across the mountains, tluin I have. 1 regard it as an achievement which should be sought after and labored for by every man who loves his couuti-y and hopes for its prosperity. It is the great want of our State. It is what will give us un- bounded prosperity, and therefore I am in fa- vor of it ; but I say that this loan will not aid it in the least, while it will ruin us in the effort to pav it. Mr' COLLINS. I certainly should not have risen to make any remarks upon this question, but for the very ingenious speech of my friend, the gentleman from Washoe, (Mr. Nourse),aad tlie very enthusiastic remarks of my colleague from Storey (Mr. DeLong.) I do think, how- ever much the gentleman who last spoke ap- plauds this great movement for the construc- tion of the I'acific Raiload. which is to unite the two great oceans of the globe, however much he thinks we ought to endeavor to use our influence in behalf of that enterprise, he is opposed, practically, to our exercising any such influence in its behalf. Mr. DeLONG [in his seat]. Ob, no, I am not. Mr. COLLINS. Now, all that the gentleman from Waslioe (.Mr. Nourse) said in regard to railroads in Minnesota may be true, and there may be reasons wliy it should be true, though to a certain extent I doubt their applicability to our own case. There may be reasons why people in various parts of the country have suftlred on account of railroad^. I have, my- self, known of hundreds and hundreds of indi- viduals, who, in their enthusiasm, have sub- scribed to the stocks of railroads, and have been ruined thereby; but I would say to gen- tlemen of tbis Convention, that I know of no community where a system of railroads has ever been thoroughly e.-tablished, which coin- nuiiiity woulil consenl to exchange those rail- ruads lor the amount of money which they cost. Take, for instance, the State of Illinois, and louk at the advantages which she has derived from railroads. I grant that subscribers to the stock of lho.se railroads may have sulb-red much, but the public, as a wiiole. has d< i ived y,v<-.il bcm-lils from them. Take, also, for an- other in.-.taiic'.'. the internal iniprovL-menls of the State of New York. It is notorious that about the time of the opening of the great Erie Canal, which unites the lakes with the wa- ters of the lIudMju River, a little distance from Utica westward, property was com- paratively worthless ; but the moment this communication was opened, that property ac- quired great value, and it added immensely, too, to the value of all the property of Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, and Western New York, and what was the immediate result? Why, it gave such immediate and immense advantages to New York, that Pennsylvania was forced, in self-defence, to open a canal between tide-wa- ter and her own western boundary. And look at the advantages which have been derived from these lines of coramuuication , by New Y'ork, Pennsylvania, and the great West. These pub- lic works, of gigantic proportions, at once util- ized the idle lands of the western wilderness, opened up improvements, and founded towns and cities so rapidly, that in a short time there was a necessity for more rapid intercommuni- cation between the markets of supply and con- sumption, and for increased transportation. The Albany and Buffalo, or what is more common- ly known now as the New Y'ork Central Rail- road, was the offspring of this necessity. A similar result followed the construction of the Pennsylvania Canal— the union by iron rails of Philadelphia with the Ohio River, and by that with the great valley of the Ohio. The compe- tition of the Northern route became so great, and property rose to such great value on these lines, that another railroad was contemplated and has been constructed between tide-water and the city of Erie, on Lake Erie. Now, the gentleman from Washoe, (Mr. Nourse.) yesterday told us that the New York and Erie railroad was suspended, or its con- struction baffled and delaye'd, in consequence of State aid. I think the gentleman's memory must have failed him on that subject. He may not have designed to convey that idea, possi- bly, aUhougli, certainly, his language did con- vey it. The managers of that New Y'ork and Erie Railroad commenced it with the idea that six years time, aud three millions of dollars, were all the time, and all the money, that would be necessary to secure its completion. The stockholders paid their three millions, and it was all absorbed, but the road was but fairly commenced. In consequence of the hard times, nothing further was done until New York ap- propriated three millions more. That, too, was e.xhausted without completing the road, and finally, instead of building the road in six years, as was projected in the outset, it required seventeen years, and instead of costing only eight or nine millions, as at first contemplated, it cost the round sum of seventeen millions of ilollars. But the road was eventually com- pletid ; and I ask the gentleman if New York, and Pennsylvania, aud Ohio could be induced to exchange that railroad, or to tear up the rails, and prevent their operation, for twice the cost of the road? I certainly believe they would not. In New York, all the property along that route has risen, since IS.oO, from lifty to three hundred per cent, in value. Gth day. PACIFIC IIAILROAD. 185 Saturday.] Collins. [July 9. I wish to call the attention of gentlemen to | certainly ; but now three years and a half this point: They contend that the railroad , have elapsed, and they have only about twenty- will be constructed, wliether we give it our j five miles completed. I do not believe the road help or not. I have no doubt of it ; but the ! will be completed for several years to come, question is, whether the offer of an appropria- 1 because the conformation of the country, and tion of three millions will not be a great ad- ] its geological structure between here aod Cali- vantage and assistance, and greatly hasten the j fornia, is comparatively utilinown. It is a terra completion of the road. Much has been said ; inccgnita. They hardly know whether the road relative to the impossibility of securing the ; is to pass through trap, or talc, or slate, or investment of capital. It is not to be expected ' gravel, or hard blue rock. But the greater the that the capital is coming from California, difficulties to be encountered, the more earnest where the percentage is so ruinously high ; or \ should we be to press the work forward to an from Nevada, where the percentage is still j early completion, because it is with us a matter higher. But in proportion as the value of a > of absolute necessity. railroad challenges the attention of the capital i I regard this proviso as practically offering of the globe, in the same proportion will the ! a premium, in order to hasten the railroad, capital of the globe run in the direction of that , Now let us look at the influence naturally and railroad. The very fact that the Constitution I necessarily exerted by premiums. A premium is of Nevada gives the Legislature permission to subscribe three millions of dollars to the stock of this railroad, will inspire the capitalists of New York, and all the Easterii States, and the capitalists of Europe, with the idea that there is, really, value in it. My colleague has stated that the Vallejo and offered, for instance, by ao association, for the best essay on a certain subject, and what is the result ? It stimulates hundreds, and perhaps thousands of men, to turn their attention to that particular suliject, and before you are aware of it, piles of manuscripts may be accu- mulated, some of which may be of great value. Marysville Railroad could not be built. That | California, by her Legislature of ISGl, offered may be true, but is there any analogy between i premiums upon certain agricultural produc- that road and this? This is something which i tions, and what has been the result? The is, iu reality, a national afl\iir, and something, also, which is absolutely indispensable to our very existence. Nothing can be said like that. farming interest has been stimulated to the rearing of tobacco and cotton, and the other productions for which premiums were offered, in relation to the road to which he has referred. \ and, consequently, new sources of wealth have As the gentleman from Lander (Mr. Warwick) 1 been developed. They also, at the same time, has said, every tiling in Nevada, in the way of offered premiums on certain manufactures, and living, is held at almost starvation prices. We in less than two years, manufacturers have have to pay immense freights and profits on come up and received the prizes for all those everything we consume. Here we are hemmed | manufactures, from the hands of the govern- in by mountains on the east, and hemmed in by j meut. I mioht extend these illustrations in- the Sierras on the west, and freights to any part of our Territory range from three to ten cents on the pound, and. at the more remote points — at Lander, and Ilumljoldt, and Esme- ralda — they are very much augmented. Mr. BROSNAN [iu his seat]. From sixteen to twenty-five cents. Mr. COLLINS. Yes, sir, as much as that. Now, I ask gentlemen if there is not an abso definitely, but I think sufficient has been al- ready said, to show that a premium will have a tendency to cause men to press on with greater vigor and energy. If, by this means, we can hasten the building of a railroad across the mountains, it is clearly for our interest to do so. As I have intimated, I do not believe that the railroad can or will be brought ^\iihin our Territory in less than six or eight, or. perhaps, lute necessity for this railroad. If those who j even ten years, and if we can advance it, or are managing its construction are pressed for i shorten the time, as much as one yi ar, that will money, is there not a necessity that we should j certainly more than conipen.'^ate us for this ap- aid them as far as we can ? I believe that ne- 1 propriation of three millions of dollars. I cessity will exist, for I do not believe that the ; have yet to learn, Mr. Chairman, where any engineers, or anybody else, can tell within ten j system of internal improvements has ever pen- rQillions of dollars what will be the cost ofjetrated any section of the country, east or building the line of raiload across the nioun- [ west, north or south, and that section of the tains to Nevada, nor do I believe that they can j country has not been benefited. The real estate, tell within five years, how long it will take to] and all other property in such sections of the build it. Our warmest hopes are, that it will I country, have invariably been increased from be built in three years, while some maintain ' twenty-five to fifty or one hundred pt r cent, in that it will take five, and others, that it will take j value. I refer as illustrations of this universal as many as ten years to get that road through, j rule, to the Erie Canal, to the Pennsylvania Ca- I remember that when one gentleman was here, some time ago, when the road was first pro- jected, he wanted to induce me to procure subscribers to the stock on this side, and said that the road would be built within three years, nal, to the New York Cenfral Railroad, to the Erie Railroad, and to that railroad which crosses the Green Mountains, and by that route connects Boston with the great West. And allow me here to refer to one interesting 186 PACIFIC RAILROAD. [Gth day. Saturday.] Gibson— Collins— DeLoxg — Chairman- Hovkt. [July 9. fa?t. I renioniber distinctly, tlmt after New York had Sfciind the trade of the West by mean* of her railroads to the Hudson River, down which that trade was carried through- out the year, with the exception of a fev; nio'iths in the winter season, Boston ingen- iously tapped that commerce at Alliaiiy by mean's of the Western Railroad, and during the winter months inana;:ed to carry it about all oft". New York suffered Immensely in conse- quence, and New York in self-defense had to create a companj- to open a railroad direct to Albany. And they are employing that rail- road successfully at tlie present day. and thereby protecting themselves against the en- croachments of Boston. And I ask if the prop- erty all along the line of all these railroads ha.s not been immensely augmented ia value in consecjuence of this construction? 1 repeat, therefore, that however much rail- roads have injured individuals, they have always benetited the public. I do not, lor one, pretend to say that this Pacific Railrond is going to fill the pockets of its stock-holders. although it may look very plausible at present. "iet. even if it ruins the stock-holders, it is nevertheless going to benefit ttiis State and the nation. If the ai)i)ropriation of tljree millions of dollars s^all prove to be a dead loss to the Territory, so far as the money is concerned, it will nevertheless benefit the Territory in the end. to the extent of perhaps flfty or a hund- red millions of dollars. My colb-ague from Storey (Mr. DeLong) has told us huw much advantage was to be derived from the construction of a railroad that should Btrike tlie Sierra Nevadas, running from the more populous portions of our Territory, and entering the mountains at some point where water and wood may l^e liad in abundance. I say that simple f.ict itsilf should be sufficient to induce us to use all thi' iiilhi'Mice we can to push forward this work in order to bring our- eclves ill direct communication with the moun- tains. I presume that millions upon millions of tons of i|iiart/, in Storey County are regarded to-day as utterly worthless, which, if such com- munication were opened, would enrich the owners, and give employment t(} thousaiidsand tens of thousiinds of lal-oring men in this Ter- ritory. All th'y need is to have a railroad to convey it to some i)oint where wood and water are abundant. And we have other advantages to consider. Look at th(.> enormous expense of freights. amounting, according to soin(!. to six millions. and according to othe one of the grandest and most sul)lime move- ments of this or any age. Those vast monu- ments which now stand as the especial wonders 6th day.] PACIFIC RAILROAD. 187 Saturday,] Collins — DeLong. [July 9. of the world, from the pyramids of Egypt down, I tbiuk, will sink into insignificance by the side of this great, this stupendous under- taking, which is ultimately to give the com- merce of the globe to the people of the United States. Every community, every people, that has ever had the control of the commerce of the Indies, has been enriched by it. It has gradually and surely given to every such nation the broom that swept the ocean. And we can see no reason now, since the opening of this silver laud, rich in silver and gold, which are the great commodities clamortd for by the East, why we should not obtain and secure the entire control of the commerce of the western islands of the ocean, and of India, and of China. I therefore look upon this Pacitic Railroad, and the ultimate rliect of its operations, as an en- terprise which should challenge the entire con- fidence, nay. more, the enthusiastic support of every American, and much more of every citi- zen of Nevada. As I have already remarked, we ourselves are hemmed in by mountains. We are depend- ent entirely upon the slow progress of wagons, of ox, mule and bull teams to communicate with the Atlantic, or to connect ourselves with the Pacitic. We have heard here, (and I was glad to hear it), that the enormous capital necessary to carry on the business transactions of this State, would be lessened by three-fourths if we only had a railroad across the mountains. That is undoubtedly so, and that proportion of the capital now employed in our busi- ness operations would then be unlocked and ready fur investment in other departments of material progress and development. Our heavy merchants now have to lay in for the winter, stocks of goods to the amount of a hun- dred or two hundred thousand dollars each, whereas if we had a railroad communication with California, twenty or twenty-five thousand dollars at most would l:»e sufficient for every practical purpose. That would be an immense reduction ujion the investments necessarily made at the present time. Is not that a consid- eration wortiiy of our attention, and worthj' of the consideration of every individual in this Territory? More than that, I say that a means of rapid communication between Nevada and the Atlantic or the Pacific coast, so far as re- lates to personal transit, would be an immense advantage. A railroad communication from this Territory to the Atlantic or the Pacific, would lessen the expenses of this Territory, and thereby increase our facilities for doing busi- ness, to the amount of many millions of dollars a year, independent of the millions upon mil- lions that would be saved in consequence of the reduction in freights. Now we are dependent upon California for all our machinery. Not- withstanding the very extraordinary tariff of from three to ten cents per pound, we have been unable to establish foundries here to any considerable extent, and therefore, practically. we are dependent entirely upon California. We are dependent upon that State also for our breadstuffs, for our clothing, and to a certain extent, even for our fuel for carrying on our mining operations. How very important it is, then, that we should adopt measures liy which we can place ourselves in direct communica- tion with the Golden State. I was remarking that this premium which we propose to offer, would operate to stimulate this railroad company. I do not absolutely know, liut I am strongly impressed with the conviction, (although I would not like to ex- press a positive opinion at present.) that the amendment suggested by my colleague from Storey, (Mr. DeLong,) which would forbid the giving of any portion of this money to the company until the entire three millions shall be expended in our own Territory, would op- erate rather as a check upon the construction of this railroad, than as a stimulus. I think, if we give three millions of dollars when they shall have completed the road, and stocked it with rolling-stock to the State line, it will be as much as cau be expected from us, and, per- haps, no more than we ought to do. I would like to have it distinctly understood, however, that these three millions of ours shall not be ap- plied to furnishing the road with rolling-stock. When that amendment shall be made, and an- other amendment, which I hope will be pre- sented — not that it is of any particular value, but simply to prevent the enemies of the State Government from harping upon it before the people — then I hope this section will pass. I am impressed with the conviction, that how- ever important this enterprise is to our very existence — to our very life as a community — there will l^e, nevertheless, men passing through- out the State during the canvass, who will en- deavor to impress upon the people the idea that this provision is mandatory upon the Le- gislature — that it requires them to loan three millions of dollars — and that therefore tlie peo- ple must pay the interest on that State loan, from and after the time when their State or- ganization enters upon its existence. The CHAIRjIAN. Will the gentleman al- low me to suggest that that argument was used last fall. Mr. COLLINS. I am aware of it. Now, sir, I would not use the word '• State," where it is first used in the proviso, but rather the word '• Legialature," for that word "State," would imply the idea that the State is now organized, and it will be contended that, by virtue of the Con.'^titution, the Legislature is compelled to take this action. I would say, rather, that the Legislature mav, if the interests of the State shall require it,'is,sue these bonds. That would prevent all the pettifogging aliout the Legis- lature being peremptorily required to do it. Why, I have no doubt that men will be found on the stump advocating tlie idea that in law, the words " the State may," means, '• the State shall." Mr. DeLONG. That amendment has been 188 PACIFIC RAILROAD. [6th day. Saturday.] Coi-Lixs— DeLoxg— DcxNE— Earl. [Jhly 9. made already. I think it was made yester- day. Mr. COLLINS. I must have been a Rip Van Winkle, then, for I certainly was not aware of it The Cn.VIRMAN. I think no such ainend- meiit wiis niii'li' yesterday. Mr. DkLOXG. Tossibly I am in error about it. Mr. COLLINS. I do hopa that we shall make everythinjr in this Constitution so clear and plain, that there can be no opposition to it on tlic ground of ambi'ruity, and. at the same tiiiu'. that we shall make it as \)v'wS as is con- sistent with its perfection and its perspicuity. I feel that the time has arrived when we need a State Government ; but I should be very sorry to see this whole clause, permitting the State to loan her credit in aid of a railfoad, stricken out; or, on the other hand, to see any geuL-ral clause adopted, permitting the State to loan her credit, witiiout restriction, to any very great extent. I do think it important, so far as that is concerned, that the Legislature should be restricted. But in respect to this great movement, this grandest scheme of our age and nation ; this nieasnre which the people are cl.imoring for. and iiave been clamoring for at the very top of their lungs for the last fifteen years ; this measure that has been carried through, by the greatest effort, in the Congress of tiie United Slates at Washington, over the opposition of those who are hostile to all im- provements tending to tiie benefit of tlie free State.'; — I do hope, now that the Federal Gov- ernment has taken hold in earnest, now that Congress has made litjeral donotions of land and money, now that the government has shown its liberality Ijy pr'rmitting the company to issue its own Ijonds to take precedence of tlie Itonds of the United States, standing re- spoiisilile for the payment of tlieir interest — I do hope. I .say, that the people of Nevada will also Ije willing to take hold, and give to tliis enterprise an earnest support, in cooperation witli the Federal Government. I think that our refusal to do so at this tini", when it has been lirought liefure ns, would tend more to cripjile that company, than many millions of dollars would aid it. I think that the opera- tion of such a refusal would be to discourage capi»alists, l)ecause tliey know our peculiar lo- cation, and they know that no people in the World conhl enjoy such benefits and privileges, resulting from the success of an enterprise of this kind, as the people of Nevada. Ttiey know tliat N'-vada is dependent upon tliis railroad for all she consumes, and, to a great extent, for the shipment of her mineral wealth. They know tliat such a road would enable us to transport our richest ores to a region where they might bi; rednced at comparatively little expense. Knowing all tiiese things, they would feel that if tin' people of Nevada would not in- tcH'st th'-mscUes— if they would not, under careful regulatious. restrictions, and safeguards, first by the action of the people through their Legislature, and next by the sanction of the people, after such legislative action, give aid to sue!) an enterprise, then it nuist be some- thing in regard to whicii they should, certainly, be careful, and in which the investment of their money would be a matter of doubtful pro- priety. Why should the State aid the Pacific Rail- road ? Why, sir, tliis enterprise has been before the people of these United States for fifteen years. Thousands, if not millions of people, have manifested their interest in it; and yet, for fifteen years, it has been languishing and never has been started, and, probably, would not have been, for at least fifteen years to come, but for the aid of the General Govern- ment, whicli has been so liberally bestowed. It is an enterprise too great and mighty to be left entirely to individuals. Now, to return one moment, and I do not mean to repeat my- self— Mr. DUNNE [interrupting]. I am very sorry to rise to a point of order on this question, but I think the discussion had on this subject, has been of tliat character which it should only take when the question comes before the peo- ple, or before the Legislature. It has been a discussion of the propriety of making this loan, and that is a question with which we here have nothing to do. Now, as the gentleman has oc- cupied twice the time allowed by the rules, as we propo.se to adjourn at twelve o'clock, and hold no further session until Jlonday morning, and as it is very desirable to have the article passed to its engrossment, so that we may not bu kept waiting for it — I will not make any point of order, but would call the gentleman's attention to the necessity of coming to a vote immediately. Mr. EARL. I hope the discussion will take as wide a range now as each and every mem- ber desires, because of its iniportaiice, and be- cause the discussion has already taken a very wide range. Mr. COLLINS. I should be very sorry to bore this Convention, but I do look upon this as one of the most important questions that can come before us, and I do hope, therefore, that the discussion will be allowed to take a ! wide range, and that every member will be al- I lowed to express himself freely and fully upon ! it, so tliat we may pass this jirovision, if we do {pass it, with the distinct and perfect under- I standing of each and every member of this Convention. ! Now, 1 desire to call the attention of the Convention to the very ingenious opposition which has been made to this measure by my I learned friend and colleague (Mr. DeLong). I He has raised the bugliear of the rates of iii- I tere.st, as an argument in opposition to our ' giving aid to the railroad. Now. if I were to I present to this body one reason which I believe to be stronger than another, wiiy the rates of ; interest should be cut down, and wLy it would 6tli day.] PACIFIC RAILROAD. 1S9 Saturday,] Collins — Fitch — Nourse. [July 9. be cut down, it would be the introduction of a I experience in railroad matters, that it will take railroad into the State of Nevada, connecting much longer to complete this road across the us with the outside world. Because that would mountains, than gentlemen may suppose. I tend to develope our resources more than any- 1 have had a good deal of experience in rail- thing else that could possibly be devised. Just road matters, having always talcen great inter- in proportion as our resources are developed, ! est in them, and contributed as liberally to aid and our products — our rich ores and our bul- \ them as I was able to afford, and never yet lion — -find their markets, in the East, in the | have I been forced to regret the efforts I have "West, and in Europe, just in that proportion made in their behalf. But my experience will the attention of capitalists be challenged j teaches me to anticipate that this Sierra Nevada to the region of country which produces such 1 range of mountains, which the Pacific Railroad rich products. The cupidity and avarice of j must cross, will } rove to be an obstacle requir- capitalists will be stimulated, and, consequently, ; ing a longer time to surmount than we have, capital will rush to this country for investment, ] at the present time, the least conception. I and the rat-tat tat of mills will be heard by I fear it will take as many as ten years, and I thousands, where they are heard now only by j should not be at all astonished if it required scores. All these causes would operate in our ; fifteen, although it may, possibly, be ac- favor ; and before we were aware of it, our complished in six or seven years. But, I ask, State would be flooded with money, and it ' are we to be deterred from giving this privi- woull be cheap in proportion to the extent of lege to the people of Nevada of aiding that its abundance among us. I agree with my col- 1 road, whenever it shall have surmounted thac league, that the system which exacts such a , obstacle, simply because in Storey County our heavy per centage of interest, is a great draw- J attorneys happen, at this particular time, to be back to any country; but I believe that a rail- tied up. and likely to be so until next Novem- road would be able to attract the attention ber? The probability is, that before the rail- of capitalists hither, to such an extent as to , road shall be completed across those mountains, lessen the rate of interest, and a railroad, j we shall be in a condition of great prosperity, therefore, is one of the best, readiest, and most i A revolution may transpire, and prosperity effective means of lessening it. | may return, in this fast age, before we are Now, there is another point to which I desire called upon to issue those bonds, or before we to refer, and that is, the hard times. My friend j are ever called upon by the Legislature to de- and colleague was very earnest upon that point. ; cide at the polls, whether or not we shall grant I see he is suffering, to some extent, under a fit this aid. of the blues, and I want to give the Convention j And again, suppose the times should be hard, a little of the rationale of it. We have law- and suppose that the Legislature should fail to yers in our county so numerous, that it is said ' pass a bill to provide for granting aid to this rail- two of them are obliged to ride on one and the i road if the people shall desire to do so. The gen- same mule. [Laughter]. They have a calendar tleman tells us that the road will be built just iu the couit there, which has nearly four hun- ! as soon without this aid as with it ; and suppose dred cases upon it, but by reason of the ab- i the Legislature shall come to ihe conclusion sence of our judges, at the time specified by that the people are really unable to lend this law for the session of the courts, those cases '\ three millions of dollars. Why, in that event, cannot be tried, and these gentlemen, being ' the Legislature would doubtless refuse to pass thus virtually tied up, are exceedingly poor. I the bill, or even if they did pass it, it is still Under these circumstances, they feel that the ; left for the people to decide, and the people whole community, which is really alive with ' may reject it. The only question here is, shall activity and business, is sympathising with I we deny to the people the privilege of granting them. They think that the whole community this aid, whether they are able to grant it or is suffering from poverty and embarrassment, simply because they are poor. not. For one, I say I want to give them that privilege ; and I say we do injustice to the Now, my colleague talks to us as though he ; people of the State, and injustice to the enter- expected these three millions of dollars would i prise, by refusing our influence, our moral be calkd from the State at once ; but, on the ; influence, at least, in support of this great en- contrary, the section before us contemplates ! ttrprise. I am grateful to the Convention for that it will not be called for until the State ; the audience it has given me, and I will occupy line is reached by the railroad ; and my col- no more time ou this important subject, league need have no fears that the road will be j Mr. FITCH. I desire only to say this: The extended to that line for several years to come. | argument of my colleague, (Mr. DeLong'), if it But he is now disposed to protract that time j proves anything, proves too much. He says, three or four years longer, by providing that j very correctly, that capitalists will not invest the three millions of dollars propo.sed to be i in railroad enterprises, because they can re- loaned by the State, shall not be expended on ! ceive larger rates of interest in other invest- the line of this great railroad, which is to unite 1 ments. Now, if that be the case, then clearly the two oceans, until it shall have reached our [ the only way to build the road at all is by pub- own Territory. Now, I verily believe — and 1 1 lie aid. am sorry to be forced to believe it— from my Mr. NOUKSE. I have but a word to say 190 PACIFIC RAILROAD. [6th day. SaturJay.] HOVEY — E.VKL. [July 9. upon the nmcudment. When the question Comts up upon my iiuieiulinout, striking out the chiuse, 1 .-ball ask for the closing argu- nn-'iit, as is customary. I believe, iu such cases ; but just uow. 1 merely wish to call attentiou to one clause iu the proposed ameiulment, and that is the phnuse— " any railroad." It pro- vides that the Legi.-;lature may issue bonds, etc., to •■ any railroad." I suppose that cannot be construed otherwi.se than as applying to a duZ'.'U railroads, if so many should be built. 1 dfsire to call especial attention to that. When the word " some " was used, it confined the ap- propriation to the one railroad ; but if yon ful)stitute the word " any," then, if one rail- road gets it, it may be demanded by any and all other railroads. Mr. IIOVEY. I will insert in the amend- ment the word" one," so that it will read, "any one railroad." Mr. EAllL. This discussion has taken a very wide range, but I should regret, as I remarked a short lime ago, to see it dropped wh( re it is. I think many uf us do not understand the amend- ments olfered. and many gentlemen are in doubt as to what action they ought to take in that mitter. There have been able and ingen- ious speeches made on the subject on both Bides. Now, so lar as I understand the amend- meut, it anticipates the expenditure of capital in crossing the Sierra Nevada mountains, if necessity shall require it, and 1 fully concur in that amendment. I would not be so selfish as to desire to check the progre.ss of the railroad at any particular point, merely because some portion of our money might be expended be- yond our Slate lines. If my own particular views could have been consulted, I w'ould have said that we should give the railroad com- pany three milliotis whenever the road shall I reach a certain point, and wluni it reaches the [ Suite line, near Crystal Peak, three millions j more. That is a basis which we might witli propriety act upon, and not cut ourselves olf' Irom doing anything to aid in s curing a rail- road conununicatiou. The working of our mines would be advanced by securing this rail- road communication, to an extent almost be- yond imagination, and it is inii)0ssible to estimate the lieiufit which would result to the liilxjring classes from the development of the poorer chiss of mines. As to the State investing in stock, that question with me is not a matter of argument. So far as such investments go, 1 say. hhow me a case where such investments have ever proved to be good investments. I have yet to learn of such an instance ; allhoutrh I have observed the fluctuations of stocks for a long [)eriod of time, I have yet to see where the lirst investment of this kind in a railroad enlerpri.se has proved to be a good investment. But that is not the jioiiit. These enterprises are a great help to a certain class of people, to wit, the laliuring class, and they are of im- mense importance in the develo](ment of a country. I remember that, in Indiana, before there were any internal improvements, the farm- ers were selling their corn at six, eight, and tea cents per bushel. Then a canal was constructed and the price rose to two bits per bushel ; and then the railroad came along, and it rose at once to fifty and seventy-five cents a bushel. That was the work of the railroad iu that State, although the investments in the railroad may not have proved the best in the world. Now it is said, I know, thai " a buint child dreads the lire,"' and it may be that in Minnesota the working of their system of internal improve- ments was bad ; Ijut, nevertheless, it does not follow that such a system will be bad here. We do not propose to offer aid to any particular road, but we propose to offer a premium to the road that shall be first built, so as to give ua communication with navigable waters. They are to build the road first, and then they will get the premium. The beneficial results arising from the policy of giving premiums have already been re- j fcrred to, and illustrated by the fact that it has stimulated the production of certain articles in [California. The correctness of that illustra- ; tion I can verify from a circumstance within : my own knowledge. In Tehama County, where ! I resided formerly, no tobacco was raised, but I a large amount of it has been grown there re- j cently, in consequence of the premium offered ' by the State of California. And the same ben- j eticial results have been obtained iu California by this policy in regard to manufactures. That I is the true way to develop the resources of a country. The General Government has taken hold of this enterprise iu that spirit, and made lib- eral donations, and now are we to stand looking on like stupid ''old fogies," afraid of sacrificing a single dollar for fear we shall never get a re- turn '! That is not the proper way to do busi- ness. I have seen men start out in business in a small way, and never increase their business for fear of a failure. They would go plodding on, doing a small and safe business, trusting that by and by, in some way they might rise. Perhaps they might do so if they lived long enougli, and perhaps, on the contrary, they might die of old age before they would achieve that success, which more enterprising men are dailj' winning. Now. if we invest in this enterprise six mil- lions of dollars, or three millions, as the section stands now, would we ever get any adequate return ? That is tlie question. Let us look at the practical working of this matter, in a busi- ness point of view. Suppose our investment builds a single mile of tlie road, will it not hasten the completion of the entire road that much ? If we get the road one year sooner, in consequence of our investment, then, during that year, we get our supplies, our wood, and our timber for the mines, at greatly reduced cost, and we are enalded to work a class of roek which we cannot now work at all. We shall get our freights, and everything else so much cheaper, that the difference will be more than sufricient to pay the interest on our invest- ment. Gentlemen say that the interest amounts 6th dt\y.] PACIFIC RAILUOAD. 191 Saturday,] Earl — Hovey — Lockwood. [July 9. to too much for the State to pay, and they apk, how can we raise this amount of $210,000 a year? Why. sir, the little city of Virginia incurs expenses every year, ainouutinn; to $200,000, and are we to stand here and say that this Territory, or this State, as we hope it is shortly to become, cannot raise $210,000 a year ? We have to pay the expenses of not only Virginia City, but of Storey County also, which is another very considerable item. Then we have the expenses of the city of Gold Hill, for that is a municipal corporation, too, and that constitutes still another considerable bur- den which has to be borne by the inhabitants of Storey County. Altogether, Storey County pays for county and municipal governments about $000,000 annuallj^ And yet they tell us that the whole State of Nevada cannot pay this interest, amounting to only $210,000 annually. It seems to me that such an assertion is perfectly absurri, or, at least, that gentlemen who make it, must have lost sight of the real wealth of our Territory. They propose that we shall move along slowly, something like the old ,=tyle of doing business. I say, we have too much of life and energy for that. Now, sir, iu relation to sustaining a State Government here, look at the advantages which would be derived in a business point of view. It must be obvious to every business man that it will clear away the clouds that now seem to overhang our prosperity. Men will see that the amount expended by the State Government will be returned ten-fold in the course of trade. And, sir, it is equally plain, to my mind, that the money expended in aid of this railroad, will be the best investment the State can make. It will give a great impetus to our mercantile business; and, if it does somewhat increase the taxes to be paid for the support of our Government, the increase of trade will be more than sufficient to compensate for that. There is no question but that this railroad is a paramount necessity for us, and now is the time to build it. I have thought, for months past, that if we are to become a State, we ought to take hold, shoulder to shoulder, and push forward this great enterprise. I think we should offlr a premium for building the road a given distance, and then another premium when it reaches another certain distance, and then, in three years time, it seems to me — I may be wrong as to the time, but I hope not — the raiload may be finished down to the foot of the mountains on this side, if not even to the city of Virginia. I estimate that in one year the county of Storey pays to Washoe County alone, enough to build a railroad from Virginia to Washoe City. I have no hesitation in say- ing, that the amount we pay annually, in freights, for timber and wood brought to the cities of Virginia and Gold Hill — for the entire amount of wood and timber that we use must come from the Sierras after another year — would be sufficient to build a railroad over that route. I have not the slightest doubt of it. Then the water-power with whicli we should be conmcted, would be another very great item in the working of our mines. Again, look at Lander and Humboldt counties, where there are thousands of mines which cannot be opened, whose vast resources must remain undeveloped, merely for the want of trans- portation. In view of all these advantages to be derived from the railroad, ought we, for fear of a little State debt— for fear of the expenditure of this comparatively trifling sum of money— to withhold our assistance from this important work ? It Avould be much better to take hold of it now, and put it through at once, like sensible, enterprising, energetic business men. Mr. HOVEY. At the suggestion of the gen- tleman from Washoe, (Mr. Noiu'Sf.) that my amendment may be more clearly understood to refer to but one railroad. I will modify it, so as to read. " to some one railroad," instead of " to any railroad." The CHAIRMAN. The Secretary will make the change. Mr. HOVEY. The object of this amendment is, to give to the people of the State a chance to say whether they will give a half a million, or three millions, or any other sum under three millions, towards the building of that tunnel, the greater part of which, I understand, lies in California. Mr. LOCKWOOD. I do not wish to occupy more than three minutes, but I think the dis- cussion thus far has been very unfair to the opponents of this measure. Gentlemea on the other side have undertaken to argue that we are opposed to the Pacific Railroad. Why, sir, in the beginning, I distinctly disclaimed any hostility to the measure, and I think, if I had time, I could give cogent reasons which have not b(en adduced in favor of that enterprise. Since I came to California, it has been the dream of my ambition to do something, and to do every- thing in my power for the promotion of this one great enierprise. The Pacific Railroad will make San Francisco, on the Pacific coast, what New York is on the Atlantic. I believe it will bring the wealth of the world teeming along that gi-eat national highway. It will secure to us such a commerce as tliat which has built up New York — such a commerce as that which, in ancient times, built up Thebes, and Carthage, and those other glorious old cities, whose mem- ory and fame live in the traditions and records of the past. But while I fully believe this, I must be allowed to say that I do not believe ia the mode in which it is now attempted to pros- ecute this enterprise. I lay down this proposi- tion, that I do not believe it will facilitate the construction of this road one iota to make this loan. I do not regard this question as being one of such great importance as some gentle- men seem to look upon it, because I trust the people ; but I do not believe in cumbering our Constitution with anything which is to be a 10-2 PACIFIC RAILROAD. [7th d^. Monday.] EvKL—LocKwooD—FrrcH—HovEY— Gibson— Dlxxe—Mlrdock. [July 11. nallity. I am in favor, first, last, and all the time, of doinsr anything that we consistently can do to fuvor the pni.«ccution of this gn at national wurk ; Imt I thinlv that when a gen- tleman rises here, as one gentleman did on a previous oceasion, and tells us that two or three thousand people in Virginia City are unable to pay tlie paltry sum of two dollars a year as a p^ll-tax. for the sake of eonsistcncy, he .should not rise the next day and tell us they are able to bear the burthen of still higher taxation. I hope the gentleman from Storey will remember his poverty-stricken constit- uency in his advocacy of this measure. I hope the lieporter will put down my remarks on this subject, not that I am at all anxious to get into print, but because I want it i)ut plainlyon the record that I am in favor of the Pacific hailroad. and that in opposing this measure I am not seeking to defeat or hinder that enter- prise. Mr. EARL. I suggest that it is important to put the gentleman down as being in favor of the racilic Railroad, because from his course h' re his constituents would certainly class hira among those who are agaiu.st it. Mr.' LOCKWOOD. I should not have said a word further upon this subject, but for the fact that almost every gentleman who has risen here in advocacy of this proviso, has taken the position that we who have o])posed it are against the Pacific Railroad — atlea.?t that is the plain inference from reading their speeches, as published by the reporters. Mr. FITCH. I think the gentleman is in favor of the Pacific Railroad, something in the same manner as the Democrats are in favor of the Union, at the same time that tliey are opi)Osed to all measures for its preservation. Mr. LUCK WOOD. Now, Mr. Chairman, I hope that we shall come to a vote on this pro- position. I do not desire to launch out into a speech to show the great benefit of this Pacific Railroad : how it would enable the Government to move armies readily, and so preserve the peace of the republic on the Pacific sliores, and all that. Nobody disputes the fact that the road would be of immense advantage, not only to us, but to the entire nation, and therefore I do not prcjpose any thing of that kind. I be- lieve it ought to be the primary object of every politician, and of every man who desires to promote lh<' welfare and the success of our Government, to aid, as much as he can, in the construction of that work. I believe that the national aid ought to be extended to it, but I do not believe in inserting a clause in this Con- stitution to the ellVct that the Legishiture are going to leave it to the people of Nevada to de- cide whether they shall contribute three mil- lions of dollars towards it or not. They cannot give it if they would. lUit I will not further prolong my remarks, because I presume that I am belter (pialified for tiioving the jiu;k-plane, than for making speeches before such a body as tblH UouvcQllou. Mr. HOVEY. In order that the gentleman from Washoe (Mr. Nourse) i7iay have the op- portunity wliicli he has asked, to close the de- bate on this proviso, on Monday, I now move that the Committee rise, report progress, and ask leave to sit again. Mr. NOURSE. I hope we shall first vote on this amendment. The question was taken on the motion to rise and report progress, and it was agreed to. IX CONVENTION. The SECRETARY reported that the Com- mittee of the Whole had had under considera- tion Article VIII, had made some further pro- gress therein, and had instructed him to ask leave to sit again. The report was accepted, and leave was granted accordingly. Mr. FITCH. I would inquire if it is under- stood that the resolution to adjourn over till Monday was passed. The PRESIDENT. Yes, sir. It was re- solved that when the Convention adjourns at twelve o'clock, it adjourn to meet on Monday, at eleven o'clock. Mr. FITCH. Then I move that the Conven- tion do now adjourn. The question was taken, and the motion was agreed to. Accordingly, at five minutes before twelve o'clock, the Convention adjourned. SEVENTH DAY. Carson, July 11, ISG-i. The Convention met at 11 o'clock, and was called to order l>y the President. The roll was called, and the following mem- bers responded to their names : — Messr.«. Brady, Brosnan, Crawford, DeLong, Dunne, Folsom, Frizell, Gibson, Ilawley, Kin- kead, Lockwood, Mason, McClinton, Murdock, J'arker, Proctor, Tagliabue, Wetherill, and the President — P). Mr. GIBSON. As there is no quorum in at- tendance, I move that we take a recess until one o'clock, P. M. I name that hour, because Langton's stage, wliich will bring most of the members from Virginia, will not arrive until about tliat time. Mr. DUNNE. I move a call of the House. Mr. GIBSON. I do not see the use of that. Mr. MURDOCK. I have been requested to ask leave of absence for Mr. Beldeu. He will be here in the stage at noon. Mr. DkLONG. This clock is a little faster than my time, however it may be with others. Mr. BRADY. I ask leave of absence for Mr. Earl. Mr. DUNNE. I object to granting leave of absence to any one. We have no quorum, and we cannot do it. 7th day.] THE ORDINANCE. 193 Monday,] Fitch — Proctor— Dunne — Collins. [July 11. The question was taken on the motion for a call of the House, and it was agreed to. Mr. FITCH made his appearance at the bar, presented his excuse for being absent, and was excused. Mr. PROCTOR. As there is now a quorum. I move that further proceedings under the call be dispensed with. The question was taken, and the motion was agreed to. On motion of Mr. BRADY, indefinite leave of absence was granted to Mr. Hudson. On motion of ^Mr. MURDOCK. leave of ab- sence for the day was granted to Mr. Belden. On motion of Mr. DUNNE, leave of absence for one day was granted to Mr. Banks. Prayer was offered by the Rev. Mr. Nims. Messrs. Banks, Collins, Chapin, Hovey, Hud- son, Nourse, and Sturtevant appeared and took their seats. The journal of Saturday was read and ap- proved. EVENING SE.SSI0N.S. Mr. DUNNE. Pursuant to notice, I move that the resolution fixing the hours of sessions of this body be amended, so as to read as fol- lows : — Jiesnlved, That this Convention shaU, until otherwise ordered, meet at nine o'clock, A. M., (Sundays ex- cepted,) and continue in session until noon, at which time a recess sliall be taken. It shall meet again at two o'clock, and hold its session until five o'clock, P. M., at which time a recess shall be taken until seven o'clock, P. M., of the same day. This amendment shall be in force on and after Tuesday, the twelfth in- stant. There are two advantages to be gained by adopting this resolution as our standing rule. One is, that we shall liave an evening session, and gain an additional hour at the noon recess; ' the other is, that as it does not go into force ' until to-morrow night, the Chairman of the Ju- ' diciary Committee is allowed one more chance of getting that committee together, and I hope he will succeed to-night in doing so. The question was taken, and the resolution was adopted. THE ORDINANCE. The Convention proceeded to the considera- tion of business on the general file. The Ordinance in relation to Slavery, Reli- gious Toleration and the Public Lands, was read a third time, as follows : — In obedience to the requirements of an act of Con- gress of the United States, api^roved March 21st, A. D. 1804, to enaV)le the people of Nevada to form a Consti- tution and State Government, this Convention, elected and convened in obedience to said Enabling Act, do ! ordain as foUows ; which ordinance shall be irrevoca- ble, without the consent of the United States, and the people of the State of Nevada : — First. That there shall be in the said State of Ne- vada neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, other- wise than tor the ijunishmeut for crimes whereof the party shall have been duly convicted. Second. That perfect toleration of religious senti- ment shall be secvired, and no inhabitant of said State shall ever be molested in p>erson or property on ac- count of his or her mode of religious worship. Third. That the people inhabiting said Territory M do agree and declare that they forever disclaim all right and title to the unappropriated public lands lying within said Territory, and that th<^ same shaU be, and remain at the sole and entire disposition of the United States; and that the lands bclonKiUK to tlie citizens Of the United States rosidiuj,' without the said State, shall never be taxed higher than the land belonging to resi- dents thereof; and that no taxes shall be imposed by said State on lands or property therein belonging to, or which may hereafter be purchased by the United States. Mr. COLLINS. I observe that there is a slight discrepancy between the Ordinance as read by the Clerk, and the Enabling Act. The Ordinance says, there shall be in tlie said State [ of Nevada, " neither slavery nor involuntary I .servitude otherwise than for the punishment ' for crimes whereof the party .«hall have been I duly convicted." I regarded it merely as a clerical error, and therefore hud changed the j word " for " to the word " in," so as to read, j " otherwise than in the punishment for crimes,'' which is in accordance with the language of the Enabling Act. As this is to be the official copy, I think we had better make it conform exactly to the words of the Enabling Act, and for that reason, and that there may be no infor- mality about it, I move that the -word " for " be stricken out, and the word •' in,'' substituted, so that the clause will read : — " That there shall be in the said State of Nevada nei- ther slavery nor involuntary servitude, otherwise than in the punishment for crimes whereof the ijarty shall have been duly convicted." By unanimous consent, the Secretary was directed to make the alteration. The question was taken by yeas and nays oa the final pa.'sage of the Ordinance, and the vote resulted — yeas, 28; nay.s, none — as fol- lows : — I'eas — Messrs. Banks, Brady, Brosnan, Chapin, Col- Uns, Crawford, DeLoug, Dunne, Titeh, FrizeU, Fol- som, Gilison, Hawley, Hovey, Hudson, Kinkead, Lockwood, Mason, McChuton, Murdock, Nourse, Par- ker, Proctor, Sturtevant, TagUabue, Tozer.Wetherill, and Mr. President — 28. Xaya — none. So the Ordinance was passed. TUE PREAMBLE. The preamble to the Constitution was taken up and read a third time, as follows: — PREAMBLE. We, the peojjle of the State of Nevada, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure its blessings, insure domestic tranquillity, and form a more perfect Government, do establish this Constitu- tion. The question was taken by yeas and nays ou the final passage of the preamble, and the vote resulted — yeas, 28 ; nays, none — as follows : — Teas — Messrs. Banks, Brady, Brosnan, Chapin, Col- lins, Crawford, DeLong, Dunne, Fitch, Frizell, Fol- som, Gibson, Hawley, Hovey, Hudson, Kinkead, Lockwood, Mason, McClinton, Murdock, Nourse, Par- ker, Proctor, Sturtevant, Tagliabue, Tozer, Wetherill, and Mr. President— 28. Nays — none. So the Preamble was passed. 19-i DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. [7th day, Monday,] Dunne. [July 11. DECLARATION OF BIGHTS. Article I. entitled Declaration of Rights, was read a third time, as follows : — ARTICLE I. DKCLAnATION OF RIGHTS. Section 1. All men are by nature free and equal, and have lertaiu inaliouabli' riu'lits, among which are thosi' iif tiijoyiii^: ami defi'iuliiii,' lif,. and liberty; a<> quiriui,'. iiu'-l'<=rty; andpur- BUiug and obtaining safety and happiness. Sec. 2. .-Ul pohtieal power is inherent in the people. Government is instituted for the proteetion, security and benefit of the people ; and tUey have the right to alter or reform the same whenever the public good may require it. But the paramount allegiance of every citizen i.s due to the Federal Government, in the exer- cise of all its constitutional powers as the same have been or may be defined by the Federal Judiciary, and no power exists in the people of this or any other State of the Federal I'nion to dissolve their connection therewith, or perform any act tending to impair, sub- vert, or resist the supreme authority of the Govern- ment of the I'nited States. The Constitution of the United States confers full power on the Federal Gov- ernment to maintain and perpetuate its existence, and whensoever any portion of the States, or people there- of, attempt to secede from the Federal Union, or forc- ibly resist the execution of its laws, the Federal Gov- ernment may, by warrant of the Constitution, employ armed forcein compelling obedience to its authority. Sec. 3. The right of trial by jury shall be secured to all, and remain inviolate forever ; but a jury trial may be waived by the jjarties in all civil cases in the manner to be prescribed bylaw; and, in civil cases, if three- fourths of the jurors agree upon a verdict, it shall stand and have the same force and effect as a verdict by the whole jury : provided, the Legislature, by a law passed by a two-thirds vote of each branch thereof, may require a unanimous verdict, notwithstanding this provision. Sec. 4. The free exercise and enjoyment of re- ligious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed in this State; and no person shall be rendered incompetent to be a witness on account of his opinions on matters of re- ligious belief; but the hberty of conscience hereby secured shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of bc^ntiousness, or justify prat;tices inconsistent with the peace or safety of this State. .Sec. 5. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be susi)ended, unless when, in cases of rebel- lion or invasion, the public safety may require its sus- X>enHion. Sec. 6. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor shall cruel nor unusual punishment be inflicted, nor shall witnesses be un- reasonably detained. Sec. 7. All persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, \inles8 for capital offenses, when the proof is evident or the presumptiov. great. Sec. 8. No person shall be held to answer for cap- ital or otherwise infamous crime, (except in cases of imi>eachmeut, and in cases of the militia when in ac- tual service, and the land and naval forces in time of war, or wliich tliis State may knvp, with the consent of C ingress, iu time of peace, and in cases of petit lar- ceny, \imli?r the regulation of the Legislature,) except on presentment or indictment of a grand jury; and in any trial, in any Court whatever, the party accused shall be allowed to appear and defend in person and with counsel, as in civil actions. No person sfiall be Bubj<-it to be twice put in jeopardy for tlie same offiaise ; nor shall he be compelled, in any criminal case, to be a witness against himself, nor be dejtrived of life, lib- erty, or proi>erty, without due process of law; nor shall privaU; jiroperty be taken for pulilic u.se without just compi-nsation having been first made or secured, ex- cept in lascB of war, riot, fire, or great public peril, in which I ase c impensation shall be afterwards made. Sec. 9. Every citizen may freely speak, write, and publish liis seutimeuts on all subjects, being rcspousi- ble for the abuse of that right ; and no law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press. In all criminal prosecutions and civil actions for Ubels, the truth may be given in evidence to the jury ; and if it shall appear to the jury that the matter charged as libelous is true, and was published with good motives and for justifiable ends, the party shall be acquitted or exonerated. Sec. 10. The people shall have the right freely to assemble together to consult for the common good, to instruct their reiiresentatives, and to petition the Legis- lature for redress of grievances. Sec. 11. The military shall be subordinate to the civil power. No standing army shall be maintained by this State in time of peace, and in time of war no ap- propriation for a standing army shall be for a longer time than two years. Sec. 12. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quar- tered in any house without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, excejit in the manner to be pre- scribed by law. Sec. 13. Repre.sentation shall be apjiortioned ac- cording to population. Sec. 14. The privilege of the debtor to enjoy the necessary comforts of life shall be recognized by wholesome laws, exempting a reasonable amount of property from seizure or sale for payment of any debts or liabilities hereafter contracted ;> and there shall be no imprisonment for debt, except in case of fraud, and no person shall be imprisoned for a militia fine in time of peace. Sec. 15. No bill of attainder, ex-post facto law, or law impairing the obhgation of contracts, shall ever be passed. Sec. 16. Foreigners who are or may hereafter be- come bona fide residents of this State, shall enjoy the same rights, in respect to the possession, enjoyment and inheritance of projierty, as native-born citizens. Sec. 17. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, unless for the punishment of crimes, shall ever be tol- erated iu this State. Sec. 18. The right of the people to be secure in their jjersons, houses, papers, and effects, against un- reasonable seizures and searches, shall not be violated ; and no warrant shall issue but on probable cause, sup- ported by oath or affirmation, particularly describing the x^lace to be searched, and the persons and things to be seized. Sec. 19. Treason against the State shall consist only iu levying war against it, adhering to its enemies, or givmg them aid and comfort. Sec. 20. This enumeration of rights shall not be construed to impair or deny others retained by the people. EVIDENCE OF TREASON. Mr. DUNNE. I move to recommit that ar- ticle to a select committee of three, with special instructions to amend .Section 19, by adding thereto these words — " No person shall be con- victed of treason, unless on the evidence of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confes- sion in open court." So that the section will read as follows :— Sec. 19. Treason against the State shall consist only in levying war against it, adhering to its enemies or giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be con- victed of treason, unless on the evidence of two wit- nesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. Before the question is taken on that amend- ment. I desire to call attention of members to the necessity of its adoption, in order that we may be in harmony with the action which the Convention has already taken, in re- spect to other portions of this Constitution. vSo far, the Convention, in its amendments to the Constitution adopted by the preceding Conven- tion, has shown a dispo.sitioa to exercise a lib- 7th day.] DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. 195 Monday,] Fitch — Parker — DeLong — Nourse. [July 11. eral sp'rlt towards persons who may be charged with treason. This amendment proposes to give to such persons the further protection of requiring two witnesses to prove the crime of treason. That crime is one of the gravest known to the law. I think, without attempting to make any argument or speech upon it — for I do not wish to occupy the time — that the propriety of the amendment will suggest itself to every member, and it certainly will be in harmony with the previous action of this Con- vention. Mr. FITCH. Without entering into any lengthy speech, I desire to say only, that I hope this amendment will not prevail. There seems to me to be no reason for requiring two wit- nesses to convict of this crime, or for extending any special privilege to a person who may be accused of treason, when but one witness is re- quired to convict a person accused of murder. Mr. PARKER. I desire to ask a question. Can a grand jury find a bill, without examin- ing one witness? Mr. FITCH. They can find a bill upon any evidence which will make out a prima facte case. Mr. PARKER. I think they cannot, accord- ing to the laws of this Territory. Mr. DeLONG. I would like to give one rea- son why I think this amendment ought to pre- vail, and that is, that persons are not apt to be charged with, or tried for treason, except in times of war, or of peril to the commonwealth ; and in such a time, when the public mind is greatly excited, when conflicting rumors and alarms are startling the peace of community, it is but a proper measure of precaution to re- quire at least two witnesses to convict a man of this infamous crime. A man charged with the crime of treason — a crime most odious in its character, and most revolting to the hu- man mind — is liable, even before the examina- tion, to labor under the condemnation of the entire community. The cry goes forth against him, and the people demand his blood. It is almost equivalent to a conviction to charge a man with the crime at such a time. It is like charging one with incendiarims when a city is in flames, and when an excited popu- lace are ready to throw him who may be so charged, into the burning buildings. So, in cases of treason, or trials for treason : greater injuries, more flagrant wrongs, are liable to be perpetrated upon a man charged with that crime, than upon one charged with any other crime known in the world. It is for this reason, that the enlightened men of every country, and of every age, have invariably re- quired that two witnesses, at least, to the same overt act, should be necessary to convict a man of that charge. That has been the re- quirement, from the days of King John down to the present time. It is contained in every written Constitution, and in every statutory law relating to the crime of treason. The wisdom of the fathers who framed the Consti- tution of the United States, implanted that pro- vision therein, and the wisdom of those who framed the Constitutions of the several States of the Union, has been manifested in the adop- tion of the same provision. And why. then, should we, in entering upon our political exist- ence as a State, in this time of national peril, when there is revolution in progress, when every man's soul is in arms, when party feeling runs high, when we have now actual rebellion in our midst, when we have men amongst us known to be in opposition to the Government, and all who sympathise with the Government — why, I ask, should we at such a time, in draft- ing our fundamental law, omit that wise pro- vision, that humane and judicious safeguard ? I say if we omit it, we are treading the path of uncertainty, at a wrong, a dangerous period. At any time, it would be an innovation against old-time usage and custom, much to be dreaded, and it is much more so at the present time. I earnestly hope that the Convention will treat this as a sob mn and serious matter, as it cer- tainly is. We are now making a fundamental law for the future— a law which is to live and be in force for generations after we are sleep- ing in our graves. Let us, therefore, enact such a law that when the terrible charge of treason is made — and against whom it may be made, we cannot foresee — that whenever that charge shall be made against any citizen, con- viction shall only follow upon the testimony of two competent witnesses. Such has been the universal law of every civilized nation on the face of the globe ; and I hope, therefore, that this Convention will adopt the amendment pro- posed by the gentleman from Humboldt. Mr. NOURSE. I do not lay much stress upon the necessity of making this section cor- respond with the Constitution of the United States ; for that provides only for the punish- ment of treason against the United States. But in the argument of the gentleman from Storey, (Mr. DeLong), I recognize precisely the same reasons which I tried to set forth, and which actuated me in voting for the same clause when this section Mas under considera- tion in Committeee of the Whole. I am glad to find, therefore, that the sober second thought has brought other gentlemen to the same con- clusion. It is, as the gentleman from Storey says, a crime which is only charged against a man in times of great political excitement. It is altogether a political crime, and the opera- tion of this section, as adopted in Committee of the Whole, would be to place it in the power of any one man to ruin his political opponent by convicting him of this infamous crime of treason. Mr. DeLONG. If the gentleman will allow me, I would like to ask him what he means by "sober second thought?" [Merriment.] I have been in favor of this provision, now of- fered, all along, and have all along insisted, when the matter M'as previously under consid- eration, that there ought to be two witnesses 196 DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. [7 th day. Monday,] Nourse—DeLoxg— Fitch— Pboctob — Chapix — President. [July 11. to convict a person of treason, although I \ dcuined it sufficient to have one witness to one i ov(.rt act, and another to another. I referred ' to the Constitution of California, -which re- quires two witnesses to the same overt act, and ulf-Ted an amendment adopting nearly the same language ; but inasmuch as I could not j per.^uade the Convention to agree with me, I toolv what I regarded as; the next best course. I certainly am in lavor, and have advocated the | renuiriug of two witnesses in order to convict of treason. i Mr. XOURSE. I understood the gentleman I from Storey to oppose this clause, and to con- tend that there should be but one witness to ^ one overt act, and another to another. I am only sorry that ihe gentleman's •' sober second thought " is not as good, or has not been as effectual as I had supposed it was. I therefore withdraw the compliment which I had intended to pay him. [Laughtir.] | Th',' question was taken by yeas and nays on Mr. Dunne's motion to recommit, and it was agreed to — yeas, ID ; nays, 8— as follows : — Veas — Me.ssrs. Brady, Collius, Crawford, DeLong, Duuu'-. irizell, Folsom, Hawley, Hovey, Hudsou, Kiii- keaJ, MoCliutou, Noursi;, Parki-r, Proctor, .Sturtevaut, Ta-iliabiie, Tozer, and Mr. Pri'.-idont— lit. .Vny.* — Messrs. Brosjian, Chapin. Fitcli, Gibson, Lockwood, Mason, Miu'dock, and ■\Vothorill — 8. Daring the voting — Mr. DkLONG. i would suggest to the gen- tleman from Humboldt, and also to the Conven- tion, that if this motion to recommit the article to a special committee is carried, it will t;ave to come up again on another day, and I think ■wo can save a great deal of time ))y suspending the rules and adopting the am ■ndmrnt now. Mr. FITCH. L^t us sec first what is the sense of the Convention. Mr. DicLONG. Then it is recommitted, and no longer within our power to control it. The l'RESn)KNT. No motion is in order during Ihe calling of the roll. Mr. DkLOXG. I think a motion m'ght be made in order, before the vote is announced, and before the article is thereby placed out oi' our power. I do not wish to press the matter, however : I onlv desired to save time. Mr. FITCH. "l think wc had better let it take the usual course. The article can be re- ported hack in ten minutes. The result of the vote having been an- nounced. The I'KE.SIDP:NT appointed Messrs. Dunne, DeLong, and Noiirse as the special committee, to which the article was recommitted. THE GRAND JURY SYSTEM. Mr. I'IKJCTOR. I wish to make a similar motion in relation to Section 8. I move that Section 8 of Article I, l)e referred to a select committee of live, with instructions to make the following aini;ndraent : Strike out the words, 'no person shall be held to answer for capital or other infamous crimes," and insert in lieu thereof, the follow- ing words : — ".\11 criniiual ofifenses shall be tried ujion a com- plaint in writing, made by the prosecuting attorneys of the re.spective counties, without the intervention of a grand jury." Mr. CHAPIN. I would like to hear the sec- tion as it is now, and also as it would stand with that amendment. Mr. BROSNAN. I think the amendment would come in place better after the first two lines. The PRESIDENT. It seems to involve the idea of abolishing the grand jury system alto- gether, and if that be the case, I think it will be necessary to strike out some other language in the section. Mr. PROCTOR. Yes, sir ; I will include in the motion to strike out, the words, " except on presentment or indictment of a grand jury."' Mr. NOURSE. I suppose the intention of the amendment is to do away with the neces- sity of having a grand jury. Now, Mr. Presi- I dent, I am not prepared to say that such an amendment may not be an improvement upon our jury system. The grand jury system has some objectionable features undoubtedly, to- gether with, perhaps, some good ones. But I . suggest, for the consideration of the Conven- tion, that there is a provision of the Const! tu- I tion of the United States which is held to apply, not merely to proceedings of the United Slates Courts, but to all law proceedings in j other Courts, to all cases where a jury trial [ may be had. It is held to be of universal ap- plication. Now, can we run counter to that provision of the United States Constitution? This s. ctioD, as propo.-ed to be amended, says, in effect, that a person may be presented and tried, without the intervention of a grand jury, , by presentment or indictment. But Article V I of the amendments to the Constitution of the j United States, says : — I " No person shall be held to answer for a capital or 1 otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or i indictment of a grand .jury, except in cases arising in j the land or naval service, t>r in the militia when in ac- ! tual service in time of war or public danger." Now the point I wish to suggest for the care- j ful consideration of the Convention is, does j not this proposed amendment clearly conflict with the Constitution of the United States? I j have no feeling about the matter, one way or 1 the other, and as a matter of original prefer- I ence, 1 think I should favor the gentleman's proposition. But it seems to me that we are barred altogether from taking any such action by the Constitution of the United States, which bays, in this unmistakable language, that no person shall be held to answer for crimes which I are capital or infamous without the interven- tion of a grand jury. If it could be so ar- I ranged that persons could be held for crimes I other than those which are capital, or otherwise j infamous, without the interjXKsition of a grand jury, it might be that it would do. 7th day.] DECLARATION OF RIGHTS 197 Monday,] Proctor— Johnson — Brosnan — Hotey — Nourse. [July 11. Mr. PROCTOR. I do not understand that provision of the United States Constitution as appljnng to cases where indctuieuts are brought under State laws. It refers simply to violations of the laws of the United States, and it seems to me that, so far as regulating the proceedings in regard to offenses against the State is concerned, we have a perfect right to exercise full control, without any conflict at all with the provisions of the Constitution of the United States. [Mr. FiTCii in the Chair.] Mr. JOHNSON. Whilst I agree with the legal proposition of the gentleman from Nye. (Mr. Proctor), at the same time 1 dissent from his views as to the propriety of making the pro- posed change. This matter was before the former Convention, and was there the suliject of a good deal of discussion in Committee of the Whole. Now, Mr. President, my judgment is, that whilst that Convention nuide many innovations beneficial in their character upon the jury system which prevails elsewhere, and whilst we have, with proper circumspection, bjen following in the same path, thisparticuh\r feature is oue of too much consequence and importance to justify us in venturing to make any change. I concede that a system author- izing the exercise of inquisitorial powers, by grand juries, is one fraught with evil; but at 1 the same time, I think that the adoption of the ! proposed change would also be productive of evil results. It would leave it in the power of! the District Attorney of any county to prose- cute whonisoevc^r he might think proper, or not to prosecute, at his option. It would be abol- ishing one S3^stem, admitted to be fraught with evils, but only to seek refuge in another sys- tem, abounding in yet greater evils. The differ- euce resolves itself into this — that whilst und'r the one system you have a grand jury of say , seventeen men. and the concurrence of at least | twelve of them — good and lawful cit zens— is ' required to fiud a bill of indictment ; under the | other, oue man alone is sufficient to institute a prosecution against any person. Under the grand jui'y system, it requires the concurrence of at least t\\el»e good citizens to find a bill of in- dictmciit, or to present a person for any offense, while under this newly proposed system, in- stead of requiring the concurrence of twelve j men, one man who may happen to be in the } position or office of Prosecuting Attorney, has it in his power to find what is, in effect, a bill of: indictment, or to make a presentment. Now, sir, I have personally knov/n of in-! stances where grand juries have been the in- struuiMitsof inflicting irreparable injury upon individuals, by means of the power with which they are invested, in the ordinary course of judicial proceedings in courts of justice ; but I can conceive of cases where much greater inju-tice and wrong miglit be perpetrattd through the instrumentality of a single indi- vidual, who, in the capacity of Prosecuting Attorney, should have power to pass upon the i rights of individuals, or upon whatever ques- tions might arise in that connection, without the necessity of securing the concurrence or the united action of twelve good and true men, I or of any other number of men. I hope, there- Ifoie, that the sense of the Convention will be I to I'etain the provision as it now is. j I believe the experiment proposed by this ' amendment has already been tried in one State at least, if not in others. I think the Consti- j tution of Indiana contains a provision of this I kind. It has been stated, if I am not mistaken, : that the experiment is one which has never been tried ; but I believe that in the Constitu- , tion of that State there is no provision in re- spect to a grand jury such as is found in I the Constitution which we have adopted as our basis, and, therefore, it is left open to legisla- tion, in that State, to provide for a grand jury system or not. I do not doubt but that this Convention has the power, if it is deemed proper or necessary, to abolish the grand jury f^ystem ; but I think I can see that the opera- tion of the system proposed to be substituted, might produce results which would cause many, if not all of us to regret, or to have occasion to regret, that we had clothed any one public functionary with this extraordinary power, without proper check or restriction. I cannot i conceive how it would be possible for the Legis- I lature, in the passage of laws under this pro- vision, as the gentleman from Nye has proposed to amend it, to throw such safeguards and re- strictions about it as would prevent the possi- bility, or even the probability of an undue and improper exercise of this power. Therefore, I hope the section will be left as we find it. There have been times when, without a due examination or consideration of this question, I was prepared to think that, possibly, it would not be an unadvisable change. When the former Convention was iu session, I was inclined to favor such a change ; but alter more deliberate reflection upon the subject, and considering it in all its bearings, I have arrived at the con- clusion that it would be, to say the least, an innovation of questionable expediency. Mv. BROSNAN. I shall vote for the motion to recommit the section, but I will not detain the Convention with any extended remarks in regard to it. I should, for myself, prefer, how- ever, if we are going to abolish the grand jury system, to provide in the ameudment that the Legislature may restore the old rule, whenever they may deem it proper. I shall, nevertheless, vote for the recommittal, and leave the commit- tee to whom it is referred to provide for that matter in such way as they may think fit. Mr. HOVEY. There are gentlemen absent nosv, who I know desire to take a hand in this fight, and therefore I hope the section will be recommitted. I refer to the gentleman from Lander, (.Mr. Warwick,) and the gentleman from Lyon. (Mr. Kennedy). Mr. NOURSE. In regard to my objection that we are debarred by the Constitution of the 198 DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. [7th day. Monday.] TozEK — McCrJxTOx — Johnson. [July 11. United States from attempting this experiment, I would say that the aiiulogy which the gentk- mau from Nye (Mr. Proctor) seems to think he has discovered, does not exist in the present case. In the matter of treason, the Constitu- tion of the United States provides that treason against the United States ?hall consist only in adhering to their enemies, or giving them aid and comfort ; and the next clause provides that no person shall be convicted of treason, except upon the testimony of two or more witnesses to the same overt act. The connection shews to what it is mi'ant to apply. Now, in Article VII of the Amendments to the Constitution ol the United States, we find the following lan- guage :— " In suits at common law, where the vahie in con- troversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved." Who ever doubted that that applied to jury trials in all the courts? I happen to have had some practical experience in this matter. because in a trial before a Jus; ice in which I v?as once engaged, the defendant demanded a jury trial, and there was no provision of law for giving it, or rather, there was a provision for a jury of six, while the defendant demanded a jury of twelve. And the verdict against him was set aside by the highest court in the State, simply because of this provision in the Consti- tution of the Uniti'd Stites — because it was held that that applied no less to the process of trials in the .State courts than to trials in the United States courts — that it was a right guar- anteed to every person, no matter in what court, whether State or National, the subject matter was to bo tried. It is construed to be a per.«onal right guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States to every citizen. Now. what is the distinction, so far as relates to the extent of irs application, between that provis- ion and Article V. which says, — "No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise iulamous crime, unless ou a presentment or indictment of a grand jury." It says distinctly, that " no person shall be held," etc. ; it does not say '• in one of the United States Courts ; ■' it does not intimate that it applies only to crimes against the United States ; but it declares, iii most broad, sweeping. and general terms, that it is a right \vhii;h shall bt' preserved to every individual, whether the trial is to be in the State or in the National court.". I would like to know u])i)n what an thority gentlemen so summarily .say that the provision applies only lo trials in United Stales court.s. Do (hey say that the ('onslit\it,ion o) the- United Slates cannot, or does not. guard jier- .sonal rights against any infringi-nieiit, whether l»y State or .National authorities? Do they sav that it was intended only to secure and guard tiie personal privileges of citizens, in such mat- te difliH-d l)y the Federal .Judiciary, and no jiower ex- iKtH in the peojde of tliin or any other State of the Fed- eral Union to diHKolve their connection therewith, or perform any act t<-udiiig to impair," etc. 1 conceive that a pidnt is involved here which agitates ilic minds (d' men all over the I'liion at tliis tini', and that is, whether or not the peojile of a Slate have a right, by their own action, to (leK'rmine the existence of the State, as a SUxte in the I'liion. As this clause now reads, I do Dot think it touch<'s that point. It simply says that the people of the State have no right to dissolve their connection with the peo))le of the United States, or to subvert the authority or the acts of the (Jovernment of the United Slates. That does not reach the case of the act of a State providing for its own cessation, as a State, because, if the doctrine advanced by many statesmen of the I'nion is correct, and 1 believe it is, then if a State, by legislative enactment, or by the action of a convention of the peo]de, such as is here assembled to-day, shall choose, subsequent to the adoption ol' their Constitution, to meet and repeal that Constitution, they may thereby determine their existence as a State. Or, in other words, it is held that the same power which creates a State Constitution has the right to destroy that State Constitution, and end the State organization. Now, under this section, as it is worded here, the positicui is en- tirely temible, that the people have a right to destroy the State organization, aiul the only limitation is the declaration tlrat they have no right to sever their connection with the United Strifes, Mv. DeLONG. How does the gentleman wish to ameiul it ? Mr. DUNNE. I do not wish to amend it ; I only wish to call attt'ution to the fact — for it is a question which is now agitating the whole Union — whether or not the people of a Sta'.e may meet in convention to rescind a Constitu- tion previously adopted. I believe that if the people of a State do so mad an act, it destroys the State Constitution and the State organiza- tion altogether, but it still undoubtedly leaves them, as a people, under the Government of the United States, and in the same position, in re- spect to that Government, that they were in be- fore their organization as a State. That is the only doctrine, as I understand, which is con- templated in this section, upon a strict reading of it ; because, if it be the design to say that the people cannot sever their connection with the State, or destroy the organization of the State, then every one who has studied Lindley Murray knows "that the word " its" should be substituted for the word " their," so as to read : " No power exists in the people of this or any otlicr State of the Federal Union to dissolve Us connection therewith." Of course they cannot destroy ffteir connection, because they are part of the Union ; but if we mean that there is no power to destroy the I'X- isteiu'c of this State, as a State in the I'nion, then we must strike out the word '■ their," and insert the word '• its." [The Phesiokxt in the Chair.] Mr. NOURSH Let us see if the gentleman is giving the correct interpretation. 1 have never ob.-^erved it before, ])ut it strikes me that, as it stands, it oidy prevents tlie jx'ojjle from severing their connection with the State. Let lis see how it will read, leaving out the disjunc- tive, and fdling up the ellip.sis : — " No ijowcr exists in the people of this State, no power exists in the people of any other State iu the Ttli day.] DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. 201 Monday,] DcxxE — DkLoxg— NouRSE — Haines — Frizell. [July 11. Federal Union, to dissolve their connection there- with." ■ — It seems to ine it only limits the power of the people of the State in regard to dissolving their connection with the State ; therefore. I would like to make the amendment suggested by the gentleman. Mr. DUNNE. I am satisfied with the language of the provision as it is ; but I think that mem- bers of the Convention have not generally no- ticed it. AVhen it says, "No power exists in the people of this State," etc., it is referring to the paramount allegiance due to the Federal Government. It says, '• The paramount allegi- ance of every citizen is due to the Federal Government," and then it goes on to say that there is no power in the people of this State to dissolve their connection therewith ; and it goes on further to add, '• or performing any act tend- ing to impair, subvert, or resist the supreme authority of the Government of the United States." I think that it refers entirely to our Federal relations. Mr. DeLONG. I think the section is right as it stands. I have always regarded the Federal Union in the light of a contract between two parties, and neither the State nor the people of a State have the right to destroy that contract, without the consent of the Federal Govern- ment. Mr. NO URSE. This first clause—" No power exists in the people of this or any other State of the Federal Union to dissolve their connec- tion therewith" — that is, with the State, as it seems to me to read — I think is right, as far as it goes. Then the next clause — " or perform any act tending to impair, subvert, or resist the supreme authority of the Government of the United States" — seems to me to cover the other matter, as to their connection with the Federal Union, so that the whole section looks to me to be right as it now stands. Mr. DUNNE. But there is nothing in it to deny the power of destroying the existence of a State as a State. There is nothing what- ever in it which says that the State can not terminate its State existence, while continuing to express loyalty to the General Government, and a desire to continue as a people under the (Jeneral Government. There is nothing it in which reaches acts of secession regarding the existence of a State. Provided a country has once been erected into the attitude of a State, there is nothing to prevent its returning to the condition of a Territory. Mr. NOURSE. Would not that be in contra- vention of the first clause, which says, " they shall not dissolve their connection therewith " — that is. as a State ? And, secondly, if the peo- ple undertook to secede as a State, would not that be an act tending to impair the authority of the United States, which is prohil>ited in the following clause? It seems to me that both are included. First, they cannot abrogate their Constitution as a State, and in the next place, they cannot impair or subvert the supreme authority of the Government of the United States. Mr. DUNNE. I desire to make no change, and unless some one else does offer an amend- ment, there is nothing before the Convention on that point. The PRESIDENT. This colloquy has been a little out of order, of course, but supposing it to be with a view to })roposing some change, the Chair has tolerated the discussion. The ar- ticle is now in the hands of the committee charged with the duty of nniking anu-ndments. Mr. DUNNE. I wish to make an explanation, in order that a reconsideration may be had, if necessary. It is usual, I think, when a subject is referred, that it should go into the hands of its friends, and for my part. I should be opposed to making the report required Ijy the supple- mentarv instructions of the Convention. The PRESIDENT. Will the gentleman allow me to correct him ? The further instructions to which the gentleman refers, were not adopted. MEMBER QUALIFIED. Mr. J. W. HAINES. Delegate elect fi-om Dou- glas County, having t iken and subscribed the oath of office, took his seat as a member of the Convention. Mr. DUNNE, from the special committee to which was referred Article 1, with instructions to make certain amendments, reported the same back to the Convention with amendments in accordance with such instructions, as follows : — Amend Section 3 of said article by inserting in the proviso between the words "of" and "each," the words "all the members elected to;" also amend Sec- tion 19 of said article by adding thereto the words "no person shall be con\'icted of treason, unless on the e^idence of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court." The question was taken on adopting the amendments reported by the committee, and the amendments wore adopted. The question recurred on the final passage of the article, as amended. Mr. DUNNE. I suggest that Sections 3 and 19. having been amended, should, perhaps, be reengrossed. I suppose, however, that there will be no difficulty in considering them en- grossed at this time, and placing the article on its final passage. I will therefore move that Sec- tions 3 and 19 be considered engrossed. The question was taken, and the motion was agreed to. The PRESIDENT. The question is now on the final passage of the entire article. PARAMOrXT ALLEGIAXCE — AGAIN. Mr. FRIZELL. If the President please, and ' with the leave of the Convention, I would like j to make a few remarks on this second section. My reasons are. that if the remarks which have been made by the gentleman from Humboldt, (Mr. Dunne.) should be reported, and go out into the community, they might create some 202 DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. [7th day Monday,] PnOCTOR— HaWLEY— ChAPUJ— DeLONG— KiNKEAD— HOVET. [July 11. misnndtTstandinf!:. and it is well for us all to ] thon.ujrhtv midiTJitanil this article, if we can possililv arrive at a corroct conclusion as to its meaning. I will not occupy more than three minute-s time. ["Leave! leave!**] ] The hmgiiafre hero used is — ! '•All politji-al powtr is iuUorint in the people. Gov- erninciit is iustituttii fer the protection, security, and beutlit of the people ; and thi y have, the right to alter or reform the same whenever the public good may re- quirt' it. But the paramount allegiance of every citi- een is due to the Federal Government." 1 Now. Mr. Trcsident. I take it that this first part . of the section applies to the people of the United States. Then in the latter clause, as read by me. it applies to the people in their individual capacity, in their allegiauee to the Federal (iovernment. ■' But the paramount al- \ legiance of every citizen is due to the Federal Government." Then gentlemen will notice j that this language follows : — 1 "And no power exists in the people of this or any ' other State of the Federal Union to dissolve their con- nection therewith." | Now what is the meaning of that language? It! is treating there of the people in their aggregate capacity — their corporate existence as a State — not a.s "individuals. In the first place, as the section reads, it applies to the whole people as \ a nation — the whole people — and in the next place. Mr. President, it dehnes the personal and individual allegiance of the citizen to the Fed- eral (iovernment. We say here, sir. as 1 under- ' stand it. in language as concise and well defined a.s we could possibly obtain in the English lan- guage, that under our particular system and j theory of government— which is as strong and ' perfect as it can be made — "No power exists in | the jieople of this or any other State of the Federal I'nion " — (evidently, sir, referring to j the people in the capacity of a State or in their j corporate, or aggregated existence) — to dissolve I their connection therewith. That is my un- ! derstanding of the matter, and these are the only remarks which 1 desired to make on the subject. Tlie question was taken by yeas and nays on the final passage of the article as amendeil, and the vote resulted— jeas, 28 ; nays, 1 — as fol- lows : — Yeas — MeRoni. Banks, Brady, Brosnan, Chapin, Col- llnB, Crawford, Defxjng, Dun.ie, Fitt.h, Frizell, Folwom, Oilisou, Haines, Hawley, Hovey, Hudson, Kinkead, Lockwood, Mason, McClinton, JIurdiK-k, Nour.sc, Par- ker, .Sturfevant, Taghabue, Tozer, Wetherill, and Mr. PreHidellt— 2«. yayt — Mr. Proctor — 1. So the article was j)assed. Mr. I'KOCTOH. I would like to explain my vote on this article, if there is no iibjcctinn. I have been (■rinii)ellc(| to vote against the wlldle articlt- on account of the latter clause of .Scf- tion 2, in ndation to jtaramount allegiance : and I have voted against it also on account of the amendment of the jury system, ))y which it is providecl, in Sectir)n '.i, that a verdict may be rendi-red in certain cases by two-thirds of the jury. I voted against it, also, on account of the innovation in the grand jury system, ia Section 8. THE EXROLLMENT. Mr. HAWLEY. I rise for some information. As Chairman of the Enrolling Committee, I feel particularly anxious to facilitate the com- pletion of our work. I have been informed by a gentleman who is probably known to every member, and who is undoubtedly com- petent to judge, that it will require at Ipast two days and a halt to enroll the Constitution. It is important to have the work under way as soon as possible, but it is impossible for the Enrolling Committee to take any action upon it until the Committee on Phraseology shall have reported, so that we may know whether the ordinance shall precede the resolution, or the resolution the ordinance, and so on to the end. We cannot begin the work at all until we understand the order of precedence. Mr. CHAPIN. I move that ,so much of the Constitution as has been already finally passed, be referred to the Committee on Phraseology, with the request that they report at their earli- est convenience. I understand that, upon Ar- ticle II. there is likely to be a considerable amount of discussion. I shall take no part in it myself, but I am satisfied that gentlemen will oppose several portions of it as it now stands, having been adopted in Committee of the Whole. Mr. DeLONG. I suggest that the article which we have already passed, should bo at once ordered enrolled. Mr. KINKEAD. But the phraseology should be first attended to. The question was taken on Mr. Chapin 's motion to refer so much of the Constitution as had been finally adopted to the Committee on Phraseology, with instructions to report at their earliest convenience, and the motion was agreed to. At five minutes before twelve o'clock, the Convention took a recess until one o'clock, P. M. AFTERNOON SESSION. The Convention reassembled at one o'clock, and was called to order by the President. (JIE.STION OF I'KIVII.EGE. Mr. HOVEY. I rise to a question of privilege. When we had under consideration Section ti of Article VHI, I moved to strike that section out, and I see by the report in the Virginia Union, that I am rei)resented as being opposed to liaiikiiig institutions. I wish to be correctly rejucsented in that respect. I am in favor of either giving the Legislature power to pass a general ) soiik' f(>ni]);iiiy — there is n'» kiunvinji who woiilil compose it. nor when that company would accomidish the work. That is my undi'r.-tanding of the amendment oirered liythe gentleman from Storey, and that is my e-pecial ohjection to it. Mr. IIOVICV. I lo(dv upon our position here a« being somewhat like that occui)ied by the city of Hntlalo. in respect to the Great Western KaUroail in t'anada. In order to tap that road. .Bii tliat the city could receive the benefit of it. they appropriated si.\ linndred thousand dol- lars, and they hiid every didlar of tliat ajjpro- priatiiMi out in the province of Canada ; and yet there is no doubt that it was a good invest- ment for the city of Bntfalo. Now, we may fiiitl ourselves in the sanu' position in regard to tliis tnnnel. or deep cut. whichever it may be, by which this road is to cross the Sierras, and it is f(ir that reason that I propose to give the Legislature a chance to subscribe towards the work, or rather, to give the Legislature the power to allow the people, by their votes, to say whellu-r they will give one million, two millions, or three millions, towards building this railroad. Mr. HAXIvS. I had prepared an amendment embracing the same jn-oposition. substantially, as that embodied in the amendment of the gen- tleman from Storey. (Mr. llovey;) but as his was introduced before I had a convenient op- iMirtuuity of offering iniiu'. I intend to support his anr-'iidment. and for reasfins which 1 i)ro- pose. very briefly, to state. I cannot hope to cliange the opinions of gentlemen of this Con- vention upon this sul)iect, because many of them have. donl)tless. devoted much more time ami attention to it than I have : but I deem it jiruper. nevertheless, that 1 should ]iresent to their consideration the reasons wliicli will actu- ate ine in voting. perhai)s in the minority, upon this (pa-stion. Thi- proposition Viefore us seems to me to be ))lain. I liave no disposition what- ever to disguise this (piestion in order to secure the pa.ssage of the ameiidiiu'iit under consider- atidu. upiin anylliing liut a S(piure, straight-for- ward ba^is. and a distinct understanding as to the iiwneH involveil. Gentlenu-n here liave biddly proclaimed that we ought to do nothing tor tiie I'acific Ilailroad that does not invulve the expenditure within the limits of our own State of the entire amount whiih may lie appro]u-iated. Xow, sir. for oui-. I am in fa\or of giving as much as we can in aid of this work, without restricting the cvpcnditure to our own Territoiy, or within our liorders. What we desire most of all is, to Hecuie th< nslructioii of the railroad to our l»orecause we shall have a very I easy grade down hill ; and we may. if we choose, roll down onr barrels of produce, or slide down our l)oxes of merchandise and rna- ■ chinery. Get the railroad through to the sum- i mit, and not only do we have on this side an \ easy grade, that will almost admit of the con- i struction of the rest of the road by the appro- I priation made by Congress, but we have also secured railroad commvuiication to a point I where the necessity will be greatly diminished. j Now, Mr. Chairman, this amendment pro- j ]iose(l bv the gentleman from Storev, contem- plates that the Legislature of the State of Ne- j vada may, in its discri'tion, and with the sanc- I tion of the i)eople, appropriate money or issue : bonds for the construction of this railroad, and I also that the Legislature may providi' that such approjiriation siiall be expended \\iierever j in their judgment is best and most appro])riate, I or where it will best secure the early transporta- tion of freights to this State at cheaj) rates. The heaviest work, it is notorious, is on the other side of the State line. There the most expensive tun- I nels are to be bored, there the heaviest grading i is to 1)0 done, and tlien- the most costly bridges are to be built. Any person who has examined I the reports made to this railroad conii)any, knows very well that when once the railroad reaches the .'^tate line, this State will not neces- sarily be rerpiired to furnish any aid in build- ing it on this side, in addition to the amount approjtriated by the (Jovernment of the I'nited Slates. If. therefore, we desire to overcome the great difficulties, the chief of)Stacles in the I way of this w(U'k, at the earliest practicable pe- ' riod, let us leave this jirovision of the Consti- tution in such a way that the Legislature may, in ^ its wise discretion, contribute the money where it is most wauteil, and not wait until the railroad is comjileted to a ])oint which will plac<' it beyond the necessity of our aid. I hope the Convention will adopt the amend- ment. Mr. IIAWLEY. 1 wish to suggest that the 7tli day PACIFIC IIAILROAD. 205 Monday,] Banks — Hawley — Hovey— Fitch — DeIjOxg. [July 11. amendment ofifered by the gentleman from Storey, does not, as I conceive, fully cover tlie ground. It does not, in my judgment, guard the interests of the State, in the best manner, or secure the best application of the approjjri- ation to be made. If I am correctly informed, there are rival companies which will be likely to strain every nerve to secure, beyond the possibility of forfeiture, the appropriation which the Congress of the United Slates has given, or provided to be given, to the company which shall lirst comply with the terms upon Avhlch that appropriation depends. Mv. BANKS. Will the gentleman give way for a question ? Mr. HAAVLEY. Certainly. Mr. BANKS. I wish to ask, for my own sat- isfaction, and perhaps that of others, whether Congress has really made any appropriation that can be availed of by anybody except this Central Railroad Company ? Is there any pros- pect of any other company whatever securing the appropriation made by Congress? Mr. HAWLEY. That has been a question in my own mind. I may be misinformed on the subject, and entirely in the dark in i"elation to it, but I am told that there is another company now striving to get it. Mr. BANKS. I do not know anything about it ; that is why I asked the question. Mr. HAWLEY. That is the case, if I am correctly informed, and if not, I wish to be set right. AVhat 1 wish to suggest is, that we should not pass this provision in such a form as to re- strict it to one company. I have no objection to granting aid to the company that is going to build the road before they get to the State line, but I think it would be almost a suicidal act to pass this amendment and leave the i:)rovision in such a form as to allow those rival companies to lobby for it (to use the expression of the gentleman from Washoe) in the Legislature of the State. If such a condition of affairs does exist, I suggest that it would be suicidal to pass the amendment, unless the Legislature is restricted to granting aid to that company which shall receive the benefits of the grants and donations made by the Government of the United States. If the assertion made to me, that there is a rival compan3^ has no basis of fact ; if there is no rival to this Pacific Rail- road Company, then it amounts to nothing ; but if there is such a rival, it of course amounts to a great deal. Mr. IIOVEY. I think by the time the people are called upon to vote upon this question, they will have become satisfied as to which road they want to grant the appropriation to — whether to the Central Pacific route, or to the Placerville route. Mr. FITCH. I was at first inclined to sup- port the amendment offered by the gentleman from Storey, (Mr. Hovey), but on reflection I have concluded to oppose it, and one reason for such opposition is, that it is my desire that the sovereignty, and the glory, and the prosperity. and the enlightened and blessed institutions of Nevada generally, shall l)c extended over as large an area as possible. Now, sir, if we pass this section hi such a form as to declare that aid shall not be exteude 1 to the Pacific Railroad until it reaches the State line, then, there being a necessity for doing a large amount of grad- ing, and other heavy work west of that line, as at present surveyed, we are, in effect, offering an inducement to the California Legislature — which they will no doubt see in an instant, and in view of which they will probably not hesi- tate to act— to move the State line sixty miles over towards the Pacific Ocean. [Merriment.] The question was taken on Mr. Hovey 's amend- ment, and it was not agreed to. Mr. DeLONG. I move to amend the section by striking out all after the words " Mississippi River " in the proviso, and substituting the fol- lowing : — "And provided further, that .such raih-oad comisauy shall expend the said amount of three millions of dol- lar.s for the further construction of said road within the border.s of this State ; but no law to issue bonds hereby authorized shall be effective, unless sanctioned by a vote of the people at a special election called for that purpose." Now, Mr. Chairman, that amendment contains but two ideas ; one is, that the three millions of dollars shall not be donated on the bonds issued for that amount, except for the building of a rail- road in this State — that is, whenever the com- pany shall have expended three millions of dol- lars for the railroad, then it will he entitled to the three millions in bonds. The other idea is, that the vote upon the subscription is to be taken at a special election, called for that purpose, so that the question shall not be blended with more important questions, or lost sight of in the ex- citement of a general election, involving a strife for County and State officers. The consequence of such a provision would be, that whoever should vote for the approjiriation would do so knowingly, and thus we should obtain a cor- rect expression upon that vote. It is ti ue that that arrangement is subject to the objection that there will not be so large a vote polled as there would be at a general election, but it has also the merit that every one who votes at all, will vote directly on this one proposition. Now, as to the first proposition, 1 have argued it heretofore, and I do not care aljout again \ r .- senting my views upon it. I think if we leave this section so as to allow the Legislature to make this appropriation of three millions of bonds, without any restriction, the first Legisla- ture we have will find itself beseiged by the emissaries of the companies engaged in loijljy- ing through the appropriation, and no doubt successfully. Then the next movement will be to have the bonds issued immediately, and doubtless they will succeed, also, in that ; and before we get a i-ailroad within thirty-five or forty miles of our borders, these three millions in bonds will all have been issued. Now, the State is poor, having very little taxable prop- erty. These bonds, we must bear in mind, 206 PACIFIC RAILROAD. [7 th day. Monday,] Stcktevant — DeLong — Chapin. [July 11. are to bear so low a rate of interest that they cannot l>e st.ld h.-re. of course, but will have to be sold in New 'iork. or in Kiirope. ami for eiich eurrencv a.-< nuiy then and there be in use. The enrrenev may at that time be more depre- ciated than It i.« t«>-day. and bearinji this small rate of interest of seven i)er cent.. 1 do not im- agine that our biuuls would really brin^'. in gold, more than twenty-five eents on the dollar. 80 tliat out of an apjiropriation of three mil- lions of dollars, the company would derive the actual benefit of only about one-fourth of that amount. Nevertheless, we should find our- gelves three millions of dollars in de])t. upon which we should be oblitred to pay seven per cent, interest annually, with very littb' indeed in the way of taxable" property from which we can derive a revenue to meet it. Now. it strikes me that three luillions of dollars, granted after th<' construction of the road to our own borders, will be just as Iteneficial to the com- pany as it would be if the same amount were aitiM-opriated to be applied for the completion of a road which lies wholly in the State of Cali- fornia, if they are ever coming here with it at all. Besides! we should, in that event, be hold- ing out a powerful inducement to the railroad company to push the road through, and not merely to get it tip to the heavy grades in Cali- fornia', and there stop. It makes it an object to come beyond that ditticult point, and they will build their road on as cheap and econoiuical a plan as will promise to pay, and push it through us rajiidly as they can. so as to get their re- ward. They will get the ai)propriation, too, at a time when the State, l)y the building of the improvements which will be made to connect our mines with water power, will be teeming with industry, when there will be tenfold luore of taxable property than there is now. and con- sequently the IjoikIs will be so much more sale- at)le and availal)le in market. I do not like the idea of tin- gentleman from Humboldt. (Mr. Banks.) of sliding down our boxes and rolling our barrels down the mountains ; and I venture to say, that when the railroad reaches that point. we shall very soon obtain, as the democratic plat- form said in ls.)(I. " sj)eedy and easy communica- tion across the plains.'' tluuigh that, I believe. was supposed to refer U> the celebrated camel route — I'residcnl I{uchanan"s Tacitic Railroad. Mr, STrUTKV.VNT [in his seat]. Do you refer to the Woolly-Horse route ? Mr. I»Ki-(»N(J. No. sir, it is our own platform that I am referring to, I remember that I used t/> talk in favor of it. very fretpiently, on the ftumji. Now, I Hay, as I said the other day, that altliough I was misunderstood or misrepresented then, as bring opposed to the Pacific Railroad, yet I do not believe there is a man in the world who is more in favor of it than I am. 1 see the promise of prosperity, and strenglli.and growth. on every sid<', in its construction anil 1 am as desirous of seeing it completed as any man in the world can be. j{ut,forone, I say that if we are going to expend thi.s money, I would like to .see it applied to building that part of the road which is to be constructed between here and Virginia City, and, .so far as the money would go, towards Lander County. I think that might be done to advantage, on the route of this rail- road, and thereby give us a road which will enable us to reach that chain of mountains which now cuts tis off entirely from the outside world. That would unlock our resources, giving us ac- cess to water power, and supplies of wood, for the want of wkich our enterprises are now withering. I hope gentlemen will not insist on forcing u])on us the burden of building this road before we are able to bear it, and that they will allow us to reap some benefit from the appropriation, whenever it is made. My colleague (Mr. Fitch) has just shown me an aiuendment which I am willing to substitute in place of my own. It is a substitute for the whole section. It suits me very well, and if there is no objection. I will ask that it be read. The SECRETARY read as follows : — Sec. 9. The State shall not donate or loan money or its credit, subscribe to, or be interested in the stock of any company, association, or corporation, except cor- porations formed for educational or charitable pur- lioses ; Provided, that the State may issue bonds, or si'cTire the payment of i^rincipal or interest, or both principal and interest, on bonds to an amount not (xcoeding three millions of dollars, at a rate of in- terest not exceeding seven per cent, per annum, in sums not exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars per mile, for each mile of railroad actually constructed within the boundaries of the State of Nevada, on such terms as the Legislature may prescribe, to the company that shall first complete a railroad to the State line, cnnucctiiig this State with the navigable wa- U-rf lit California, or with the navigable waters of the Missi,.i.sip]ii River ; but no law for issuing bonds shall he ('(rcctivc iinless s44, every State then in the Union, and all which should subsequently become .States in the Union, were granted, or upon their admission, to be granted — for it has been held to operate as a grant^ — ■ five hundred thousand acres of land each, for purposes of internal improvements. And it strikes me, as suggested by the gentleman from 208 PACIFIC RAILROAD. [Tth da^i. Monday,] Chapix—Nocbse—Sturtev ANT— Fitch. [July 11. Washoe, that it is extremely proper that these lauds should be uiade use of for purposes ot iuterual iiuprt.veuu'nts— that tliey sliould bo sold, and the pruceeds applied to a luiul from which to i)av this appropnatitni l)efuiv the i)e(i- ple are taxed for it. I atu not strenuous aljout it. t»\it I shall vote for this auiendnient upou principle. Mr. CIIAPIX. It occurs to lue that there are at least two serious objections to that amend-, luent. One is. tluit tlie moiU'V to be derived from these lands cannot be made luaihible sjieedily for the benefit of this road, and that is u matter which is of the utmost importance to us. The other serious objection is, that if we attempt to force tliat land into the market now, we have got to sacrilice lands, which in time, would become very valuable. We had better keep that laud iinlilit is wanted, and let us make a manlv. promi)t, and speedy appnii)riation to hasten along this road so that we may enjoy its benefits. To my mind, these are insuperable objections, and "therefore I shall vote against the anu-ndnuMit. Mr. NOL'lISH I understand that this aniend- nu'ut provides the funds from wliicli these bonds are to be paid. Now, do I undrrstand that it is the idea of the gentleman who last sjioke, that we must have a tax levied at once, sooner than we can derive any proceeds fiom the sale of those lands? I understand that this amend- ment provides, not for the bonds. l)ut sim])ly for the basis or fund from which they are to be paid. 1 am at a loss to perceive how there can be anv objection to that. Mr.'CIlAPlX. It provides that the appro- priation shall be derived from the sale of the public lands. Mr. .^Tl'UTICXANT. I am sure there will be no ditliculty in changing the amendment to meet till' ol)jectiou, l)ecause that is what is in- tended — that the funds to be raised from the sale of these lands ."^hall be applied towards the ])avmi'nt< to be made on these bonds. Mr. VrrCH. It seems to nu' that that is a distinction without a ditl'erence. It does not make any i)articular difl'erence whether the money deriveil from the lands .shall be devoted directly to the road, or to paying the interest on the bonds, or the bonds themselves issued in aid of thf road, b 'cause, in the first ])lace. we shall Ix- oldig<'d to wait a long time for the mon- ey, and in the secoml )dace. we shall )je com- pelled to wait a hmg tinu' for the sale of the bonds. Capitalists would certaiidybe disposed trj wait along time before tlii-y would buy bonds dfpcndfut for their payment upon the money to be dfiivcil from the sale of those lands, i trust that ihf oi»]»oncnts of the I'acific Uailroad will not endeavor in this wav to jiusli it to the wall. Mr. .STLKTEVANT. ' Oh, no ; we are not opponents. Mr. NOL'KSE. We do not understand it that way. Mr. KITCII. There is a di.sposition here in the Convention to aid thia Pacific Railroad en- terprise, and at the same time, those of us who are friendly to it, desire to hedge the provision round with all necessary guards and restrictions. I trust that gentlemen will be satisfied with those guards and restrictions, and not tr_y the.se little clever tricks, in order to defeat the pro- vision altogether. Mr. STUllTEVANT. Now, this matter re- minds me of one of Mark Twain's recent let- ters, where he says, '" Now you see it, and now you don't sec it." [Laughter]. In the first place, we do not know what we are going to do. for gentlemen will remember we have not got the Constitution through yet. I do not know that any one of these gentlemen who have spoken at such tremendous length has ever attempted to make it ajjpear that this rail- road is g(jing to be of any particular benefit to that humble portion of this Territory which I represent, or to any of our " cow counties.'' I have no doubt it is going to be a great benefit to the mines. Well, I myself claim to be a miner, as well as a rancher. I' have some few feet yet up in Storey County, and I maintain that this Pacific Railroad will be a greater ben- efit to the mining interests which I own there than to any other property I have in this Territo- ry, and the quicker and more speedily that road is constructed the greater will be the lienefit which it will confer upon that ]>articular busi- ness. Still, I am rather under the impression that there is a chance for this provision to get knocked all to pieces, because in case the mines are not taxed, and nobody knows yet that they will )je. then who is it, I ask the gentleman from Storey, that he proposes to call upon to pay for this railroad? jMr. FITCH. I do not propose anything alxuit it ; I propose to let the Legislature see to that. Let us provide that the bonds may be issued, and then h^t the Legislature, if they do issue them, provide for their payment. Mr. CHAPIN. And at a time, too, when \yq shall liave fifty millions, and perhaps, even two hundriMl millions of taxable property more than we have to-day. Mr. STCUfEVANT. I do not know but it may tm-n out to be so, but the Territory, if that is going to be the case, has got to take a good rousing upward start, and that pretty soon, be- cause just now everything seems to be going out at the little end of the horn. I do not know that we have nnich taxable proi)erty to- day aside from what there is in the cow coun- ties, and a little surface property perhaps in Storey County. At any rate, as I said in the first place, the cow counties do not expect to be very greatly benefited l)y this railroad, and it would not look to me altogether fair to call on them alone to foot the bills for its construc- tion. Mr. FITCH. We sliall have less property very soon, if we have to do Mithout a railroad. Mr. STriiTi:\^\NT. Very true ; but Con- gress has provided that certain lands shall be given to us, to be devoted expressly to purposes 'th day.] PACIFIC RAILROAD. 209 Monday,] Hawley — DeLong — Fitch — Nolrse. [July 11. of internal improvements, and for one, I wish to see those lands used up in building this rail- road, at least before we are specially taxed for it. I have sent up my amendment to this sec- tion with that object in view. It was rather hastily prepared, but perhaps it can be amended so as to suit everybody, and perhaps it had better be amended in some respects. I am not unconvincable by any means, and I have no objection to allowing any member to assist me when I undertake to make an amendment in this important document. I am in hopes that this amendment will carry, at least in some form that shall go to the extent of using up these public lands in paying the bonds, as far as they will go ; then, after that, we can have a tax levied, in whatever way the Legislature shall see fit, because it will rest with the Legisla- ture to make such appropriations as may be ne- cessary to pav the bonds when thev Ijecome due. Mr. HAWLEY. Will the gentleman from Washoe allow me to read a jiroviso, which I think may possibly meet his views? In case this amendment is withdrawn, I propose to offer the following : — " Provided further. That the sum so derived from the proceeds of the sale of the public lands of this State shall be set apart as a sinking fund for the extin- guishment of the priucii^al of said bonds ; and pro- vided further, that a special tax shall be levied for the payment of the interest of said bonds." Mr. DeLONG. I think the gentleman from Washoe cannot complain of that. The CHAIRMAN. I suggest that it should specify the lands as those donated for internal improvements, because there are other lands donated )>y Congress for special purposes. Mr. FITCH. If the gentleman will amend that proviso so as to say that the proceeds shall be set apart " towards a sinking fund," instead of '' as a sinking fund,"' I will not object to it. Mr. NOURSE. I do not see the necessity of that. Mr. HAWLEY. I have no objection, because I believe the five hundred thousand acres will be .sufficient to pay the whole amount. At the suggestion of the Chairman, I will modify the first part of the amendment, so as to specify the public lands set ajjart for internal improve- ments. The CHAIRMAN. I understand that this is offered as a substitute, or, rather, in the jjlace of the whole amendment proposed by the gen- tleman from Washoe (Mr. Sturtevant). Mr. NOURSE. I would like to have the amendment proposed by the gentleman from Douglas read as it now stands. The SECRETARY read as follows : — " Provided further, that the sum so derived from the proceeds of the sale of the public lands granted to this State for internal improvement puiiioses, shall be set apart to\Yards a sinking fund, for the extinguishment of the principal sum of said bonds : and proinded fur- ther, that a special tax shall be levied to secure the payment of the interest of said bonds." The CHAIRMAN. I will suggest that if the Constitution, in effect, says that this fund shall N I be derived from the sale of those lands, the I Legislature would be inhibited from the levying of a tax for that purpose, in case that fund should prove to l)e insutHc'e it. .Air. HAWLEY. That difficulty suggested it- self to my own mind, but it was mainly with I the view of getting the question before the Con- vention that I proposed this amendment. If we adopt that idea as the basis of our action, we can perfect the phraseology subsequently, ! so asto avoid the apprehended difficulty. It ; certainly becomes incumbent upon this" Con- vention, it it is expected that the State shall grant any aid to the railroad at all, if it is de- signed to place those bonds in the market in such a way as to give them any value in the world, to provide hereafter further means for the extinguishment of the debt to be created by their issuance. A person of a sanguine imagi- nation might be led to believe, from the present value of our agricultural lands, that the sale of half a million acres of such lands, if they can be found in our State, would be ample to' pro- vide a fund for the redemption of these bonds ; but that is a question on which gentlemen bet- ter infoi-med than myself, as to all the capacities of the agricultiiral lauds within our borders, may be expected to give their views. I am, and have been from the first, decidedly in favor of the retention of the original section, with some slight amendments ; but there seems to be man- ifested a disposition, on the part of a portion of the members of this Convention, to throw everv possible obstacle in the way of the jiassage of any section or provision in this Constitution which shall authorize the future Legislature, or give it any power to lend any aid whatever to the construction of the railroad. That disposi- tion makes itself apparent, not only by direct opposition to rvery provision proposed to be engrafted into our Constitution looking to that end, but also by the exercise of parliamentary strategy, and every other means that gentlemen can bring to bear, to secure their ends. Now, I believe that many who opposed the original proposition were really in favor of the Pacific Railroad, but unfortunately there seems to be no disposition here to take hold together, and adopt something that will be practical and effectual. Mr. NOURSE [interrii])ting]. Is there any question before the Committee ? The CHAIRMAN. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Washoe, (Mr. Sturtevant,) as amended by his subsequent acceptance of the amendment of the gentleman from Douglas (Mr. Hawley). Mr. HAWLEY. I was stating my reasons for presenting this amendment, and I wish only to s.iy, further — and with that I will close my re- mai'ks, and give gentlemen who are in the op- position an opportunity to reply — that it is my intention to move to provide further, in some way, for any additional appropriation which may be necessary to i^lace these bonds upon a sound basis. 210 PACIFIC RAILROAD. [Tth day. Monday,] Fitch — H-vwiJiT — Noibse. [July 11. Mr. FITCII. If the pentleman from Douglas will iii-ort iu tbo latter chuij^o of his auiendnient tho word-s •■ priiuipal and " bt-fore the word " iuteri'st," 1 tliink ihe oV>jecti(>ii .su'i'iestod by the L'hiiirmuii will be obviated. That will Streiijithea the iiruvisioii, not weaken it. .Mr. H.VWLBV. The ^^ufXge8tion meets my a|iiiroI>atiun, and I will niodily my ameudnieiit bv in.'^erlintj those words. '.Mr. N()l'U."^E. 1 do not sec the neccs.sity of providinii; for any i)o\\er in the Legislature, so far as the jjayment of these bonds goes. I Availed a moment after this amendment was olfered. in e.xpeetation of seeing my friend from f^torey. (Mr. Chapin). who has such a '• holy horror ■' of legislation, liounce up and protest against this legislative clause. Now, I understand that the power of a Legislature e.\- teuds to all iirojjer sultjects of legislation, e.vci'pt so far as it may Ik- limited by the Con- stitution of the United States, or the Constitu- tion of the .^tate, and if there exists a debt of the State of Nevada, will any gentleman say that it needs a special clause in the Constitution to authorize the Legislature! to levy a tax to pay that debt? That would be a most unheard- of doctrine. The object of a special clause providing for a tax to pay the interest on these oomls is. as I understand it, to enable the peo- ple to know when they are voting for the issu- ing of these bonds, exactly what they are voting for — that they may undei'stand that tiiey who dance must pay tlie i)ij)er — and that if they vote for the appropriation, they nnist also lake the necessary stejis to pay the appro- priation. It is not because it is in any sense necessary to give the Legislature jxjwer to levy a tax belbre they can proceed to levy that tax. Ami while 1 am speaking of this amendment, I wish to say now and lu-re, that 1 am o]»))ose(l to lliis whole matter of loaning the credit of the ."^tate to any railroad, and 1 suppose I have a right to be. A luost ungenerous charge was made, because I happen to be a represen- tative of Washoe, and charged by the people of that county with the duty of representing their interests hei> — though I do not own a dollar's worth of property in tliat cotinty, and, 1 am sorry to say. not in any other — that 1 do not want the railroad l)uilt to this State for fear it would help Storey Co.inty, and diminish the valui" ofpropcity in Washoi- (.'uunty. It seems to me that we have had enough ol' this child's play. If the argument,s of gentlemen are not strong enough to stand upon reason, if their pointjs are not to be c.irrii-d l>y api)eals to rea-oa, then let them fall to the ground. Now, it seems to me that this amendment is exceedingly jiroper. lor the reason lliat it diverts into the channel, and coinix'ls the a|)- propriation for the ))ur|)ose of internal im])rove- lueulM, of the grant uilt across the Sierras. IJut my objection is to tliis class of jjersous get- ting our bonds, when those bonds are compelled to be paid V>y heavy taxation imposed upon the people here, and Uien leaving this amount of money tt) be derived from the public lands to be granted to .some other railroad company, perhaps, that may turn out to be only a wild- Cat affair. It is in order that this grant of land Ijy Congre,ss may go to pay for the building, or, at all events, towards the building of that road which we need the most, that 1 favor the amend- ment jjroviding that all the jn'oceeds of the sales of those j)ublic lands shall go to pay the l)onds, if the Convi-ntion is determined that the bouils shall ])e issued at all events. As I said before, I shall vote to the last against issuing any bonds, aiul when the question comes up on striking out all in relation to these bonds, I shall endeavor to give fully my reaisbns in favor of the motion to strike out. I disclaim any in- tention to use unfair mi'aus to defeat this clause, so dear to the hearts of some gentlemen. My sole desire is to make it as little objection- able as possible, so that if it .shall be carried, against luy convictions of right and sound pol- icy, w'e may sutler as little as possible there- fiom ; and 1 still rcser\'e the right to myself, of voting to strike out the whole proAision, when the question comes up on that. Now, Mr. Chairman. I repeat that I cannot see how it is nece.ssaiy that the Legislature should have a specific grant of poAver to lev\' taxes to pay a debt which the State owes, when we have done nothing, that I know of, calculated to re- strict the power of the Legislature in that re- spect. The Legislature, without any grant or restriction whatsoever, certainly has power to levy taxes to pay a debt of the Stale, and, as I understand it, the clause which provides that they shall i)ay the interest Ijy a tax levied for that ]nirpose, was inserted hei'e only in order thai the fact might not be lost sight of — that when the i)eople come up and pay their dollars into the treasury, they shall know that so many of them are going to pay tlie interest on these bonds, Avhich I predict will be called at that time, if it ever comes, stolen bonds, because that has Iteen the history of all similar railroad grants. •Mr. FlTClI. 1 agree with the gentleman from \Vashoe (Mr, Nourse) that it is unnecessary to give the Legislature power to levy a special tax to i)ay the ]n-incij)al of these bonds. I agree with liim further, that it is unnecessary to give the Legislature jjower to im])ose a s])ecial lax to j)ay the interest on these bonds. I go even furtlier, and say that it is unnecessary to place in this .section of the Constitution a pow- er to devote the public lands to that purpose. It is all unnecessary. Mr. NOl'RSE [Interrupting]. I believe it says the Legislature are required to do it. 7 til day.] PACIFIC RAILROAD. 211 Monday,] Fitch — Noukse. [July 11. Mr. FITCH. I think that is not the language of the amendment. Mr. NOURSE. Then I certainly wish to amend it in that particular, so as to use the word " require.'" Mr. FITCH. On examination, I find that it does require them to do so. The CHAIRMAN. The original amendment l^rovided for striking out all after the word '■ purposes," which would of course inhibit the Legislature from doing anything of the kind ; and then this proviso which is under considera- tion proposes to invest the Legislature with the l^ower specified, to issue bonds, or to guarantee bonds, in this particular case. Mr. FITCH. I understand that to be so. Now, sir, if we place in this section a provision that the revenues derived from the sale of these public lands shall be devoted to the payment of the principal of these bonds, and if we fur- ther say that a sjiecial tax shall be levied for the purjjose of paying the interest, do not we by implication inhibit the Legislature from lev- ying a tax to pay the principal, and say in-^tead that the entire principal shall be paid from the revenues derived from the public lands alone ? It can certainly do no harm, if the gentleman believes the Legislature has the power to frame a law for levying a special tax for the payment of the principal of the bonds as well as the in- terest, to say so in so many words. I am sorry that the gentleman from Washoe should entertain the erroneous impression that I desired to impugn his motives. At the com- mencement of this debate, in a speech somewhat jocose in its character, I alluded to the effect of this measure upon Washoe County ; but he dis- claimed the idea of being opposed to the meas- ure on that ground, and I then said, as the Con- vention will remember, that I was very happy to accept of his disclaimer, and to believe that the gentleman had no desire to serve especially what certainly were the specific interests of his county, by striking out this proviso. And I am happy now to say that I consider the gentleman from Washoe, not only as not lacking in integrity orf\\ir dealing, but as a monument of integrity, of patience, of courtesy, of fair dealing, and of personal beauty. [Laughter.] I have no desire to impute any thing to him which I would not willingly have imputed to myself. But, sir, I do protest that the proposition to make the issuing of bonds in aid of the Pacific Railroad depend- ent upon the sale of the public lands granted to this State by Congress for internal improve- ments, is calculated to defeat the very purpose of this provision. I do not say that such is the intention of the gentleman ; — on account of his disclaimer, I am of opinion that he did not even think of it ; but such is the effect, never- theless. You authorize the issuance of these bonds, and at the same time you declare that they shall be paid only by the sale of the public lands granted to this State for purposes of internal improvement, and what will be the result? Why, sir, is there a capitalist in the world who would give fifteen cents on the dollar for tiuxH! millions of dollars in l)onds, with no better ba- sis than the sale of the public lands in Nevada? I do not know what amount of lands could bo sold at the present time by the State, but I ven- ture to say that not one niillion of dollars could be derived from those lands. We have but very few acres of public lands which could now be brought into market, except perhaps out on the deserts, in the vicinity of Fort Churchill, and I do not think that maiiy s])ecula- tors are going to rush down there to" purchase those lands or to pay anv considerable sum for them. The fact is. that if we extend this aid at all, in order to make it effective we have got to make provision for its payment in such a man- ner as to give to the bonds the confiilence of capitalists. If we do not do that, our aid will only be a pretense. If you issue your bonds based on the sale of the public lands alone, you may be keeping the promise to the ear. but you are certainly breaking it to tlie hope. Now, sir, I am in favor of aiding the Pacific Railroad, and I do not now believe— I am happy to say it— that the opponents of this clause are op"^- posed to its being built. I am happy to be- lieve that they very much desire to have it built— provided, always, that somebody else will pay for it. I do not think, at all events, that they would absolutely laljor to prevent its coming here, although tliey have evinced no disposition to aid its coming. With the gen- tleman from Washoe, (Mr. Stnrtevant,) 1 be- lieve that the finances of this Territory at the present time are in the most deplorable condi- tion. I am almost inclined to quote in re- gard to them the words attributed to Jefferson Davis by Hosea Biglow : — " Suthin 's got to be done. We are clean out of money, and eenamost out of land. ' ' [Laughter.] I believe we are in a very bad condition. But I believe the Pacific Railroad would 1)0 the salvation of us ; that by the con- struction of that road so as to run one year earlier into this State— and I believe it would be brought here one year earlier by this pro- viso—it would make a difference of from fifteen to twenty millions of dollars to this communi- ty. I think the property which would be cre- ated by the construction of that road would amount to so much that the taxes along the line would be sufficient to pay the principal and in- terest on all the bonds i)roposed to be is.sued, within five years. It would take but a mode- rate amount of increase in our taxable proper- ty to do that. I was in favor of supporting the amendment offered by the gentleman from Sto- rey, (Mr. Hovey.) providing that this aid should not be confined to our own Territory, but may be expended in crossing the inaccessible moun- tains which lie some fifty miles to the west of us ; but I became satisfied that the sense of the majority of this Convention was against that proposition, and I therefore suggested to my colleague (Mr. DeLong) to get something prac- ■2\'l PACIFIC RAILROAD. [7th da}\ Monday,] DkLoxg — Fitch — Nolkse— Banks— Hawley. [July 11. tieal bt'forp the committee, because I wanted to i:i't to a V"ii«- as sutiii as possible, and dispose of liiis troulilesiiiiii' question. Mr. DkLoNG. 1 would like to ask the gen- tlenuui uiu- (pu'stion, and that is. how ho would •_'.i tti wcirk to build a railroad over iuaccessi- liU- niouutaiu-'.' [I.aujrliter.] Mr. KITCII. That was a little hypt>rbolc — -.imelhiiifr that my collea<^ue never iudulf^es in. .mil tlieri't'ore knows nothinji about. [Luuj;hter.] Now lest liicre should be any shadow of sus- jiicion lurkin;; in the miud of any gentleman iu-re. or in the lobl)y, or in thi' mind id' the gi-n- tlcnuin from Washoe, that I intended in any way to reflect u|)on his motives, I wish to re- peat that 1 never designed to impute to him anything but the most exalted patriotism, the mi>-;t i)rl place, that we need not argue the ques- tion as to the necessity to us of the construc- tion of this Pacific Kailroad. 1 believe every man who is not a foid must concede that tiie r.iilro.nl is aI)solute|y necessary for the devid- opini-nt and «-ontiniied prosperity of thi.s com- munity, and therefore I will pass "that by. Now, this proviso is, that the State, through its Legislature, may loan three millions of dol- lars : and there are no restrictions, except that it is to be used exclusively for the building of the railroad. Either wo are expected to pay that amount of money which we loan, or wo are not. Either it is a matter of security, by which we are to give a certain guarantee, that shall bo deemed worth something, or it is a more matter of form. If it is a mere matter of form, it is hardly worth while to ]uit it in our ("onstitution ; if it is a matter of substance — if it is really to allow the Legislature, through the vole of the pi'ople. to loan this amount of money — then comes up the question, what are \\t' loaning ? or, what are wo granting ? And I wish to say here, distinctly, that if I believed this loan would advance the Ituilding of the Pacific Railroad one year, although there are some objections to it, in this point of view — that the tax is levied on all property equally, while it benefits some property, very much, and injures other property very much — ;yet. never- theless, I should bo disposed, as a mere matter of policy on the part of the State, to at once grant tlie loan — always |)rovided wo wore able to grant it, and meet our obligations when they become due. But I would a groat deal rather give that money outright than lend it, after all, because then we should have done with the whole thing. I really think it would bo a good investment, if it would advance the building of this road as much as one year : and I agree with the gentleman from Storey (Mr. Collins) that the benetit to the State of having the rail- road for one year, would amount to a good deal more than the three millions of dollars which it would cost. But it is because I do not believe it will help the railroad a single year, or a single montli, or a single day. that I oi)])Ose this provision. I think, in the first place, that except so fiir as the public lands will go — and they will amount to comiiara- tively little— we shall have the whole amount of our loan to pay one of those days. We shall ultimately have to i)ay both principal and in- terest — the whole of it. Ag.iin, the railroad does not need any aid from us to secure its construction. This enterprise seems to possess already all the elements of wealth ; and un- doubtedly it will be built, in good time, if we let it alone ; and. therefore, I say the issuing of the.^^o bonds before the wealth of the State is developed, would be imposing ujion the State a very onerous burden. It would be unsafe and unwise to do such a thing in anticipation of a slate of things which may hereafter exist, or may not. Now. I have hero some figures giving the amounts of tlie expenses whicli have been in- curred ill maintaining our gi)\ernment, ovt'ii un- der the jiresent territorial Ibrm. The expenses of the Territory of Nevada for the fourteen months ending December aist, ISd:?, amounled to nearly $10een made in our midst are .«uch as to justify ten times our present amount of population, I think we need not shrink in the least from authorizing this loan of three millions, and I think the justice and libei»ality of this Convention M'ill so determine tliis ques- tion. Let us, at least, allow the Legislature to act hereafter in such a manner as the then ex- isting circumstances of the State shall warrant. I hope we shall not hamper and hem in this appropriation in such a way as to render it utterly worthless to the enterprise which we seek to aid. Mr. FITCH. I start, Mr. Chairman, with the proposition that in giving aid to the Pacific IJailroad. it is best that it should be given lib- erally and effectively. I am dis)tosed to give to the managers of that enterprise all the aid possible, and also to allow them to expend that aid either in California or in this State, as they deem best. But the more I think of it— the more facts I hunt up in relation to it — the firmer becomes my conviction that the proposition as amended by my colleague, (Mr DeLong,) which is the form in which the proviso is now before the Committee — is the one which should pre- vail. Now, it is true that we should extend aid to the Pacific Railroad. I have always been in favor of that. And I believe, also, that we should give it as much aid as possible, or, at all events, as ranch as we can afford. But I was disposed, nevertheless, to accept of this amendment ; and I am surprised that the gen- tleman from Lander (Mr. Warwick) should make any opposition to it, or should favor the idea of our giving money to this enterprise without restricting its use, or specifying, in some manner, where it is to be used. Now, sir, I have in my hand a summary of " An Act to aid in the construction of the Pacific Railroad." which was passed at the ses- sion of the California Legislature, of which both the gentleman from Lander and myself had the honor to be members. And here I will ask. if the construction of this road is to prove, as it will prove, to be an immense benefit to the people of Nevada, what benefit will it prove to be to the people of California? If it will enhance the wealth of Virginia City, and Car- son, and the various other cities and towns of Nevada, what will it do for San Francisco, and Sacramento? If it will do so much for the State of Nevada, what will it not do for the State of California ? We shall be, for many years hereafter, as we have been heretofore, to some extent, dependent upon California ; and the wealth which we produce will, a large pro- portion of it. at least, be poured into the lap of California, by means of this railroad ; so that the railroad will be nearly as great, if not a greater benefit to her, than to ourselves. Now, in consideration of this promised benefit, what has the State of California done for the Pacific Railroad? Why, sir, this act provides that whenever the Central Pacific Railroad Compa- ny shall have completed not less than twenty consecutive miles, for the conveyance and transportation of passengers and freights, the road to be supplied with culverts and all other appurtenances of a first class railroad — when all this is done and completed, and the twenty miles of railroad ready to go into operation — then the State of California will give §10,000 a mile. It provides that in the construction of this railroad from the city of Sacramento to the State line dividing California from Nevada, when the railroad shall be completed from the city of Sacramento, through a distance of not less than one hundred miles, then the company shall have this $10,000 per mile, which is just one million of dollars altogether, and this for all that California portion of the road — the difficult portion which the railroad is now struggling to pass. Now, what does the State of Nevada propose to do ? AYhy, our Constitutional Con- vention proposes here to adopt a provision authorizing our first, or any subsequent Legis- lature, to give S50,000 per mile for railroads to be built within our own bouiularies ; which is just five times the amount that California gives. It may. very probably, be urged that Califor- nia could not' do more.' because her Constitu- tion prohil)ited her doing more. Well, sir ; amendments have recently been adopted to the Constitution of that State, and it M-ould have been very easy for them, if they had chosen to do it, to place such an amendment in their or- ganic law as to enable them to give three, five, or ten millions in aid of this enterprise : and 21G PACIFIC RAILROAD. [7 th daj M.^nday.] Banks— Fitch — Hawley — DeLoxg. [July 11. where we can afford to fjive tbree millions, Cal- if.jniia lan cortainlv atfonl to '/wo ten. Now, sir. 1 Ik-Hi-vo ihat nut only tor tlu' sake ot^ onr own interests. Init also lor the .-^ake of nianii'est- iiii; that liberality to which the gentleman from Lan.ler (Mr."\Varwiek) ai)iieals, we really onu'lit to extern! our aid to this strnji>{liii.n- road whieh i.-^ tryinjj so hard to K'"' u^>'' '•"' ""mn- tains to lis." lint we must hear in mind that this road is already hountit'ully aided. It has alivatlv SlU.lMJO d(dlars per mile from the .State ..;■ (.'alifornia. and .•$4iS.()00 dollars per mile from the (leneral Government, (and I believe that ha.-i-inee been doubled, niakinj^ it now SDIi.OOO). and it is also liberally aiiU-il from Nevada founty. riacer County, ami San Francisco. It ci-rtainly has an abundance of aid already, and while 1 "ailmit that we oujrht to aid this railroad. 8ti far a.s it is in onr power to do !:reatly In-iU'tited Ijy the road as we can be. 1 timl that the lojiical deductions from my own l)remises are bringing me to conclusions which I would not have accei)ted one week ago ; and I tell you that in giving three millions of dol- lars to any road, we are acting very generously. It is true that we shoiihl Ije just to ourselves at the same time, but we should be more so by prescriliing that the aid we give shall be ex- pended within onr own limits. If there is a community on the face of (^od's earth to which this railroad will be a lienetit— if there is a community that will grow rich by it— that com- munity is San Francisco. It will bring her up to a position like that of Tyre andSidon, and her luerchant princes will become the honored of the earth. She will be next only to New York in nu-rcantile wealth and gramU'iir. Ami yet. San Francisco is quiijiiling, and lighting, and gi'tting out injunctions over the miserable few thimsands of dollars voted by her people as ber apiiropriation in aid of this road. 1 think the jjeople of Nevada will be generous and lib- eral if they give S.")().OI)0 per mile, when Cali- fornia only gives $l().()ll(). I am in favor of this railroad, antl I believe that the |)co]de of Ne- vada will be able to give this aid ; Init I want il provided that the entire amount of it shall be expended in onr own limits. -Mr. 15ANK.S. The gentleman is mistaken as to the amount given by the State of California, lb- refer.s to the law oi' l.'~^('..''>: Ijut another law was pa.-scd la-t winter, giving the road a vei'y large sum. The gentleman was a member of the California Legislature in iSC;;, ImU since that time another session has been held, at which a M-iy large ajtitropiiation was made in aid of this entcr|>rise. I forget the amount, but I think il was two millions of didlars. .Mr. FITCII. Th.-M have not tli.y had enough money given llu'in '.' -Mr. IJANK.'^. The gentleman is also in error in regard to the increa.se of the amount granted b^- Congreb.«. I have just received u po.sitive statement on that subject, to the effect that they did not get any increase of the amount of Iho Federal aid. Mr. IIAWLEV. The latest despatches statu thai Congress gives double the amount of land, but no more in bonds. yiv. FlTini. But the first mortgage may bo made bv the Railroad Company, taking prece- dence of the (iovernnient mortgage. -Mr. DeLONCI. As one of those amendments which the gentleman from Lander (Mr. War- wick) denounces is mine, I suppose I am called npon to justify myself against the charge of meanness in regard to the Pacific Railroad. Now. it strikes me that it is not mean to give $.')(l,()(ll) to the mile, when that amount will build every mile of the railroad to be built in the State — when we offer to father the whole cost — free, gratis, of building this railroad for the distance of sixty miles, as soon as it shall have reached us. It seems to me that, for a little four-year old people, with no resources to de- pend upon, such a donation is a long ways from meanness. And when we take the whole of our revenues to be derived from the pul)lic lands, as we do by the amendment of thi- gen- tleman from Washoe, (Mr. Sturtevant,) and ile- vote them to this object, we give the railroad company a double guarantee that the bonds shall be paid. In other words, we give the whole of the land ; and not content with that, we tax the peojjle for the residue. I know the gentleman does not use the language in a olfeii- sive sense ; I know that he does not intend to charge the jieople of Nevada with meanness ; but still, that is the effect of the language of the gentleman— that it is mean narrow-mindedness, which underlies a provision of this kind. I say it is far from that, when I am willing to mort- gage myself, ami the constituents I represent, to ))ay the whole cost of the railroad fVu' sixty miles, whenever it shall come within our limits; a railroad, too. that iiromises to pay its i)roject- ors, whenever they do get it to our bcnchu's, more munificently than any other similar enter- prise in the world— and they know it. It is a com])any aided and encouraged by the Federal (lovcrnmeut. and by the i)eo])le of the whole n.ition ; aided and assisted liy the State of Cal- ifornia, by various counties in that State, and by the voices, the hopes, and the warmest wishes of the peojjle of the entire r'acific coast. Such a company will not think us mean, when they hear that we give them 6.")().()l)0 i)er mile for e\ery mile lln'v build in our borders to the extent of sixty miles. I am willing to leave that matter to the gooil sense of the proprie- tors, or rather, the projectors of that road, and let them .say whether or not this donation — with all the .security which we give for its j)ayiuent — is a liberal one ; and I fe(d well assured that we will not be chai'ged by them with meanness. It is sirange to me that gentlemen will insist upon il that we are hostile to this enterprise. 1 have said, and I rejieat it, and my as.sertion stands as good as any other member's, that 7th day.] PACIFIC RAILROAD. 217 Monday,] Warwick — DeLoncj — Johnson. [July 11. there is not a man within the hearing- of my voice, nor in the wide world, who is more anx- ious for Ihe com[)letion of that road than I am, or who foresees tjrander or more magnificent results naturally to How from it, when it shall be completed. It will bind us together, indis- solubly, as a nation. It will be of incalculable advantage to us in case cf a foreign war. If a hostile nation should seek our coast, it would bring us millions of freemen from the eastern States, coming to our defence Avith bayonets glistening, over the mountain crests. They might be shoulder to shoulder M'ith us almost upon a day's notice. I see the importance of all this ; but I do not believe in giving away money which our people have so hardly earn- ed — money raised by over-taxing our people — to be apj)lied towards building a railroad out- side of tlie limits of our State. I believe that would be unwise, and I believe, further, that it would plunge us into a debt of three mil- lions of dollars, in return for which, we should receive no considerable benefit. It would not help the road to an amount exceeding $750,000, which would be, comparatively, but a mere trifle ; while, if we grant our aiil after the road reaches our borders at the rate of S.'iO.OOO per mile, our bonds will be worth then almost dol- lar for dollar, and the road would receive the full benefit. Mr. WAliWICK. I believe it was the gentle- man from Storey who pro])oscd what seems to me to be the death-blow of this railroad clause, that is. that the rate of interest shall not exceed seven per cent, per annum. Mr. DkLONG. The gentleman is the most mistaken man in the world, for I voted against it. Mr. WARAVICK. Was it adopted ? Mr. DeLONG. It was, and so stands now. Mr. WAliWICK. Then, with the leave of the gentleman, I would say, that our Territorial bonds heretofore issued are drawing not less than ten per cent, interest, and the Ormsby County bonds fifteen per cent, or thereabouts, if I am not mistaken — twelve per cent, at least — and yet it is almost impossible to raise money on those bonds, even at such rates. I therefore look upon this provision as entirely worthless, although I do not undertake to im- pugn gentlemen's motives at all. Mr. DeLONG. I will only say that the rate of interest seems to me very fair, as the time is far off, perhaps, when the bonds will be issued, and inasmuch as the Legislature is to issue only $50,000 at a time. It strikes me that when we have a railroad building across our State, and we appropriate S50,000 at a time in aid of it, our financial condition at that time will be such, or at least promises to be such, that those bonds may be faii'ly negotiated, as fast as they are issued, even bearing interest at the rate of only seven per cent, per annum. If, on the other hand, they are issued now, when we have no railroad and no resources to rely upon, I admit that the rate of interest would have to be greatly in- creased in order to command any price in the market, and seven per cent, would, in such a case, be but a niggardly rate of intei'est. I am willing to vote for the ])roviso as it now stands, including the rate of interest at seven per cent., because I Ijelieve that by the time the railroad is built, by means of the sales of the pu))lic lands, and a comparatively light tax in addi- tion, perhaps, we can raise the amount without difficulty, and our bonds will be worth dollar for dollar in the market. I hope so at least, although I may be over sanguine. Mr. WARWICK. I move to amend the pro- viso as it now stands, by striking out the word ■' seven,-' where it precedes the W(n-ds - per cent," and inserting in lieu thereof the word " ten." [Mr. FiTcn in the Chair.] Mr. JOHNSON. Now, sir, I hope this amend- ment will not be adopted. While the difference between seven per cent, and ten per cent, could be of compartively little value to those who received the bonds, yet when the aggregate amount of such bonds shall have been issued, it will so much more increase the burden upon the people of the State. It will require an ad- ditional tax upon the people in each and every year of $90,000. Those who are familiar Mith the financial condition and financial history of California, are tolerably well advised of the fact that in the early period of that State, bonds were issued, bearing interest at the rate of three per cent, a month : there was a time when those bonds coult not be sold for more than fifty cents on the dollar ; and sir, at a later period, but before the State had become assured in her financial policy the interest on the pul)lic debt had become an enormous bur- den. The bonds of the State were then issued to the amount of $3,900,000, covering its out- standing indebtedness, and bearing a rate of interest of seven per cent., and within eighteen months from the time they were issued, they were worth in the money markets of the United States, and were selling in the city of New York, for ninety-five cents on the dollar ; and sometime afterwards, about the commcmcement of the war three years ago, before the financial reverses and the changes in the currency at the East, the bonds of California commanded a pre- mium in the city of New York, although they bore interest only at seven per cent. Now, if we were to proceed solely upon the basis of the taxable property which we have to-day, and upon our ri'sources or proba- ble revenues, then I am free to admit that ten, or even twenty per cent, would not secure the sale of these bonds for their face value ; but we do not act upon that basis, nor anticipate any such result. At the time when it will be incumbent on the people, through their Legis- lature, to lend aid to this great and important work. I feel confident that we shall have such an amount of taxable i)roperty, and other re- sources, of a character to insure the prompt payment of those bonds, as they shall mature, 218 CORPORATIONS. [Ttli clay-. Monday.] Banks — Johxsox. [July 11. and pavment of the interest on them from year to vour as it falls due, so as to make them equal in" the market, or nearly so. to their face value. Therefore, as the propo.^i-d increased rate of interest can be of no .-ulistaiitial l)enelit to any one. e.veept thii.se intowiiosi- hands the bonds ultimatflv tall. I hope that no such increase will Ik- iilade. It would be givinj,' an additional ar;;umcnt to the opponents of a State Govern- ment, which we can now deprive them of, and at the same time we shall be saviufj to our ])eo- ple the l)urden of SiKt.ddO a year of interest. which otherwise they will have to bear when the l)onds shall be issued. It would be of no benelit. no possible advantage to this roailroad enterpri.se. and at the same time it would be an unnecessary hardship on the tax-payers of the istate. I hiipe the rate of interest will be i)c'r- mitied to remain at seven per cent, as in the orifiinal projiosition. The (picsiion was taken on the amendment offered bv .Mr. \\'arwick, and it was not agreed to. The question was taken on the motion of ]\Ir. Nourse. to strike out all after the words " edu- cational or charitable purposes. "' (being the entire proviso relative to the railroad), and it wa.s not agreed to. No further amendment being offered, the section, as amended, was adopted. MIXICII'AL LOANS. Section 10 was read, as follows : — Sec. 10. No county, city, town, or other mtinicipal cori)oratioii. nball l)c<-ome a stuckhoUler in any joint- 1 stock louipauy, corporation or association whatever, or | loan it« credit iu aid ol' such coiupauj", corporation, or association. j Mr. I5.VXKS. I move to amend the section by adding the following words — " e.xeept rail- 1 road corporations.'" It may be widl enough to ' make some restrictions >ipon the i)ower of djunties. cities, and towns, in the way of their j lending their credit, though I very much doubt the jtolicy. and more esiiecially do I doul)t it' in th<-.-e matters, so far as railroads are con- concerned. For instance, on the other side ol tlie mountains we have the case of tlu' railroad from .*^an Francisco to San .lose, which I think ; would not have been liuilt up to this time, and Iirol)ably not for many years to come, without' the aid of the counties through which it passes. ' It is a work of very great imp(Utance to those counties, and that is one case among nniny which might lie meulioned where aid of this kind slicMild be |)erniitted to be rendered. ' There was very stn-nuous oppositi case that an en- terprise of this magnitude cannot be entered upon with success by individuals, because it umy be impossible to get capitalists to aid it in the way of private investments. It may be an undertaking in which everybody feels a deep interest, and in which everyliody would be wil- ling to invest, jirovided everybody else would come to its aid iu jjioportion to their means ; but still, upon tile jirinciple that what is every- body's business is nobody's business, men do not come forward to snl)scribe, and so the en- terprise languishes. 1 think, in such a case, the l)eo])le should have the privilege of deciding, as they have done very properly and successfully in the State of California, in many instances, whether they will generally and unitedly go into it, and by a system of taxation, imposing the burden equally upon all, secure the con- struction of a work which is going, to benefit every person in the comnuuiity. In connection with one of those railroad enterprises in California which have been carried through successfully, I remember a circumstance, which I will mention as an illustration of this truth, I was one of those who vi'ry earnestly supported the issuing of the bonds of San Francisco iu aid of that road. It so ha])pene(l that many of my friends began to cherish feelings of hostility towards me, on that account. They wrote me letters, they tel- egraphed to me, and they did all they could to induce me to change luy course. However, I voted and labored for the measure, and when I went home, some of those friends would scarce- ly s])eak to me. They thought I ha Section 2 was again read, as follows : — Sec. 2, The Legislature shall provide for an annual tax snfficieut to defray the estimated expenses of the State for each fiscal year ; aad wlienever the expeuses of ai)y year shall exceed the income, the Legislature shall provide for levying a tax sufiieient with other sources of income, to pay the deticienc}', as well as the estimated expeuses of such ensuing year or two years. No amendment being offered, the section was adopted. LIlirrATIOX 01'' INDEBTEDNESS. Section three was read as follows : — Sec. ;j. For the purpose of enabling the State to transact its business upon a cash basis, from its organ- ization, or for the purijose of defraying extraordinary expeuses, the State may contract puljlic deljts ; but such debts shall never in the aggregate, exclusive of interest, exceed the sum of three hundred thousand dollars ; provided, that the further amount of indebt- edness authorized by Article VIII, of this Constitu- tion, shall be deemed legal and valid whenever said debt shall be incurred in accordance with the i^rovis- ions therein expressed ; and said debts shall be separ- ate and independent of the State debt herein provided for. Every such debt shall be authorized by law for some imrpose or purposes, to be distinctly sijecified therein, and every such law shall provide for levjing an annual tax sufiieient to pay the interest semi-annu- ally, and the principal within twenty years from the passage of such law, and shall specially api)ropriate the proceeds of said taxes to the payment of said prin- cipal and interest ; and such api)ropriation shall not be repealed, uor the taxes bei)osti)oned or diminished, until the principal and interest of said debts shall have been wholly jjaid. Every contract of indeljtedness entered into or assumed l)y or on behalf of the State, when all its debts and liabilities amount to said sum before-mentioned, shall b<; void and of no efl'ect, ex- cept in cases of money borrowed to repel invasion, «upi)ress insurrection, defend the State in time of war, or if hostilities be threatened, i>rovide for the public defense, Mr. DeLONG. I would like to ask what would Ije the consecpu-nce if the Slate d(d)t amounted to three humlred thousand dollars at the time of an invasion or insurrection? Could the State then raisin money in order to repel such invasion, or put down such insurrection, nutwilhslanding this section? Mr. COLI.INS. 1 think so. rth day.] FINANCE AND STATE. 221 Monday,] DeLong — Johnson — Warwick. [July 11. Mr. DkLONG. Let us look at it and see what must be the construction. It says : " hut such debts shall never iu the aggregate, exclu- sive of interest, exceed the sum of three hun- dred thousand dollars ; provided " — and here follows the railroad arrangement, which saj's. that that three millions loan may be made, and that it shall not be considered a part of this aggregate indebtedness of the State. I think we shall have to amend this first part of the section by incorporating the words. " except for public defense ;" or we may say, " except as hereinafter provided." That would remove any doubt of the legality of a loan negotiated by the State in a case of invasion or insurrec- tion, though its debt might have already reached the limit of three hundred thousand dollars. Mr. JOHNSON. I suggest whether the trans- position of some of the language preceding the proviso would not reach the difficulty, better than to insert the words the gentleman sug- gests after the words, •' three hundred thousand dollars." Mr. DeLONG. No, sir ; I think it would read better as I have proposed it. at the end, after " three hundred thousand dollars." Mr. JOHNSON. Then you want to strike out the words, " or for the purpose of defray- ing extraordinary expenses.'- and let the words '■ except for the purpose of defraying extraordi- nary expenses, as hereinaiter mentioned," fol- low the words, " three hundred thousan^ by special legisla- tive action! or some kL( ING. I desire to ask the gentleman a ((Ui'stion. l>ecause I want to see ■whether we can auree or not. and. if possiljle, come to a conclusion on this question. Would the gen- tlcnr.m vote for leaving out all reference to the mines? .Mr. IIAINE-S. The gentleman from Ormsby, our Trcsident. has a substitute which will satisfy nu'. There is no use of debuting this question. We have some iutlnence in this Territory, and 1 tell von plainly that my constituents never will consent to be taxed for a State Govern- ment, unless the tax shall be made uniform and ecjual. Your proposition to tax the net ].roceeds. if it went to the people, would never be heard of again on eartli. I venture to say. if we were to adopt such a provision, that there would be found no net proceeds of the mines, if the State should last a thousand years. 1 am satisfied that my constituents will never subn)it to anything of the kind, and they have discussed the subject for weeks and nuniths gone bv. Mr. DkLONG. That kind of talk is not go- ing to drive me at all, because I could, if I ]jlease. retort Ity saying that the proceedings of the previous Convention to which tlie gentle- man has referred, so stunk in the nostrils of the people that the people voted its action down, and very harnu)nionsly too, there being hardly a disseniing voice. Mr. NOl'RSE. 1 believe the gentleman from Storey proposes to amend, by providing that mines shall be taxed only on their net jn'oceeds. Now. if he will aild that farni^, and sawmills, and other properly shall be taxed only on their net i)roceeds, there will be some degree of fair- ness in his proposition. .Mr. DkLONG. And lawyers' offices? Mr. NOriJSE. Yes; and lawyers' offices. [Mi-rrimenl.] Mr. STrirri-:V.\NT. Now. this is where the railro.id comes in, full linlge. [Laughter.] I think 1 can hear the whisth- tooling now. And here is the o])|jortnnity for gentlemen to show ihi'ir gem-rosity. If they have any generosity, the genllemen from the "cow counties"' would like to see it just ab(Mit this time. [Laughter.] The -several amendmenis wiiich liad Iteen of- fered wi're again read, and also the section as it would read when amended as proposed. .Mr. FIvlZKLL. The (pu'stion arises in my own mind, if in the taxation of the miin-s only the proceeds are to be taxed, whether or not tlial will inehnle mining pnipeity? Tiie Sn- jueme Court may decide liial the mines inclmle the iioisting works incr the mine - iiud I ))e- lieve il ha,s already been so decided in Califor- nia — that if yon build a mill, or hoisting works u])on the mine, it bi'conies a ]jart of the mine. Mr. DkLONG. L'ntil it is removed, it does not recede from it. :\lr. BANKS. I do not think it is liable to that construction, but. at all events, any objec- tion on that score can be avoided by a veibal change, which I will propose here, namely, to strike out the word '-mines" from the proj)osed anu-ndnient, so as to read, ''including mining property ;" then this last provision will cover the ground, and I think that will satisfy the Convention. i\rr. FRIZELL. It will satisfy me. Mr. 15.VNKS. I will move that amendment, or make it a part of my amendment. :Mr. DkLONG. I unilerstand that the gentle- man proposes now to offer an amendment to the language occurring in the middle of the section : is that in order? The CII.VIRMAN. The amendment can only be altered or modified if no objection is made. Mr. DkL( )N(;. Well, I will withdraw my ob- jecti(m. [Laughter.] Mr. BANKS. I do not propose, Mr. Chair- man, to indulge in any extensive speech on this subject, at this time, nor to inflict any lengthy remarks upon this Convention in regard to my amendment. I have made this modification of my amendment, suggested by the gentleman from Storej' on my right, (Mr. Frizell.) because it seems to me to make more clear what I in- tended to express. Mr. STURTEVWNT. In order to understand the question before the Convention, I would like to ask a question. Mr. FOLSO.M. I believe the amendment is in such a shape now, that it proposes to ta.x mining property only. Is that the case? Mr. BANKS. Yes, sir ; as other property is taxed. ]\Ir. FOLSO:\r. Then I would ask, would not mining projjcrty be ta.xed as other property is taxed, anj^ way, under a general law, without any necessity for a provision of this kind ? Mr. BANKS. In reply to that I wish to say, that not only in California, but in this Constitu- tion framed by the former Convention, which we have adopted as our basis, there has always been a distinction made between mines and mining property. I propose to preserve that distinction, because 1 consider it a legitimate and proper distinction. Mining property is considered to embrace all the improvements on mines, and that is included with and taxed as other property is taxed. .Mills, hoisting houses, and all the oilier iiroperty connected with mining operations, which is distinct from the mine it- self, have been taxed as mining property, but the mines themselves have never been ta.xed. That is a distinction which I consider a very reasonable one, and it has been kept clearly in view by these words, " including mines and mining jinqierty.'' If the memljers of the foiiner Convention had not clearly recognized that distinction they would not have used the 7 th day.] TAXATION. 225 Monday,] Hawlbt. [July 11. two sets of words, but would have said " min- ] recent law of Congress, will be obtained from ing property " alone, or " mines " alone. So , this source. There will be really no more diffi- much upon that point. I culty in determining the proceeds of a mine, Now, I claim that there should be a dis- j whether net or gross, and certainly not in tinction made, in regard to taxation, between , determining the gross proceeds of a min(i, than the two classes of property — if yon can 'desig- in determining what amount of license should nate mines as property — for this reason : Prop- 1 be levied upon a merchant, when all such erty, as found in real estate — in farms, fences, j licenses depend upon the amount of monthly town lots, and buildings— is essentially and in- j or quarterly sales. Now upon the same prin- herently different from that kind of property \ ciple, and in something like the same mode, which is designated under the head of mines, j the monthly or quarterly proceeds of mines Let us choose an illustration, familiar to all, of ^ can be determined with facility, the principle I have advanced. Suppose that Mr. HAV>'LEY. Mr. Chairman : A gentleman you, Mr. Chairman, were to invest ten thousand familiar with the subject which is about to dollars in a farm, while I at the same time in- agitate this Convention— for I conceive that this vest ten thousand dollars in a mine. Now, in discussion has but just commenced — has de- the ordinary course of a legitimate transaction, clared that the mines are the " nigger " of this if you expend ten thousand dollars in addition i coast ; that they are the " 7ioli me tangere '' of to the amount originally paid, your farm will the body politic ; that they cannot be touched, be worth twenty thousand dollars. It is true, I whether for good or for ill ; and that they must the proceeds may fail for one or two years, or be left in that anomalous position, which, in more, but still j'our property retains an inhe- rent value, at which it may be appraised, and of which it cannot be divested by the failure of crops for one, or two, or even more years. To be sure your house or your barns may be burn- ed down, or your fences destroyed, but these are things which may be guarded against. By means of insurance they or their value may be placed, in a considerable degree, at least, be- yond the reach of danger. But how is it with my mine ? If the same rule applied, my mine should be worth twenty thousand dollars also. But we find that the rule which applies in your comparison with every other description of property, they have occupied on this coast, ever since the first discovery of the gold fields of California. Now, sir, while this statement of the case may seem plausible to some, I conceive that it is entitled to no weight in this Convention. I conceive that our duty in the premises lies in the determination of the question, whether or not that element of our country's wealth, which has elevated so many men from penniless cir- cumstances to princely incomes, shall be made to pay its proper share towards the support of case does not operate in regard to my mine, i that Government which we are about to inaug- because we find that in a great number, if not in an absolute majority of instances of that kind, the expenditure has not really added to the value of the property, but, on the contrary, has demonstrated the fact that it is nearlv if not urate. The manner in which the public lands have hitherto been held in the State of Califor- nia, and in which they are still held, both in California and Nevada — at least a large pro- portion, not only of the ai'able, but other entirely worthless. Now, sir, I claim that that I lands in this Territory — has been such, or the shows a marked difference between these class- es of property — a difference which we ought to recognize. One kind of property has an abso- lute, inherent value, while the other, instead of an inherent value, has only the chance of find- ing something of value, to constitute its valua- able characteristic. That is all that can be claimed of any undeveloped mine within the borders of this Territory. It has no value ex- cept that kind of value which is connected with j grant is questioned, and not only that cabin a lottery, to wit : the chance of obtaining some- which has cost him fifty dollars and which barely thing of value. tenure of the occupants of these lands has been and is such, that, as a general thing, the occu- pant has been compelled, whether willing or unwilling, to pay his taxes upon the possessory right of occupation. The emigrant who comes into our valleys, or settles upon our hill-sides, building his cabin worth perhaps fifty dollars, is visited by the As- sessor when he makes his round. The poor emi- A very serious objection to classing these two interests together — the mining interest and the serves to shelter him and his family from the blasts of winter is taxed, but also his possess- ory right to the few acres of sterile land from other property interests— in regard to securing which he ekes out his scanty existence. Now, a revenue from them, is this : that it is next to impossible to place anything like a proper val- ue upon a mine. But you can by proper legis- tion secure the placing upon the statute-books of the State of such laws as will enable the State to obtain from the proceeds of the mines, gross or net, as the Legislature may choose to determine, a revenue which will be very consid- erable in amount. I do not suppose that there is any doubt that the Federal tax, under the on the other hand, the question before us is, whether or not the mines, those lands in our Territory which have raised men to princely fortunes, shall be taxed. I maintain that there is no justice in exempting them from taxation. And while I believe, for my own part, that any Court of competent jurisdiction would set aside a judgment assessing a ta.x upon a mine, as such, still I believe that the possessory right to that mine, and the advantages, pecu- 22G TAXATION. [7th da}'. Monday.] DELoxa— Hawley — Fitch — Nocrse. [July 11. niary and otherwise, which that right gives to the iiossesst.r. is as lejritiniately a !=nt)ject of taxation as tlie niisfiable cabin J lia\ e alluded to. or the lew barren acres held and tilled by the man who owns and occupies it. Mr. l)KL()N(i. Will the {gentleman allow me to ask him a question ? Will he consent to the l)assage of this section after striking out the words. •• including mines and mining prop- erty."' leaving it so as to i)rovide simply, that aUjiroperty. both real and personal, shall be taxed '.' I desire to ascertain whether or not we can come together and agret' upon some- thini: which will be satisfactory to all. Mr. 11AWI.1-:Y. 1 will say in reply to the gentleman, notwithstanding this amendment now before the Convention is still jtersisted in, that while the proiiosition he now makes in some degree docs away with the objections which 1 have felt compelled to urge, in the ]iosilion which I occupy as a rei)resentativo of one of the •• cow counties," although I nuist l»e jiermitted to suggest that it does not meet with my entire approval, yet if he, as he is the auihm- of this amendment, is disjjosed to meet me on half way ground, he will not find me backward. Aiid inasmuch as the gentleman professes to be willing to make a compromise, 1 suggest that this pending amendment be tem- porarily withdrawn, aiul the amendment which he wishes to offer i)roposed to the Convention. [Mr. Wauwick in the Chair.] Mr. I)EL(JNtr. I suggest, then, that we vote down the amendment proposed by the gentle- man from Humboldt. (Mr. Hanks), iu order that we may get this amendmi-nt in. Mr. ilAWLKY. I do not know that we can vote it down. Mr. F1T(,'H. I desire to say a few words to the Convention, and particularly to the " cow ccunty '■ representatives, ujjon this question. I occiijiy. in this respect, somewhat of an anom- alous jMisitinu. 1 represent a mining constitu- ency, a constituency, a majority ot wlnun I believe to be opposed to any taxation of the mines, and yet I am in favor of mining taxa- tion, and such has been my position froiu the first. I have pul)licly advocated that policy, both with my voice and jx'ti ; and although my views ha\(' been jieili'i-tly W(dl known on that question, yet my constituents have seen fit to send me here. Like the gentleman frotu Douglas, I can sec no good reason why the mines shoiihl be exempted from bearing a just share of tlie public burdens. 1 cannot si'c any reason why mines i)ossessing a definite market value should not jiay for the support of tin- (ioveriunent, just the stune as a ranch or any (dher species (jf j)roperty. I conceive, furthi-rmore, that tlie greatest expenses of our .•-^talc (Jovernmeiit will be incui-re(| necessarily in its judicial dcpartmi-nt. and a-< the time of Courts in this State (as I hope it soon will be) will be occn]/ied, to a very great extent, in trying mining suits ; as three-fourths id' the; liti- gation of the State will be on the subject of mines ; as the expenses of the Government for the protection of the mining interest will be greater tlian for all the other ])roi)erty in the State. I can see no good reason why the mines should not bear a just proportion of the public expen.ses. Yet, on the other hand, I really can- not see any good reason why the mines should be taxed upon their gross proceeds, because if you levy a tax upon the gross proceeds indiscrimi- nately, yon tax ii mine from which it costs nearly its full value to extract the precious metais. just as much as you would tax one from which the gold and silver may be ex- tracted for one-tenth of its value. I believe that the only proper basis, after all, is, to tax mines upon their market value. If a mine is worth a thousand dollars per foot, if a man owning in such a mine can take that amount for it in the market, and get it in gold coin any time he pleases, I do not know that there is any good reason why it should be taxed for any less amount than it would be if it were a ranch worth a thousand dollars per acre. Yet, believing this, holding these views of the matter, I nevertheless hope that my friends from the " cow counties "' will consider the pe- culiar circumstances by which we are at present surrounded. It must be remembered that we have to sul)mit this Constitution to the people ; to a people imbued with strong prejudices ; to a people whose passions may be aroused very easily on the subject of taxing the mines. If we provide for levying an indiscriminate tax upon mining property, men will go before the miners throughout the Territory and tell them that our C'onstitution taxes the mines, and iiu- poses tipon them a burden which they cannot bear, and which will be destructive to their interests ; and in that way they will succeed in defeating the Constitution. Now I respectfully submit to my friends from the agricultural counties, and to the whole Convention, whether, if you strike out the W'ords, '• including mines and mining property," you do not hjave the provision just as strong, for all practical pur- poses, as in the shape in which it now stands. It says : — " Tlie Logislatiire shall provide by law for a uniform and equal rate of assessiiirut and taxation, and shall pri'Scrilie sueli remilati'ins as sliall secure a just valu- ation for taxation of all pruperty. " Why not let it stop there? I ask if it does not already include mines and nnning property, without putting in the words " mines and min- ing ])roperty ? •' If it does not, then I do not umlcrstand the English langtiage. Mr. XorUSK. I see that the Constitution of California provides as follows : — "Taxation shall be equal and uniform throufjhnut the State. All jiroperty in this State shall be taxed in proportion to its value, to be ascertained as directed Ijy law." Now I have been told — I do not know that it is so— that in California, under that provision, the mines are not taxed. Mr. FITCII. I do not know that there has 7th day.] TAXATION. 227 Monday.] NouKSE — Fitch — DeLong — Haines. [July 11. been a decision on that subject ; I think there has not. Mr. NOURSE. What is the practice, then, in resjard to taxing the mines ? Mr. FITCH. It is to tax the dust wlierever they find it. But here our niinincr is differently conducted. We have our quartz ledges, whicli are fixed and well defined, while in California, as a general thing, the mines have no such definite market value. Mr. DeLONG. I will state, that in California they tax the proceeds, where there are ledges, ami they can get at them, and the property also. Mr. FITCH. The mines there have seldom any fixed, definite, easily-ascertained market value — merely a hill or a tunnel, or a placer claim, rich perhaps to-day, and poor to-mor- row — but here we have our silver-bearing quartz ledges, which have a definite, fixed mar- ket value, just as certain as the market value of a ranch, or any other piece of property. We know that certain strata of quartz produces so many hundred tons of ore, which will aver- age so much per ton, and we can see the results. A man claims to own a certain definite and fixed proportion of a mine, and it bears a cer- tain definite and fLxed value, like other prop- erty. A change in the system of mining, un- known until now in the history of our country, has taken place. Corpoi'ations have taken the place of individual and unincorporated effort. Mining stocks are issued, and those stocks have a market value. Therefore, I say, that the piece of paper which entitles the holder to so many feet in the Gould and Curry Mine, or any other mine which has a fixed and definite mar- ket value, should be taxed to the extent of that value. And I maintain that under a proper construction of our Constitution, (and we have no right to anticipate an improper construction by our Coiirts). when we say that property of all kinds shall be taxed — " all property, both real and personal," — mining property will not escape. We necessarily and by implication, include mining properly, and stock in the companies owning the mines. Now I will sub- mit the question to my friend from Washoe. (Mr. Nourse), supposing that we should strike out " mines and mining property " — words which I consider as mere surplusage, adding no vigor or force to the section — and supposing that the first State Legislature should provide for the taxing of mines by law, whether such a law would not be held constitutional ? Mr. NOURSE. I appreciate fully the gentle- man's position. I desire as much as any one to avoid unnecessary debate, and I will tell the gentleman now the reason why many of us are unwilling to leave the section as it is, merely striking out these words, " mines and mining property." It is simply this : that we fear, whether rightly or wrongly, that a certain argument may be successfully used in the Courts — that because the former Convention tion had stricken them out, therefore it may be claimed and used as an argument— with what effect we_ do not know — that this Convention did not intend to include mines and mining property. Now an amendment has been shown to me which satisfies me perfectly, and I hope an opportunity may be given for its intro- duction and consideration. Mr. FITCH. Mr. Chairman- Mr. HAINES. Will the gentleman excuse me if I interrupt him one moment. If I could be satisfied that the mines would be regarded as property, I would be satisfied with the amendment just proposed, to strike out the words " mines and mining property ;" but as an old Californian, who has seen the workings of the California Constitution for the last thirteen years, I am by no means satisfied on that point. I know what has been the invariable construc- tion there, and that there has never been a dol- lar received for taxes from the mines, in any shape, except for taxes on bullion, dust, and the materials used in working the mines. I believe that the gentleman from Storey, (Mr. DeLong), will remember that that is the case : I believe, also, that all the members of this Convention are aware of it. It is generally understood that no mining property in Califor- nia is taxed, notwithstanding that the Constitu- tion of California says : "All property shall be taxed equally." I do not think, as has been said, that a case ever came before the Supreme Court of California involving the question, but I know, however, that it is generally the opin- ion throughout the State that the mines are not taxable property. Mr. FITCH. All of which is true. I will, however, explain my position in a moment. Suppose the first State Legislature, in passing a revenue law, should fail to provide for the taxa- tion of the mines, what would be the result ? Some person owning a sufficient amount of tax- able property to make it for his interest to test the question, will test it, and carry his case to the Supreme Court. I ask you, sir, and every lawyer here, if it would be possible for the Supreme Court to decide anything else than that a revenue law which exempted a large and valuable class of property from taxation was unconstitutional, i-inder such a clause as this, providing for a uniform and equal rate of taxation of all property, both real and personal ? It seems to me clearly Impossible that they should decide otherwise. As the gentleman from Douglas (Mr. Haines) has said, the question never was tried in California, and if it should be. this difficulty would occur, that there has been as yet no definite, certain, fixed market value attached to the gold mines. Mr. HAINES. Will the gentleman permit me to correct him. They have in California quartz mines, copper mines, and other mines, some of which, certainly, have a definite cash value. Mr. FITCH. Then I venture to say that any had put in those words and this Conven- 1 man who chooses to carry the question up to 228 TAXATION. [7 th day. Monday,] Haines — Fitch — Crosman — Chapin — Nocrse. [July 11. the Supreme Court, can get a decision, and that any hiw i'Xi'ni[)tiiig those iniiies from taxation, will lie iioci>:ain. Mr. DINXH. I am opposed to that motion, for the reason thai l\v ant thr Convention to fin- ish this Article on Taxation while we are en- gaped upon it. The question was taken, and Mr. Fitch's mo- tion was agreed to. IN COM'KXTION. The rrvESIDI-:NT havino; resumed the chair, The ("IIAIRMAX reported that the Commit- tee of tlie Whole hud had under consideration Article Vlll. entitled Municipal and other Cor- porations, and Article iX. entitled Finance and State Deht. and had made some amendments thereto, in which he was instructed to ask the concurrence of the Convention. Also, that the Committee of the Whole had had under con- sideration Article X, entitled Taxation, had made some progress therein, and had instructed him to ask leave to sit again. The report was accepted, and leave was ac- cordingly granted to sit again upon Article X. yiv. CIIAPIN offered the following resolu- tion, which was adopted : — Rrsolvfil, Tliat the Pr^siilciit iif the Cdnvcntion be rcqiicsted to place upcm the standing; ieing in attendance, the usual morning prayer wa"* dispensed with. The journal of yesterday was read and ap- proved. APPOIXTMKXTS OX COMMITTEES. The PRE.S1DENT announced that, in accord- ance with the resolution adopted yesterday, he appointed Mr. ilcCliatoa on the Commit- tee on State Seal and Coat of Arms, and Mr. Haines on the Committee on Phraseology and Arrangement. REPORTS OF COMMITTEES. Mr. KINKEx\D, from the Committee on Phraseology and Arrangement, presented the following report : — Mr. Pri'xiihnt : Your Committee on Phraseology and Arrangement of the Constitution beg leave to report the following arrangement for the several articles re- ferred to them : 1st. Kesolutiou adopting the Constitution of the United States ; 2d. Ordinance ; 3d. Preamble ; 4th. Article I — Declaration of Rights. Your committee also recommend the insertion of the word "City," after the word "Carson," in the said resolution. Also the substitution of the words "and this," in lieu of the word "which," in the seventh line of the engrossed copy of the Ordinance. Also to strike out the word "the," where it occurs before the word " citizens," in the third section of the Ordinance. ' Bespectf'j-Uy submitted. J. H. KINKEAD, Chairman. The report was adopted, and the several amendments proposed by the committee were agreed to. Mr. TOZER, from the Committee on En- grossment, reported that that committee had examined and compared Article II, entitled Right of Suffrage, Article HI, entitled Distri- bution of Powers, Article IV, entitled Legis- lative Department, and Article V, entitled Ex- ecutive Department, and found the same cor- rectly engrossed. The report was accepted, and the several ar- ticles reported were placed on file. Mr. IIAWLEY moved that the several mat- ters reported from the Committee on Phraseol- ogy and Arrangement be referred to the Com- mittee on Enrollment. The PRESIDENT suggested that these mat- ters would have to be reengrossed, as certain amendments had been made. Mr. BANKS. It is hardly necessary, because no changes have been made beyond a half a dozen words, and I suggest that the correc- tions be made in the margin of the engrossed copy in red ink, and the indorsement signed by the Secretary, so as to show that the cor- rections have been made. That is the custom- ary course, I believe. I will move that the en- rolling committee be instructed to make the corrections in accordance with the action of the Convention upon the report of the Com- mittee on Phraseology, and that a note be made on the engros.'ied copy, to the effect that the corrections were made in accordance with that order. The PRESIDENT. I find, on examination, that the Secretary has already made the in- dorsements in red ink, and they are signed by him as Secretary. Mr. BANKS. Very well : that covers the whole ground. Mr. TOZER. The Secretary states, I sup- 8th day.] JUDICIAL SYSTEM. 231 Tuesday,] Banks — Dunne — Johnson. [July 12. pose, that the amendments are made upon the report of the Committee on Phraseology. The SECRETARY. Yes, sir. Mr. BANKS. I withdraw my motion, as that is all that is necessary. The PRESIDENT. I will suggest that there should be a motion, to go on record, in order to show hereafter why the changes were made. Mr. BANKS. I will move then that all the changes made by the Convention upon the re- port of the Committee on Phraseology be en- tered by the Secretary, over his signature, on the margin of the documents. The question was taken, and the motion was agreed to. The question was taken on the motion of Mr. Hawley, that the several matters reported by the Committee on Phraseology be referred to the Committee on Enrollment, and it was agreed to. EVENING SE.SSIONS. Mr. DUNNE. I will state to the Conven- tion, ia explanation of a resolution which I am about to offer, that the Convention is pro- gressing very rapidly with its busiuess, but the Committee on the Judiciary have not yet com- pleted their labors, and will require an oppor- tunity to hold another session. There is no time wheu we caa get the committee together unless it is in the evening, and for that reason, believing that one more session will enable the committee to complete the report ou the Arti- cle entitled Judicial Department, I otter this resolution : — J/rxolmd, That in consideration of the necessity of anothir evening session of the Judiciary Committee, the operation of so much of the standing rule as re- lates to evening sessions be postponed until to-mor- row, the 13th instant. The question was taken, and the resolution was adopted. j INSTRCCTIONS TO THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE. ! [Mr. Crosman in the chair.] Mr. JOHNSON. I oft'er the following reso- lution : — Ee^iolred, That the Committee on the Judiciary are instructed to embody such provisions in the judicial features of the Constitution as will provide for the election of a District Judge in each organized county of the State, (except Storey County, wherein there shall be two District Judges,) with such additional ju- risdiction as is now conferred upon County or Probate Courts, so as to dispense with such County or Probate Courts. I should feel reluctant to join in any attempt to make radical or material changes in our ju- diciary system, in any respect, unless I thought it quite clear that great compensating advan- tages would be gained thereby. We have now had two meetings of the Judiciary Committee, I believe, and we find that some diversity of opinion exists among its members upon tlie ju- dicial features of our Constitution, or in re- spect to the judicial system as established in the old Constitution, adopted as the basis of our action, and in the Constitution of Califor- nia. We have encountered a great deal of dif- ficulty in one respect, namely, in arranging the judicial districts in such a manner as to ac- commodate the greatest possible number with- in the respective counties, and at the same time to restrict and limit the expenditure with- in reasonable and proper bounds. Now it must occur to gentlemen, I think, that if we can, without any increase of expenditure, so ar- range our judiciary system as to have a Court with an enlarged jurisdiction in each of 'the sev- eral counties, we shall in that way greatly sub- serve the interests of those who sent us here. And I think by the adoption of the proposition involved in the resolution, we can obtain and establish such a judicial system, which, while it di.spensps with County and Probate Courts, will enable us, instead, to have a judge in each county, upon whom can be conferred the jurisdiction ordinarily possessed by the District Courts, as well as that exercised by the County and Probate Courts. I have made some esti- mates of the relative expense of these two sys- tems, comparing one with the other. On the one hand, I take as a basis the salaries of the County and Probate Judges, as they are now fixed by territorial laws, and add to these the rate of salary likely to V>e established for the Disrict Judges, fixing it within what would be reasonable and proper bounds, taking as a ba- sis five District Judges within the State, and one County or Probate Judge in each county. I then make a like estimate upon the other proposition, as embodied in this resolution, of having one District Judge in each county, ex- cept Storey County, and there having two judges. I fix their respective salaries at the same rate as that of the District Judges in the ditferent counties. I find upon these esti- timati^s that the expense of the entire system here proposed does not exceed that of the other more than two or three thousand dollars a year. It must be evident to every gentle- man here, that if the difference is no greater than that, or even if the cost were as much as ten thousand dollars a year more, it would be an expenditure for wh'ch the people would be amply repaid, by the additional benefits secured on account of having a court in each county. It was chit fly for the sake of eliciting the views and opinions of other members, that I present- ed the resolution at this time. I hope' we may have some discussion upon it, and if it is the judgment of the Convention that a system such as contemplated by the resolution I have offered should be devised, then the Judiciary Commit- tee, before proceeding further with its labors, can proceed to embody the proper provisions in the Article which they shall report. Mr. DUNNE. I concur entirely with the views of the gentleman from Oruisby as to the I propriety of the adoption of the resolution presented by him. I think no alteration of this Constitution which we have adopted as a basis, in respect to the judiciary system, could be pre- sented to this Convention, that would be more satisfactory than this, to the people of the out- 232 JUDICIAL SYSTEM. [8tli d'df. Tuesday,] Hawley— Fitch — Johnson. [July 12. side counties, at least. For those counties which are in the imini'diate neighborhood of the capital I do not pretend to speali ; but I am sure that it will be beneficial in its opera- tion in those large districts known as Hum- boldt and Lander Counties, and others so far removed from the capital and so large in ex- tent. If two of those counties are embraced in one judicial district, tiie residents of one of them, at least, must be situated at a distance of from eighty to a hundred miles from the residence of the District Judge, and therefore, for all chamber business reijuired to be per- fornud, it would be necessary to travel that distance of from sixty to one hundred miles. That would amount almost to an absolute de- nial of justice. There is another feature of this proposition to be regarded, and that is, that those counties I speak of, covering one lialf of the area of this Territory, are so large that in the course of the natural growth of the State we may exp'Ct that in time they will in themselves each constitute a large judicial dis- trict, after becoming subdivided, as they natu- rally will be, by reason of their great extent. Therefore, as one of the representatives of one of those counties, 1 heartily indorse this reso- lution, and I think I am autliorized to state to the memliers of this Convention that the prop- osition it involves meets with the hearty sanc- tion of all the delegates from Humboldt and Lander Counties. I would like, however, to hear an expression of opinion on the subject from g-'utleraen representing counties nearer the capital, and whicli are smaller in extent. If it satisfii'S them. 1 think it will l)e satisfacto- ry to all. There is one otiier point involved, however, and tiuit is, the question wliether two judges are sufficient for Storey County whi'U all the county and probate business is thrown upon tliose two judges ; but that is a matter which I presume the Storey County delegation will ventilate. Mr. H.WVLEY. For all the reasons which Lave already been presented by the two gentle- men who liave spoken upon this resolution, 1 heartily indorse it, and I trust it will obtain the sanction of the Convention. The county of Douglas, whicli I represent, stands some- what in the same category in regard to chain ber business as the county of Ilumlioldt. In committee last evening, we made a careful cal- culation of the manner in which the State should be divided into judicial districts, and we could come to no other conclusion than that Douglas should be attaclw-d to Esini'ralda County, as a part of that judicial district, in which event we should have to travel nearly one hundred miles to obtain, for instance, a restraining order, or to have one set aside. For this reason I trust the Convention will adopt the resolution, and that tlie feature wliieli il contemplates will liC embodied in our judiciary Hystein. Mr. FITCH. For my own information, as well as for the information of the Convention. I would ask tlie mover of this resolution if it is not contemplated that under its operation each county shall establish and pay the salary of its own District Judge, instead of having it paid out of the common treasury. Mr. JOHNSON. The idea is, although not embodied in the resolution, that these judges shall be paid by the counties respectively. It is an immaterial matter, however, because, al- though the money may be paid from the State Treasury, it will have to be first paid into the State Treasury by the counties ; and if it is to be paid directly by the counties, of course there will be so much the le.ss for them to pay into the State treasury; so that, whether it first passes to the County treasury and thenco to the State treasury, to be drawn therefrom tiy the Judges, or whether it is drawn at once from the county treasury, would seem practi- cally to make no difference. Mr. FITCH. Excuse me ; I think it makes a good deal of difference, becau^se the counties paying the largest amount of taxes would have to contribute towards the payment of the sala- ries of the Judges of other counties. Mr. JOHNSON. Excuse me ; I likewise pro- pose that the Judges shall be paid by the coun- ties. My id' a is derived from the old Constitu- tion, and it is, that all the judicial officers shall 1)0 made preferred creditors, so as to insure their payment in cash, and thereby we offer such an inducement as will enable us to pro- cure the services of men who, by their charac- thr, talents and legal attainments, are best (lualified to fill those positions. If it is left so that the payment of such salaries may be dependent upon the condition of a County Treasury, which is liable to temporary or permanent embarrassment, men may be de- terred from occupying those judicial positions who would be the very best qualified to fill them. I believe the occupants of judicial of- fices should be so protected by law as not to render it necessary or incumbent upon them to embark in other pursuits, and I think most as- suredly that they will, ijy law, be so prot(ct(d. The provision we have in this Constitution in relation to the salaries of those oHicers should be retain d, and should be made to ap- ply to the judges of the courts in the different Counties ; and by having the advantage; of a Judge and a Court in each county — having a Court at home — in my judgment the people will be well compensated for the slight addi- •ioiial expense. The provision I refer to rela- tive to compensation is iu the schedule, I be- lieve. As to Storey County, a provision might be incorporated making that county an cxcej)tion. If gentlemen from Storey County do not deem it sufficient for the necessities of that county to have one court, an exception can readily Ite made and power lodged in the Legislature to provide, if you please, by a two-thirds vote, for additional courts, if it .shall at any time be deemed that there is a necessity for them. I 8th day.] JUDICIAL SYSTEM. 233 Tuesday,] Brosnan — Hawlet — Banks. [July 12. only proposed, in this resolution, to provide fur embodying in tlie article the general frame- work of our judicial system; and, of course, there are many things in the way of detail which it may be found necessary or proper to incorpo- rate in the Constitution. The idea is, simply, to dispense, as a feature of our judicial system. as we find it now in the old Constitution, with Co mty and Probate Courts, and confer their jurisdiction on the District Courts, with a view to having a Judge in each county. So far as salaries are concerned. I think it proper for us to fix them in the Constitution, at least for the time for which the first incumbents are to be elected, making such term say for two years, and leaving it to be fixed thereafter by the Legislature. Mr. BROSNAN. I move to amend the reso- lution, by striking out the word '■ two," and inserting the word " three," so as to provide for three Judges in Storey County, instead of only two. The question was stated on Mr. Brosnan's amendment. Mr. BROSNAN. I heartily concur in the plan proposed by this resolution, and if the additional expense will be no UTire than two or three thousand dollars a year, I do not see why there should be any olijection whatsoever, to the adoption of the resolution. Indeed. I agree with my friend from Ormsby, (Mr. Johnson,) that if the difference in expense should amount even to .510,000 a year, it would still be amply counterpoised by the great benefits to be de- rived by the people from the adoption of the system proposed. In the first place, under such a system, we have all the judicial bnsintss done in the county which could be done by the Dis- trict Judge and by the County Judge of that county ; that is to say, we have ample force on the bench, in each county, to discharge all the duties that could be discharged in that county by the District and County Judges, and we have those duties performed, too, more expe- ditiously, and more economically ; and we, at the same time, obviate the necessity of an ap- peal from the County Judge, or, if you please, from the Justices of the Peace to the County Judge, and from the County Judge to the Dis- trict Judge, and then again from the District Judge to the Supreme Court. We rid ourselves of all this delay and dilficulty by adopting this resolution, and thus we avoid, as it were, two intermediate stumbling-blucks in the way ot justice, wiping them out of our judicial system altogether. In each of those inferior courts, expenses are necessarily incurred, and time wasted by litigs.nts, before they can reach the court of final resort. Not only that, Mr. Chairman, but if you adopt the system proposed, you dignify the character of your judiciary in the several coun- ties, and secure the respect of litigants for the courts, to a degree which, I humbly submit, they do not always challenge at the present time. Further than that, you also secure the services on the bench, of men of ability — men in whom the community can confide. You get men whose qualifications are known, coming from the neighborhoods in which they are elected, and knoAn to all the citizens within their counties, and you avoid the gr at strug- gle which, aside from political considerations, would always be sure to arise, to a certain ex- tent, under the old system of judicial districts comprising several counties in each, between the different counties of those respective dis- tricts, where men would naturally be combat- ting and struggling over the question of which county should present the candidate for Dis- trict Judge. As I did not propose to myself, when I left home, to occupy much of the time of this Con- vention in discussing any of the questions that might come before it, (although 1 have desired on several occasions to do so, on important questions arising in the Convention.) I shall leave other gentlemen to discuss this question more fully, if they desire to do so. I liope the resolution will be adopted, for I foresee mani- fold benefits likely to accrue to the community from the establishment of such a system. Mr. HAW LEY. One word by way of sug- gestion. Under the present distribution of the revenues of our Territory, I believe it is pro- vided that five-thirteenths of the taxes in tach county shall be transferred to the territorial fund, to be applied to liquidating the territo- rial indebtedness ; and a portion of that fund, as is well known, is applied to the payment of the judges under our present judicial system. Now, tliis serious objection, I think, will be raised by many of our citizens to the adoption of this provision, unless it can be obviated and removed in some manner; that if we continue to pay to the State treasury, under the State organization, the same pro-rata of the revenue rt'ceived in each county, it must be apparent that out of what remains, (which has hereto- fore been used exclusively for county pur- poses), the county will be called upon to pay this additional charge for the salary of its judges. I am heartily in favor of the proposi- tion, but I still think that, in the wisdom of the Convention, some provision may and should be made to retain in the respective counties a portion of the amount hitherto paid to the territorial treasury, for the purpose of enab- ling the countiis more readily to meet the ad- ditional expense required for the payment of the salaries of the county judges. In our county we pay the county judges fifteen hun- dred dollais per annum, and under this esti- mate we are expected to pay the district judge of the county four thousand dollars, which is a very heavy increase. I hope this suggestion will be taken into consideration, if it is deemed to be worth anything. Mr. BANKS. I have considered this matter now, I suppose, about a half an hour in all, and I presume that most of the members of the Convention have not considered it much longer. 234 JUDICIAL SYSTEM. [8th day. Tuesday.] JOHXSOX. [July 12. It iR proposed by this resolution to direct the j Committee on the Judiciary to make a radical I clianurts could then be in session, if necessary. the greater portion of the entire year, and that is an important consideration, for the delay of justice, under our present s^'stem. is practically a bar to justice, and anything that will con- spire to hasten litigation, to bring about some determination, what :ver the result to the liti- gants may be, is practically an improvement on the slow and tardy movements of our pres- ent system. I do hope, if gentlemen in the Convention see any practical objections to this system. they will present them now. I am far from being desirous of making a radical leap into anything like sweeping changes, especially in so important a matter as the judicial system ; but this proposition does seem to me to be plain, clear and practical, and so far as it is a change, it is all for the i)enefit of the respective countii's. Then again it is a cheap system. As every county must have its judge, at all events, by th"' adilitiimal ex|)<'nse of one. two, or three thousand (bdlars a yi-ar. in tlw; way of increased salary, you place within the reach of each county all the facilities and ai)ivliances neces- sary for the prompt ami spee-dy adjur a taxation that is enormous, and we have the figures coming before us in the papi-rs of this morning, showing a debt or ex- penditure to the amount of § KKJ.l'iS for that county of Ston-y. Th.' proposition is now be- ing maile, to consolidate the city and county. in order that we may reduce our expenses, and save our.sclvcs from such enormous taxation. Now. my friend, the gentleman from Gold Hill (Mr. Fri/.-ll) favors a proposition to make a division, which will add still further to that taxation, and to those expenses. That would be the nsult. Mr. FRIZELL. I ask the gcntlemaa to show it. Mr. CHAPIN. Why, if you make a provision for a District Court ;inil a County Court, you must have two court-houses, separate and dis- tinct from each other, and a whole batch of clerks, to prepare aad conduct the business in each. Mr. FRIZELL. Cannot you hold two courts with one clerk and a deputy ? Mr. CHAPIN. But you can have one court without employing a deputy, and if you hare two courts, you must have two ofiices that will be accessible for the business of those courts. Let us condense it all into one court, and have but one clerk; and let us economize, especially if we are going to have a State Government, which will certainly iucrea.se our taxation. If the government of our new State is going to cost so much more than the territo- rial government, do not let us add to our ex- penses in matters of minutia, where it is not necessary. Mr. DkLONG. I merely want to suggest that down in Gold Hill they could, perhaps, find an excellent place in which to hold a court for the accommodation of my colleague, by taking one of the quartz mills— and I believe there is little or nothing but quartz mills there. But, seriously, I would ask if my colleague (Mr. Frizell) thinks it would be very con- venient to run the attorneys and litigants back- wards and forwards between Virginia and Gold Hill. They would have to do some tall run- ning, most certainly. A man would want to know what was up in the court in Gold Hill, and when he got there, very often he would have to travel back to Virginia, as fast as he came. It would be a good thing to give cus- tom to the livery-stable keepers. Now, Gold Hill is a nice place, and always has been, and I have always admired it. I have a particular admiration for her representatives. [Merri- ment]. I do not blame them at all for propos- ing this division ; but I think the Convention would be mistaken if it should adopt their view.s, and so give ri.se to perpetual racing matches between attorneys. I am willing to run a little race with ray colleague, if he wishes, but I do not like too much of that ex- ercise, that is all. Mr. FRIZIXL. Now, sir, I have been a res- ident of Gold Hill for four years and a half, and I feel authorized to speak for her interests. There is a Hag in our possession in the town of Gold Hill, which speaks volumes for her patri- otism and liberality. She has contributed, for each of her inhabitants, something like eleven dollars and a half to the Sanitary Fund. Now I pledge myself that, if a court is established there, so far as the court-room is concerned, it shall not cost the State of Nevada, nor Storey [County, either, so much as one cent. The PRESIDENT pro tern. The discussion of this matter, the Chair will suggest, had bet- I ter take place when the report of the commit- tee comes up for consideration. Mr. FRIZELL. I was merely answering the argument of my colleague. I will say to my other friend and colleague, (Mr. Chapin.) that his argument against having a court at Gold Hill, 8th day.] JUDICIAL SYSTEM. 243 Tuesday,] DeLoxg — Chapin — Banks — Johnson — Sturtevant — Dunne. [July 12. reminds me of a certain anecdote of Dr. John- son. This resolution, you will remember, started out with the idea of accommodatino; the people, as regards the judiciary, and their attendance on the courts. Now it is related that Dr. Johnson frequently visited at a house where a certain young lady was constantly preaching up democratic principles, social equality, and the idea of bringing all people up to a certain level, or all down to a certain level. The Doctor did not fully believe in her sincerity, and so, in order to test her, he one day proposed to bring in the footman to din" with them. '• Madam.'" said he, " we will all dine together, and so be on a level." But thf' lady was terribly indignant that he should bring in a menial and propose to scat him at her dinner table. " Madam," said the Doctor. " that is just what I expected. You levellers are willing to bring those who are above you, down, but you are not willing to elevate those who are below you." In the same way my colleague professes to be willing to accommo- date the people, but he has shown no willing- ness to bring himself down to the level of our town. He is willing to accommodate the peo- ple to a certain extent, and until it reaches his own case, and then he is not willing to level any further. Mr. DeLONG. I would like to ask the gen- tleman how he can expect people in Virginia to bring Gold Hill up to their level ? [Laughter.] Mr. CHAPIN. I desire to make but one re- mark further in regard to this division of the county proposed by the gentleman from Gold Hill. Such a division would be like dividing a family, and there is no propriety in it. Those two places are bound together, and built up together, so that you caunot tell where one ends and the other begins. Why, sir, only a little while ago it was reported that a stranger on his journey came to Gold Hill and inquired the way to Virginia. Mr. LeLONG. He was lost. Mr. CHAPIN They told him to keep right on up the road, and it is said he did keep on, right through Virginia, and away beyond, to the sum- mit north of Virginia. When hegot there, he met a resident, and inquired how much farther it was to Virginia, and the man replied : '• W"by. sir, you are going the wrong way! " Mr. DeLONG. He was a Muggins. [Laugh- ter.] Mr. CHAPIN. No doubt of it, because he came from Gold Hill. He said he had just come from there, and it was all one place all the way. And so it is. A stranger would re- gard it all as one town, and if he did not know the size of the town, would pass right on through Virginia, supposing that he was still in Gold Hill. Now, the gentleman should not undertake to divorce those twin portions of that county. We have had enough of divorces there already, and we want none of that kind. Now, I move that this whole matter be referred back to the Committee on the Judiciary, with instructions to prepare their report, and pre- sent it to this Convention. Mr. BANKS. I do not like to have the res- olution referred in its present form, for it seems to be in an improper shape for reference. To refer a resolution to a committee which that resolution instructs, seems to me absurd. I would prefer to have it amended so as to be- gin—-' Resolved, that it is the sense of this Convention" — and so on, and then we caa properly refer it. Mr. JOHNSON. I will change the phraseol- ogy so as to read that the committee be in- structed to report upon the expediency of mak- ing this change. Mr. STURTEVANT. What objection is there to referring it to the Storey County del- egation, and letting them arrange it to suit themselves? Mr. JOHN.SON. I will modify the resolu- tion, so as to read as follows : — Resolved, That the Committee on the Judiciary are instructed to consider the expediency of embodying such proceedings in the .judicial features of the Con- stitution as will provide for the election of a District Judge in each organized county of the State, (except Storey County, wherein there shall be two District Judges), with such additional jurisdiction as is now conferred upon County Probate Courts, so as to dis- pense with such County or Probate Courts. [The Presidext in the Chair.] The question was taken on the adoption of the resolution as molified, and it was adopted. order op business. Mr. DUNNE. I move that the rules be sus- peded, so that we may pass over the intervening order of business and go into Committee of the Whole on the article in relation to Taxation. Mr. CHAPIN. I would prefer to take up the regular order of business, and finish that up. I am opposed to changing the order of busi- ness. The PRESIDENT. I would suggest that we have but a short time remaining in which to transact any business in Committee of the Whole. Mr. DUNNE. That is the reason I made the motion — to get into Committee of the Whole as soon as possible. We have an hour left yet. Mr. DeLONG. We do not save anything by skipping one portion of our business in order to take up another portion. The question was taken on the motion of Mr. Dunne, and it was not agreed to. RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. Article II, entitled Right of Suffrage, wag taken up in its order on the general file for a third reading. THE OATH FOR AOTERS. Section 2, as passed to engrossment, was read, as follows : — Sec. 2. Ko person who has been or may be con- victed of treason or felony in any State or Territory of the United States, unless restored to civil rights , 244 RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. [8th day.' Tuesday,] Cou-ixs — DeLonc — Frizell — Johxsox — Fitch — Hawley — Chapix. [July 12. and'no person who, after arrivinfi at tlio afje of piort, protect and defend the Constitution and (jovernnient of the United States, and the Cimstitution and Govermneut of the State of Neva-e. [July 1 2. is thrown around the ballot-box, we do not guard it so strictly as to prevent honest voters from exercising their rights. We have a reg- istry law provided for now, which will be in it- self almost a perfect safeguard, and now let us strike that oath out, and leave it to the Legis- lature to make such provision in relation to the registry of voters as may be necessary. Let them provide, if they please, that sucli an oath shall be taken at the time of registration, and then we shall be safe. [The Pkesident in the Chair.] Mr. TOZER. When this Article was under consideration in the Committee of the Whole, I proposed an amendment to this section, which, however, was voted down by a large majority. And I do not propose now to offer the same or any similar amendment ; but I hope that the amendment already before the Convention will prevail ; and I hope that, as suggested by my colleague, (Mr. Chapin), this entire matter of the oath will be stricken out. It seems to me, that if we leave it in it will very much encumber and embarrass the ma- chinery of elections. At any little petty election, under such a provision, this difficulty may ari.so, and at an election for county offi- cers, where the heat of the contest is great between the different contestants for some of the offices — in populous towns like Virginia and Gold Hill, or other large towns of the State — the election may be so embarrassed liy this means as to occupy the whole dav in challeng- ing perhaps only two or three hundred voters, although there may be a thousand or twelve hundred men entitled to vote at the same polls. The day would not be sufficiently long to com- pass the whole election at that rate. I hope the section will be so amended, at any rate, that persons entitled to it shall not be denied the privilege of an elector. Let us leave the Leg- islature to settle and arrange these matters of d>tail. We are seeking to remodel this Constitu- tion in such a way as to render it acceptable to the people of the Territory, and we should bear in miud that one chief objection upon which it was formerly rejected was, that it legislated too much. I think I can see a disposition on the part of this Convention to fall into the same error, by legislating too much in tliis article, as well as some others before us. We are pur- suing the same course that swnmped the work of the former Convention, and I trust that we shall adopt some other course, and devise some other way by which this difficulty may be obviated. Mr. KENNEDY. I believe I was the author of this oath, at least so far as the introduction of it into this section is concerned, and I must say I cannot see the difficulties which other gentlemen have discovered in regard to it. I acknowledge that, theoretically, there may be a difficulty. Suppose you cliallenge every man who comes up to the ])olls, then, of course, all could not vote. But that same objection exists at the present time. If any person wishes to challenge any or every voter, he has the right to do so, and can insist that the oath shall be administered to every man who comes to the polls. That is the case under our pres- ent territorial laws, and I do not see that the administration of this oath would take much, if any longer, than the one we now have. Mr. NOURSE. I hope the suggestion of the gentleman from Ormsby now in the chair, (the President,) will be adopted. There are several matters here which seem to need some change, and if any amendment is to be made, it should be done at this stage of our progress. I think that, upon consideration, gentlemen will agree with me that the words " unless an amnesty be granted " should be stricken out, before the section is finally adopted. Mr. IIOVEY. I move to recommit the sec- tion to a select committee, with instructions to report on the propriety of striking out the oath. Mr. CHAPIN. In reply to my friend from Lyon (Mr. Kennedy) who remarked that there is an oath now which could be required to be taken, I would say that that is very true, but that same oath would still be necessary, in ad- dition to this, which makes it so much the worse. The oath now required by law, is a very brief one. The voter must swear that he has been so long a time in the precinct, and a few other matters, and the addition of this long oath to that, makes the matter so much the more objectionable. Mr. FITCH. I trust the oath will be stricken out, for I do not see that it would be of any particular use. It will devolve upon the Legis- lature to prescrilie the punishment for illegal voting, and the Legislature will designate the manner and means by which convictions for illegal voting can be procured. They can at the same time require and prescribe an oath to be taken, and fix the punishment for swearing falsely. I think it is too much like legislation, to insert a provision of this kind iu the Consti- tution. Mr. CROSMAN. I am in favor of recom- mitting the article without instructions. I have an amendment which I wish to propose, and there are several others who have amend- ments to offer. I will move as an amendment to the pending motion, that the article be re- committed to the Committee of the Whole, without instructions. Mr. STURTEVANT. I hope, as there are several amendments which gentlemen wish to off. r, that if the article can be recommitted for amendments generally, that course will be taken. I do not see why the Convention may not instruct itself in regard to amendments; at any rate, I trust that gentlemen will not spend the time iu harping upon the matter. Mr. DUNNE. I .should be opposed, entirely, to the motion to recommit without instructions, and I think the gentleman from Storey (Mr. Chapin) has hit the nail exactly on the head. 1 The oath should be required to be taken, but it 246 DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS. [8th day. Tuesday.] Hawlky—Chapin— Banks— Warwick— Fitch— Kennedy— Sturtevant. [July 12. is senerally impracticalilo to administer it at the polls. "TIk' jilaoc to do that is the registra- tion otSce. and the Legisliiture shonld be authorized to require it to be done at that place at the time of registration, and let the right of a man to vote be settled when his name is registered. The registration should be completed ten days bt fore the election, and then let every person who desires to exercise the right of sutl'rage, take care that his name is registered in due season. It would be dan- gerous to empower any citizen who might see tit, to obstruct the polls by challenging every voter, and ncpiiring him to take this oath. I think the propriety of the amendment will suggest itself to every one. and I hope it will be adopted, and then let the article be recom- mitt(d for further amendment if necessary. Mr. HAWLEY. In order to avoid the tedi- ous debate which is likely to ensue, with the consent of the gentleman from Lyon, (Mr. C'rosman.) I withdraw my motion to recommit, and will let the question be taken on the mo- tion of the gentleman from Storey (Mr. Col- lins). Mr. CHAPIN. I hope we may bo allowed to come to a direct vote without recommitting the article. I think it may be done just as well now. and save time. Mr. 15ANKS. I dislike to rise to a question of ordir, but gentlemen all know that we can- not recommit an article without instructions, upon its third reading. The regular Parlia- mentary course is to go on and consider it. I raise the (juestion of order, that it is^ not in order to recommit the article without' special instructions. The rUESIDENT. The point of order is well taken. Mr. CIIAPIX. Then I move to recommit the article to the Committee of the Whob", with in- structions to strike out the oath and all per- taining thereto. Mr. WARWICK. If the Convention wishes to retain this oath, I think it can readily be put in such a form as to satisfy all. Let it l)e made to read, that when the voter is chal- lenged before the Registrar, he .«hall. if there b<,' any question al)out his loyalty, take this oath. A nuin's loyalty can be tested as well before the Registrar as anywhere, and if there }>i; any doubt about it, that is the propor place, and then the best time, to settle the (piestion. Then there will be no necessity for occupying the time at lh<' poll.s \,y making challenges. 1 tliink, by sul>stitMting those Words, we can ol)- yiate the only dillieulty in the way of the ad- justment of this question, and I respectfully submit that suggestion to the judgment of the Convention. | .Mr. HAWIEV. I think the gentlemen is; obviously wrong, in anticipating any office I which may or may not be cn-atrd. We do not , know liut that section relative to n-gistiation ' will be stricken out. Moreover, tlK-re is an- other objection : the Registrar may be in his - office, and if he is not required to demand the oath n conviction for treason, he shall have power to suspend the execution of the sentence until the case shall be reported to the L( gis- lature at its next meeting, when the Legislature shall cither pardon, direct the execution of the sentence, or grant a further reprieve. And if the Legislature should fail or refuse to make tinal disposition of sucli case, the sentence shall then be enforced at such time and place as tlu- Governor, by his order, may direct. The Governor shall conimunic;ate to the Legislature, at the begining of every session, every case of fine or forfeit- ure remitted, or reprieve, pardon, or commutation | granted, stating the name of the convict, the crime of wliich he was convicted, the sentence, its date, and the j date of the remission, commutation, iiardon or re- prieve, i Sec. 14. The Governor, Justices of the Supreme : Court, and Attorney General, or a major part of them, | of whom the Government shall Vie one, may, ui>on 8uc]i conditions and with such Umitations and restrictions as they may think proper, remit fines and forfeitures. commute punishments, and grant pardons after con- I victions in all cases, except treason and imptacliments, subject to such regulations as may be ijrovided by law, relative to the manner of applying for pardons. Sec. 15. There shall be a seal of this State, which j shall be kept by the Governor, and used by him offi- cially, and shall be called the "Great Seal of the State of Nevada." j Sec. Ifi. All grants and commissions shall be in the Dame and by the authority of the .State of Nevada. sealed with the Great Seal of the State, signed by the' Governor, and countersigned by the .Secretary of State. Sec. 17. A Lieutenant Governor shall be elected at the same time and places, and in tlie same manner as the Governor, and his t*.'rm of office and his eligibihty ; shall also be the same. He sliall be President of the i Senate, but shall only have a casting vote tlierein. If during a vacancy of the office of Governor, the Lieu- '< tenant Governor shall beimpeaclud, displaced, resign, ! die, or become incai)able of performing the duties of J the office, or be absent from the State, tlie President pro trmjxtre. of the Senate, shaU act as the Governor, until the vacancy be filled or the disability cease. I Sec. 18. In case of the impeaclimentof the Gov- I crnor, or his removal from office, diatli, inability to ; discharge the duties of said oliiic, nsignation or ab- I Bencc from the State, the powers and duties of the ' office shall devolve upon the Lieutenant Go\ernor, for tlie residue of the t<'rm, or until the disability shall ' cease. But when the Governor shall, with the consent I of the Legislature, be out of the State in time of war, | and at the hejid of any military forcir theretjf, ho .shall cfiutinue Commander-in-Chief of the military force of the Stit*!. Sec. 19. A Secretarj' of State, a Treasurer, a Con- troller, and an .\ttorney Generi>l, sliall be elected at the time and places, and in the same maiim r as the Gov- ' *rnor. The term of office of each shall be the same as j is i>r<-8cribi-d for the Govc-rnor. Any elector shall be eligible to either of said offices. Sec. -jo. The Secretary of State shall keep a true ' record of the official acts of the Legislature and Kxec- mive I>e]iartmeut« of the Government, and shall, when re<|Uired, lay the same, and all matters relative there- i to. before either branch of the Legislature, I Sec. 21. The Governor, Secretary of State, and At- ' tomey (ieneral shall constitute a Board of State Prison ' <'ommissioners, which Hoard shall have such supcT- vision of all matters conni'cted with the Stute Prison I as may be providi-d by law. They shall also consti- ' tute a •' Hoard of Examiners," with i«iwer to examine all claims against the Stat<', (except salaries or coiiipen- iiation of officers as Ijxed by law), and iierform such other duties as may be presi-ril>ed by law. And no claim against the State, except salarii's or eompi-nsii- tion of officers fixed by law, shall be passed ajjou by the Legislature, without having been considered and acted upon by said Board of Examiners. Sec. 22. The Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Controller, Attorney General, and Superintend- ent of Public Instruction, shall XJerform such other du- ties as may be prescribed by law. Mr. DUNNE. Before the question is taken on the liiial passage of tlie article, I call the attention of the member who gave notice of his purpose to move an amendment in respect to the term of office of four years for the Gov- ernor. If he wishes to offer that amendment now is the time to do so, unless gentlemen think tliat the matter can be reached in the sclicdule. Mr. FITCH. I believe I gave that notice, but upon reflection, I ^vill not offer the amend- ment. SURVEYOR GENERAL. Mr. CHAPIN. I wish to move an amend- ment in Section 19, to add after the word "Controller," the words, a J- Surveyor Gen- eral," so that the section will read— "A Secretary of State, a Treasurer, a Controller, a Surveyor General, and an Attorney General shall be elected," etc. The PRESIDENT. That can only be done by unanimous consent. Mr. NOURSE. I object. What do want of a Surveyor General ? l\Ir. CIIAPIN. Then I move to recommit the article with instructions to make that amend- ment. We have public lands which will re- quire the attention of such an officer. Mr. DeLONG. I believe the Act of Con- gress donates to us five hundred thousand acres, and the State may require to have it segregated, by the joint action of the Surveyor General of the United States, and the Surveyor General of the State. Mr. CIIAPIN. There is no doubt that we need such an officer. Mr. NOURSE. I would like to see the law in respect to that donation. I know that Min- nesota got her lauds without any Surveyor General. Mr. DkLOXG. I think I can find the law for thegeiitlcmati. Mr. CIIAPIN. I move to suspend the rules in order to make the amendment without re- commitment. The (juestion was taken, and the motion was not agreed to. Tlie PRESIDENT. The question now is on recommitting the article, with special instruc- tions, to make the amendment. Mr. NOURSE. I rise to a question of order, riie time has arrived for the rec(!ss. The {'RESIDENT. The gentleman is cor- rect. The hour (twelve o'clock) for the recess having arrived, the Convention is at recess un- til two o'clock. AFTERNOON SESSION. The Convention met at two o'clock, and was called to order by the President. 8th day.] EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 249 Tuesday.] Chapin— NouRSE — DeLoxo. [July 12. The SECRETARY reported that twenty- eight members were present. EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT — SURVEYOR GENERAL. The PRESIDENT. The business before the Convention is, the consideration of the motion made by the gentleman from Storey, (Mr. Chapin), to recommit Article V, eutitlfd '• Ex- ecutive Department," with instructions to amend Section 19, by inserting after the word '■ Controller," the words, a " a Surveyor Gen- eral." Mr. CHAPIN. I will modify my motion. I move to refer the article to a select committee of three, with instructions to make that amend- ment and report immediately. Mr. NOURSE. I have a word to say about that motion before the vote is taken. It has been suggested by the gentleman from Storey on my right, (Mr. Dt Long), with his usual ac- curacy of legal citation, that the law granting lands to the several States for the purposes of internal improvements, provided that such lands should be selected by the United States Surveyor General, acting in conjunction with the Surveyor General of the State, or wo;ds to that effeet. Now, sir, that law was passed in 1841, and it reads as follows : — " There shall be granted to each State specified in the first section of this act five hundred thousand acres of laud for purjjoses of internal imiirovement: provided, that to each of the said States which has al- ready received grants for said jDui-poses, there is here- by granted no more than a quantity of land which shall, together with the amount such State has already received as aforesaid, make five hundred thousand acres, the selections in all of the said States to be made ■within their hniits resiiectively, in such manner as the Legislatures thereof shall direct; and located in parcels conformably to sectional di\asions and subdivisions, of not less than three hundred and twentj' acres in any one location, on any jjubhc land except such as is or maj' be reserved from sale b3- any law of Congress, or proclamation of the President of the United States, which said location may be made at any time after the lands of the United States in said States respect- ively shall have been siuveyed according to existing laws. And there shall be, and hereby is, granted to each new State that shall loe hereafter admitted into the Union, upon such admission, so much laud as, in- cludiug such quantity as may have been granted to such State betore its admission, and while under a Ter- ritorial Government, for jjurposes of internal improve- ment as aforesaid, shall make five hundred thousand acres of land, to be selected and located as aforesaid." Now. Mr. President, I do not see, so far as that statute goes, or so far as relates to any other lands which this State is going to receive from the General Government, what a State Surveyor General has to do. In relation to school lands: there are no grants of school lands until the townships are divided into dis- tricts, and surveyed, so as to know where the sixteenth and thirty-sixth sections are. After the survey, showing where the section lines are, those sections may be located ; and only after the United States has surveyed the lands. can we make the selection. What on earth, then. have we for a Surveyor General to do ? And why should we fill up ourState Government with sinecure offices ? I can see only one advantage to be derived, and that is, that some very good fellow indeed may get a sinecure office. An office is to be created, with a))solute]y no du- ties to be performed, just for the sake of giving it away to somebody. For these reasons, I shall vote against the motion to recommit. Mr. DeLONG. The gentleman has read the original act of Congress, but to that act there have been at least a dozen amendments. Now, sir, it happened to be my duty, as well as my pleasure, to act as counsel in a case involving the title to the land where the town of Red Bluff is situated. That land had been located by school-land warrant, by N. L. Clark and others, in 18.52, and finally passed into the hands of J. Granville Doll, he claiming under the location of school-land warrants made be- fore the division or subdivision of townships made by the General Government. The case may be found in the Fourth California Reports. After the United States survey was made, so as to establish the division lines, it became a serious question as to the validity of those lo- cations under the school-land warrants, but they were confirmed by the Supreme Court of California. The citizens of Red Bluff then, at my suggestion, applied to the Land Department, at the office in Marysville, to have that loca- tion sanctioned and confirmed, but the Laud Department of California denied us the relief we sought. We then applied to the United States Land Comn)issioner in Washington, Judge Edmonds, and the matter was submitted before him upon briefs prepared by Mr. Edward Cadwallader, of Sacramento, and myself; and Judije Edmonds decided in favor of the citizens of Red Bluff. That decision is now on file ia the office of the Secretary of the Interior. In his decision Judge Edmonds held that the seg- regation contemplated by law in relation to school-land warrants was to be made by the cooperation of the United States Surveyor Gen- eral and the Surveyor General of the State of California, acting coordinately, and that the rep rts of those two officers, if they agreed, should be submitted to the Land Department for approval. That was the decision of Judge Edmonds in the case of the citizens of Red Bluff vs. J. Granville Doll, which is now oa file in the city of Washington. I do not re- member the language of the statute, although I was engaged five days in trying the ease, and nearly twenty more in making my brief ; but I know'itwasa point made by me in the case, and Judge Edmonds distinctly decided, that the segregation of the public lands i*hould be a joi'nt act on the part of the officers of the State and those of the General Government. It was an equity right on the part of the State. They were entitled to so many acres before they were segregated, and when that .'^egregatiou took place, the operations of those officers must be approved by the Land Department. Mr. NOURSE. that is precisely so; but there is one thing which is overlooked. The gentleman neglects to make the statement that 250 EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. [8th da/. Tuesday,] DeLoxg — NoiRSE — President — Brosnan — Kennedy. [July 12. the State authorities simply took such action as was proscribed by tiie Lngislature of Cali- fornia. If the Legislature chose to create the office of Surveyor General, and to say that he should locate those lands, then, of course, it is competent for him to act. .Mr. DkLON'O. Will the f;entleman allow ni'^ to ask him a question? If we do not provide for a Surveyor General, what oflicer will have that piiwir? Mr. N'OURSE. Why, it will he done as it has repeatedly been done in almost all the Western States. It m ly be done by the Gov- ernor, the Secretary of State, or any other offi- cer. The law prescribes that the sefrrepation shall be made after the survey by the United States. All there is to do is, not to run the lines, but simply to make the selections, which the Governor, the Secretary of State, or any oth"r officer can do, just as well as a Siirvoyor General. Tl)ere is no surveying to be done about it. but we avail ourselves of the survey made by the United States. This very decision in respect to the location of those school-lauds which the gentleman has referred to, sustains my view. It wa? decided, as he say.s. that that location had no operation whatever, until the action t)y tlie State Government had been ap- proved t)y the United States awtliorities, after the survey. Under the law which I have read, neither this grant for internal improvements, nor any other grants to the State by the Gen- eral Government, can be located and confirmed until the section lines are run ; and they must, of course, be run by the United States Survey- or, before such location can possibly be made. So it appears, therefore, that this office is en- tirely unnecessary. We may. if we please, create such an office, and give the incumbent a salary, if our State (expenses are not high cnougli without ; and then the Legislature may assign to him. if they please, the duty of mak- ing these selections. I do not dispute that; but I say there are no duties necessary to be performed, which would require such an officer, and if we criate the office, it is merely a wanton expanse imposed upon the people of this State. Mr. DkLON(J. The Constitution which we propose to adopt, names the respective State officers, and defines their duties, and I believe it is a principle of law that the Legislature cannot, where the Constitution pre.ecribes tiie ' duties of an officer, clothe him witli any other or fiiriher |iowers and duties, than tiio.se which are so d ifiru'd in the Constitution. Now. I sut)-' mit tliat by the terms of this section, neither; the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the' Controller, the Secretary of State, nor any ' other ofHcer of the State, is authorized to make i these Selections, and no such duty can be im- posc-d, nor any such power conferred, upon either of them. i The I'UIvSIDKNT. Will the gentleman allow ' m'' t(» correct him. If he will look at Section i 22. of this article on Kxecutive De|)artment. he will find that the officers of the State are I required to "perform such other duties as may be prescribed l>y law." Mr. DkLONG. Very well; I presume, then, that that position is untenable, and the Legis- lature might confer upon the Governor, Attor- ney General, or other State officers, further powers. Tliat provision had escaped my atten- tion. But then, there is another principle of law which intervenes, and that is, that if the Legislature prescribes any further duties to be performed bj' an officer than those which were prescrilied by law at the time of his election, he is not compelled to perform those additional duties, and ))robably would not, without addi- tional compensation. If that is the case, where is the saving of money? Mr. NOURSE. Where is the authority for that principle of law ? Mr. DeLONG. I suppose it would not be considered gojd authority by the gentleman from Washoe, because it is the authority of the Supreme Court of California,' and to him I might about as well quote Old Mother Goose, since he holds that court in utter contempt. I suppose it will be necessary to get Minnesota authorities, if I want to convince him. It has been suggested to me that that was the only way to show the gentleman from Washoe that a State can build a railroad. Now, I insist that this office of Surveyor General is necessary, because the locations must be made according to the division and subdivision lines, as estaldished and laid down by the General Government. In the making of the .selections of school-lands, as provided by law, we shall certainly need that officer. But we can fi.x his salary, or the maximum of his salary, at a vtry low figure. I take it for granted that in any new country, official sur- veyors are required, and especially where, as in our case, there are already on the statute books some laws relating to such officers. We propose to retain the statutes which we have on our territorial statute books in relation to County Surveyors, and it would be a sort of adventure, in my opinion, to leave out this of- fice of Surveyor General. Mr. BROSNAN. I am disposed to think that the office of Surveyor General is a necessary one, and one principal reason why I shall vote for it is this : that in case of a dispute or controversy between two counties in regard to their boundary line, it is important to have an authority to which either county may ai»peal. Ttiere ouglit to be some head to decide where the dividing line should be located in such a case. If the duties of the office are not likely to be onerou.s, as seems to be the general im- pression, then I am willing, if gentlemen wish it. to leave the Legislature to establish the amount of his compen.sation. I hope, at all events, the amendment will be adopted. Mr. KKNNKDY. I am in favor of the mo- tion to reconunit, with the propo.sed instruc- tion, and will suggest whether it would not be uecessary to amend Scctioa 22, also. 8th day.] RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. 251 Tuesday,] Chapin — Kennedy — DeLong— Ckosman — Brosnan— Nourse. [July 12. Mr. CHAPIN. Yes, sir ; I will modify my motioa so as to embrace an amendment to Sec- tion 22. by inserting therein tiie words " a Sur- veyor General " after the word '-Controller." It is the same amendment as that proposed to be made in Section 19. The question was taken on the motion to re- commit, with the instruction, as modified, to a special committee of three, and it was agreed to. The PRESIDENT appointed Messrs. Chapin, DeLong, and Proctor, as the committee. Mr. CIIAPIX, from the special committee, to which was recommitted Article V, with in- structions to amend Sections 19 and 22, by inserting in each the words, " a Surveyor Gen eral," immediately reported the same back to the Convention amended in accordance with the instructions. On motion of Mr. DeLONG, the rules were suspended in order to receive the report. On motion of Mr. IIAWLEY, the amend- ments reported by the committee were agreed to. Mr. KENNEDY. I desire to make a sugges- tion so as to obtain thesense of the Convention upon it, and that is, whether or not the State officers are to receive any extra compensation for the performance of those extra duties pro- vided for in Section 22. The PRESIDENT. I should judge that it is not so contemplated, and I think it is expressly provided elsewhere that they shall not. Mr. CHAPIN. I would suggest the propri- ety of an amendment in Section 21, that the Surveyor General be named in the place of the Attorney General as one of the Board of State Prision Commissioners. Mr. DeLONG. No, I would not do that ; the Surveyor General may be away surveying when it is necessary for the Board to meet. Mr. CHAPIN. And the Attorney General may be somwhere else, also. Mr. DkLONG. He has no business to be. Mr. CHAPIN. Is he required to be at the Capital ? Mr. DeLONG. That is his place, certainly. The question was taken by yeas and nays on the final passage of the article, and the vote resulted — yeas, 29 ; nays, 1 — as follows : — Yeas — Messrs. Banks, Brosnau, Brady, Chapin, Col- lins, Crawford, Crosman, DeLong, Dunne, Fitch, Fol- som, Gibson, Haines, Hawley, Hovey, Hudson, Kin- kead, Kennedy, Mason, McClinton, Murdock, Nour.se, Parker, Proctor, Sturtevant, Taghabue, Warwick, Weth- erill, and Mr. President— 29. Nay — Mr. Lockwood— 1. So the article was passed. RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE — THE SOLDIERS' VOTE. Mr. CROSMAN. I will ask leave of the Convention, inasmuch as Article II has been recommitted for amendment, to propose a fur- ther amendment to that article here, as I should otherwise have to propose it when the article comes up again in Convention. The amend- ment I wish to propose is in Sectiou 5 of the original Article II — or Section 4 as it now stands— to in.sert the following : — ■ " rrovidffl. That the votes so cast, for officers of a lower grade than State officers, shall be made to ap- jjly to the county from which said voters were re- cruited. The Convention will, I think, readily see the effect of this amendment. Take, for instance, Lyon County, where there are some four or live hundred recruits now. If that vote is counted in the county, upon the county ticket, it may change entirely the aspect of thinga there. A large proportion of those soldiers were recruited from Storey County, and the oljjt'ct of my amendment is to provide that the soldiers' vote shall be counted in the respective counties in which they shall have been re- cruited. Mr. BROSNAN. I had that idea in my mind at the time I ottered a substitute for this sec- tion, providing that, in the election of officers above the grade of county officers, the soldiers' vote should be counted, but I apprehend the difficulty is obviated by the language as it now stands. It says the right of sutt'rage shall be enjoyed " by all persons otherwise entitled to the same." They are required by other provisions of the Constitution to have been residents of the county thirty days before vot- ing, etc., and I think that language, as it is, if it is fairly understood and construed, covers the difficulty. If they are not otherwise quali- fied to vote for the officers of the county, al- though they may be located in the county aa soldiers, they would not be entitled to vote there. In other words, they would not be en- titled to vote for county officers in a county, in consequence merely of their being there, in the service of the United States. That would be my understanding of it. Mr. CROSMAN. They may acquire a resi- dence by being there thirty days, and a major- ity of them have already been there long enough for that. I think, in order to make the matter clear, some explanatory clause should be inserted, and it seems to me that this is the proper place for it. Mr. KENNEDY. I hope this amendment will be adopted. Perhaps we feel this difficulty in our county more than they do in any other. It always has been a question in this Terri- tory, (although I believe it has been passed upon in California,) whether or not soldiers sta- tioned in one county are entitled to vote there, having been recruittd in other counties. I do not thmk it is fair that those who are rtcruited in Storey County, for instance, should be allowed to come up and vote in our county elections. Mr. NOURSE. I agree with the gentleman from Storey, (Mr. Brosnan.) that this matter is already provided for. This section seems to me to provide only against the loss of the right of voting on the part of the soldier who may be out of the State, and we find in another section a provision that " no person shall be deemed to have lost a residence by reason of 252 RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. [8th day Tuesday,] Chapix — NouRSE— President — Parker — Ckosman — Brosxax. [July 12 his absence while employed in the service of the Uuited States." Mr. CllAl'lN. I would remind the gentle- man that Sections 3 and 4. as here printed, in the old Constitntion. have been stridden out. Mr. NOUKSE 'I'hen there certainly should be some provision made, if there has uot been already. Mr. "I'ARKER. I ha%-e no objection to this aniL-ndiumt being inserted, but I would like to ask h' w it is going to operate '! How are soldiers, under the command of their otlicers. to get away in order to vote'.' Are they going in each county to jjrepare ballot-lioxes and send them to every officer who has command ot soldiers recruited in that county, or are the men expected to go to that county to vote? For instance, are men recruited in Virginia City to go there from Lyon County to cast their votes? Mr. CROS.M.A.N. The last clause of this sec- tion provid'.'S tor that. It says : — " Provisiou shall be made by law regulating the man- ner of votiug, holding elections, and making returns of such elections." Mr. NOURSE. I call for the reading of Section 3 as it has been amended. The SECRETARY read Section 3, as fol- lows : — Sec. 3. For the purpose of voting, no person shall be deemed to have gained or lost a residence by reason of his presence or ab.sence while employed in the ser- vice of the United States; nor while engaged in the na\-igatiou of the waters of the United States, or of the iiigh seas; nor while a student of any seminary of learning; nor while kept at any almshouse or other asylum at public expense; uor while confined in any public prison. Mr. NOURSE. It seems to me that that covers the whole case, inasmuch as the soldier has not gained or lo.st any residence. The Legislature lias simply to provide the means to establish the regulations of elections, and I take it the Legislature would be abundantly authorized under that section, to provide, as has Iteen done in otlier States, that the county officers or commissioners, or whatever officers may be appointed for the purpose, may take the vote of llie soldiers, wherever they may be. and that siicli votes shall Ije counted as a part of the votes of the respective counties where' they bi'long. For instance, the commissioner at Fort Churchill miglit find one hundred voters from Storey County, who would vote for officers in Storey County ; and then ten voters from Washoe County who would vote for officers in that county, and so on through the entire list. The I'RESIDEXT. I call the attention of gentli-mi-n to Section 3 of the Enaliling Act. wliicli will proljabiy lurnish some guide tor tiie Convention in this luitti-r. It reads as fol- lows : — "Hr.r. 3. A/ul he it further enaclfl. That all persons qualilied by law to vott^ for representiitives to the gen- eral aHHembly of said Territory at the dale of the paoHape of tliis Act, shall be qualified to be elected, ami they arc auUiorized to vote for i^d choose reijreaeuta- tives to form a Convention, under such rules and regu- lations as the Governor of said Territory may pre- scribe ; and also to vote upon the acce))tauce or rejec- tion of such Constitution as may be formed by said Convention, under such rules and regulations as the said Convention may prescribe ; and if any of said citizens are enlisted in tne army of the United States and are still within said Territory, they shall be per- mitted to vote at their place of rendezvous, and if any are absent from said Territory by reason of their enlistment in the army of the United States, they shall be iirruiitti-d to vote at their place of service, under the rules and regulations in each case to be prescribed as aforesaid," A:c. Mr. NOURSE. That applies only to the first election, but wo are here making a law for all time — an organic law. I understand that tliis section of tiie Enabling Act provides only for this first election under the Constitution, and for the vote on the Constitution. Mr. CH.U'IN. That is all. Mr. BROSNAN. The modus operandi of tak- ing the votes of those who are in the military service of the country, (although it is a matter of legislation, to be sure, to prescrit)e the man- ner in which it shall be done,) is, as I under- stand it, this: — The commanding officer has upon his roll the place of enlistment of each soldier — the name of the man and where he enlisted — and by means of that roll the votes of the soldiers from each county respectively are taken and transmitted to the State officers. They can see by looking at their rosters or muster-rolls where each soldier comes from, and to what county his vote will properly apidy. Mr. CROSM.-VN. That is my understanding, also, but it looks to me as if it would bo good policy to make it clear, by putting it into our Constitution. I really hope that this amend- ment will be inserted, in order that no question on this subject may arise hereafter under our Constitution. Mr. CIIAPIN. I would like to hear the section as it will stand if the amendment is adopted. The Secretary read as follows : — Sec. i. The right of suffrage shall be enjoyed by all persons otherwise entitled to the .same who may be absent from this State in the military or naval service of the United States ; proviihil, that the votes so east for officers of a lower grade tlian State officers shall be made to apply to tlie county from which the voter was recruited: proi^iilfil furtlu'r', that the payment of a iioll- tax, or a registration of such voter shall not be requir- ed as a condition to the right of voting. Provision shall be made by law, regulating the manner of voting, holding elections, and making returns of such elec- tions. Mr. NOURSE. I will suggest, that peih aps the gentleman would like to make a further change in his amendment. We know that in the enlistments of volunteers in various States in the East, a great many are enlisted l)y coun- ties who do not reside in those counties. Men 'zo to certain counties to enlist, tempted by the higher bounties offered by them. For instance, here, men might go to Storey County to enlist, and, under this ])r(^visIon, would not they be made voters in Storey County, though not rcs- ideuts there at the tiiue they were recruited ? 8th day.] EIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. 253 Tuesday,] Ckosmax — AVarwick—Fitcu— Dunne— Kbnxedt—Chapin, [July 12. Mr. CROSMAN. I think the wording of the amendment already covers that objection. The question was taken on Mr. Crosman's motion to instruct the special committee to make ihe amendment proposed by him, and it was agreed to. COMMrrTKE OF THE WHOLE. Mr. WARWICK. I move that the Conven- tion go into Committee of the Whole, for the consideration of Article X. Mr. FITCH. I move to amend the motion by including Articles II, III, and IV, so as to finish them up as we go along. I want to re- port them back to the committee, and have them passed. Mr. WARWICK. I accept the amendment. The question was taken, and the motion, as moditied, was agreed to. The Convention accordingly resolved itself into Committee of the Whole [.Mr. Crosman in the Chair] and proceeded to ttie consideration of the several matters which bad been referred to such committee. RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE — VOTERS' OATH. The Committee first took up for considera- tion Article II, entitled Right of Suffrage. The CHAIRMAN. This article has been re- committed to the Committee of the Whole, with instructions to amend Section 2, by striking out the oath, aud all pertaining thereto ; also, to amend Section 4, by inserting after the word " provided,"' where it first occurs, the words, " that the votes so cast for officers of a lower grade than State officers, shall be made to ap- ply to the county from which said voters were recruit' d ; and provided further"— Mr. DUMNE. I move that the Secretary be instructed to make the amendment, in accord- ance with the instructions of the Convention. Mr. KENNEDY. I do not know that it will "be of any use, the instructions having passed the Convention, to oppose, at this time, the striking out of this oath. But I cannot consent that the oath shall be stricken out entirely, without entering my protest against it. Other gentlemen have told you, in eloquent strains, why this provision denying the right to vote to persons who have held civil or military office under the so-called Confederate States, or either of them, should not be stricken out. Now, much as I despise that class of men, and much as I regret the adoption of any provision giving them a power at the ballot-box, by which any one of them might annul and destroy my vote, yet there is another class of men for whom I have a more thorough contempt— men who will remain in our loyal States and Territo- ries, too cowardly to go aud fight the battles of the Confederate States, but attempting, through the ballot-box, aud by all other means in their power, even while under the protection of our government, to destroy that govern- ment. I say those men are more to be despised than the men who will manfully stand up and take the chances of receiving a bullet while they are fighting for that rebellious govern- ment. Now, how do gentlemen propose to pre- vent those men from voting, although their sentiments may be more disloyal and injurious to this government than those of the very men who have held civil or military office under what they call the Confederate Government? Gen- tlemen say we should leave it to the Legisla- ture, but I deny the rigiit of the Legislature ! to establish any test, other than the tests pre- scribed in this Constitution, when that iustru- ; meut has once attempted to define who shall, i or shall not, possess the right of sntt"rage. You ' may say that it is inexpedient and Impractica- I h\e to challenge these men at the polls. Very well ; then I say, let us challenge them before the Registrar. Allow us some "opportunity to keep them from rendering nugatory the votes of good and loyal men at the polls. What right has the Legislature to pre^cribe any oath like this, when the Constitution has prescribed none? How can they make any test, other than that which the Constitution makes? I do not see where they get any such right. Any man who comes within the qualifications pre- scribed by this Constitution, is entitled to' go to the ballot-box and vote, and no law can Ije passed to prevent him. Now, I ask the mem- bers of this Committee, if they are unwilling to have a provision of this kind placed in our Constitution, under the plea that it is impracti- cable ? I deny that it is impracticable. Al- though gentlemen have said that under such a provision, men may block up the polls and only allow perhaps a hundred men to vote during a whole day, yet I think the Legislature may provide against any evil of that kind, by hav- ing a larger number of inspectors and judges of elections. If that oath is impracticable, why is not the oath impracticable which we have, under our existing laws? A minority can, under our present laws, go to the polls, challenge each and every voter, compel them to answer questions, and take the oath pre- scribed by the Legislature, Why do they not do the same thing now, as they would do if this oath were required? The gentleman from Storey (.Mr. Chapin) suggested this morn- ing, that this oath would have to be added to the one already prescribed. I admit that, but how long does the gentleman suppose it would take to go through that entire oath? Probably not more than two minutes. Mr. CHAPIN. Will the gentleman allow me to interrupt him, in order to say that I will most cheerfully vote with him to add that amendment to Section 8. Mr, KENNEDY. 1 do not care to what it is added, if it is only in the Constitution some- where, so that we may have the privilege of challenging every man whose loyolty we sus- pect, and making him take the oath. I care not at what time he takes it, but I say, give us an opportunity to challenge him at some time, before he shall be permitted to oft'set our votes. 254 RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. [8th day. Tuesday.] Johnson— Fitch— Dixxe—Lockwood— Warwick— Banks— Tozer. [July 12. Mr. JOHNSON. I made a few remarks this morning, whilt- this nutter was under con-sider- atiou, iu wh eh I coincided with the views ex- pressed by some of the -rentlenieu from Storey County as to the impracticability, or the proba- ble impracticability, of enforcing a provision reqiiiri'i^ voters to lake this oath. Mr. FITCH [interrupting.] I rise to a point of order. I very much dislike to do so. but I think it is a duty. I make the point that we must obey the instructions of the Convention. This article has been recommitted to us with definite instructions to make specific amendments, and we cannot vary from those instructions. We must comply with the instructions of the Con- vention, and can do no more, and no less. Mr. JOllN.SON. I suppose gentlemen may be permitted to give their views upon that sub- ject. Mr. FITCH. I do not desire to stop the gen- tleman. Mr. JOHNSON. If the gentleman makes any point of order. I suppose it must be that no'deliate is now in order. Mr. FITCH. I do not make it. Mr. JOHNSON. The gentleman had better either make his point of order or not make it. Mr. DUNNfc). I will make the point of order, that no debate is in order, and I would like to know what it is that gentlemen who insist upon debating this question propose to accomplish by it. 1 hold that we are in Committee of the AVhole instructed to make certain ameiulments. and to do nothing else. We have no right to amend further than we are instructed. The Convention has resolved to adopt these amend- ments, and we are Instructed to insert them; that is the resolution which we came into Com- mittee of the Whole to obey. Do gentlemen propose to disobey the instructions of the Con- vention? If so, let them state their reasons, and let us see whether it is competent or not for us to disobey. I do not believe it is com- petent. I believe we should immediately rise and report the amendments back according to instructions, and then if the sense of the Con- vi-ntioii has changed, lt;t the Convention rescind the vote by which we were instructed to insert the am -ndmints. The CH.\lIiM.VN. The Cliair is of opinion thit it is the duty of tl)e committee to make the ann-ndments in accordanc with tlie instruc- tions of the Convention, which are absolute ami definite in term-, and the Chair is inclined to the opinion that it is not iu order to debate the guliject. Mr. JOH.NSON. I acquiesce in the decision of the Chair. Mr. I.OCKWOOD. I move that the gentle- man from Ormsby, (Mr. Johuson,) be allowed to jtroced. Mr. JOHN.SON. Oh no ; I do not desire it ; I want tiie rules enforced. Mr. DL'NNH. I do not think the motion is in order. Mr. WARWICK. With the permission of the gentleman from Humboldt, I wish to say a word. If it is our imperative duty to obey the instructions of the Convention now, when the article goes back to the Convention cannot the Convention amend it? Mr. BANKS. The only duty we have to do is merely a clerical one, and 1 understand the Secretary has already been directed to make the amendments in accordance with the instruc- tions. Mr. McCLTNTON. If in order, I would like to otter an amendment to Section 4. The CHAIRMAN. No amendments are in order beyond the instructions of the Conven- tion. The SECRETARY stated that the amend- ments had been made in the article, in accord- ance with the instructions of the Convention. Mr. FITCH. I move that the Committee rise and report the article back to the Conven- tion, and also report that the Committee have obeyed the instructions of the .Convention. The question was taken, and the motion was agreed to. IX COXVEXTIOX — voters' OATH. The PRESIDENT having resumed the Chair, The CHAIRMAN reported that the Commit- tee of the Whole had had under consideration Article II, entitled Right of Suffrage, and had made certain amendments therein, in obedience to the instructions of the Convention. Mr. DUNNE. I move that the article be referred b ick to the Committee of the Whole with special instructions to insert an amend- ment which shall require that oath to be ad- ministered before the Registrar, at the time of the registration of voters. Mr. FITCH. It is not necessary to refer it to the Committee of the Whole. It would be better to refer it to a special committee, with instructions to report immediately. Mr. DUNNE. I accept the suggestion as a modification of my motion. Mr. BANKS. I would inquire if the geatle- man has the amendment he proposes, ia form, so that we may kn iw what his instructions are. Mr. DUNNE. I have not prepared them specifically, but I think they may as well be prepared before the question is taken. Mr. TOZER. The provision I believe was to the effect that ever}' person who .shall be challenged, shall take and subscribe this oath. Now I wish to know wliether the oath is to be administered to every man, wliether he is chil- lenged or not? It .seems to me to l)e almost a farce to require every voter in the Territory to take that oath. 'Wiiat is the use of r< quiring the oath of a well known Union man. like yourself, Mr. President, and I might perhaps say. every other member of this Convi utiou ? Mr. DUNNE. No Union man will object to the little trouble it would be to take the oath, in order to preserve the purity of the ballot- bo.x. The PRESIDENT. It will be necessary for 8tli day.] RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. 255 Tuesday,] Collins — Dunne — Mason. [July 12. these iastructioQs to be drawn up ia a specific form. Mr. COLLINS. I hope, in reducing the am'Qdmeat to writing, the gentlemaa will not make it obligatory upon every man to take this oath. Mr. DUNNE. Unless you make it obligatory npon all, how are you going to make it effective ? Who is going to make a discrimination, unless it is obligatory upon the Registrar to demand the oath from each and every m in before re- cording his name ? Twenty disloyal men might go and get registered, and no oath be required of them, and yet when a well known Union man came up, he might be challenged, and required to take the oath. Mr. COLLINS. I think that difficulty can be easily obviated. I have no ol-jection to taking the oath three times an hour, if it will do any good, but I do object to imposing any duty upon citizens unless there is shown to be an absolute necessity for it. It is presumed that the Registrar, in every precinct, will be selected for his strong Union sentiments, that Union men in every ward, and in every section of the State will see to it that certain voters, who may be suspected, are challenged, either by the Registrar himself or whoever it may be who has the authority of excluding votes ; or if that is not practicable, then some plan may be devised by which the challenging can be done by some other party. I would like to inquire how often this registration is proposed to be made ? Mr. DUNNE. Once a year, I suppose ; every time a man pnys his poll-tax. Mr. COLLINS. Now this is a matter of con- siderable consequence. It devolves a great amount of labor upon the Registrar himself, and upon those who are registered, also. What is the necessity of making this rcquirment? If I can be made to see that there is any necessity for it, I shall vote most heartily for the oath, but I do object to imposing any unnecessary duty upon the electors, and esipecially upon men whose unionism never was doubted. Mr. DUNNE. Does the gentleman from Storey consider that any such action at all is necessary ? Mr. COLLINS. He does. Mr. DUNNE. Then is not the Registrar the most proper person to leave it to? As to the amount of labor imposed upon him, many per- sons may come in at the same time, and he can administer the oath to all at once ; and again, he will very soon acquire the habit of admin- istering it quickly. It is not a very long oath after all, and will take but a moment's time. The gentleman suggests that before the elec- tion, men will see that some person is at the Registrar's office constantly, ready to challenge every man whose loyality is suspected, but he should remember the old adage, that " what is everybody's business is nobody's business." A good deal of the time there may be nobody at the Registrar's office to challenge, except per- haps, by chance. Mr. COLLINS. I see no objection to allow- ing every voter in the district to lodge the names of A, B, and C, with the registering ofli- cer, as suspected persons. A man might say in writing, •' I regard A or B as tinctured with secession and opposed to the Government, and I require his vote to be challenged.'' And I think, under such circumstances, the Registrar should be required to ciiallenge the voter. But unless that is done, I do not see the necessity tor that labor. I am as strongly as anybody in favor of preserving the purity of the elective franchise, and I would go as far as the farthest to secure that object, but I think it may be done without the necessity of challenging every voter. I think if, in my district, I lodge with the Registrar the names of ten men wiiom I regard as suspected, or whose loyalty I doubt, and vvho I think ought not to "be allowed to exercise the elective franchise, unless they purge themselves, if I desire it the Registrar should be required to compel them to t;ike the oath. But further than that I do not think it is necessary to go. Mr. DUNNE. I must regard with the utmost abhorrence the last proposition of the gentle- man from Storey. It savors too much of the denouncements of a secret police. It is a prop- osition to allow any man to inscribe on a bit of paper, which he deposits with the Registrar, " I denounce A, B, C, as traitors ! " I say it savors of the mouchard system of certain Europ- ean countries. I desire rather to adopt one sim- ple, broad, sweeping requirement, to which no man can take exception — a law which applies to all with equal force— and not a provision under which any man may be able to fasten upon another the brand of disloyalty. Let it be broad, and general, so that no man can com- plain that injustice is done to him. Mr. MASON. I believe I have not, hereto- fore, obtruded my views upon the Convention, but upon a subject of this character, affecting the right of the elective franchise which be- longs to every citizen, I desire to say that I do not think any .safeguard would be too strong which can be thrown around that right. I do not think that any traitor should be allowed to exercise that birthright of freemen, under that government which he has raised his impious hands to destroy. I do not think that men, af- ter having banded themselves together as as- sassins, after having perpetrated every crime — for treason involves the commission of all crimes — should be allowed to come forward and insult the majesty of the Deity by calling upon his name, and taking an oath denouncing the very crimes which they have committed. No man of that character, 1 say, should be al- lowed to exercise the right of suffrage upon any terms, unless an amnesty be granted, and unless he also takes a solemn oath, abjuring his treason thenceforth. I hope a registry law will be required to be passed, framed as strong as the English language can make it. There is ao man who has the love of his country s'n- 256 RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. [Sth day. Tuesday.] Mason — Hovey — Dunne. [July 12. cerely at heart, but is willing, if necessary, to come up and take that oath once a year ; and if a man is a traitor, he should be compelled to take it. We have tlioiisands of that class in our mid>t. I newr had any (ear in regard to confiiurin^ this rebellion. 1 have no fear of the truitor.'J who are openly in armsajiainst the Gov- ernment ; but the ftar I have entertained, has been of those black-hearted, concealed traitors who are skulking among us. Here is where our danger lies. 1 have been for many years a pro-slavery democrat. I was a newspaper editor, and a work'-r in the ranks of that party in Illinois, and I have made democratic stamp speeches throu'.diout every corner of that State. But when slavery itsi'lf liecame a tr.iitor, and fired upon the Hag of freedom : when arnnd treason raisL'd its red right hand against the Govern- ment, theu 1, in common with other freemeu of the North, •• cried havoc, and let slip the dogs of war." We set wide open the doors of democracy, and let the day-light in. Why, sir, they said that poor, crazy, old John Brown must be hung ; imt this day old John Brown stands far higher in my estimation, than that vile old Iscariot. James Buchanan. [Applause.] Sir. 1 look upon this right of suttrage as my birthright. It is a right as sacred to the Amer- ican citizen as circumcision to the Jew or baptism to the Christian, and even more so, because it is that which protects the rights and privileges of both Jew and Christian. I look upon this question, sir, allow me to say, as by far the most important one which has yet been brought before our Convention for its consider- ation, and that is the reason why I have at- tem|itvd to take a part in the discussion, al- though 1 had not previously participated in the debates which have been going on. I was pleased, sir, with the young gentleman from Lyon (Mr. Kennedy) when he introduced this amendment. The force of his arguments, and the patriotic feeling which 1 could see beaming from his »'ye. aroused my admiration, and I said to myself. •• that fellow will do to tie to.'" [Laugh- ter.] This is the princijile which we ought to es- tablish, an Tuesday,] Frizell — "Warwick. [July 12. The gentleman from Esmoralda, (Mr. Mason,) mik-s au elu.iuciit app/al. whicb I kaowcoui'S IVoin tbe liolloiu of \n^ b'/art, and 1 impute to him iioiif bat ibe piinst aud most patriotic of motivi-!-; but I say wbeu he makis that appeal it is mere pa-^siou. eageud red by his coming in contact with lb- class of men to which he has referred. Mea of that class really are not reb- fls, for they have not taken up arms against tbt- (Jovrani'-iit of the United States, and in favor of the usurpation of Jetf. Davis, but they are men whom I tind it dilHcult to describe. I have not at command language which would be appropriaie to delineate their character. They ilo not pos.«ess that high, generous, chiv- alr.c sp rit wh.eb leads men to take up arms to carry out what they conceive to Ite a principle, tbatprineiple wliich has been inculcated in the political primary schools by their fathers, and since fostered and encouraged by demagogues. Those men who are in rebellion in the South are lighting for what they bjlieve to be a prin- ciple— tbe principle of Slate Rights, or, as they term it, .srll-governmeut. There are some tender points upon which I do not wish to sp ak, but 1 will say that that principle is one which strikes at the very root of our liberties, and the founda- tions of our Government. 1 hope to God tliat this war, when it is fought out, will put an end to that principle — a principle for which, by the w.iy, I have contended for years, in consequence of V.ie prejudices of early education. I had always heard my father and my grandfather speak in co.itempuous terms of Alexander Ham- ilton, Chief Justice Marshall, John Adams, and others of tlio-e statesmen who were endeavoring to mik; the FedjralGovernmjiit strong ; and I Lad hMrd them advocating what lliey called the principle of democracy, or States Rights. They held Ibe great leaders of the old Federal party — as it W.IS called in former tim;s, whi'u it was led by such nvn as Marshall. Ilam.lton. and other eminent Federalists — in the proioundest contempt, and to a great extent, my own mind was swayed and bia-^ed by their teachings. But ia the past three or four years of my life I have seen my error. I lind that I have been mis- tak -n in allowing the passions of my brea-^t to turn against mni who b Id principles whicli 1 conceiveil to Ije o|ipos 'u to true d/mocralic principle.". Those principles were dear to my heart, and in their d;fensc, at that time, so help m; Hod, I would have shed the last drop ia my veins. JJut I now sec that what I have been ch ;risliing was a heres}-, and I wish to leave Hie door open to others, so tliat when tht-y, too, shall see the error of their ways, they may not charge u.s with having iiid our light und'.'r a Ijushel and left tln-m in tiie dark. Jiat now it is proposed that we shall prescrib- an oath, and say to all such m 'u. tli.tt although tears of penitence m ly rundown their cherks — aye, burning, m dting tears — there is still no do jr op -a by wliich they can return to the path of political rectitude. Iilo not wish to i)ro>cribe men for political reasoua. 1 tell you that the history of the world shows no example of the kind, and if there ever was a nation on God's earth that could afford to be generous and mag- nanimous, it is the great and mighty people of the United States of America. We have invited the people of the whole world to come among us, and men have accepted that invitation, and come here, who could not pronounce our lan- guage, bringing with them their own customs and prejudices, often directly opposed to re- pul>lican institutions, and yet we iiave received them as brothers. Now, are our own brothers to be excluded — the men who, in the Mexican war, aided in acquiring this very territory ; the men who by that war gave us this very soil on wnich w'c are now standing; the men who stood shoulder to shoulder with us throughout that war — shall we deny to those men the right- hand of fellowship which we freely extend to the foreign born, ignorant of the very tongue we speak ? Now, while 1 stand up here and speak in fa- vor of tho.se men, I am not excusing their wrong deeds. But, admitting as much as I do against them, still I say I want to get them l)ack. I want hereafter, if need be, to fight side by side with those men ia battle ; I want them to be my brothers. Let us leave this mat- ter, therefore, so far as it is possible, to the Legislature which is to come after us. This is a theme on which I might dwell for hours, but I will not occupy the time of the Convention. There are many subjects on which I would like to have spoken at length, but 1 knew that we came here to work, and I wcmld not consume the valuable time. I will only say that these appeals to passion and prej- udice may be very good for a political plat- form, but they are not good in the formation of a Constitution for the State of Nevada. Look at the Constitutions of other States. Look at Illinois, from which I am proud to hail — a State that has sent out her heroic sons in this war like Thebes of old, which poured forth a thousand warriors from each of its hun- dred gates. That State has already turned out a hundred and fifty thtmsand men. But look at the Constitutions of the most loyal States in tlie East. Have they not left tln'se rnatl"rs to the Legislature to determine who shall and who .shall not vote? And shall we, away here on the frontiers, attempt to pro.scribe classes of men for all time to come? Shall we undertake to do what the State of New York, the Empire State, or the old Bay State of M issachusetts, or the Keystone Stale, Pennsylvania, from wh'cb the gentleman from Lyon (.Mr. Kennedy) hails, or my own native State of Ohio, or yours, Mr. President, of Indiana, or Illinois, my adopted State, have none of th'-m attempt- ed to do ? Let us, rather, follow their exam- ph's, and leave our Legislature to shape some law, and prescribe some oath, in regard to the elective franchise, which will admit these mea to felhjwship with us, as American citizen.s. Mr. WARWICK. Will the geutlemau allow 8th day.] RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. 259 Tuesday,] Frizeli.—McClintox— Mason. [July 12. me ask him a quostion ? Is he aware, or cog- nixaut of the fact, that in the loyal States no lory was allowed to vote during the p-indency of the revolutionary war? I niL-an. during the revolution — not afterwards. Was tiicre any State in wliich they were allowed to vote dur- ing the war of the revolution? Mr. FKIZKLL. I cannot answer the ques- tion, but 1 am willing to admit that thrre were none. Mr. McCLIN'TON. I desire to ask the gen- tleman a question. I would ask if the gentle- man understands that this oatb proscribes the hordes of rebels which may be poured into this Territory or State, after the rebellion is crush- ed? Does he understand that this oath pro- scribes those men forever from the exercise of the elective franchise among us? Mr. FR[Z1']LL. I tliink it is an undue as- sumption of power on our part, in making a Conslitution, to so frame it as to hold out a menace against a class. That is an undue as- sumption in ra.iking or framing our Constitu- tion, because any man can say then, when he ! enters the lines of the State of Nevada, " I find ■ in your Constitution a provision which I find I iu that of no other State.'' I propose to leave this matter to the Legislature, that they may pr.'scrilje any oath they see fit. The gentleman from Esmeralda. (Mr. Mason.) in his r. marks, dove deep into the classics, and into the human heart. lie was not willing to give the traitors, as he calls them, au}^ chance of returning. Mr. MASON. Not until an amnesty is granted. Mr. FRIZELL. Now, :\[r. President and gen- tlv'nijn, when I pray to Almighty God — which I do sometimes— I generally wind up my peti- tion tu Deity by using language something like this— " Tliat mercy I to others show, That mercy show to me. " And, sir, as regards proscription or persecu- tion, I abhor it, whether in a religious or a political sense. It does not enter into the principle or theory of our Government. I prefer to say with that noble poet, Alexander Pope — "Let uot this weak unknowmg hand Presume thy bolts to throw, Aad deal damnation roiiud the laud On each I judge thy foe." That is the action wiiich some gentlemen here propise to take — to hurl tlie bulls of condem- nation irreverently on others' heads. I propose rather to leave the door open for repentance, so that at some time they may come b.xck — to leave the matter in such a shape that the Leg- islature to come after us may take that action which they may deem proper when the occasion arises. This rebellion will, undoubtedly, as I said on a former occasion, take ditl'erent shades. I was reported in the Virginia Union as saying that it would take different shapes, but I did not mean that. I was also reported as speaking of a war of races in England, when 1 said the " The War of the Roses." But the Reporter of that paper, probalily in the hurry of the mo- ment, inadvertently made a mistake, and I can forgive it. I .«ay again that this rebellion will probal)ly take different shades as time rolls on, and the successive Legislat ;res should be left each yar to '• temper tin; wind to the shorn land),"' if it is in their natures to do so. I do uot de.-ire, at all events, to fix anything here irre- vocably. Now a few words more, and I have done. Section 2 of tiiis Article provides as follows :— " No person who has been or may be convicted of treason or felony, in any State or Territory of the United States, unless restored to civil rights,, and no person who, after arriving at the age of eighteen years, shaU have vohmtaiUy borne arms against the United States, or held civil or mihtary office under the so- called Confederate States, or either of them, unk'js an amnesty be granted to such by the Federal Govern- ment, and no idiot or insane person shall be entitled to the privilege of an elector." That is, no person shall be entitled to the right of suffl-age who has done any of these things. Now how are you going to arrive at it? Does it not belong to the Legislature, under the Constitution, to prescribe the form and manner of arriving at the fact? It cer- tainly dors not belong to us. I repeat that this rebellion which the nation is now engaged in putting down, will take different shades, as to its intensity, from year to year, and it does uot belong to a Constitution necessarily framed iu a time of excitement, to fix that which is irrevocable in respect to these matters. It plainly and naturally belongs to the Constitu- tion to establish that only which is not to be changed. And the same remarks will apply to the provisions of this section immediately un- der consideration. We should uot legislate too much iu that respect. I started out, Mr President, by saying that I did uot know but 1 was '-in the brush"' in regard to this matter. I do not know, under the par- liamentary rules which gov.Tn us. exactly what the vote is to be, Init I think I have spoken within proper liouuds. I hope this oath will be left out entirely, and that it will be left to the Legislature to form and j|)rescribe such an oath as may at that time bo deemed fit. I have given what I believe to be good reasons for my position, and I think any gentleman who will read the sections to which I have referred, and consider them carefully, will see that they cover all the ground necessary to be covered. Mr. MASON. By way of an explanation, I desire to say, that iu the remarks I made, my oliject was, not to favor the idea of forever ex- cluding American citizens from the right of suffrage, but it was rather to throw a safeguard around the elective franchise here — and I stated it, I believe, in language sufSciently emphatic — until an amnesty be granted by the General Government. Now, I am willing to indorse the gentleman's prayer — "That mercy I to others show. That mercy show to me." 2G0 RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. [8th day. Tuesday,] Johnson. [July 12. The same mercy which the rebels showed at Fort I'lllow, the «mie mercy they have sliown iu dooming lo starvation those unfortiiiiate brave men who have fallen into their hands, full of life and vigor. I am wiling to show to them. That is their kind of m--rcy — the tender mi-reies of the wicked, which are cruel. 1 am willing, also, that the Legislature should '• temper the winds to the shorn lambs," by and bv ; but just uow I want to use a somewhat jc'reater force against these rebel rams. We do not want them to pull their wool over our tycs. that is all. [Laughter.] ' [Mr. Ckiismax in the Chair.] Mr. JOUNSUN. At a previous stage in the progress of this article, it will be remembered, 1 favored the striking out of the word " dis- loyal," where it occurred iu Scclion 2, and 1 thmk I succeeded iu making my reasons plainly uuderstood for assuming that position. 1 will state again, iu brief, the motives which prompt- ed me to vote iu favor of striking out that word. It was not that I was in favor of allow- ing a disloyal man to vote, or of allowing the rote of any disloyal man to neutralize or de- stroy my vote, or that of any other loyal citi- zen," but I regarded it then, and I regard it now, as improper to clothe the judges and in- spectors of election with too much authority— to clothe them with power which might be ex- crcised in such manner as to destroy the right of voting of the most loyal man in the land. At no stage have I objected to incorporating in the Con.stitution, in what 1 would regard as being its appropriate place, a test oath similar to that which has been proposed in this section. But. sir, I foreshadowed, in the remarks I made this morning on this question, what were my objections to the incorporation of that test oath in the particular section in which it was placed. The principal objection which occurs to my mind is this : that it would be in the power of a few persons to deprive altogether, of the right of suffrage, a large number of loyal. legal voters. There are now precincts in thi3 Territory — and testimony has been borne to that fact by the geutKinan from f^torey, (Mr. Ilovey) — where there are twelve or tit- teen hundred voters, and the administration of that (lath. if they were challengi d, would necessarily occupy so much time, as to elfectu- ally exclude ilie ballots of a very large pro- portion of such voters. I5iit while 1 olijected to allowing the oath to remain in this section. 1 did not ol)ject to its incoiporation in another jilacc, where I conceived it would more effect- ually subserve its purpose ; and it was for the purpose of explaining my views on thut suf- ject that I desired to acMress the C'onven- tion at the time I was decided to lie out of or- der — though I believe the point was jjropi-rly rais'd, and for that rcasrtn I did not avail my- Felf of the courtesy offered by the Convention at that time of allowing nie to continue my r'lnarks. I conceiveil that the section which provides for a registry law, was the proper place in which to incorporate Ibis test oatb. Now, sir, I disagree with my friend from Humboldt (Mr. Dunne) in relation to the ex- tent to wh ch this provision would go. As I understand the resolution of instructions, as prepared iiy him. it provides that all men, when they make application for registration, sliall take this test oath. If that would be attended with any corresponding benefit. I should have no objection, for, as other gentlemen have said, I am perfectly willing to take and subscribe that oath as ( ften as it becomes necessary to administer it. But is it necessary for this to be done? Is there any corresponding ben- efit to be obtained ? On the contrary, is it not advisable that the oath should only be admin- istered in case a person is challenged for dis- loyalty? I think all the practical l)eueiit to l)e derived from a test oatb can in that manner be secured. And. in accordance with tliis view, I have prepared an ameiulment. which I know meets with the approbation of siveral members of the Convention. I propose to amend the in- structions, as olfered by the gentleman from Humboldt, so as to read as follows : — Amend Section 7, so as to incorporate the following, to wit : — " Prorided, That any person when making applica- tion to be registered as a voter, shall, upon being chal- lenged on account of disloyalty, take and sub.scribe an oath or affirmation in the t\>llovving I'orm : — ' I do solemnly swear [or afiirm] that I wUl support, protect, and defend the Constitution and Government of the United States, and the ConstitCLtion and Government of the State of Nevada, against all enemies, whether do- mestic or foreign, and that I will bear true faith, alle- giance, and loyalty to the same, any ordiUiUice, resolu- tion or law of any Stat<_> Con\ention or Legislature to the contrary notwithstanding; and further, that I do this with a full determination, pledge, and purpose, without any mental reservation or evasion whatsoever. So help me God.' " I have no serious objection to the amendment offered by the gentleman from lliunlioldt, but I think all the real benelits derivalile from a test oath may be oljtained by this provision, and then we can leave it witliin the province of the Legislature to pr scribe the manner of makii'g the challenge. They may, if they please, even make it the duty of the registering olficers to challenge every man, and require him to take the test oath. My friend from Sto'-ey (Mr. Frizoll) lias in- veighed against the action of the Convention, in adopting a test oath, as lieing something un- usual. I think the gentleman is mistaken in some of his olijections. He is correct in this, however, that no oath of loyalty, in form or aubsta-;ice as now projioscd. is found in the Con- stitution of any other State. But the reason of this is apparent. We are forming a Constitu- tion under circumstances unlike those which liave attended similar action in any other State of the l.'nion. but I do not doubt that each and all of the loyal States would to-day. if it were I in their power, incorporate in their Constitu- j tions provisions of the like character, and I they would do it, too, readily and cheerfully. 8th day.] RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. 261 Tuesday,] Frizell — Johnson — Dunne. [July 12. We find that in theCoastitutionsof otherStates, a fiMin of oath is prescribed — a form which, under the circumstances attending the framing of their respective State Governments, was deemed to be sufficient — but this unholy rebel- lion lias taught us an iulditional and instruct- ive lesson on the subject of the sanctity and inviolability of oaths. Mr. FRlZl!]LL [interrupting.] Does the gen- tleman hold that the lA'gislature would not have tlie right, under our Constitution, without this provi.sion, to pass a law prescribing the same oath wliieh is here proposed ? Mr. JOHNSON. 1 mhU not attempt to say that they would not have the power to do it, but I want this matter unmistaka))ly expressed. I do not want it to be a question in every Legis- lature in succeeding years, but let it be fixed and established in the Constitution, so that it cannot be revoked except l>y an amendment of that instrument. My sympathies and my judg- ment alike prompt me to favor the incorpora- tion of that oath in the Constitution, and I think it is not transcending legitimate bounds to do so. If you refer to tlie Constitutions of other States you will find, almost invarialdy, a partic- ular form of oath prescribed in each of those Constitutions. We are acting here, in this mat- ter, only from the light of experience — the same rule which the gentleman from Storey himself lays down for his guidance. By this rebellion we have had demonstrated the necessity of prescrib- ing something additional to that form of oath W'hich has been found sufficient in the Constitu- tions of other States. I repeat, that I do not think it is necessary that every man who comes up to register his vote shall lie compelled to take and subscribe that oath, but it is quite sufficient that he should be compelled to do so when challenged. That will guard most effectually the rights of loyal men. and will operate to the exclusion of the disloyal. With this exposition of my views, I submit my amendment of the instrncti(jns to the action of the Convention. [The Pkksidext in the Chair.] Mr. DL'NNE. I hope my position will not be misunderstood on this subject. After the remarks which have been made since this question was first raised in this Convention, unless some explanations were made by me, the inference might be a fair one that my amend- ment was prompted by a desire to legislate against a particular class. Now as the princi- ple which governs me, upon this subject, is di- rectly in opposition to anything of that kind, I am necessarilj' opposed to the last amendment which has been offered. If there is any one rule of action or principle which. nu>re than another, 1 would like to see prevail in this Con- vention, it is that of calm, consistent reason and judgment. It was for that reason that I offered the resolution which I had the honor of presenting on my first arrival in this body, be- lieving that it would be impossible at this time to obtain a vote upon the Constitution proposed to be submitted, which would be entirely free ft"om party prejudices, or appeals to the passions of men. It was acting upon that principle that Ifelt it my duty to make the motion to strike out the word '• disloyal " froin the second sec- tion, as it stood in the Constitution framed by the last Convention, because I desired to see no invidious distinction made against a particular class. It was also upon that principle that I voted for the proposition that no person should be convicted of treason unless upon the testi- mony of two M'itnesses to the same overt act. In all my action in this Convention I have been prompted by the desire of maintaining that one important principle, of cool, sober judgment. And I conceive that the amendment proposed by the gentleman from Ormsby, (Mr. Johnson,) to these instructions, is in opposition to that principle. The resolution of instructions, with- out the amendment proposed, makes no invidi- ous distinction against a class. It attempts to brand no one as an outlaw ; it raises no sus- picions as to the loyalty or disloyalty of any man ; it only proposes a simple, broad princi- ple of law. and it is directly opposed to the establishment of any particular distinction against any class. Its adoption will forever prevent the opponents of the State Govern- ment, or any person in the opposition, from charging upon this Convention, almost unani- mously composed, as it is, of members of the dominant party in the country, that when it had the power of a giant it used that power like a giant. It would ])revent any one from being able to say : '• When you were in power, you attempted to brand us as outlaws, and to de- prive us of one of the most glorious privileges it' they were challenged. Now the only que?iion is, is it necessary tor any one to take this oath? Because, if it is, it Ls necessary for all ; otherwise, gentlemen must see that many ])er.sons who.se loyalty is undoubted, would be obliged to take the (jath. while perhaps the very men for whom the pro\ision is most re- quired would escape. They would go to the otliee of the Registrar, and if they saw nobody there to challenge them they would give their names : but if they found some one ready to chal- lenge them they would say they would drop in at another time, and in that way they would manage to avoid tlie necessity of taking the oath. Therefore I say if it is uecessary at all, and I thiidv it is. it should be made to apply to all. and consequently I hope this amendiueiil will n<»t prevail. .Mr. MrCLIXTOX. I agree with the remarks of my friend from Humboldt, (Mr. Dunne,) aiul ho|)(.' that this oatli will be adopted. 1 do not der-ire that, before our institutions shall have be- come settled on a lirin basis, a flood of voters shall be ])ermitted to pour into this Territory, or .Slate, from the States which are now in re- bellion against the (rovernmeut of tin? United State.-, to vote me down, and to vtjti" you down, sir. and to vote down every other loyal man. I d(j not wish that the assassins of those nuMi who are now bravely upholding the flag and the Government of the United States should be, by my vote at least, elevated to a political equality with my.self. i do injt ])ropose to make any lengthy re- marks on this subject. It has been already too much discussed, and I desire to facilitate the business of the Convention as much as jjossible. I appreciates the merciful, l'orgi\ing si)irit man- ifested by the gentlrmaii from Store}^ (Mr. l'ri/.(dl.) and I will sa\ to him that I. too, some- tiint's pray, but in this case, my prayer would happen to be fine written liy Robert ]5ni-ns. and not by Alexander ro]te. If 1 were to make a prayer in behalf of the rebels, I would Kay :— "Thy BtronR rinlit hand. Lord, niak' it bear I'po' their UeadH : I»rd, wii;
  • yon (.Mr. Keiuiedy) will be adojit- eij ; and I cannot, for my pari, .see the disad- vantages to result from the adoption of that oath which some gentlemen on this floor appear to apprehend. I caiuiot see that it will pro- scribe any ])erson who is willing to do what we have une(iui\()cally a right to demand that he shall do, before enjoying the rights of citizen- ship in this State. All he is rt'(iuired to ilo. in order to register his name as a voter, is to sub- serilje to this oath : and it is a bad argument to say that it will work a hardship upon a man who is disloyal, and not u])ou a loyal man. If there are rebels among us who would object to taking the oath. I. for one, am in favor of com- pelling them to take it. Mr. IIAIXES. This discussion has taken a very wide i-ange, and 1 would like to know how the question now stands before the Con- vention. It ap])ears to me that all the mem- bers are anxious to arrive at about the same end, only they differ widely as to the mode and manner of reaching that end. The PRESIDENT. The question now is on the motion to recommit the article to a special committee, with instructions to add to the sec- tion providing for a registry law, the matters contained in the amendment of the gentleman from Humboldt (Mr. Dunne). Mr. HAINES. The only difference I sec be- tween members is, as to whether or not all voters shall be obliged to take this oath ; and although the motives of some gentlemen are directly impugned because they do not desire that -all shall be compelled to take it, I cannot see that they are deserving of any censure on that score. For one. I should be in favor of having the Registrar compelled to administer the oath to all, and then there can be no possi- ble misunderstanding ; but a man who would fail or refuse to take it, would at once be known as disloyal, and. as a matter of course, he would be i)revented from voting. (Other- wise, some men would inevitably avoid being challenged, and the only advantage we shoidd derive from the provision would be, that we might catch some disloyal men, by virtue of their being known, and challenge them, A disloyal man who came to the registry office might not be known to the Registrar, and it is veiy true, as has been remarkt'd by some gen- tleman, that •' what is everybody's business is nobody's business." In nuiny instances. ])er- sons will not wish to make known their views, and sometimes men might hesitate, through fear or other motives, to challenge men of known disloyalty. I see no great inconvenience to re- sult from the amendment, exceijt to the Regis- trar him.self ; ami the amoiuit of extra work he would be called ujion to perform on this ac- count I do not think would be very great. What he would have to do ^\'ould then be defi- nite ami certain, and he could do it very rap- iilly. I lhiid< that every loyal man woulil be, like my friend from Storey. (Mr. ("ollins.) willing, if necessary, to take the oath four times a day, in order to make it certain that no disloyal man should bo registered without ha\ing taken it, and he would not mind the slight inconveni- 8th day.] RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. 263 Tuesday,] Collins — Brosnan. [July 12. ence and trouble. I would like to see tliis matter settled in such a way that all who conu! to be registered, shall take and subscribe the oath, and pay their poll taxes ; and I believe every loyal man would feel, in doing so, that he had strengthened the bond which attaches him to the National Government. Mr. COLLINS. I agree with the eloquent gentleman from Esmeralda, (Mr. Mason,) that if I knew a num who was rabidly disloyal, or disloyal in the least, who would not take the oath, 1 should feel as if I wanted to make him take it ; but the ditference between the gen- tlenuin and myself is this: I regard this rebel- lion as ephemeral in its character and conse- quences. It is a thing of a day, while our Con- stitution is for all time in the future. I do not want to incorporate in the Constitution any- thing which is soon to be exhausted and die out of itself, leaving the constitutional provis- ion wholly inoperative, and a dead letter. Now. 1 have no objection at all to instruct- ing the Legislature to prescribe such an oath with regard to loyalty to the Federal, or State Government, or both, as in its wisdom it may deem desirable. That may be a very proper thing for the Legislature to do, but it may be very improper for us to do. I would like it veiy well if in every section of this State, a provision of law were enforced, requiring every challenged man, and, if necessary, every elector, to take this oath, so as to prevent, in accordance with the idea of the gentleman from Douglas, (Mr. Haines,) one single indi- vidual from escaping. But in one, two, three, or possildy four years, all this matter of disloy- alty, 1 trust, will have subsided, and the neces- sity of any such action will have ceased to ex- ist ; and then I want the provision to cease also. Therefore, I say, give the Legislature in- structions to pass such laws as are required, and let the Legislature require an oath to be taken when, where, and how it may be deemed best for the time being. I have no fear but that the Legislature, coming warm and fresh from the people from year to year, will be in- spired with sentiments of loyalty and patriot- ism. I am happy to find that I am in a body of men so thoroughly imbued with the spirit of loyalty, so devoted to their country, so generous to the government that they are unwilling that any man, unless fully purged from any taint of disloyalty, shall be allowed to exercise the elective franchise. That pleases me, I say ; and I like, also, to be inspired by speeches, such as have been made here, so eloipient, and ardent and determined, in regard to loyalty. But we should bear in mind that we are legis- lating as unimpassioned men — that our judg- ment should be cool, calm, and clear, and that we should establish a Constitution under the influence alone of that calm and clear judg- ment. If gentlemen yield to, and allow them- selves to be guided by, the influences around them which inspire them with enthusiasm and zeal, they will be incapacitated fnini exercising clear judgment. I do not want to be placed in that ])OHition. I say, let us cast aside all sur- rouiulings which inspire our hearts, influence our passions, or excite our feelings ; let us be calm, and cool, and delil)erate in the perform- ance of our duties, and incorporate only that which ought to be permanent in our organic act. Mr. BROSNxVN. I have but a few words to say upon this section, and I need not say any- thing upon the matter, merely for the ]iuri)ose of having my loyalty vouched for, or under- stood. I am not opposed to the sjiirit of the amendment, by any means, but I look upon this constitutional provision as being an instru- ment that will cut both ways. I perceive by the remarks of gentlemen who have preceded me, that they do not appear to agree among themselves, even with regard to the objects of the mover of the resolution. It seems that the learned gentlemen from Humboldt (Mr. Dunne,) who originally moved the resolution, desires that there shall be no discrimination, but that the provision shall be general in its application to every elector in the State, while most of those who have spoken in its favor seem to ad- vocate it because it is calculated to exclude the very class which he says is obnoxious. For myself, Mr. President, in a body composed of such intelligent men as this is, when there seems to be so great a discrepancy between the idea of the mover and the idea of those in favor of the adoption of the motion, I have to say that '' I fear the Greeks even bringing presents." It cannot be a sound prcjposition when we cannot all agree even upon the rea- sons of the mover, or when we approve of it for different reasons. That does not seem to me to afford a very flattering prospect. I would rather for myself prefer that this subject were entirely left "to the Legislature; and if I vote against this resolution, it will be entirely and solely upon that ground. We do not even derive a practical advan- tage from this provision, because it only applies to voters after we shall have become a State ; and yet the most important aiul vital election which we are about to hold is the election which is to decide the question of the adoption of this Constitution, or its rejection ; and then the first State election is to be held immediately succeeding its adoption, in the event that it is adopted. Yet at this time, when men's pas- sions are excited, as we have seen tiiey are, when we all feel a thrill of horror at the damna- ble insurrection which has deluged this land in blood, at this very period we are unable to give practical eff'ect to this clause. And still we are seeknig to make it 0])erative at a time when the passions of men Mill have subsided, when the tumultuous waves of rebellion shall have recoiled and rolled back, when the Angel of Peace shall, with her trumi)et, have sounded the notes of reconciliation and harmony. It is proposed. Mr. President, that when perhaps the 2G4 RIGHT OP SUFFRAGE. [8th day. Tuesday,] BKOriXAX — DeLoxg. [July 12. deep aud bloody traces that have been left] iipoii the heart o'f the nation by this damnahU' , war t^hall have di.-aiipearod. whi u in t'litiUH' times thti?e scars will seem perhaps but as the , hierojilvphics which tlie boy in his jilay traees upon a barren l)each. to be swept away by the first wave, or the first reflux of tlie tide, we should still have in our fundamental law, adopted fur thi' y;rovision because you nughl with as much pro])riety, in mvjudfriueut -though in this 1 may be in er- ror^ jurscribe all the duties of the registering otlicer. or the clerk who has to take tlie names, or the fees to be received for administering the oath, and all those other little matters of detail which yiiu ought to leave to the Legislature of your State, if you evi-r have one. And with "those minor duties and matters of detail to be prescribed by the Legislature, 1 would also leave the prescribing of this oath. Gentlemen will jierceive by looking at .Section 27 of Arti- cle 1\', that laws arc required to be made to exclude certain persons from serving on Juries and trom the right of sulfrage. If this provision were proposed to be incorporated in that sec- tion, i should like it better than where you are jdacing it here, in connection with the general declaration of the privilege of the exercise of the elective franchise. It would be better to leave it so that the l>egislature, when pa.ssing laws to exclude certain persons from serving on juries and jirescrihing the (pialilliations oi electors, may, at the same time, establish this oath. But. sir. I do not wish to detain the Conven- tion with any extended remarks. .My only ob- ject is to have my objection fairly understood, namely, that this is a proper sul)ject tor legisla- tive acliou. and not at all jiniper. in my judg- ment, to be placed in this Oonslilulion. .Mr. i)KL(LN(j. I disagree with my respected colleague (.Mr. Brosnan) on the main ground of his argument in opposition to this measure. He sjieaks of it as being wrong to be placed in our Constitution, and as a monument of revenge against that which will be remembered in his- tory oidy as a hieroglyphic which a boy has written iii the sand, 1 do not think that this rebellion, or its memory, or it.s wrongs, or the irijuiii's it has inllicteil, will be wiped out by till- Ih'st -wave of jteace and reconciliation, or e\en by tli(^ waves of peace that may (low over it for a century of time to come. 1 helieve as conlideiitly as my colleague may or can be- lieve, that tin? strong arm of the (iovermnenl will put down the rebellion which is now seek- ing to oNcrlhrow it. i lielieve that rebellion to be as accursed xs he thinks it to be, 1 be- lieve ill all those things as strenuously as he does ; but I do believe that when this rehellion shall have been crushed, rankling in the hearts of tho.-?e who have been its aiders and abettors will long continue to exist that feeling of dis- affection which will require the strongest guards and restraints for a long time to come, to be placed around those men, to protect the coun- try against renewed treason and perjury, I do not think that this proposed section will stand as a monument of revenge or of folly, but rather as a monument of caution, which we have a right to exercise, in the future, inas- nnicli as we have learned the bitter lesson which men refused at tirst to believe, that in the best Government the world ever saw, mil- lions of men could be found, who, without any cause, would enter into a conspiracy and bloody revolution to oviuthrow that (iovernment and destroy the brightest hopes and happiness of their fellow-men, I believe that within a few years we shall see constitutional ju-ovisions framed and adopted in every State in the Union, and by the Federal Government itself, also, ' providing that every man who shall have raised an arm against our Government shall be re- garded, beyond the possibility of a doubt, not only as a traitor, but as a double-dyed, damna- ble villain and perjurer, [.\pplause.] I want every man who projioses to exercise the right of suffrage among us not only to record his name. but. in the presence of Almighty God, to swear tlitit oath, and so to seal his everlasting and eternal damnation if he ever again raises his hand in rebellion. I want to see this done, and I think this rebellion has justified it. If, heretofore, in the best regulated and most en- lightened Government that has ever been founded in the world, malcontents can be found who would rather reign in hell than serve in heaven, men who at any time when they lind that their prospects of elevation to power are im- paired, would be glad to see the Kejiublic dashed to ruin, if only they could stand para- mount above that ruin, the highest of the high, then we may expect that such men will con- tinue to be found in the future. Such men do live; they live now. and ever have lived in the history of the past, and such men will con- tinue to live as long as (Governments continue to exist on earth, I say, we cannot exercise too much caution against that class of men ; and whilst I do not imjHign or question the ^ motives of gentlemen who dilfer in their views . (ju this subject from those views which I enter- tain, I say that the man who refuses to sub- I scribe to that oath, or does not desire to take it, is in my opinion tender-footed on (he tpies- [ tion of loyalty, I believe that no man who 1 truly loves his (Jovernment, in whose heart is maintained the linn, lixed resolve that he will I live with it and dii' with it, has any oljjcction j in the world to coming before a liegi.strar, and I there, wliih; recording himself a voter, sub- I scribing to that oath of allegiance which binds I him in his soul and in his actions for all time to come, 1 want it to stand there, hieroglyphic though it may be. not written in the sand, but J written on ]iar(hment, in our State Conslitu- i tiou, a document which we ourselves subscribe 8th day.] IIIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. 265 Tuesday.] Hawley. [July 12. and establish, that all men must and shall sub- scribe to, before they become our peers and equals in the perogatives which belong to free- men. And, sir, 1 hope that this Convention will adopt this oath and add it to that section, as a guarantee that we will not hereafter be met at the polls, and in the exercise of our sacred right of suSVage, be counterbalanced and stultihed by those in whose veins runs no blood save that which is black as hell with the taint of treason. I hope the proposed amend- ment will be adoi^ted. Mr. HAWLEY. It would seem like pre- sumption to add anything to the eloquent argu- ment to which we have just listened. I pre- sume that if there is any man on the floor, who, from his early associations, and from the ties Avhich generally bind a man to the home of his youth, might be pardoned for a desire to extend a mistaken sympathy to those men who have sought to plunge the country into the ruin which now gapes and yawns at her feet, I am that man. Sir, I would rather perish by slow fire, or now, before tliat sun sets behind the western hills, be laid in a nameless grave, un- known to the dearest friend I have on earth, or even be forgotten by the mother who gave me birth, than 1 would again undergo the tem- pest of emotions through which I have arrived at those principles which are now the pole star of mj' existence. Born and reared amidst the influences of the accursed institution which is now being defended at the cost of the life-blood of the men who have established and built up that institution, it required years of absence from its unhallowed presence to teach me those lessons which, at length, 1 have learned. But when, at last, passion had died away — when early prejudices had been weeded out — I be- came convinced that I had been cherishing er- roneous principles ; and now I know that I am right. But this struggle has been going on in my breast from the time I first became old enough to think. Now, sir, it does not become us, as men en- gaged in organizing a great State, to indulge in a spirit of revenge or passion, but rather, to look this matter calmly and dispassionately in the face. The question simply resolves itself into this : Shall we place in our organic law our emphatic, and, as long as this instrument ! shall remain, our enduring condemnation of the principle which gave birth to this rebellion ? i Shall it be said that we, meeting here to repre- 1 sent a loyal constituency, faltered in our duty, ] and pandered to that spirit of disaffection which exists in our midst, and which, for aught I know, may have its representatives— not, cer- tainly, upon the floor of this Convention — but within the walls of the very building in which I am now speaking ? Sir, I heartily indorse. ! and without mental reservation or purpose of i evasion, the amendment which is now offered. , I insist upon it, that it is the duty of this Con- ' ventiou to place in the organic law of the new State, a vow of loyalty, to which every man who may hereafter be called upon to exercise the functions of a freeman at the ballot-box, shall be required to subscribe. There is no middle ground. If we hesitate or delay, I be- lieve, sir, we are lost. Facts have come to my knowledge since I came to this city as a mem- ber of this Convention, at the relation of which I have shuddered not less than when, for the first time, I learned tliat the hand of treason and rebellion had applied the spark to the can- non which sent the first ball against the walls of Sumter. I believe to-day. that not only in this Territory, but in the adjacent State of Cal- ifornia — and not only in California, but in many a spot between here and the Missouri lliver— armed bands of rebels exist, who, upon the first occasion of a reverse — and such a thing may happen— are ready to apply the torch which shall lay in ashes our dwellings and our homes ; to bring upon this land the unnum- bered and unimaginable horrors which have reigned in that State from which more immedi- ate!}' I came. Now, sir, this oath, if incorporated into our Constitution, we are told, will have no practical effl-ct. These men now think they can plot in secret until the hour comes when they can work openly, and that if they must meet death, they may die with feet to the foe ; but when they come to know that not death upon the battle-field, fighting for a mistaken idea, is to be their lot— but that instead, the felon's doom awaits them ; that they are to drag out ai-uined existence in chains, or in everlasting contempt — they will hesitate long before incurring such a punishment. More than that, they will learn that by pf-rsisting in a treasonable course, they are ostracising themselves ; that they are placing a brand of suspicion upon themselves which will render them powerless for evil. Now, if we leave this matter open in our Con- stitution, prescribing no oath, but •• taking the chances," to use a vulgarism, of the Legislature prescribing an oath which will be sutticiently binding, we may suddenly find ourselves bound hand and foot, or, at least, if not so bound, compelled to meet as foes upon the battlefield a class of men, every one of whom, for my part, I despise, as I do the filthy garbage of the gutter. Sir, I do not see how an American ^citizen, even though born in the South, in a State which has declared itself separated from the United States, living in that section which has thrown thousands into the " imminent deadly breach," and sacrificed so many gallant lives- for a braver or more generous people than the Southern never lived, till they were tainted with this accursed heresy of treason— 1 can not see, I say, how an American citizen, although living in such a State, and amidst such associa- tions, can so cling to the prejudices of the past as to even silently sympathise with that arch rebel who is now leading tlie hordes of treason against the Government, and to whom the lan- guage of the poet may well be applied :— 266 rJGET OF SUFFRAGE. [8th d&y. Tuesday,] Warwick — Dunne. [July 12. " Derision shall strike bim forlorn, A nioikerj- that mvcr shall die; Tin- lursis of liati-, and tho hisses of scorn Sliall l)urthi-u tlie winds of his sky; And proud o't-r his riiiu, forever be hurled The laughter of triuiuph, the jeers of the world." Sir. if wo are to render such men powerless for evil, we must circumscribe their actions. and subject them to scorn and contempt. It becomes us as men. in eslablishin<^ the muni- ment of a new . our organic law. Mr. J»rNNH. AVill the gentleman permit me to ask him a (piestion? I would like to intpiire if the gcnileman, when he s])eaks of an amend- ment. iindiTstamls that there is :in amtMidnient to an ami'ndmon( ju'oposcd.and that tiieanieiid- ment now immediately iiefoie the Con\ention. conti-m'plates making the distinction that only those wlio are challenged before the Kegislrar Bhall l)e ri'r|uired to take the oath '! Mr. WAUWICK. Exactly ; 1 understand the propo-^iiion |)erfeclly. and i am opi)osed to that ameiidmein. and in favor of llu- jiroposition that the oalli shall be administi'red to eveiy in- dividual who shall come before the Registrar. I am in favor of that, for the reasons so ably given to the Convention by the gi'iilleman from liumltoldi himself (Mr. Dunru',) and so ably advoealed. (rx). Iiy the gentleman from Storey (Mr. Iiei.ong,) and others who have s|ire known in the land. Now, sir, I hojje the idea of re()uiiiiig this test to be a])j)lied only to such as may l)e challenged, will not prevail, liut that the amendment requiring ev- 8tli day.] RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. 267 Tuesday,] Warwick — Fitch — Nourse. [July 12. ery man to take the oath when his name is registered, will be adopted. I hope that amend- ment, haviiif^ due regard to the Amnesty Proc- lamation, will l_»e incorporated in onr organic act, even it' it does carry with it the condemna- tion of treason forever and forever, as long as the Kepnhlic shall stand. Is the gentleman from Storey afraid that we should place the seal of our condemnation upon treason? Is it not enough, when the whole land has been made one vast scene of sacrifice, when the scars are still open, the blood flowing from a million of wounds, and the life of the Nation trembling in the balance, to justify ns now, while we are on the point of rising into Na- tional existence, in stamping upon the charter of our coming liberty the fact that we do abhor and abominate treason? We propose to let the seal of our curse and condemnation stand upon it as long as these mountains around us shall continue to rear their heads towards heaven, and for one, I am not afraid to raise my voice, and to have my vote go upon the record of the proceedings of this Convention, in condemnation of treason. Though we may forgive the traitors, we never shall forgive nor cease to abhor their treason. Though the Am- nesty may cover their sins, and they be blotted out and forgotten, still the treason is as accursed as ever. And future statesmen shall arise and point to the time in which we live, when that treason endangered the life of the Nation, when the (Government itself was threatened by it to be bhjtted out, and the hope of coming millions quenched forever. Then, I ask, shall we not now place our seal of condemnation upon that treason ? I am at a loss to perceive where the argument of revenge can he made to apply, when we ask no more of the vilest traitor that ever shot down and murdered a patriot in cold blood, than we ourselves concede to the Gov- ernment. I can see a very serious objection to the amendment proposed by the gentleman from Ormsby, (Mr. Johnson.) leaving the section so as to ajjply only to those who may be chal- lenged. In the first place, that would impose a most disagreeable duty upon the challenger, or if you make it the Registrar's duty, it imposes a disagreeable duty upon him, and a most weighty responsibility, also. I venture to say, sir, that there is no loyal man in this Convention, nor yet within the borders of this Territory, but ■will be willing to sacrifice so much as is re- quii'ed by this provision, if sacrifice it be, to require him once a year to pledge anew his fealty to the American Union. Now, suppose a case like this — and it is one likely to occur every day : Two men go before the Registrar a few days preceding the election to have their names recorded as voters. Both are equally known to the Registrar, and he is on friendly terms with Ijoth. He takes the name of the gentleman from Storey, (Mr. DeLong.) if you please, without any question, because he knows him to be thoroughly loyal. I then jareseut myself, but he says, "No, sir ; you cannot have your name registered unless yon take this oath, because I believe you to be a traitor." It would be no nnire than his duty, I admit, if he lielieved that to lie the case, ))ut when you con- sider the manifold relations which we all occu- py more or less, and necessarily so, with people who are of doubtful fidelity to the Government, with whom we are brought in contact in our daily attairs, 1 submit that this would im- pose upon a Registrar a most disagreeable duty, and an onerous task ; whi-reas it would be no task at all if every man were required to lake the oath. I, or my friend from Storey, can take the oath then, on equal tiii'ms, and any man who does not want to take it, can go away ; and the man who may be unjustly ac- cused of disloyalty, if he has no sympathy with treason, will thus have an oiipcu'tunity to mani- fest that lact. But, sir, we know the tenacity with which all men cling to supposed rights. The Registrars would be overwhelmed with applications to challenge this, that, or the other nnin, and they would be abused frequently if they did not require certain men to take the oath. I repeat that it is no hardship to any loyal man to take this oath. I do not believe that there is a member of this Convention here who would object to taking it if he were called upon at this time. Why, then, should we place upon any officer this onerous burden, this disagree- able task which would be likely to subject him to abuse a hundred times a day, when we can just as easily put this matter in such a shape that he need give offense to no man, and at the same time the provision will positively debar those who are not in sympathy with the Gov- ernment from counterbalancing the votes of loyal men? I believe the gentleman from Storey (Mr. Collins) is actuated by as patriotic motives as any gentleman in this Convention, although I certainly do think it is an error of judgment on his part to suppose that a law can be made under the amendment to the amend- ment, which will be as efficient as it would be under the original instructions, which have been sui)ported by nearly every gentleman in this body. Mr. FITCH. The gentleman from Lander will pardon me for the interruption, but it is now only ten minutes before five o'clock, and we must have a vote soon, or not at all to-day. The gentleman has already exceeded the limit of fifteen minutes. I bcdieve. Mr. WARWICK. Oh, very well ; I do not desire to trespass beyond my time, and I have said all I wished to say. Mr. NOURSE. I shall vote against the amendment to the amendment, because I like the original proposition better. The question was taken on the auu'udment to the instructions proposed by Mr. Johnson, and it was not agreed to. The question recurred upon the instructions proposed by Mr. Dunne. 268 RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. [9th da}' AVeduesday,] Fitch— Mikdcck—Bkosnak— Warwick— Kennedy— Banks— Duxxe. [July 13. Mr. FITCH. If we carry this matter over till to-morrow, we shall be likely to fritter away anolher day before it is finally adjusted. 1 hope we shall instruct the commmittee to report soniethinjz; iiniucdiate'ly. Mr. ML'RDOClv. If a further amendment is in order now, I think that one should be made. I think I can see that instances might arise ■vj-here this section, as proposed to be amended, would work a hardship, at least in certain com- munities. In Virginia City, probably there Avould be no trouble about registering the names ; but I would like to have the secticjn so anu'uded that the Tax Collectors or their de- puties might be provided with the form of oath, and the papers necessary, so that men might have their names registered at the same time thev pay their taxes. The I'll KSI DENT. This proposition would not inhibit the Legislature from providing for that course ; it only requires that the oath shall be taken, and leavi?s the mode and manner to be regulated by the Legislature. ] Mr. MURDOCK. Very well ; I most heartily concur. i The question was taken on the motion of .^lr. Dunne, to recommit with the instructions pro- posed bv him. and it was agreed to. The r'RESIDEXT appointed as the special committee, under the motion, Messrs. Kennedy, Unnne, and Brosnan. Mr. BROSNAN. It is not the usual parlia- mentarv course, I believe, to place upon the committee to which a measure is referred, a member who is opposed to that measure. But I wish to sav, how(!ver. that I am not opposed to this proposition, and 1 will therefore serve on the committee. Mr. ClIAPIN gave notice that the Committee on the great Seal of Nevada would meet this evening. The hour of five o'clock having arrived, the Tresident, under the rule, declared the Conven- tion adjourned. NINTH DAY. Cahsox, July 13, 1864. JIORNING SESSION. The Convention met at nine o'clock, and was call<-d to ord<-r 1)V llic I'rcsidcnt. Tbe roll was callfil and all the members re- sponded except the following : Mes.'^rs. Ball. Crawford, Fitch, Folsom. Cilisou. Haines, Jones. Mor.se, Sturtevant, Wellington, and Williams. Present. 28 ; absent, 11. On motion of Mr. H.\WLEY. leave ol ab- sence was gnuiteil imleliiiitely to Mr. Haines. On motion of Mr. liOVEV. leave of alisence was granted indefinitely to Mr. Fri/.eli. Prayer was otfered by the Rev. Mr. RILEV. The'journal of Saturday was read, corrected and approved. PACIFIC RAILROAD. The SECRETARY stated (by leave of the Convention) that on ]\Ionday some member of the Convention had given notice of an amend- ment to Article VIII, entitled Municipal and other Corporations, and that in consequence of ' that proposed amendment he had directed the assistant Secretary to suspend the engrossing of the article. The amendment referred to was in Section 9, in relation to the Pacific Railroad. Mr. DeLONG. That is the old bone. Mr. WARWICK. I think I was the one who gave notice at that time that I should m:_ike a motion to amend so as to raise the rate of inter- est on these bonds from seven to ten pt'r cent. ; • but I thought that matter had been disposed of i and decided by the Convention. The questioa I was very ably argued, I remember, by the I President, and I was under the impression that the Convention took action immediately, re- I taining the lower rate of interest. If. however, j the subject is still open, I should be very happy I to have" the clause amended, and at the proiier ; time I shall be glad of an opportunity to say a i few words in regard to the propriety of raising i that rate of interest. The PRESIDENT. It would not be in order at the present time. Reports of committees are the present order of business. RlfillT OF SVFFRAGE — THE VOTEu's O.VTH. Mr. KENNEDY, from the special committee to whom was referred Article II, entitled l^ight of Suffrage, with instructions to amend Section 7, reported as follows : — Your committee to which wa.s rocommittcrt Article n, entitled Bight of Sutt'ragc, with iiistnictiniis to amend Section 7, by inserting the oatli stnckm out uf Section 2, or to draft an oath prtiper for that imrpose and report the same to the Couveution, respecttuUy submit the following proviso as an addition to Section 7:— " Provided, That no person shall have his name reg- istered as an elector until he shall take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation before an officer au- thorized by law :— ' I , do solemnly swear (or af- firm) that I will support, protect, and defend the CX)n- stitution and Government of the United States, and the Constitution and Government of the State of Ne- vada against all enemies whether domestic or foreign, and that I will bear true faith, aUegiance, and loyalty to the same, any ordinance, resolution or law of any State Convention or Legislature to the contrary not- withstanding: and further, that I do this with a luU determination, pledge, and purpose, without any men- tal reservation or evasion whotsoever, so help me God.'" ^ , All of wliich is respectfully submitted. F. U. KENNEDY, Chairman. Mr. BANKS. I move the adoption of that report. Mr. DFNNE. In the ordinary course ol l)nsiness. 1 believe, this report would go to the general file, but I should like to susi)end the rules and take it up now. The PinOSIDENT. 1 supjiose it is competent for the Convention to considi'r the report now, under tlie rules. Mr. BANKS. I hope any question of order in regard to it will be waived, and let us de- 9th day.] RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. 2G9 Wednesday,] liOCKwooD— McClinton— DeLong — Dunne. [Jnly 13. cide the mattei' now, as it has already been fully debated. JVir. LOCKVVOOD. I listened to a long de- bate on this question j'esterday, and I should, niyselt', like to make a very few remarks upon it at this time, merely for the sake of gaining some information, because I wish to vote intel- ligently. Sir, if 1 understand the object of a registration of voters, it is to provide tiie means of })reventing men who are not qualilied elect- ors, under the laws, from exercising the right of the elective franchise. Now, by referring to Section 2 of this article, gentlemen will find that we have this provision : — Sec. 2. No person who has been or may be convicted of treason or felony, in any State or Territory of the United States, unless restored to civil rights, and no person who, after arriving at the age of eighteen years, shall have voluntarily borne arms against the United States, or held civil or military office luulcr the so-call- ed Confederate States, or either of them, unless an amnesty be granted to such by the Federal Govern- ment, and no idiot or insane person, shaU be entitled to the ijrivilege of an elector. Already we have provided that no such per- son as is here described shall be allowed to exercise this right of suffrage. I start out, sir, with the assumption that one duty, and, I pre- sume, about the only duty, of the Registrar, will be to find out, by some proper means, who are, and who are not, qualified electors. Mr. McCLlXTON. I want to correct the gen- tleman, with his permission, in one respect. I think that section which he has read, and which has met with general ap])roval by the Conven- tion, says that such men shall not vote " unless a general amnesty be granted by the United States," or words to that elfect. Mr. LOCKWOOD. I understand all that ; bnt this article goes further, in another part. It says in Section 8, as we have it before us in the printed basis : — " Provision shall be made by law for the registration of the names of the electors within the county of which they may be residents, and for the ascertain- ment, by proper proofs, of the persons who shall be entitled to the right of suffrage, as hereby established." Now, who is to ascertain this, by proper Iproofs? Why. the Registrar. I submit to the jConvention, that if a man comes before that jOflBcer to have his name registered, and the ofli- cer says to him — " Sir, hold up your hand and iswear whether or not you have ever borne arms against the Federal Government, or held office under the so-called Confederate States,"" — {if the man refuses to take that oath, the Regis- jtrar must, in the exei-cise of the functions of ihls office, even in accordance with the sections jl have read, refuse to receive his name. He [would have no right to register the name of such a man as a (jualiti('(l elector. Therefore, I say, while 1 would be willing, if necessary, ito prescribe the very strictest form of oath — because I start out with the presumption that iwe are in favor of allowing no man to exercise the elective franchise, who feels that it is his jbounden duty to do all he can to overthrow the Government, whether of the State or Na- tion, for that would be a suicidal policy yet it seems to me that we are not called upon to prescrilK^ any oath at all, in this instrument. It is, of course, the i)rovince of the Legislature to i)rescribe the duties of the Registrar ; and it does seem to me - alHiougli I ani mjt a lawver, and do not wish to set up my o|)iuioiis in'op- p(isiti(Ui to those of abler men in lljis Conven- tion— tiiat if the Registrar has anv legitimate duty at all to perform, that duty is marked out, or, at least, intimated, in this Section 2. 1 sub- mit this suggestion to the consideration of the Convention, and would be glad to hear the opinions of gentlemen who know more about matters of this sort than 1 do. Mr. I)eLON(;. Does the gentleman from Ormsby think that this Section 2, which he has read, authorizes the Registrar to require any man to take tlie oath ? Mr. LtJCKWOOD. I submit that the lan- guage of the section is plain. It says that no person who has been guilty of anv of these things which are specified, shall be entitled to the privileges of an (dector ; and the very ob- ject of having a registry of votes is, to find out, before tiie day of election, who are electors, in order that the proceedings, on election day, may not be interrupted and delayed, by any questions involving the right to exercise the elective franchise. Mr. DeLONG. But there is nothing in the section to authorize the Registrar to" re(iuire the oath to be taken by any man. Theie is nothing in it about the Registrar ; and it would be looked upon as a usurpation of power on his part to require if. But, by requiring every man to take the oath, we relieve the officer from the responsibility, and at the same time we shut out disloyal men from the exercise of the elect- ive franchise. Mv. LOCKWOOD. Neither is there anything in the Constitution to make it the duty of the (Governor to veto a bill. It seems clear to me, that as the Registrar has certain duties to per- form, and as the only object in having a liegis- trar at all is, that he shall ascertain, by ])roper proofs, who are legal voters, this power and duty may be inferred. 1 consider that it would be as much his duty, when a person apjjlies to be registered, to find out, by proper ]u-oofs, whether he has Ijeen in the service, military or otherwise, of the so-called Confederate States, as it would be to find out, by proper iiroofs, whether or not he is a resident, aiul has been six months in the State, and thirty days in the district. It is left for the Legislature to jire- scribe the duties of the Registrar, and thereibre 1 consider this oath out of place in the Consti- tution. 1 am willing to leave it entirely to the Legislature to say liy what means tiie Registrar shall ascertain whether a nnin is. or is not. a properly qualified elector, ))efore registering his name. Mr. DUNNE. I understand the matter in this light: Section 2 specifies certain classes of persons who shall not be allowed the privilege 270 RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. [Otli day. Wedesdav.] Stuktevant — Pkesidext— Lockwood — Banks — Warwick— Hovey. [July 13. of voting, and it is the business of the Legisla- 1 States, as it is to ascertain by absolute proof ture. muler the restriction hiid down here in ' that he is a resident of tlie State, and has been the Constitution, to put that provision into I a resident of tlie district or cotuity long enough operation. Then, after tlie classes of j)ersons to make him a (pialified elector, who are allowed to vote have been delined. the I .Mr. ISAXK."^. I tliiriU 1 sufficiently under- snbse(inent section goes still further, as amend- 1 stand the proposition of the gentleman, and ed, and says that, before those persons shall ! my answer to it is this. Section 2, of Arti- vote. they must be recpiired to take this addi- tional oath. Mr. .STUllTEVANT. As I understand it, the great reason, or one of the principal rea- sons for registering the names of the voters, is for the pm-pose of gathering the p(dl-tax. It is a financial scheme. It may be provided that a man shall not be registered except upon the payment of his poll-tax. The PRESIDENT. No provision of that kind has l)een incorporated into the Constitu- tion, but there is a provision making it discre- tionary with the Legislature to pass a law pro- viding that the payment of a poll-tax shall be a condition precedent to the right of voting. The Legislature, however, may pass such a law, or it may not. Mr. StUUTEVANT. If that is not the ob- ject, so far as I am concerned. I would as soon as not see this oath stricken out. Mr. LOClvWOOD. Now I still persist in my proposition. yh: BANKS. Will the gentleman state it again, brieflv ? Mr. LOCKWOOD. I will state it as briefly as I can, but I did not take a part in the dis- cussion of yesterday, and I think I might be allowed to occupy a few moments, if necessary. Mr. BANKS. The gentleman misunderstood me. I did not mean to ask him to be brief on account of time ; what I want is a clear under- standing. I think the gentleman sees a diffi- culty, which can be briefly stated, and perhaps exjilaiiied away. Mr. LOCKWOOD. I say that the object of having a registry, I thiidv.' is to ascertain who are the electors. Mr. BANKS. Yes, sir. Mr. LO(JKWOOD. And to ascertain that, pre- vious to the day of election. Mr. BANKS.' Yes. sir. Mr. W.VivWlCK. I hope the gentleman from Humbolilt will not interrupt with his interjec- tions. [Laughter.] Mr. LOCKWOOD. I hold that it must be the duty of the Kegistrar to examine any appli- cant, before registering his name, relative to his qualifications as a voter ; and among those qualifications, the applicant must show, by some means or other, to the satisfaction of the Kegistrar, that he has never borne anne against th<' Government, or lield oHicc, cither civil or military, under the so-called < "onfederate States. Now, sir, my ])roposition is this: that if you are going to jirescribe any oath, you should insert in it the other disqualifications, also. It is as much the duty of the Registrar to reipiirc a man to swear that he has not so borne arms, or held office under the so-called Confederate cle II, provides that persons guilty of treason against the United States, unless rc^stored to civil rights, shall not have the privilege of vot- ing. That is tlie declaration of the Constitu- tion : but we do not propose to prescribe any oath in regard to that. We propose that the Legislature may pass such laws as will enable the officers to determine whether a man has been guilty of treason or not, or whether he has been pardoned under the Amnesty Procla- mation or not. So far asthe'jiast is concerncil, we propose to leave it, with the machinery, oaths and all, to the Legislature — to the statulcs to be passed by the Legislature. Then, coming to the section which we are considering now, we provide that, so far as future acts are concerncil, we will require every man who comes forwaid to be registered, to take the oath which lias been read. That, I understand, is the whoh! scheme. As it regards the past, we leave il to the Legislature ; and as regards the future, we prescribe an oath, to be taken by all. Ami I wi.'ih to say here, in reply to the long and al)le arguments against this provision, to which \\ e listened yesterday, only this : that we do not propose to do anything in the nature of re- venge ; we simph' jirovide for protection against treason in the future. Mr. LOCKWOOD. I wish to ask one ques- tion : Suppose a man comes before the Regis- trar and asks to have his name registered, docs not the gentleman from Humboldt think thai it would be tlie duty of the Registrar, under S,'c- tion 2, to ask him" it he ever held othce under the so-called Confederate States; I mean if there were no provision made on the suhjcct by the Legislatur(> ? '.Mr. BANKS. I will endeavor to an.swer that question. It involves a point which was very altly considered ))y .fustice Sander.ked him are as to his name, age, an(i residt'nce. and those matters ai'e recorded on the enlistment- roll. That is the case with every soldier in the army of the United States. The recruit gives his name. age. heiglit. comjilexion, residence, itc. and it is all placed on record. I havt- seen, in the city of Mexico, men discharged from the army, who were residents of Kentucky at the time of their enlistment, and who. after their [ discharge, received mileage to their jdaces of 07 •> RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. [Oth day. Wednesday.] Dlxxk— Crosmax — McClixton— Bkosxax — Stuutevaxt— Lockwood. [July 13. residence. You will fiiul no inori' difficulty in U-aming the iv..<.NAN. Yes, sir; I will move to Bubstiiut4' till' word "by,"" for the word "from,'" BO as 111 read. " by each male |)erson,"" etc. .Mr. T(»Zi;U. 1 object. "From" is just as good a word as " bv."' Mr. DkLO.NC. \Ve had lietter leave that whole matter to the Committee on I'hraseolo- P.v- .Mr. Lt)CK\VOOD. I merely threw out a pngge«tion that it would be well to exempt sick jierson«. beeanse J knew I eiiuld not get the amendment in without unanimous cmisent. If any member objects, I will not olfer an amend- ment. Mr. KKN.N'EDY. I object. 'llie article ua amended w;u5 again read, as follows : — AnTK'LE II. ninllT OK HUFFRAflE. Section 1. Kvcrj- wljit<- male on. Mr. BIJOSNAN. Twenty-seven thousand? You mean twenty-seven hundred dollars, do vuu not '.' Mr. .^Tl'RTEVANT. No. sir ; twenty-seven thousand dollars, and a little over. Mr. CiJAWFOJJI). I hope this resolution will pa.es. 1 see no reason why we should em- ploy men here without paying them. If gen- tlemen are willing to spend their own nights here gratuitously, veiy well ; but that is no reason wiiy we should not rendi-r to Ca'sar the things which are Ca'sar's — no reason why we should not secure a fair payment for the st;rvi- ces of thos«' gentlemen who are employed by us. If gentlemen here from the mining dis- trict,* sliould secure the services of miners to work in their mines during the night time, they would lind it a very poor plea inck-ed.that because they themselves worked voluntarily during the night, therefore they should not pay their employees for their services. Mr. FlTt'll. Did tiie gentleman ever know a legislative body that jiaid its clerks and ein- ])lMyees extra pay beymid the regular salaries. tor night .sessions? i do not know of such an instance, and 1 know the Legislature of Cali- fornia never di■<, (iHered on the sixiii instant, l»e taken from the tiible and made the special ordi'r for J^aturday next, nt half-past seven o'clock, 1'. M. Mr. liKLONC. I call for the reading of the ■resolution. Th(! .rovided. Mr. DUNNE. I move that the Secretary make the amendments, in conformity with the instructions of the Convention. Mr. STl'RTEVAXT. 1 understand that the Committee is acting under special instructions, but I wish to call attention to the time tixed for the election in this section. I think we ought to fix our election on the same day as the election in California, in order to prevent " colo- nizing " or " strikes," from there here, or vice versa. Mr. DUNNE. We can bring that matter up in the Convention, if we please, but not here. 9tli day.] LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 275 Wednesday,] Sturtevant—DeLong—Cuosman—Hovey—Bamks— Warwick— Dunne. [July 13. Mr. STURTEVANT. Then what was the use of referring it to the Committee of the Whole? The question was talien on the motion of Mr. Dunne, to instruct the Secretary to malie the amendments, and it was agreed to. Mr. KENNEDY. I would inquire if that sec- tion covers the first election ? The PRESIDENT. I understood that it was expected to be necessary to frame another section to cover the year of the Presidential election, and that that was the reason for incor- porating the words, " except as hereinafter pro- vided.'' Mr. FITCH. I move that the Committee rise, and report the article back to the Conven- tion, with the amendments. The question was taken, and the motion was agreed to. IN CONVENTION. The SECRETARY reported that the Com- mittee of the Whole had had under considera- tion article IV, entitled Legislative Depart- ment, and had amended the same in accord- ance with the instructions of the Convention. Mr. DeLONG. Under the rules, the article now goes, I believe, to the general file, unless by a suspension of the rules we take it up, and pass it now. I would have no objection to the further consideration of the article at this time, but I have an objection to passing it as it stands, and I want an opportunity to refer it to the Committee of the AVhole, with other special instructions. We now have it in our posses- sion, but under the rules it must go to the gen- eral file. I do not wish to take advantage of that circumstance, in order to make the motion which I wish to make, and I dislike to object to suspending the rules ; but if the Convention will be generous enough to allow the motion to be made now, to recommit with other instruc- tions, I will make the motion to suspend the rules. I move that the rules be suspended in order to consider the article at this time. The question was taken on the motion to sus- pend the rules, and it was agreed to. Mr. CROSMAN. I do not know that I un- derstand the position the matter has assumed, but I, for one, am opposed to the section as it has been amended. The PRESIDENT. The question is first on the adoption of the amendments made in Com- mittee of the Whole. Mr. HOVEY. I am entirely unable to see what benefit will arise from the change. Why should we be an exception to the rule of our neighbors, and to the rule of almost every State ? For nearly all the States are changing their time of election to November, the day ■which was mentioned in the original section, so as to conform to the day ot the Presidential election. I am, for my p.art, opposed to this change, and I shall vote against the adoption of the amendments. The PRESIDENT. Upon further reflection the Chair is inclined to the opinion that the only mode of reaching this question is, l)y a recon- sideration of the vote which was had yesterday, instructing the Committee of the Whole to make this change. Those instructions required the committee to make these amendnuMits, and the committee has merely comi)licd with the instructions of the Convention. The only way to reach the matter, therefore, is to reconsider the vote instructing the Committee of the Whole. Mr. DeLONG. I think the Chair is in error. It seems to me that the question, after the amendment comes back from the committee, is on the adoption of the section as anu'rided. It is true that the Committee of the Whole have merely a clerical duty to perform— to make the amendments as they were instructed to do— but when the report comes back, it is subject to further amendment. It may be again refer- red, with other instructions, or it may even be defeated, at the will of the Convention. The PRESIDENT. The Chair is inclined to adhere to the opinion that the matter can only be reached by a reconsideration. Mr. BANKS. As a matter of parliamentary practice, I perfectly agree with the Chair, and I make the motion, in accordance with his sug- gestion, that the vote by which the committee were instructed to make this amendment, chang- ing the time of election, be reconsidered. Mr. WARWICK. I desire to call the atten- tion of the Chair to a single point, and that is, the question whether we are to regard the ac- tion of the committee, under the instructions, as a finality, or not. If we are, there is no ne- cessity for a reconsideration. Some further discussion took place upon the question of order involved in the ruling of the Chair. The PRESIDENT. There is no question of order pending, an appeal not having been taken ; and the only question now before the Convention, is upon the motion to reconsider, made by the gentleman from Humboldt. The question was taken on the motion of Mr. Banks, and it was agreed to. The PRESIDENT. The question now recurs upon the motion to recommit the article to the Committee of the AVhole, with instructions to amend Section 3. Mr. DeLONG. I ask leave to add to that, motion other instructions ; which additional; instructions are, to strike out Section 32. Mr. DUNNE. I will ask leave to amend my motion to recommit, so as to refer the article to a select committee of three, to be appoiutedi by the Chair. No o1)jection being made, Mr. Dunne had leave to modify his motion, according to his request. SOLE TKADEK.S. Mr. DeLONG. Now I move to add other spe- cial instructions, namely : to give to that com- mittee of three, instructions to strike out Sec- tion 32 of this article. I wish to say only a 276 LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. [9th day. Wednesday,] Banks— DeLong — President — Crosman. [July 13. word on this subject. I wiis in tlie cluxir whon 1 much abused. And if the law is abused in tint section was amended, in Committee of the California, we can leenaot the statute of that AVli.de and I keenlv felt the imi>ortance of the State on the sul).ieit, and improve ujton it, by lived. 1 wish now merely to ex- niakinp; such provisions as will cut off, entirely, and to n-cord my vote n}>on all those frauds, (jentlemen have spoken of >iiibjeel niv jiress mv view that ik it on bi-luilf of justice ; I ask [ a distinct ])roposition, it is not in order. it on liehalf of weak and defenceless women i Mr. i)i;LGNG. I offer it as an additional and children : I ask it on ludialf of those who. anuMidment. though sonu'times called upon to bear an equal The I'RESinEXT. Then the Chair decides tire to trench upon the time of the Con- vention, but 1 sincerely hope that this section may be stricken out, and the subject left for future lefcislative action, Mr. BUOSNWN, It affords me a frrcat deal of pleasure to agree with the p;i'ntlemen who have preceded me. in their views, in rejiard to this subject, I do not }>ro])ose to discuss the (piestion now, for I have heretofore said all I desired to say in reirard to it, Itut 1 am very much struck with the remarkable inconsist- ency of the argunu^nts which have l)een pre- penled by siune pentlemen. In si)eaking: u])on other subjects )iro]terly Vtelonging to the sphere of legislation just as much as this does, they were extremely streinious that in such matters the Legislature should not be left free to act upon its own judgnu'iit and discretion, and yet they now comi)laiu that we are inserting here in this section a subject-matter which would be more appropriate to the halls of legislation, I would like to have gentlemen consistent in their votes upon these various sulijects, and ehould accord more sinceritj' to their argu- mentH if thev had alwavs been so. Messrs, BANK.<, FITCH, and WARAVICK called for the yeas and nays on the adoption of the amendment proposed by Mr. DeLong, The (piestion was taken l)y yeas and nays, and the vote resulted — yeas, 24 ; nays, (i — as follows : — »aji— Messrs. Banks, Bcldon, Brady, Chapin, Col- llns. Crawford, CroHiiian, DeLoiiK, Dunno, Earl, Fitch, FiilfMiiu. FrizcU, HawU-y, Hudson, Kinkead, I.ockwood, Mci'Iinton, Parker, Proctor, .Sturtevant, Xagliabue, To7.rnia is a very dilferetit one from what it in here. They have very little bu.siness , there for a County Recorder to do, and that business regards jjrincipally the conveyance of ranches, etc. ; but in this Territory the County Recorder has an immense amount of business. All the conveyances of mining ground are re- corded in his office and he often has all he can possibly do to attend to that matter. Then he is every day receiving requsitions for abstracts of title, which involve a great deal of laljor. His office is therefore one of the most impor- tant offices in a county, and one which requires the greatest amount of labor. Now, the County Clerk, it strikes me, is the proper ])erson for that position ; at least that is the opinion in our county. He is more in communication with the Board of .Supervisors, generally being the clerk of that Board, and it strikes me it would be better, at least in all the counties except Storey, ]ierhaps, that the County Clerk should be ex officio County Auditor. If objection be made to having that rule established in Storey County, it can be provided, perluips, in the Schedule, or Miscellaneous Provisions, that an exception shall be made in respect to that county, leaving the Count}^ Recorder to occui)y the position there, if deemed necessary. [Mr. DeLoxg in the Chair.] Mr. JOHNSON. I regret to be compelled to disagree with the gentleman from Humboldt (Mr. Dunne,) but I do not think that he has considered the effect that this arrangement would have, in respect to some of the altera- tions proposed to be made in an important feature of this Con.stitution, Gentlemen are aware that we propose to establish a judicial system, which will 1)0 somewhat peculiar. Un- der this system, radical changes must necessa- rily be made in respect to the judicial districts. The County Clerk is, under existing laws, the Clerk of the County, or Probate Court, but tinder the system ju'oposed, he will be ex officio Clerk of all the ( "on r(s which arc created, ex- ce])t the Suiireme Court. Mr. nrXXE, Is not the gentleman aware that the County Clerk performs those duties by deputy ? Mr, JOHNSON. In some cases he does, it is true, but this change which is in contempla- tion, will largely increase the business of his office, in connection with the courts. As we incri'ase tlie jurisdiction, we necessarily en- hance the business of file courts, and we make the County Clerk e.v. officio clerk of a court eml)racing the jurisdiction of that which is now the District and the Prol)ate Courts, thus mul- tiplying his duties very considerably. And, judging from the intimations we have had from several meinliers, the gentleman from Hum- boldt himself included, I conceive that the amount of business in the courts of the vari- ous counties is likely to be considerable. In HumboMt County the business of the Courts, as the gentleman himself informs us, is very great, and under the system we jirojiose, it will certainly bi' very materially increased ; and so will it be in other counties, although, ijo.ssibly, 9th day.] LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 279 Wednesday,] TozER — Chapin — JoHNSox — Stortevaxt — DcNXE — Banks. [July 13. there may be exceptions. In the county which I in part represent, we have now a County Clerk, and a Clerk of the District Court, sepa- rate and distinct from each other, each per- forming the legitimate duties of his own office. We have also a County Recorder. l)ut the du- ties of that officer are comparatively trifling, as they are in most of the other counties of the Territory. As a general rule, the amount of the business of the Recorder is less, perhaps, than of any other county officer. Now, we propose in this judicial system, to devolve upon the County Clerks these increased duties, and the gentleman's amendment proposes, in addi- tion to these duties, to require them to perform the duties, and to allow them to receive the emoluments of the County Auditors. I think it would be infinitely better to leave these du- 1 ties to the County Recorders. "What will be the effect of this amendment? Why, sir, the j office of County Clerk will prove to be by far ! the most lucrative office provided for under ! this Constitution. I cannot now call to mind I any other office which M-ould be so lucrative, j considering the nature of the duties to be per- ' formed, and the expenses incidental to the of- ! lice, since we have decided to abolish the S3^s- j tem of salaries and return to the old system of i compensation b_y fees. I say, I know of no ' office, and I think there is no office, that will be so lucrative as that of the County Clerk, under the system which we are proposing. Now, sir, I am in favor of a fair division, not only of the duties and responsibilities, but of the emoluments of office, so far as we can make such a division ; and I think it would be much better to leave this section as it is, than to adopt the amendment offered by the gentle- man from Humboldt, Mr. TOZER. I do not see that we are adding to the emoluments of either the one or the other office, by adding to the duties of the County Clerk, the duties of the Auditor ; because, under the provisions of the section, the office cannot be worth, in any event, over four thou- sand dollars a year. Mr. CHAPIN. That has all been stricken out. Mr. JOHNSON. There is another thing which has been suggested to me by the gentle- man from Lyon, (Mr. Kennedy.) namely : that the County Clerk, acting as County Auditor under that provision, would necessarily have to audit and pass upon his own accounts, and these would amount to a very considerable sum, as the experience and observation of all teaches us. As to the amount of business, we know that the Recorder has little or nothing to do involving accounts, other than those of ■which anybody can easily judge. I think that is of itself a very forcible reason why this amendment should not be made. The question was taken on Mr. Dunne's amendment, and it was not agreed to. SEPARATE PROPERTY OF TUE WIFE. Mr. STURTEVANT. I move to amend the instructions, by adding, that the committee be instructed to amend Section 31, by striking out the following language : — " All property, both real and personal, of the wife, ownied or claimed by her before marriage, and that ac- quired afterward by gilt, demise, or descent, Khali be her separate property; and laws shall be passed, morn clearly defining the rights of the wife, in relation as well to her separate prcjijerty, as to that held in com- mon \vith her husband. " Also, to strike out the word " also,'' in the next line, so as to leave the section to read as follows :— Sec. 31. Laws shall be passed, providing for the registration of the wfe's separate ijroperty. Mr. DUNNE. Why not, just as well, strike out all the section? If you amend it in that way, you strike out the separate property of the wife altogether, and leave nothing for regis- tration. Mr. JOHNSON. Then there is nothing left to be protected. By striking out the first part of the section, the wife has nothing which re- quires registration. Mr. STURTEVANT. It would be left for the Legislature, supposing the wife did have prop- erty before her marriage, to provide for the registration of such property. My particular objection to the section as it stands is, that it makes it obligatory on the Legislature to pro- vide for her separate property, in every case. For instance, if a rich widow marries some good fellow, according to this section, there must be a law setting her property apart sepa- rately, even if she does not desire it to be done. The law must declare that it shall be her sepa- rate property ; and whether she is willing or not, or whether he is willing or not, makes no difference. The question was taken, and the amendment was not agreed to. SPECU.I. LEGISLATIOX. Mr. BANKS. I propose the following amend- ment, which I have previously ottered in Com- mittee of the AVhole. It was then lost by one vote, and I now submit it for consideration, in a fuller house. I move to instruct the commit- tee to amend Section 20, by inserting after the words " pu))lic squares," the words, " granting franchises for toll-roads, toll-bridges, and street railroads." I have not heretofore, in this Convention, offered any amendment which had once been rejected, and I do so now. simjily for the reason that when this amendment was submitted be- fore, it was voted down in a very thin house, by only one majority. I do not proi)osc to re- peat what I said on" the former occasion. l)ut I will add just this : that upon an examination of the statutes, and considering the jtroceedings of the last Legislature of this Territory, and the preceding ones, I am fully satisfied that this f\ict cannot be controverted, that if provisidu had been made by general laws, for doing what the numerous special laws which have been passed were designed to accomplish, we would 280 LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. [9th day. Wednesday.] HovET — Fitch— Johnson— Dunne — Frizell. [July 13. have been saved more tlian one-half of the ex- penses of the Lefrislalure. The same remark applies to the lejrishition of the State of Califor- nia. I am desirous of puanling the future of this Suite ajrainst the enormous lejrishitive ex- penses arisiiifi from the consideration of mat- t«'rs w hicii can be much better provided for by geiural laws. Mr. IloVtIV. I wish to propose an amend- ment to the amendment, whicii will make it include all railroads. 1 move to insert the words " w other," belwi-eu the words "street." and '• railroad." so that the amendment will read — •• granting franchises for toll-roads, toll- bridges, and street and other railroads." The question was taken on Mr. Hovey's amendment, and it was not agreed to. The (piestiou recurred on the amendment projiosed by Mr. liiuiks. Mr. FlTl'li. I am opposed to this amend- ment. I do not want to detain the Convention Ijy any argument ujion it. but I will say it seems to me. that when ])ropositions have been intro- duced into the Ctmimittee of the Whole, and after a fair, and even a protracted discussion. have been deciiled u])on there, we should let them rest, and not afterwards bring the same propositions before the Convention, in order to fight our battles over again. Mr. JOHNSON. I will occupy the attention of the Convention on this subject but a few mo- ments. a.s I have heretofore ex])ressed my views. I recognize the right of the Conventi(Ui. ))y a fcubse(pient vote, when a greater number of membei-s may be present, to reverse the action it may have taken njjon any question ; and I do not deny the right of any member to make a motion tor such i)ur])ose. Therefore, my objection to this amendment is not for reasons which the gentleman from Storey (Mr. Fitch) has ju.st now suliiniited — that we have once bad a vote ujion the proposition, and therefore ought to regard it as settled—but I think, for reasons which I have already presented, that tlie ami-ndmcnt itself would i)e imjiolilic. In- fitances have arisen in the State of California. where it was found imi)ossil)le for a general law U) be practically useful in respect to i)ub- lic works or ini|Movenients. which extended through more than one county. Now, I would acijuicsce in the siijipurl of this luuvisiou, if it were in its charatlcr iidiibitory only of grants or charters, when the improvements contem- plated were to be conlined to one county ; but it is impossible, and ex()erience has •lemonstrated the impracticability of it. to incorporate a feature of that kind, in such a manner as to ap|)ly where those works of improvement are jirojiosed to l)c extemled throiigii more than one county. For thai reason. I iio|)c ihat we shall not ado|)t this amendment. If it were j)roposed to embrace only works of that kind extending through a single coiiniy. then I should recognize the luct that the local authorities would be more capa- ble of judging of the propriety of granting the franchises, and deciding to whom they should be granted, than the Legislature of the State could be ; but the amendment does not take from the o])eration of the ruU', those works of improvement that are iniiiortant to the public welfare, where the interests to be subserved are not conlined merely to the limits, or within the jurisdiction, of the local Legislatures, or 15oards of Supervisors, or County Commission- ers. Therefore, I say, such a provision might, and very often would, result in defeating the ell'orts of men to construct works of veiy great im])ortance. The question was taken by yeas and nays, on the amendment offered by Mr. Banks, and the vote resulted — yeas, 12 ; nays, 18 — as fol- lows : — }>«»' — Messrs. Banks, CoUins, Crawford, Crosmaji, Duiiiif, Karl, Hovey, Mason, Sturtevaut, Tozer, War- wick, and Wetherill — 12. Aays — Messrs. Belden, Brady. Brosnan, Chapin, De- Long, Fitch, Frizell, Folsnni, Hawley, Hudson, Ken- nedy, Kiukead, Lockwood, iVIc( linton, Paaker, Proctor, Tagliabiie, and Mr. President — 18. So the amendment was not agreed to. COUNTY AUDITOR-S — AGAIN. The question recurred on the motion of Mr. Hunne, to instruct the committee to amend Section 3. Mr. DUNNE moved to amend, so as also to instruct the committee to amend Section 33, by striking out the words, " who shall be ex- officio County Auditors,-' where they occur after the words " County Recorders,'" and inserting the same after the words " Public Administra- tors." The Secretary read the section as it would stand if amended, as follows : — " Sec. 3.3. The Legislature shall provide for the elec- tion by the people, of a Clerk of the Supreme (;ourt, Oninty Clerks, County Recorders, District Attorneys, Shcrifls, County Surveyors, and Public Administra- tors, who shall be ex officio County Auditors, and other necessary officers," etc. Mr. DUNNE. I make that modification for the jnirpose of relieving County Recorders from the duty of being also County Auditors. I wish to try it in another numner, because I think this is a nuitter of great importance. The Recorders havi? vi'ry laborious duties to ])erfbini, in the mining counties, and 1 insist that if the duties of the Auditors be left to them, they will bt! neglected, or. at least, not lirojierly attended to. Rut the office of I'ublic Administralor which is here provided for, is one with which but few duties are connected, and by adding to them the duties of the County Auditor, perliaps comjx'usation enough can be given III enalile that ollicer to perform the du- ties ol' lioth ollices proi)eiiy. .Mr. FUlZl'^LL. I profess to be somewhat familiar with the county governments and the ollices of the several counties. Heretofore, be- fore so many of our mining claims were incor- pcu'ateil, the County liecoi'ders did have a great deal to do. Probably that office in Storey County, a year and a half ago, was worth not 9th day LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 281 "Wednesday,] Lockwood—Crosman— Banks— President— Warwick— Fitch. [July 13. less than fifty thousand dollars. I am told by good authority, that it was worth at least eighty thousand dollars a year, while at the present time, it scarcely requires the attention of one man to perform all the duties of the Re- corder's office of Storey County, during the year. I know of no officer who is more respon- sible, or to whom the duties of this office of Auditor more properly belong, than to the County Recorder. It naturally falls to him, I think, under present circumstances, to perform those duties. The question was taken on Mr. Dunne's amendment to the motion, and it was not agreed to. PAY OF THE LEGISLATUKE. Mr. LOCKWOOD. I desire to propose an amendment, to strike out Section 34. Mr. CR( )SMAN. Has not that section already been stricken out, or a portion of it ? Tlie SECRETARY read Section 34, as here- tofore amended. Mr. LOCKWOOD. I will, with the leave of the Convention, withdraw my amendment, as that matter appears to have been already passed upon. Mr. BANKS. I understand that that portion of Section 34. which provided that members of the Legislature shall receive eight dollars per day. etc., has been stricken out. The PRESIDENT. It is contemplated to provide in the Schedule, for the compensation of the first Legislature, and thereafter the rate of compensation can be established by law. I understand it was not thought advisable to make that provision for the first Legislature, in the general frame-work of the Constitution, as it is merely a temporary matter. THE HOME.STEAI). Mr. CROSMAN. If amendments are still in order. I will move to instruct the committee to amend Section 30, by reinstating the language in the beginning of that section which has heretofore been stricken out, so that it will read as in the printed section. The amendment was, to strike out the words specifjing the ex- tent of the homestead to be exempted — " Not exceeding one hundred and sixty acres of land, outside of the limits of a town or city, or not exceeding one acre within the limits of an)^ town or city, occupied as a residence by the family of the owner, together with all the im- provements on the same, of the aggregate value of five tliousand dollars," — and to insert instead the words " as provided by law." My motion now is, to instruct the committee to strike out the words which were inserted, and to reinstate the language in the original section. The question was stated on Mr. Crosman's motion. Mr. WARWICK. Now. Mr. President, when the motion was made the other day, by the honorable gentleman from Lyon, (Mr. Kenne- dy.) to strike out that language, no opportunity was offered for argument. I then considered that there had been no action taken by this Convention. from the first moment we assembled here u]) to that time, that was so utterly ill-ad- vised, or calculated to be so lauuMitable in it,s eftects. ^ That gentleman, sir, has yet to feel what it is to have children gi-owing up around him— what it is to rest beneath the family root- tree, or to rear that sacred structure, whether it be great or hum))le, to which we all look as a shelter and a home. It may be, sir, that not in the present, but only in the past, that geiitU;- man reali/A-s what •' home " means. It may 1)0 that he has never heard the voices of his owu little ones, or of his wife, and therefore he fails to understand that feeling which we who have reared our fomily roof-tn^es in this distant land do all experience, when we have our wives and little ones around us. This provision, as it was originally incorpo- rated in our organic law. I regard as being one of the most wise and beneficent features of modern legi.slation. It is a feature which has been incorporated into the organic law of every State of the Union which has framed or remod- elled its Constitution during the last ten years ; and it is one which, by legislative action, has been incorporated into the laws of every State and Territory, in the loyal portion, at least, of the American L^nion. Sir, I never was more astonished in my life, than when I witnes.sed the action of this Convention the other day- action taken on the spur of the moment, with- out thought — by which this provision, which I consider, as I have said, one of the wisest fea- tures of modern legislation, was stricken out from the organic law of our future State. What was the occasion of that action, sir? Gentle- men may tell you that the amount of the ex- emption here proposed may ])rove in the fu- ture to be too large, or that it may not be enough, and that therefore it is a projx-r sub- ject for legislation. That may be. or it may not be so. But still I say, whether it be too much, or whether it be too little, is not a ques- tion here. We propose to fix a bound, and say that here the wife and the children shall be se- cure, in every contingency ; that if the hus- band, by his industry, has accumulated enough for a home, to the value of five thousand dol- lars, or less, that home shall be sacred to the wife and the children. Can the gentleman estimate the amount of hardshi)) that would ensue, if the Legislature, acting as ill-advi'jedly as this Convention did, on the spur of the mo- ment the other day, should strike out this pro- vision altogether." from our laws, and should thus throw the wife and children of every debtor upon the mercy of heartless creditors, or leave them at the mercy, if you please, of » dissipated husband ? Mr. FITCH. AVill the gentleman from Lan- der allow me to ask him a question ? I am misinformed if the fact is. as the gentleman states, that the Convention struck this jjrovision out. I am informed that the action of the Convention was merely to strike out the value 282 LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. [9 th day. Wednesday,] Warwick — Banks— Johnson. [July 13. of the hnniPPtead, leaving it to the Legislature to tix that valiu'. Mr. \VAU\VirK. That is the point I am arguing, that tin- false stop taken was the striking out of the value of the homestead. Mr. IJANK."^. The proposition now is to re- instate that limit. Mr. WARWICK. That is the very point ; I am in favor of reinstating it. The other day, Mhen action was taken on this subject, there wa.« no opportunity for argument, and notliing was said as to why it should, or why it should not be stricken out. I am in favor of the re- instatement of this liiiiitatinii ul tin- value of the homestead. 1 want this jjrovision as a pro- tection to the wives and children in this Terri- tory. If the industry of the husband has ac- cumulati'd sullicient for a iiome, and he has afterwards Ix'come dissipated. I still wish to say that the wife and ciiililren shall retain a rallying place, which shall lie entitled to the sacreil name of home, and of which no action of the husband and father can deprive them. If there could l)e any good reason shown why this j)rovision should be left out. or why the subject .shoulil be left to the uncertain action of future legislatures, then I might be in favor of the jiroposition to strike it out, which was carried the other day, with little or no argu- ment up(m it, one way or the other. The mo- ment the motion was made, if I recollect rightly, the ipiestion was taken, debate being cut off. and I think there was no argument whatever u])on the (piestion. 1 hope. therefore, that this scclicm will l)e left precisely as it was adopted by the former Convention. Mr. JOHNSON. When this subject was un- der consideration before. I gave notice that I would. a( a jiroper time, move to reinstate the mutter which was then strick<'n out. As the gentleman from Lander states, the matter was then presented to the Conventir)n. in the shape of a motion to strike out. aniderati.in of the fact that I did not unilersland the elfect of tliat hasty action of I the Convention that I gave the notice I did. I At a subsei|uetit lime I examined the section, I with this portion stricken out. and I became sat- 1 isfied.as I am now. that this section is iu an infi- ; nilely belter |>o-iiii.n lor the protection of tho^e wives and children to whom the genth-man from [.ander refei-s. than it would l)e if we were i to inc<>r|)oratt! the words which iiave been I stricken out. And, entertaining that opinion, I have said to the geutlem.in who was the mover of the amendment that I did not intend to make tlie motion U) reinstaU'. of which I had given notice. | Now, I do not f>bject to the premises ad- vanced in the argument of (he gentleman from Lander, because I agree with him in everv word ; but it is the conclusion at which he ar- 1 I rives wherein we ditfer. I can foresee none of ! the evils of which he sjieaks as likely to arise j from the amendment which has been made, ' but I do believe tliat very injurious results { would follow from the restoration of those words which have bt'cn stricken out of the section, (a'titleiiieu full well undi'rstand that ! the matter of currency is tiuctuating -that the ])rice of " greenbacks," to use a familiar and well-understood term, varies from time to time. IIow' much is a homestead, worth five tliousand dollars in " currency," going to benefit that faiuily, or the wife and children, f -Mr. Dunne, to recommit article IV to a special cummittee. willi instructions to amenil Section 3. hy strikinii out tlic words, '• Tues- day next alter the lirst Monday in November." anil insertinjic the words •• lirst Wednesday in Septeniher '" ; and also, by addini: to the sec- tion the words. •• except as liereinalter provi- ded " ; so that the section would read : — Seo. 3. The members of the Assembly shall be chosen biennially by the qualified eleetors of their resi>eetive ilistriets, on the first Wi-dnesilay in Septem- ber, and their term of oflice shall be two years from the day next after their cleetiou, exeei)t us hereinafter provided. The PRE.«?IDENT. The Chair will rule that no motion to amend this motion is in order, un- less it pro))ost's to amend the same section. Mr. KICNNEDV. 1 will ask for a division of the (pvslion. because 1 would like to vote for one jiart of the amendment, and against an- other part. The I'RRSIDEXT. The gentleman has an undoubted right to call for a division of the tpu'stion. The {|uestion will first be on striking out the words •• Tuesday next after the first >b)n(lay in N'ov»>niber." and inserting "first "VVefliu'sday in September'"; and next, ujion ailding the words " except as hereinafter pro- Tided."' Mr. KEXXEDY. I ask to have the vote tak- en first on the motion to strike out and insert, and in fact I have that portion now marked as adopti'd, in mv cojiv. The IMUvSIDKNT. It was once stricken out. but afterwarils. the vote was reconsidered. Mr. Dl'NXE. The Convention yesterday ndo])ted (hat amendment, and now. if it is ])ro- ]»osed to change tliat action. I. for one. want to 'know some reason for it. Why should we now undo what we did yesterday ? Ms. IJAXIv.*^. If tile gentleman desires rea- poiis for allowing tlie sectirin to remain as we find it in the ohl Constitution. I can very brief- ly express my reasons for voting against his anu-ndinent. One rea>on is, that as it stands now. the election will come on the day of the Presidential electicm. Those who desire to have the section remain as it is in this jirinted copy, want the eleciicui to come every year on the d ly corresponding with the day of the I'resiilenlial election, and undoiilitedly. if there are not good reasons for selecting some other day. the gi-ntleman will coiwede that that is the i)ro|)er day. At all event.s, he will concede that it is the proper day. in the year of the I'residential (dection ; and if it is right once in four years, F insist, ivs a matter of regnliirity. tiiat it should come on the same day in other years. Now what reason does my colleague assign for making this change? He says that on ac- count of (limate, and sonu> other reasons which I forg<'l, that it is not so convenient to coiulnct an election canvass in the month of November, as in September. And another reason which he urged, I remember now, was, that at the ear- lier period, our popnlation was likely to be larger than in the month of November, lint I think, for all practical purposes, November will l)e the better time, because, during Septem- ber, a large proportion of our pojyulation. as our society is now constituted, are roaming over the bills, engaged in prospecting, and con- sequently are not where they would be allowed to vote. More of them will be at homo. I ven- tnre to say, in November, than in September. Tlie argument, therefore, is not a valid one, that our vote will not be as large in November, as in September. Again, the gentleman's argu- ment in regard to the time of making the can- vass has no weight, because men will be more l)usy in Se])tember, and there will be le.ss time for conducting the canvass, than if the election be in November. I hope we shall have the vote every year in November, and hence, I shall vote against any change. Mr. DUXXE [in his seat.] I guess the Con- vention generally thinks the same way, and I will not make a speech. The ([uestion was taken on the motion to in- struct the comiuittee to strike out and insert, and it was not agreed to. The question recurred on the latter part of the motion, instructing the committee to amend by adding the words, " except as hereinafter provided." Mr. BROSXAN. It seems to me, at the pres- ent time, that that is not necessary', because it was only put in in view of a special provision ! to be made in the Schedule. Mv. DUNNE. There is no necessity for it, and I will withdraw it. THE HOMESTEAD. Mr. TOZER. Now I move to recomiuit Sec- tion 1^0, of Article IV, to a special committee id" three, with instructions to amend, by strik- ing out the section as printed, and inserting the following : — Sec. oO. The Legislature shall provide by law for exempting from forced sal(\ under any i)rocess of law, a homestead for families, which shall not be alienated without the joint consent of both husband and wife, when the relationship exists, and which, when acquir- ed, shall not be of a value exceeding the sum of five thousand dollars; and which, to become thus exempt from sale as a homestead, shall be specifically describ- ed and set forth in a written declaration, by the claim- ant, acknowledged by him or her, and recorded in the olHce of the County Recorder of the county in which the same is situated; but no property shall be exempt by law from sale for taxes, or for the jiaymeiit of obli- gations <'ontrare- ciselv. It does not atl'ord any opjxirtunity for swindling, hut after the man lias fixed u])on the sjiiit uf f-iirth where he intends to dwell, and where he jjroposes to rear his family, it secures tliat place to him for all time to come. Is not that the true construction, the intention and meaning of the homestead act ? Not to give a man five thousand dollars in money, or five thousand didlars in hogs, or five thousand dol- lai-s in tlciur; not to allow him. if you are his creditor, to walk by you in the street with five thousand dollars in his pocket, which you can- not touch : but to make sacred and secure the household and roof-tree. The moment he con- verts that homestead into coin, ))y the joint consent of husband and wife, that moment the properly becomes liable for his debts. l)ut so long a.s it remains a home, the asylum of the family, let it be inviolable forever. Mr! BANKS. I desire to a.sk a question or two in regard to this amendnn-nt. Does it con- tain a restriction eipial to this— that one hund- red and sixty acri's of land outside of a town or city, or one acre of land within the limits of a town or citv, shall be exem])t'' Mr. DeLO.N'G. Nothing of the sort. It starts in, not by saying how nuich land in town, or city, or county, siiall be exempt, but it says that wheu it is claimed as a homestead originally, it shall not exceed in value five thousand dol- lars. That is the limit in the start, and after that, after it is properly secured and recorded, no mattter how much it becomes worth, it is still his homestead, and cannot be taken from him. Mr. BANK.^. I fully agree with the gentle- man in regard to the nature of the homestead, and the manner in which it should be regarded in legislatiim. I believe it should be regarded as a place sacred for the liomi'. But my objec- tion to this projjosed proviso is this, that it does not limit the amount of land which may be cimtained in ilie lioineslcad. and iieiice I desire to see incorporated iu It these wonls : — "Said homcHtcaS. Dues the amendment fix any Mr ("Ol, LIN'S. Does the President still think amount at all? I am wrong ? ! The PRIv^IDEXT. It specifies five thousand The Pul-^inENT. The Chair cannot say ' dollars as the maximum value at the time that thou"-h I mav say it as a member of the \ the homestead is set ai)art. Conventioli. ' I Mr. CHAPIX. Well, sir, that does not afford Mr. DkLONC. Is that fishing for an opinion? the protection which we ought to extend to the .Mr. COLLINS. I certainly thinli that, accord- family in our State. I would not place the ing to the reading of tiie amendment, the quan- amount less than five thousand dollars in gold titv of land which may be set apart for a currency, and I would like to see an amend- ho'mestead is unlimited. " It may be one acre, inent made in tliat particular. On the other or twenty acres, or one hundred and sixty acres, hand, the matter is left open by this amend- And I se'e nothing tliat forbids a munV making I ment to great evils. As my colleague has stated, anv embellisluneiils in liis homestead he chooses there is too much lial)ility to fraud. There i.s to "make. I ask. tiierel'ore, if the tendency will 1 no provision, as I understand, limiting the not naturally be that when a man finds himself ; amount of improvements. Having once set on the verge of bankruptcy, whether as a mer- 1 apart the homestead, a man may put on im- chant. a banker, a stock-liroker, or in any other provements indefinitely, and in that way com- business, he will be induced to invest in his mit frauds to a great extent. Therefore, if that homestead, and put embellishments and im- ; is the spirit of the amendment, I do not ap- provements upon it, to the value, jx'rhaps. of i)rove of it. In the first place. I am in favor of tliou-amls, or even of tens or hundreds of thou-' putting in a liberal amount, and then of estab- sani which gratify his taste or his genius, \ coin, and I do not think it comes with good but do not offer him, while he owes honest debts, and while his creditors are suffering, an oppufl'iTing. and llirir wives and children in want, while the di-btor, availing himself of grace from us to provide in our Constitution for the present disparagement of our national currency or for a prospective difference be- tween the value of gold coin and the value ot the treasury notes of the Government. L<'t us set the value at five thousand dollars, and trust this provision, might l»e rolling in wealth and ; that that five thousand dollars, at a subsequent luxury. If gentlemen can answer these objec- day. whether in legal tender notes or in gold tions. and maki- it clear to my mind that there coin, will be equal in value. I think that a is nothing lurking in that amendment which will careful reading of the amendment and substi- tend to make men dislinnesf. and to rof) their tute which I have offered, will do away with cn-dilors m tiie County of Placer, and the SIJOO,- 000 from .^aeramciito County. 1 understand that yun have all this aid from the counties, as well "as from the .State, and that in the expendi- ture ot this aid, you are restricted to the State line. Mr. STANFORD. The Pacific Railroad Com- pany, so far as its first orfjanization is concern- eil. iiad iiuly the rii_dit to build to the Stato line. It was only organized I'or that purpose, but by the act of last winter, we have the right, so far as the State could confer it. to ))uild eastward- ly, and the National Government has also con- ferred the right to do so. Mr. FITCH. I understand that the money given by San Francisco, and by the State, and by these counties, can be e.\]n'n(l('d cither with- in or without the State of California, as the company ])leases. Mr. STANFORD. Yes, sir ; the entire sub- ject is umlcr our control. Mr. FITCH. I believe you did not state the amount of the estimated cost per mile. Mr. STANFORD. It will probably cost at least twelve or thirteen millions of dollars for the construction of a first-class road to the State line. Mr. DkLONG. Inasmuch as the appropria- tion heretfdbre proposed by the Convention is not agreeable to you in its present form, and inasmuch a.s. if we nuike a direct issue of three millions of dollars in b(inds. it will not be worth much — taking either horn of the dilemma — what is it the wish of the company we should do? Let von alone ? Mr. ST.VNFoRD. I would prefer that you should let us alone rather than jirovide that the State shall grant assistance to the first road that comes to the ."^tate line, and thereby impair confidence in this route. Mr. DkLONG. We want to stimulate strife. Mr. .STANFOIM). Vo:i can hardly e.\].ect to get two roads built acioss the mountains, Mr. DeLong. Mr. DkLONG. We do not want more than «»ne. but we want that ;ls soon as possil)le. .Mr. STANFMlH). There is no doubt but what the mad that eimies across the mountains will be that one which the Govenmeut aids, and this is the only company now organized with a view to constructing a road over the nionn- tiins. There is no other (ompany organized for that purpo,leted the Itetter. Mr. DkLONG. Then I understand that the company would rather we should guaranti e the int/rest on the bonds of the company, than to give the bonds of the .State ? Mr. STANFORD. No ; we would rather have the bonds. Mr. DkLONG. If we give you two hundred and ten thousand dollars annually, as a dona- tion, which is the inttrest on three millions of bouds at seven per cent., that would be doubb' the amount which California has given, or ncarlv so. Mr." STANFORD. Allow me to say, that I have entire conlidence that the stock of the company will eventually be very valuable, and I cannot ask for the assistance of any State, except so far as it may be nucussary to secure its construction, and if the Territory of Nevada or the State of Nevada, when it becomes a State, agrees to pay the interest on the bonds, which would make them about as good in the market as if the State gave her own bouds — in other words, it would furnish al)Out the same amount of means towaid the construction of the road— that is really all the company can ask. We do not ask anything to save the Btockholders — nothing except to inspire confi- dence ; to make the credit of the company good abroad. The PRESIDENT. The bonds of the com- pany i»far int( rest at seven per cent., and the Sacramento and Placer County bouds a like rate, do tbev not? Mr. STANFORD. No, sir; the bonds of Sacrami-nto and Placer Counties bear eight per cent, interest. .Mr. EARE. Where is the western terminus of the road'.' Mr. STANFORD. Under the organization of the company, it was the Stale line. Mr. EARL. No, no I 1 mean the western terminus. Mr. .STANFORD. Ob, the western terminus ; undt r the act of Congress, it is a jjoint at or near San Francisco, or the navigable waters of the .SaeraiiKWito river. Mr. E.'VRL. Is not the terminus to be at Goat MamI? .Mr. STANFORD. I am not fully post'd on that. I have not seen the amended l)ill, Ijut I think it pro\ ides for an organi/alinn to run a road from .■^ai-ramento to Gout island. Tiie company has a right to constiuct a railroad to San Fraucidco. if it choo.scs to do .so. Mr. E.\RL. By this language, if it be con- strued that this is the road which is to get the land from the Government, will not the doubt arise as to whether you would get the aid from the counties, and also from San Francisco? Mr. STANFUUD. So far as relates to the construction of the road to San Francisco, there may be some doubt ; but over the moun- tains, there is no doubt whatever, because the act of the Legislature provides specifically that six hundred thousand dollars shall go to the Central Pacific Railroad Company, and four hundred tlKuisand dollars to the Western Pacific Railroad Company. Mr. ClIAPLV. What is the distance from the head of the Truckee Valley to the summit, or somewhere there ? Mr. STANFORD. I think it is some forty- two or forty-three miles. Mr. CHaPIN. If that summit were the State line, all that forty miles would be in this Territory ? Mr. STANFORD. Certainly; tlje line of the railroad follows the Truckee, down a rather crooked course, for a great many miles. We found that some gentlemen were constructing a wagon road through there, and their original idea was to bring it down to the Truck< e di- rectly, but they found that the distance would be no less than by taking the Ileuness Pass route, and striking across Dog Mountain. All the difficulty is on the mountains. There is an opening in the mountain range there, and from there down to O'Nial's there is no trouble about the road. All the difficulty is in the mountains, and it is all passed, when you get to the State line. Mr. COLLINS. I understand that the road would have been completed before this time, but for the want of funds? Mr. STANFORD. Yes, sir. Mr. COLLINS. I understand there has been some embarrassment in the operations of the company, or that the progress of the road has been delayed ? Mr. STA.NFORD. Only delayed ; the com- pany has not been embarrassed. Mr. COLLINS. I hear it has not gone ahead as fast as it would have gone, if there had been funds enough ? .Mr. ST.VNFORD. No, sir. You see we are practically more than six months removed from the source of supplies. The ground was broken for th(! construction of the road a year ago last January, but we had to go East and pur- chase iron and rolling stock ; and from the time we started, indepeiideat of the time we were necessarily delayed in negotiating, some- what more than six months were consumed in the purchase and transportation of the mate- rials. Indeed, some materials which we pur- chased a year ago, and paid for at the time, in the securities of tin; company, have not yet arrived. We were delayed some time in get- ting our locomotives. The Government was refiuiriug the services of most of the eflective 9th day.] PACIFIC RAILROAD. 297 "Wednesday,] Collins — Stanford — Kinkead — Nourse — DeLonq. [July 13. force in building locomotives for its own use, and we could only get them at such times as tbey could be afforded by the Government. Mr. COLLINS. Do you think, if this State shall give bonds for one, two, or three millions of dollars, or agree to pay the interest for an indefinite period of time on the bonds of the company, that that would really facilitate and hasten the completion of the road across the mountains? Mr. STANFORD. It would, very much. Mr. COLLINS. Probably how much time would it forward the completion of the road? Mr. STANFORD. Well, I feel entirely con- fident that if the State shall pay the interest — not guarantee it, because I do not consider that that would be any very great assistance, for we never intend to have the bonds go to protest, and a guarantee therefore would be very little assistance — but if the State paid the interest it would be a very great assistance, and practically nearly to the same extent as though the State issued her own bonds. Yon will consider this, that we have thirty-one miles already constinictcd and paid for, and the rolling stock and iron for sixty miles al- ready provided ; and we owe nothing for all that, except a few of the first mortgage bond'^. a million and a half of which we have issued, but only a portion of that amount has been negotiated, and everything else in the way of assistance is untouched. Besides, we have the interest on our bonds to the amount of one million and a half of dollars paid by the State of California. Mr. KINKEAD. Is that a donation ? Mr. STANFORD. Yes, practically, with the exception that we do some services for the Slate as a consideration. Things wliich are to go to the State Fair are to be carried tree, and arras, and munitions of war, etc., are to be transported free. We issue our own bonds whenever we please, and we are able to put the bonds into the market at once, and then almost imniediati'ly we will be able to derive the benefit from the Congressional aid on the thirty-one miles which we have completed. We will have that aid to assist us in complet- ing the work. We can make our first mortgage bonds equal to forty-eight thousand dollars per mile on the thirty-one miles completed. There are, besides, the four hundred thousand dollars which we are about to receive from San Fran- cisco, if the compromise now proposed shall be carried out in good faith, as I think it will be ; and if it is not carried out, then we shall re- ceive six hundred thousand dollars in bond.- from San Francisco, giving in return six hun- dred thousand dollars in stock ; and these are the immediate assets of the company for the prosecution of the work. Now. if this Territo- ry, on becoming a State, shall promise to pay the interest on the bonds of the company to any extent, to that extent the bonds would be- come very marketable. They would be good securities, and would bring a good price in the market at once ; and, in addition, you will see the advantage of all these donations made di- rectly to the company, ))y strengthening its standing abroad. The effect is, that you make the stock desirable. Our idea is to push for- ward the work as rapidly as possible, and when we get it completed for a distance of seventy or eighty miles, we shall have demonstrated not only the practicability of the enterprise, but also that it has a practical value as an in- vestment, so that we shall have nodifliculty in selling our stocks, and thereby realizi' a large amount of funds with which to finish up the road. Mr. NOURSE. What effect upon any guar- antee or agreement to pay interest on the bonds of the company, would the exemption of mines from taxation have? Air. STANFORD. I do not know what would be your means of raising a revenue in that event. Mr. NOURSE. Are you much acquainted with the means of raising revenue which the Territory possesses? Mr. STANFORD. I am somewhat. Mr. NOURSE. Have you noticed the ex- penditures and the income for the last year, under the territorial organization? Mr. STANFORD. Well, not particularly. Ml-. NOURSE. Are you aware of the fact that, with the Federal Government paying the federal officers, we have already run behind- hand — that we are already two hundred and fifty thousand dollars behindliand, independent of city and county indebtedness? Mr. STANFORD. I was not aware of it. Mr. NOURSE. Are you aware that the ex- penses for fourteen months, which includes only sixteen hundred dollars of interest, amount to nearly six hundred thousand dollars, with an income of only forty-four thousand dollars? Mr. STANFORD. I was not. Mr. NOURSE. With these facts carried be- fore Wall Street brokers, with this insight into our fii ancial affairs, what do you think would be the probability uf negotiating our bondi^, at a figure to make it a paying operation ? Mr. STANFORD. I do not think that show- ino; would materially affect the bonds. Mr. NOURSE. Suppose yon had the further fact that, notwithstanding flu' smiill amount of income, the people of Storey County— our most wealthy county — were taxed two dollars and seventy c nts on every one hundred dollars worth 'of property for the past year, and that out of all that, we get only a small per cent- age for State purposes? Mr. DeLONG (in his seat). Ob. that is no- thing for a Sicramento man to consider! Mr. NOURSE. Suppose that fact were known, and it were also nndi rstocd that we, as a Territory, had run behindhand two hnndnd and forty-four thousand dollars, and that the Territory had only an income of about forty- four thousand dollars a year— suppose, I say, it were known that the expenses were so much 298 PACIFIC RAILROAD. [9tli day,. Wednesday,] Staxforo—Nolbse—Hovey—Chapin— Collins— President. [July 13. larger than the income, as shown by these fig- ures—what would be the advantage to you of that agroeiiK'iit ou the part of this State to guarantee, or to pay, the interest on your bonds? Mr. STANFORD. I think you hardly put the case fairly. If the revenues of this State were not to" be largely inereased. of course there Wduld be no great value in its securities. But so far as the rate of taxation is concerned, you should consider it in proportion to the rates paid for the use of money, which is often tliree and four per cent., in this country. I be- lieve two and a half per cent, is about the usual monthly rate here, and compared with that, the rate of taxation is very liglit. It can- not be more in proportion tlian one and a lialf. or two per cent, per mouth interest, and yet there are cities and towns where people pay taxes amounting to three, four, and live per cent. Mr. NOURSE. Would it not be of more advantage to your company, as regards giving you credit abroad and assuring the desirability of your stock, if it were known that after, or soon aft.-r. this railroad should reach the State line — which would develope our resources and give us a population, thereliy rendering the State able to do something — the State W(juld give you outright the amouat of three millions of dollars, at the rate of lil'ty thousand dollars a mile — that the State would not lend, but give it outright? Would not that help you much more than it would to give you our bonds now. or as soon as we get to be a State, and with our present condition of finances? Mr. ST.\NFORD. I think not; because abroad, where most of the securities must be negotiated, the great point is to inspire confi- dence that the road will be constructed over the mountains, and there will always bo a doubt until the ability of the company is made ai)pa- rent. It is necessary not only that the com- pany should have the ability, but also to make that ability ai)|iarent to the parties with whom we have lo deul. Mr. llOVi-JV. I would like to correct the gentlenun from Washoe (Mr. Xourse) in one rcKp.-et. Till- county of Storey alone has paid litly-scven thou-and dollars into the Territorial Treasury during th<- last year. Mr. OlIAl'IN. With many thanks to Gov- ernor St;niford for the' valualde information he lias givi'ii lis. I suggest that we now proceed to our ri'^ular l)usiness. .Mr. (J(Jl.,LI.\'.S. I propounded one question to thetloviTnor. but jiis attention was diverted from it so that he did not answer it. .My (jues- tion was this : How much. I»y the appropria- tion or provision for the loan of the credit ol the Stale, or a guarantee of the lionds of the company by the State, say tor a certain liehiiiti' fteriod, to an amount of one, two, or three mil- ion» — how much by that means would we be enabled to hasten the completion ol the road to the Slate line ? Would it hasten it one year, a year and a half, or six months? For instance, suppose when it reaches a point sixty miles this side of Sacramento, we guarantee the i)ayment of seven per cent, on one million, when it arrives at a point eighty miles this side of Sacramento, a million more, and when it arrives at a distance of one hundred miles from .Sacramento, or at the State line, a million more? Mr. STANFORD. Of course, I can only ap- proximate to it, but I will say this : that with the knowledge of the fact that this State would give the interest upon a certain amount of bonds, wo could proceed with entire coiilidence ill the expenditure of tlie money raised on the liomis which we are authorized to negotiate at the present time. By the time the road is con- structed up to about sixty miles from Sacra- mento, the balance of the road, to fifteen miles from the summit, might be ready for the track, and when that is done there is no one section that has any obstacle to delay it. We could proceed at once to use the present securities with entire confidence, knowing that by the time they are exhausted, we shall have reached a point where we may receive the aid from this State ; and these bonds would be negotiable in the market. Therefore, I think that with that assistance, we could construct the road as fast as any adequate amount of means would per- mit, and we could finish it inside of three years, probably. Mr. COLLINS. Do you think that this aid would give us the road one year sooner than we could have it without? Mr. NOURSE. Do you mean by the payment of the interest, or the agreement to pay it? Mr. COLLINS. I mean not an agreement only, but the actual payment of the interest. Mr. STANFORD. 1 must say that I could not say that it would make a difference of a year. It might make more difference, but I should l)e surjirisid if fiy some means we do n >t push the road forward to this Territory in- side of three years. It is my ambition to do so. But the great object, as I have said, is to inspire confidence abroad. The rRHSIDENT. Do not you think that this road will be constructed without any aid from this Territory ? Mr. STANFORD. I think it will be, but perhaps not so soon. The I'RliSIDLNT. Then with this guarantee of interest at seven per cent. on the bonds of the company, how much sooner could that road be constructed to the State line, than it would otherwise be? Mr. STANFORD. It is very difficult for me to say, because so much depends upon our foreign relations, and the condition of the whole country. The standing of our bonds and the standing of the Government bonds will iiavc to be governed by events in the future, and of cf)urse, what will be our con- diti(jn in th(? future it is impossible to sa^', nor how our securities are going to stand within a 9 til day.] PACIFIC RAILROAD. 299 Wednesday,] President — Nourse — Stanford — Collins — Chapin. [July 13. certala length of time. But this is certain, that if this State comes in and lends her aid. to the extent that she gives that aid, it will help the road ; and moi'e than that, it will strengthen the bonds of tlie company abroad, and also the stock. For instance, if the road wore to cost three millions, with a million and a half of aid, you will enable us to build the whole of it, be- cause the amount nquired to build a portion of the road secures the construction of a good deal more. Whatever is donated becomes a security for nearly an equal amount in addi- tion, so that the donation of a million and a half from the State, becomes equal, so far as the construction of the road is concerned, to nearly three millions of dollars. Then in addi- tion to that, the road having received the dona- tion, makes the stock of the company more desi- rable in the market, and in that way the resources of the company and its means to build are increased. I may say, that a million and a half donated by the State, equals twice that amount toward the cost of the construction of the road. The PRESIDENT. Then three millions would b8 equivalent to six millions toward the con- struction of the road. Mr. NOURSE. I wish to ask one more ques- tion. What is the shortest radius of any curves on your road, and whereabouts do they occur? Mr STANFORD. As to the curves, our shortest is a five hundred feet radius, although we run out of Sacramento, at present, with a curve of two hundred and twenty-five feet radius. Mr. NOURSE. Do these curves come upon heavy grades? Mr. STANFORD. Some of them ; yes, sir. Of course we avoid having curves upon sharp grades as much as possible, but we reach the elevatiun of seven thousand and thirty feet in a distance of one hundred and four miles, so that the grade is very regular. We have curves of this kind for at least four miles, on the maxi- mum grade, on the part we are now running, but only one engine is required to surmouiit those curves. The locomotive Pacific, which is not so large as one we have coming out, drew up to Newcastle, one train containing over four hundred passengers, with only one hundred pounds of steam. There were eight cars, and each had about sixty passengers. Mr. NOURSE. One engine hauled the train up the one hundred and five feet grade ? Mr. STANFORD. Yes, sir; I was on the engine at the time. We had only one hundred pounds of steam on, and sometimes a little less. We liad certainly over four hundred passengers on the train. Mr. COLLINS. One object in postponing the iss^ue of the bonds was the idea that the State would be in a better condition, at a future timt^, to m'.'et the issuing of so large an amount, than it is at present. As you rather demur to the action of the Convention, I would ask which would be most agreeable to the company — for instance, to issue the bonds from time to time a^ the work progresses on the other side, iiiitil tlie road reaches tlie State line— to make the payments from time to time until a million and a half is paid, or until the road is ctmipleted ; or to pay the interest on the million and a half of bonds as they are issued i»y the company ? Mr. STANFORD. The object is to get acroi^s tiie mountains. I will say this, that if the State is not to issue the bonds until seventy miles of road are completed, the State will then cer- tainly be in the reCL'ipt of CDnsiderable benefits from the road. In the next place, when we reach the seventy miles, and make the proper proofs, then only the company may ii-sue the bonds guaranteed by the State, and the first instalment of interest probably would not be payable under six months at any rate from that time, so that it would necessarily be a con- siderable time before the State could be called upon to pay anything at all. And long before she would be called upon to pay the bonds, she would be deriving far more than an equivalent iu the way of benefits from the road. For in- stance, now there are six daily coaches running from the termini of the railroads which run from Sacramento towards this Territory, and the pro- bability is that these coaches take fifty passen- gers up, and carry fifty passengers down, at a cost of about twenty-five dollars for each passenger, so that there must be two thousand five hundred dollars a day paid out by the people of this Territory for passages alone. Now, the most we could charge, under the laws of Cali- fornia, would be ten cents a mile for passengeis and fifteen cents a ton for freight, and the Territory would save on passenger travel alone not less than the handsome sum of three hun- dred thousand dollars a year, even if the rail- road company should charge the maximum prices allowed by the law of the State of California. Mr. CHAPIN. Have you any reliable data in regard to the amount paid for freight, and for passengers during the last year, to and from California? Mr. STANFORD. We have got such esti- mates as we could on that subject, from several firms in Sacramento, and also in regard to the teaming across the mountains. The amount paid out in Sacramento for freights the past year, was from ten to twelve millions of dol- lars ; and Mr. Swain, a large wagon-road owner, estimates it at twelve millions. I know that Whitney & Co. of Sacramento, some time along last fall— in November. I think it wa— showed us their books, and also made an affidavit to the effect that they had paid out for goods for- warded from there during the season, over one million seven hundred thousand dollars. That was from one single firm. D. W. Karl & Co. have pa'd ■ ut probably the same amount. Mr. NOURSE. Are not these the principal firms? Mr. STANFORD. There are several firms which do about as large au amount of business. 300 PACIFIC RAILROAD. [9th day. ■Wednesday,] Stanford — Tozer — Proctor — Chapin — Kennedy — Stuktevant. [July 13. Mr. DeLONG. And many goods are sent here from Marv?:ville. also. Mr. .as;s. the railroad line would pri)l»atily .save to the Territory at least eight ur ten millions of ddUars a year. That is according to the lust .lata we can obtain. And it would save aliout two-thirds on the bullion shipped. I do not renvmber the exact amount of bullion. AVe have liad the wagon roads estimated from the tolls rec'-ivtd. Mr. NOUHSE. You add them to the esti- mate of the amount shipped in Sacramento. Mr. STANFORD. No, sir ; that is indepen- dent of those estimates. Mr. Swaiu's estimate of the whoU' was twelve millions of dollars. Mr. NOUHSE. I'robably. on the other hand. Wliitio'V it Co. and I). W. Earl A' Co. forwardid aliout a (piarter of the whole amount shipped last vear. Mr. STANFORD. Probably not a quarter, as a large amount comes also from Stockton. such as the produce of the farms — barley, hay. a great deal of flour, and some mercliau- dise — which does not come by that road at all. .Mr. TOZEll. And a great deal comes by the lli'uness I'ass route, does there not? Mr. STANFORD. A very great deal, and a great d' al also from farms along the road. Mr. TOZER. Could not most of the amount proposed to bo guaranteed be saved to the Stale in the Wiiy of fuel? Mr. STANFORD. I should say it could. You pos.ses.s in your Territory, Intundless rv- sources ; you have plenty of mines which would pay reasonal)ly. were the cost of working them re.luci.'d to a smaller amount ; but you have not uianj' mines whicii will pay, with the pres- ent cost of the reduction of the ores. The consi qu'-nce will be. without a railroad, that viry soon the production will be confined to th" principal mines ; prospecting will die out. aii Wediu'sday.] Fitch— HovEY — Kennedy — Collins— Johnson. [July 13. Convention to fix another time, if it chooses to do so. This matter was discussed, upon the question of canvassinp the votes, ou the occa- sion. I believe, when the proposition was before the Convention to fix an earlier prriod for the first election ; and from the tenor and purport of that discu.>ision. I felt at liberty to presume that ih'j basis of action of the Convention was such as to preclude the necessity of a special session. Mr. FITCH. If we finally adopt this section now. it will be beyond our ])ower to recall it. 1 have myself contemplated tlie probability. nay. the necessity of a session previous to January next. .Mr. HOVEY. I have based my vote and my ailiou hitlierto. upon the hypotliesis of my col- huirue. (.Mr. Fitch.) that in the Schedule we sli.Ul fix the time of the first election at an earlier day. Mr. KliS'.N'EDY. I would like to have gen- tlemen explain the reason why a .session is ne- Ci >sary jirior to the fii'st of January. ISf!.'). Mr. FITCH. I ciui exi)lain it very readily. It is required that we .«hall elect two United .States Senators to represent the State of Neva- da in Congress, and very important legislation may be expected to come up in Congress at an early period in the next session. Now. if our Legislature does not meet until January, we cannot, of course, be represented in the Senate earlier than February, or perliaps March ; and I. for one. judge it to be expedient, if we are going to have a representation in Congress at ail. that we should have our representatives there as early as possible. Gentlemen will bear in mind tliat Congress meets in December next. .\Ir. KENNEDY. I certainly understood. when we fixed the day of election in Novem- b.-r. that we were not to have a session of thi! Legislature until January. I can see no special use for a session before tliat time. In regard to the election of United States Sena- tois. that should be done as the first business ol' the session. .Mr. FITCH. If the gentleman had much experience in legislative matters, perhaps he Would be of opinion that it would take a long tlni"' to elect tiicm. .Mr. Cre than another will operate to induce Storey County to go for a State organi- zation, it will l)e tlie conviction on tiie jiart of tlie electors of that county, that the State will be launched, the judicial officers elected, and their duties defined by the Legislature, at the earliest practicable day. We have on the docket of the court in that district, somewhere about four hundred cases, and we have only one judge whose jurisdiction extends to those cases. There is, besides that, a large amount of litigation which would be commenced iu that court if there were the least possible chance of cases being brought to trial at an early day. It this Convention sliall assure the people of Storey County, (and 1 think there are other counties in the same category, tlnuigh not, perhaps, so deeply involved in this judi- cial — I will not call it muddle — this judicial inaction,) that the judicial system under the State organization will be put into immediate operation, it will secure the su))port of the people of Storey County for a State organization. The peopleof the whole Territory feel the present con- dition of things in respect to the judiciary to be a great hardship, and they will take much less interest in the question of establishing a State Government if there is to be delay in that mat- ter, than they would if assured that at an early day, as early as November, if possible, the Leg- islature would meet and define the duties of the judges who are to be elected under this Constitution. On my part, I can see no reason for this proposed delay, and for my life I can- not comprehend the rationale of this iiiditfercnce to setting in motion the wheels of the State Government at the earliest possible hour. There may be reasons which I do not yet un- derstand, and I would like to hear gentlemen who are opposed to that proposition, state the grounds of their opposition. Mr. FITCH. I suggest that it might have a pernicious effect to act definitely and finally on this suliject now ; but the matter could be reached, perhaps, by a slight amendment in Section 2, and then, possibly, by making some further provision in the Schedule. I will sug- gest that Section 2 be so amended as to read in this way : — "The sessions of the Legislature shall be biennial, and shall, alter the first session to be held under this Ooiistit\itiou, comnieuce on the first Monday of Janu- ary, in oaeh year." Then it would also be necessary to amend the next following section, so as to read : — " The niembers of the LeRislaturo, except at the first session, shall l)e ohoseu biennially," etc. That would give us an opportunity to ar- range this matter in the schedule, in such manner as we may deem best, providing here for the first session, aiul the first election of members of the Legislature, without prescrib- ing when that first session shall be held, Mr. JOHNSON. The gentleman does not, by his aineudinent, relieve this (jucstion of all the difficulties attending it. We have already passed an article entitled Executive Depart- ment. and that is beyond the control of the Convention for the present. Mr. FITCH. It can be reconsidered if neces- sary. 9th day.] LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 307 Wednesday,] Johnson— Fitch— Gibson— Chapin— Proctor— Stuutevant—Hawley. [July 13. Mr. JOHNSON. Of course it is not beyond the power of the Convention to reconsider it, but it is beyond its control in the ordinary course of business. But the amendment sug- gested by the gentleman from Storey does not cure the evil of which he speaks. Now, I feel unlike discussing the subject of convening an early session of the Legislature, but gentlemen must be aware of one material fact, and that is, that you cannot have a session, at least, until the Governor is inaugurated. The PRESIDENT pro (em. (interrupting.) Is there any motion before the Convention? Mr. FITCH. The question, I understand, is upon the passage of the article. The PRESIDENT pro (em. The question is upon the passage of Article IV, which is upon its third reading. Mr. JOHNSON. If there is no motion pend- ing, I am undoubtedly entirely out of order, but I supposed that a motion had been made. Mr. GIBSON. I hope my colleague will be allowed to proceed Mr. CHAPIN. We all want information on this subject. [" Leave, leave ! "J The PRESIDENT pro (em. If there is no objection, the gentleman from Ormsby will proceed. Mr. JOHNSON. I say I am indisposed to discuss the matter of the propriety of having an early session of the Legislature. As for the election of United States Senators, that subject may or may not be involved ; but one thing is quite apparent, namely, that we cannot have a session of the Legislature unless we have a Governor — in other words, that sinniltaneously with the meeting of the Legislature, or prior to that, we must provide for the inauguration of our State ofiBcers. We oannot conveniently have one branch of the Government in esue whilst the other is not. And. as I was proceed- ing to say, that necessarily involves another amendment in Article V, entitled Executive Department, which we have already passed. It will be seen that according to the present provisions of that article, the canvassing of the votes of our State officers cannot occur until the third Monday in December. This is a pe- riod, it is true, prior to the time proposed for the meeting of the Legislature, the first Mon- day in January ; but it is so short a time prior, that the interval between that and the first Monday of January certainly would be insuffi- cient to accomplish any of the benefits which have been suggested here as likely to result from calling an earlier session. But there is another view of this matter. If I were disposed to discuss the propriety of an early session for the election of United States Senators, there is another view, which relates to the propriety of our having an early represen- tation in the United States Senate, and in Con- gress j and that is, the difficulty which we shall experience, and the expense and trouble grow- ing out of the holding of repeated elections. The query is whether or not we should be ben- efited sufficiently to compensate for the disad-' vantages of holding an extra election. Without expressing any opinion myself upon that point, I would ask gentlemen to examine the question as a practical one. and inquire whether or not we should be sufficiently compensated for the trouble and expense of these repeated elections. We are to have, as it now stands, one election on the first Wednesday in September, to vote upon the Constitution, and then another, a general election, in November, which is the time of the Presidential election. Mr. PROCTOR. Cannot we provide in the schedule for an earlier election, an earlier meeting of the Legislature ? Mr. JOHNSON. Oh no, sir ; by no means ; not unless we make the corresponding changes which are required in other portions of t7iis instrument, such as I have already pointed out. Mr. STURTEVANT. The first Wednesday in September is the time fixed for holding the general election for Territorial officers, who are to hold office in case the Constitution shall be defeated, and it will not do to let that time pass by. Mr. JOHNSON. In reply to the inquiry of the gentleman from Nye, (Air. Proctor.) I will say, that of Territorial officers, properly speaking, we have none to elect, except our delegate in Congress ; and his election is fixed under existing laws, and nothing we can do here can ehange the period for electing that officer. As to the other Territorial officers, properly so-called, the people do not elect any of them. In some counties they have to elect county officers, but the Territorial county offi- cers can be continued as ex-officio officers under the State Government, or not, as the Conven- tion may please. Mr. HAWLEY. Does the gentleman mean to say that it is not necessary to elect mem- bers of the Assembly this fall ? Mr. JOHNSON. Yes ; they have to l)e elect- ed, and also one-half of the Council. They are to be elected, however, in the several counties. But I desire to be understood as saying this, that there is no means which we can adopt, by any provision in this Constitution, which will obviate the necessity of holding the Territorial election in September, because we cannot pos- sibly anticipate whether this Constitution will be adopted or not. And 1 suppose that every elector will vote at that September election, just as he would if there were no proposition pending in regard to a State Constitution and State Government ; in other words, he will vote independently of that consideration, and select just such men, as Territorial officers, as he would otherwise, because at the same time that they are elected the vote is taken upon the adop- tion or rejection of the State Constitution. We cannot determine here that the people will rat- ify that Constitution, and we have already heard within these walls grave forebodings that a certain course of action on our part will inev- itably result in the defeat of the Constitution. 308 LECxISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. [9th day.- Wednesiday.] Stcrtevaxt — Johnson — Dunne — Fitch — Nourse — Brosnan. [July 13. The proposition is this: wc have to vote for or against the Constitution on the first Wedncs- d ly of Septenilier. which is the seventh day of thiit month. It is true that «e have the author- ity, if we please, to allow the people to vote at tlie same time for State otticers. Imt after the result of tip' experiment attempted last year. 1 do not think tiiat plan will jje tried again. On the contrary, I assume it as a foregone conclu- sion that not a single member of this Conven- tion will be found to advocate the election of the .Slate ollicers at the same time that the vote is lalven ujion the Constitution. Mr. STURTKVANT. I sujjpose the gentle- man is aware tiiat I was not running for office lust fill. [Merriment.] Mr. J011N.~^()N. My remarks did not apply to the genthman from Washoe, but I have some others in my mind who were members of the former Convention. With perhaps a single exception, I believe I stood alone in that Con- vent on asanopponent of that policy, and should certainly oppose it at this time. But if we do not adopt tliat policy, and provide for a State elt etion at the same time that the vote is taken for or against the Constitution. I admit that we may, if we please, appoint anj' day subse- quent to that for the election of State officers. 1 concede this as a legal jjroposition. But the question arises here, how far removed that day should be. under all the circumstances, so as to allow for the canvassing of the votes? What lapse of time will t)e necessary ? We have had some illustrations upon that point from gentlemen here who represent remote counties, embracing in some instances quite an extensive population, although in others, including rather large regions of sage brush. I think we have had the testimony of one g"ntleman from Iluniltoldt County, that it requin-s some eight or ten days to transmit the r.-turns from remote precincts in that county. Then there is also the time required for can- vassing the votes, as well as for transmitting the returns to the seat of Government. And in the event of a closely contested election — and wc have to anticijiate such jirobabilities — pentlemen will perceive that nothing short of three days would be sufficient to allow for the canvas.sing officers to perform their work at the seat of Government. They would have to re- ceive and canvass the returns, and declare the result. That would bring us down as late as October, the election occurring on the seventh day of September. Mr. DU.N'NE. I would like to hear some re- marks directed to this ])oint : whether or not. allowing this section to stand as it is. if it 1)0 tlie de-ire of the Convention, we can still provide for an earlier convening of the Legislature for the election of L'nited States Senators? Can we not allow it to remain exactly as it is, and provide for a change of time for the first ses- sion, entirely in the schedule? If so, then this dis<-ussion might come uj) properly when we reach that portion of the schedule. Mr. JOHNSON. I know my remarks are not in order, but I am speaking by permission of the Convention. Mr. DUNNE. '1 he gentleman misunderstands the nature of the question. It is. whether or not it is the opinion of the Convention, or of members of the Convention, whose opinions might guide us upon such a subject, that we can provide for this matter altogether in the Schedule. Mr. JOHNSON. I think there can certainly he no doul)t al)out it, this being the general frame-work only. Mr. FITCH. IIow^ would it be as to the election of officers under the Territorial organ- ization? Mr. JOHNSON. There is no question about it, I say, because this is merely the general .system. Mr. NOURSE. Then is there any necessity of changing the phraseology of the section as it stands here? Mr. JOHNSON. The phraseology of this general frame-work should be such that the harmony of the whole shall not be marred and obscured by exceptional cases. Such excep- tions should have no place in this part of the Constitution. Mr. BROSNAN. I would also make a sug- gestion in this same connection. The gentle- man from Ormsby entertains the same views which I did in the former Convention, and it will also be remembered that we did not change the word " biennial " there, merely be- cause we wanted to provide for annnual ses- sions for a year or two subsequently, but we left it as it stands, with a view to making that provision in the schedule ; and. as I understand it. with the view of also providing in the sched- ule for a special election. Mr. JOriNSON. These are reasons why we should strike out this provision from the Con- stitution. Whilst here we provide the general frame-work of our legislative system, in the schedule, as the gentleman from Humboldt (Mr. Dunne) has remarked, would be the proper place for any temporary exceptions, and when that shall be under consideration would be the proper time for their discussion. I only pro- po.se now. however, to reply to some remarks which had l)een made by other gentlemen on this ])articular matter. We can provide in the schedule, as I have before said, for these excep- tional cases in such a manner as to preserve the harmony and uni.son of the whole instrument. Jlr. FITCH. In order to get this matter projjerly before the Convention, I will make this motion: I move to commit Article IV to a sj)ecial committee of three, with instructions to amend as follows: After the word '' shall," in line two, of Section 2, add " except at the first session." After the word " shall." in line one, of Section 3, add " except at the first elec- tion to be held under this Constitution." The (juestion was stated upon the motion to recommit, with these instructions. 9th day,] LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 309 Wednesday,] FiTCu — Proctor— Johnson. [July 13. Mr. FITCH. Upon this motion I have sim- ply to say, that on the first Wednesday of Sep- tember, to wit, the seventh day of September, the question of the ratification or rejection of the Constitution will be submitted to the peo- ple. I will admit that proljably thirty days may elapse before the official returns of tbe election can be certified to the Secretary of State, and the official announcement of the result can be telegraphed officially to the Pres- ident of the United States, who is thereupon empowered to admit the State of Nevada into the Union, by proclamation. That might be accomplished, then, immediately before the Presidential election. Now, it is true that. although the official returns may not be re- ceived within a month, yet the result of the election will be known certainly within a week, and we can provide for the election of members of the Legislature, and the Gov- ernor and judicial officers, as early, at farthest, as the middle of October, and the officers elected can take their seats about the tenth of November, and put the machinery of the State Government at once into operation. I trust that members will consider the import- ance of this subject, which has not, perhaps, suggested itself to members. If we have a State Government, we have a member of Con- gress, and Congress meets on the first Monday in December. It is among the remote possibil- ities, though I hope not among the probabilities, that the election of the President of the United States may be thrown into the United States House of Representatives — that Mr. Lincoln may not receive a majority of the whole number of electoral votes. In tliat event, the vote of the State of Nevada would count just as much as the thirty-four votes of the State of New York, the election in the House of Representatives being by States. It would therefore be a national necessity that the vote of Nevada should be had in the House of Representatives of the United States, in order to secure the election of Mr. Lincoln to the Presidency ; and if we do not provide for a Governor and mem- bers of tbe Legislature to go into office before the first of January, our representative in Con- gress may not be able to take his seat before the election is over. That is among the con- tingencies of the election, and so long as it is possible for us to have an early election, I hold that it is our duty to do it. By so doing we shall be able to present strong arguments in favor of the adoption of the Constitution. We can go before the people and tell them that the vote of Nevada may be needed in the United States House of Representatives, in order to strengthen the arm of the Government, and that will be in addition to the argument that, by the adoption of the Constitution, the people will be enabled to vote at the Presidential elec- tion. For these reasons, sir, I submit that it would be well to have the State election take place at an earlier period than November, and then we had better provide for taking the necessary steps to put the machinery of the State Gov- ernment in motion as .soon as the State shall be admitted. I do not wish to precipitate a debate upon this subject, but I trust that the Convention will carefully consider the propri- ety of making the amendment I have sug- gested, not only to this article, but also, if necessary, to Article V. Mr. PROCTOR. It seems to me that this whole subject is out of order, and that the proper place to discuss the question will be when w^e have the schedule under considera- tion. Now, the proposition of the gentleman from Storey, (Mr. Fitch.) it seems to me. would have a tendency to injure the whole frame- work of the Constitution, a thing which the gentleman from Ornisby (Mr. Johnson) is very desirous of guarding against. Mr. FITCH. Does the gentleman from Nye have an idea that the gentleman from Ormsliy, or anybody else, holds that we cannot in the schedule, alter not only the time for the elec- tion, but also the time for the Legislature to meet, and for the State officers to take their seats ? Mr. JOHNSON. There can be no doubt of that. Mr. PROCTOR. I think, most unques- tionably, after the body of the Constitution is adopted, we can provide in the schedule when the first election shall take place, and how and when the officers elected shall enter upon the duties of their respective offices. Mr. FITCH. And at what time they shall take their seats? Mr. PROCTOR. Yes, certainly. Mr. FITCH. Then if we can, all right. Mr. JOHNSON. The inquiry of the gentle- man from Storey (Mr. Fitch) was not directed to me, but as my name was embraced in it. I will answer without hesitation. I thought I had made myself distinctly understood on that proposition heretofore. The only object I have been aiming at in connection with this matter hitherto, has been to preserve the harmony and unison of the instrument through- out, I say that when we are establishing tbe general frame-work, we should not emlirace in it the exceptional cases also, but that those provisions should be found eihcr in the mis- cellaneous provisions or the schedule. That is my proposition, and I do not think tiiat any gentleman on the floor, whether a lawyer or otherwise, would dispute that proposition. The one is the general frame-work of our Constitu- tion, while the other embodies the special and exceptional cases ; and the two being construed together, as they must be. no conflict could re- sult, the one applying to the future, and the other to the present or immediately succeeding time. There can be no doubt, in my judgment, of the propriety of that course. Mr. FITCH, Having great confidence in the opinion of thi' gentleman fiorn Ormsby, I take pleasure in withdrawing my motion. 310 LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. [9th day. Weilne-siluy.] Johnson- — Hovet — Banks — Earl — Dunne — Collins — Nourse. [July 13. Mr. JOHNSON. The question now recurs, I suppiisf, upon my Diotioii to amend Section 29 by slrikiiip out the word '■ regular," and that. I'lMlifve, ri(|uires the unanimous consent of the Convention. Mr. HoVKY. Does not that word "regu- lar." have reference to special sessions which may lie convened subsequently by the Gov- ernor '.' The amendment was not fiirreed to. Mr. liANKS. I wish to know exactly how this matter we have been discu>sinl>tainc(1 \>y virtue of a lieu «iveii by the coiiKoiit of botli hUHbaud and wife." Now, is it not intended that the person who is tlie head of the family may alienate tlie liotnesteud ■' If it is so intend'il. I would in- quire wliether the language hen? would not prevent the person who is entitled to the home- stead from alienating it, after that relationship of hu«b:iMil and wifi- has ceased to exist by rea-ioti of the death of one of the partie.s. Mr. E.MU... I suppose the homestead law, which will be passed pursuant to this provis- ion, will regulate the matter, and declare who shall be considered the head of the family. The PRESIDENT. The inquiry seems to be propounded in reference to the lien, in view of the exce))tion in the hist proviso. Mr. COLLINS. Doe.s not that language properly refer to the joint consent required to be given on the part of the husband and wife ? Mr. DUNNE. That is the very point I desire to raise. The PRESIDENT. The gentleman from Hum- l)oldt asks, as I understand, whether, where the relation of husband and wife does not exist, this provision would apply ? It might be that a widow, or a widower, or another person, would be the head of a family ; as, for instance, a brother, with minor children dependent upon him for support, and occupying towards him the relation of a family. The inquiry. I sup- pose, extends to tliem — as to whether or not the exemption would apply in such cases. Mr. NOURSE. I understand ^the exemption applies, whether there be the relation of hus- band and wife or not. Then the prohibition of sale applies only where there is both a husband and wife, and the ol)ject is simply to prevent the husband from selling the homestead away, without the consent of the wife. Where there is no longer a wife, there is nothing, as I un- derstand it, to prohibit the alienation by the husband, or rather, by him who has been the husband. The preceding clause only makes certain exceptions — it says the homestead siiall not be exempted in certain cases. And if a lien is given by both husband and wife, then, under this latter proviso, the exemption ceases to apply. I see nothing to prevent the husliand alone, after he has lost his wife, from alienating the homestead by his own act. Mr. DUNNE. I should like to .see some language placed there for the protection of minors. Mr. NOURSE. Does the gentleman mean to require the consent of minors? Mr. DUNNE. Y't s, sir ; or the consent of such persons as may legally represent them ; as. for instance, by order of the Prol)ate Court. That seems to me to be a case requiring, per- haps, more careful safeguards, even, than are necessary to be required for the protection of the wife. There might be an elder brother seeking to deprive the minor children of their property. It may be snflficient to provide that the alienation shall take place only by order of the Prol)ate Court. Mr. NOURSE. The property of minors can- not be alienated without the power of the fjuardian to sell ; and when, therefore, the homestead becomes tin- property of minors, the Probate Court at once guards the rights of sneli minors. To effect the sale of the property of minors, there must be a guardian lirst ap- pointed, and he must get an order for .sale from the Piobate Court, upon showing cause. But if the father still lives, the mother Ix'ing dead, it seems to me proper to leave in the father's 9th dav LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 311 Wednesday,] President— Noursk— Dunne— Tagltabue— Collins— Bbosnan— Earl. [July 13. hands a certain discretion as to what he will do with the property. The PRESIDENT. That would sujrgest an- other inquiry. If the mother dies, and tlie father survies, how will tin's section affect the right of the survivor? The father being the sur- vivor, is the head of the family, and entitled to the homestead ; and how fir does this pro- vision exempt the homestead from the opera- tion of a lien given hy him alone? Mr. NOURSE. I suppose he may give a lien, and I think the Convention would not want to restrict him. So long as the mother lives, it requires her consent, but after she is gone, we do not wish to tie his hands? Mr. DUNNE. That is not the point of my inquiry, exactly ; but it is whether, after he has done that — after he has sold the homestead, and received the money — he could then fall back on the homestead right, and attempt to set up a claim to the property, under this proviso? Mr. NOURSE. I do not suppose the home- stead right could apply to the money, after the money is once paid. Mr. DUNNE. That is not what I mean. Having given a lien — having encumbered the homestead with a lien — then, when that lien is attempted to be enforced, can the head of the family claim the benefit of this provision as against the lien ? Mr. NOURSE. There is nothing here to pre- vent it. When the wife dies, he may make the lien alone. When but one fif the two is left, the husband alone, for example, there seems to be no good reason for any restriction in that respect. Mr. TAGLIABUE. What is before the Con- vention? I do not think these gentlemen are talking to the question at all. Mr. COLLINS. I cannot see any difficulty in this matter, if it is not contemplated to re- strict the action of the husband after the wife dies. Mr. TAGLIABUE. I rise to a point of or- der. What is before the Convention? I be- lieve there is no motion whatever pending. The PRESIDENT. The article is before the Convention on its third reading, and discussion as to the construction of the various sections I think is in order. Mr. COLLINS. The object of this languaee seems to be very clear. It is. that while the husband and wife are both living, neither .shall be permitted to alienate the property without the consent of the other. That seems to be the sole object of the provision. It says : — " And shall not be alienated witliout the joint con- sent of husband and wife, when that relation exists." After that relation ceases, as a matter of course the restriction ceases. If the hu.sband dies, the wife may, by her own act, alienate the property, and vice I'crsa. The PRESIDENT. If the gentleman will permit me. I will suggest that it is the latter clause to which the gentleman from Humboldt calls attention. Mr. TAGLIABUE. I think the clause he refers to is not printed at all. Mr. COLLINS. I would like to bear it read. The PRESIDENT. The inquiry, as the Chair understands, of the gentleman from Humboldt (Mr. Dunne) is in reference to the latter clause, which the Secretary will read. The SECRETARY read as follows:— " Provided, the provisions of this section shall not apply to any process of law obtained by virtue of a lien given by the consent of both husband and wife; and laws shall be enacted providing lor the recordinf; of such homestead \rithin the county in which the same maj' be situated." Mr. BROSNAN. I had not given much at- tention to the inquiry of the gentleman from Humljoldt, but I understand it is as to whetlier a person being the head of a family — as for instance, a brother having younger brothers and sisters under his charge, or a widower, be- ing the head of the family — whether in such a case the head of the family could himself alien- ate the property after the decease of the wife or mother. From the reading of the section. I have no doubt that he could, because I see nothing there to prohibit it. The PRESIDENT. The point is as to the lien — as to whether the homestead would or would not be suliject to a lien or mortgage, which might be executed by the survivor alone. Mr. BROSNAN. I see no reason why it should not be ; and I will state that in Califor- nia it is provided by statute — although there is but little said in regard to the subject in the Constitution of that State— that the head of the family cannot alienate the homestead ; showing that in that State they have the same understanding of the subject as I have .stated. Mr. EARL. Does the gentleman und rstand that the brother, being the head of the family, might give a lien on the homestead, and in that manner steal the property ? Mr. BROSNAN. No. sir. There are fre- quently cases — I suppose the gentleman will recollect many such — where brothers inheriting a portion of the property have h d charge of the younger children : but in such cases, as a matter of course, the brother could not alienate any more of the property than the portion he was himself entitled to. Mr. FITCH. Why not insert the words of the proviso in the "preceding part, after the words -when that relation exists?'' Mr. NOURSE. The joint consent could not be given, unless the relation did exist. Mr. FITCH. But that would make it agree with the first part of the section. The PRESIDENT. That amendment may be mad'^ by unanimous consent. Mr. FITCH. I make the motion. The question was taken on the amendment proposed by Mr. Fitch, and it was not agreed to. SEPARATE PROPERTY 01' THE WIPE. Section 31 was read, as follows : — Sec. 31. All property, both real and personal, of the 312 LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. [9th day. Wednosda}',] NoiKSE — President — Fitch — DrxxE— Proctor. [July 13. wife, ow-ned or claimed by her before marriage, and tiat aciniired afti-rward by gift, devise ordescent, shall be her separate inv>))erty: and laws shall be i)assed u.o.e elearlv detiuinK the rights of the Avife, iu relation as well til her separate property as to that held iu com- mon with her husband. Laws shail also be passed p-.'ividijif; for the registratiou of the wife's separate liropertj-. Mr. NOURSE. I suggest the striking out of tiie word " more." so that the clause shrtll read : ••Laws shall be passed clearly delining,'' in- stead of " more clearly dcliuiug the rights of the wife." &C. The PRKSIDEXT. Is it not proper, in that ciianeetion, following the definition of her rights, in precediug sections of the Constitu- tion ? Mr. NOURSE. That may be so, and I will not make the motion. LEGISLATIVE COMPENSATION. Section 33 having been read, as amended, as follows: — Sec. 33. The members of the Legislature shall re- eeive for their services a compensation to be fixed by law, and paid out of the public treasury, but no in- crease of the comijensation shall take efl'ect during the term for which the members of either House shall Luve been elected : provided, that an ajipropriation may be made for the i)ayment of such actual expenses a« members of the Legislature may incTir for postage, express charges, uewspajiers, and stationery, not ex- !■• cding the sum of sixty dollars, for any general or .-p./eial session, to each memlier: andfiirtlicrinnrc pro- V ■d-t as much as thai to the .sense of justice and the generosity of our future Legitiaturcs? No amendments being propo.sed to the sec- tion, the reading of the article was continued. THE VETO POWER. Section 35 having been read, as engrossed, iis follows : — Sei'. 35. Every bill which may have passed the Le- gislature, shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the Governor. If he approve it, he shall sign it; but if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to the House in which it originated, which shall enter such objections upon the journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, it again pass lioth Houses by ayes and noes, by a majority of two-thirds of the meraljers elected to each House, it shall liecome a law, notwithstanding the Governor's objections. If any bill shall not be returned within five days after it .shall have been presented to him, (Sunday excepted,) exclusive of the day on which he received it, the same shaU be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Legislature, by its final adjournment, pre- vent such return, in which case it shall be a law, unless the Governor, within ten days next after the adjourn- ment, (Sundays excepted,) shall file such bill, with his objections thereto, in the office o^' the Secretary of State, who shall lay the same before the Legislature at its next session, in like manner as if it 'had been re- turned by the Governor; and if the same shall receive the vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each branch of the Legislature, upon a vote taken by ayes and noes, to be entered upon the journals of each House, it shall become a law. Mr. NOURSE. In the first part of this sec- tion, it seems to me that the word ■' majority '' is not correctly u.sed. It says — " by a majori- ty of two thirds of the members elected to each House." I think it should be " by a vote of two thirds," instead of " by a majority." I see the word " vote " is used in the subsequent part of the section, and I move to strike out the word " majority,"' and insert the word " vote." Mr. PROCTOR. I see the same objection here that I did in another section, ouly that here it is more forcibly presented. It says in this section that a majority of two thirds of the members elected shall be necessary to pass a bill over the Governor's veto. Now I will re- fer to gentlemen who have had some legisla- tive experience — which I have not, never hav- ing been inside of a legislative body — and I would ask them how often, iu their experience, they would find two thirds of the members elected on the floor to vote. Now, sir, I look upon this provision as being as al)solute as the veto power which exists in this Territory at the present time. I think it would be utterly imp'issil)le, under such a provision, to pass any bill over the Governor's veto, and for that rea- .son I move to amend this section by striking out the word " elected," and inserting the wonl '• present." I believe that amendmeut will cover it. The PRESIDENT. The question will frst be on the motion to strike out the word "ma- jority," and insert the word '• vote," as pro- posed by the gentleman from Wa.shoe (Mr. Nourse.) The(|uestion was taken, and the amendment otlered by Mr. Nourse was unanimously agreed to. 9th day.] LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 313 Wednesday,] Proctor— President— Hawi.ey— Banks— McClixton— Dunne. [July 13. Mr. PROCTOR. Now I move to strike out the word '• elected," where it relates to the vote of two-thirds of the members, and insert the word " present.'' It occurs twice I believe in the section, and my motion is to make the amendment in both ca'^e?. The PRESIDENT. The gentleman from Nye. in making his motion, will understand that it requires the unanimous consent of the Conven- tion in order to amend, but his object can be reached by a motion to recommit to a special committee, with instructions to amend in this particular respect. Mr. PROCTOR. I will make that motion, if there is any olijection. Mr. HAWLEY. I would like to inquire if this amendment would not interfere with some of the provisions which we have already agreed upon, or the general principles which govern them? We require a majority of all the mem- bers elected to pass a bill, and this section re- quires a larger vote, to wit, two-thirds, to pass it over the Governor's veto. The PRESIDENT. It does not necessarily involve the preceding sections. This section refers only to bills which may be vetoed by the Governor, although possibly, by analogy, we should provide that they should be passed only by a majority of two thirds, since we require a clear majority to pass bills in the first instance. Mr. HAWLEY. But vsill it not involve here- after some question as to the legality of legis- lative action, under the provision as it stands? Will it not be a question, if we merely strike out the word " elected," whether we thereby definitely determine that a vote of two thirds of those present shall be sufficient? That two thirds might be less than an absolute majority. I think it is a matter which demands serious consideration, and I address my inquiry to the Chair bf-cause I presume the President under- stands the matter fully. The PRESIDENT. There can be no doubt that if it be the sense of the Convention, we may make this difference, in one case requiring a vote of two-thirds of the mcmVjers present. and in the other, a majority of all the members elected. There would be quite an obvious dif- ference ; and it is so apparent that I do not think any question whatever could arise. Mr. HAWLEY. My remarks were based upon the supposition that we were going to require a two-thirds vote of all the members elected, to override the Governor's veto. I am quite unwell to-night, being hardly able to at- tend, and it is quite likely that I do not fully un- derstand the question before the Convention. The PRESIDENT. I would .suggest that if this language is to be amended at all, it .should be made to read "two-thirds of the members present and voting in each house." Mr. PROCTOR. Very well ; I will make the motion in that way. Mr. BANKS. I am opposed to the proposed amendment, and for this reason : that if we adopt this provision of the Constitution — The PRESIDENT [interrupting.] Does the Chair understand the gentleman from Hum- boldt to object ? Mr. BA^KS. Yes, sir. Mr. PROCTOR. I move to recommit the ar- ticle to a spt'cial committee, with instructions to make the amendment. [Cries of •' question, question ! "] Mr. BANKS. Now, Mr. President, I will state briefly, if I may be allowed, the reasons why I oppose this cliange. It is the presump- tion of the people of the State, when thiy elect a legislative body, consisting say of thirty, sixty, or any nther number of men, that tin ir laws are to be made through the exercise of the united wisdom of that body of men ; but by the change now proposed, a very small propor- tion of that body — two-thirds of a majority, for instance — can pa.ss a law over the veto of the Governor. That is not in accordance with the spirit in which the people act in electing their legislative body. It would operate badly in practice, too, because members would feel no such responsibility as would compel their at- tendance upon the duties which they are elected to perform. I have seen enough of that loose sort of legislation, where each man conceives that he has the right to go away when be pleases and neglect his duties, to lead me to the conclusion that we ought to incorporate into our Constitution everything we can. which is calculated to make members of the Legisla- ture feel that they have responsiljilities resting upon them — that they are responsible for their absence from legislative duties, as much as they are for an indifferent or wrong performance of those duties. If we can do that, it will certainly have a beneficial efiifct. If we adopt this amend- ment proposed by the gentleman from Nye, we thereby discrin inate in favor of legislating by a comparatively small number of those who are sent to the Legislature by the people ; while if we refuse to adopt the amendment proposed, we, on the other hand, discriminate very strongly in favor of compelling every man who is elected to a legislative body to spend his whole time in that body, in the performance of his duties. Mr. McCLINTON. I hope the gentleman from Humboldt, who has just spoken, will par- don me for so persistently calling the question. I did not mean to deprive him of the privilege of making a lengthy speech, to prove what I presume four-fifths of the members here already see clearly in this respect. I agree with him upon this question in every particular, and I believe the Convention generally concurs, that the vote of two-thirds of all the members elected, shall be required to pass a law over the Governor's veto. That is all I have to say. Mr. DUNNE. One point to be considered in connection with this amendment is this: that it would require a less number of votes to pass a bill over the Governor's veto, than would be required to pass it originally. I will here suggest, also, although it is not material 314 LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. [Oth day. Wednesday,] Uovey— Dinne— Hawley— St'vaxt — Pkoctor — Brosxan — McClixtox. [July 13. to the question immediately before theConren- tion, tiiat this same amoiulmciit would have to be made in Section o of Article I — tlie Dccla- ratiiiu of Rijrhts — where it is provided that the Leirislature by a law passed by a two-thirds vote of all tiie members elected to each branch thereof, may change the constitutional provis- ion in regard to findings a verdict. I believe that is the lanfruage which was adopted in that section upon my own motion. Mr. HOVKY." I would like to ask one ques- tion. By a preceding section, it is provided that no law shall pass except by tlie vote of a majority of ail the members elected. Now, under this section as proposed to be amended by the gentleman from Nye, could they not pass a bill liy a two-thirds vote of those pres- ent, and Viy a less vote than a majority of all the memViers eitcted? Mr. DUNNE. I will answer the gentleman's question. If that amendment were adopted, the Constitution would read exactly in this way :— " If after such reconsideration it again pass both Houses by ayes aud noes, by a majority of two-thirds of thf members present and voting in eaeh House, it shall become a law, notwithstanding the Governor's objections." Mr. HOVEY. Would not that two-thirds require to be more than one-half of all the memliers elected ? Mr. DUNVE. No, sir. Mr. HAWLEY. Suppose a House were com- posed of sixty members ; then thirty-one mem- bers would constitute a quorum, and it would require thirty-one votes to pass a bill in tlie first place. Then, if tl)at bill should be vetoed, it would return to the House, and under this provision, it might pass over the Governor's veto, by receiving only twenty-two votes, in ca.se there were only a quorum present. I do not think it is necessary to say anytliing more than that, to defeat the proposition. It is in itself. I must say, so monstrous an absurdity. that it is only necessary to look at the matter in the light of a few figures, to secure its condemnation by the Convention. Mr. STUUTEVANT. I rise to a point of order. I am not very familiar with .Jefferson's Manual, but there is one thing which I think I recollect clearly, and that is. that when a prop- position is once made and lost, that is supposed to be the judgment of the House, and it is final. Now, my recollection is perfectly clear that this same motion was made. I think l)y myself, eome time ago. and in exactly the same lan- guage, atid it was then voted down. Tlie I'RE.SIDENT. The Ciiair has no recol- lection of such a motion in reference to this particular section ; but if the same motion had been made and voted down at a former stage, cither in Committee of the Whole or on the second reading, it would, ni-vertheless, be per- fectly competent to projiose it again at this stage. The point of order, therefore, is not well taken. Mr. PROCTOR. In regard to this proposi- tion being so monstrous, as the gentleman from Douglas (Mr. Hawley) supposes it to be. I will say that I regard the proposition made in the first place, requiring a two-thirds vote of all the members elected, as a greater monstrosity. The section as it originally stood, was emphat- ically monstrous ; and I would be in favor, rather than adopt it, of striking out all power wliatever to pass a law over the veto of the Governor, because this section, as it now stands, virtually deprives the Legislature of any such power. If we allow it to remain, the Govern- or and a few ab.sent or captious members can together keep the Legislature in ses.sion a whole year without enacting any laws what- ever. I think we might as well make a provis- ion that the Legislature shall pass no law at all. without the consent of the Governor. The question was taken on Mr. Proctor's amendment, and it was not agreed to. COMPEXSATIOX OF MEMBERS. Mr. BROSNAN called for the reading of Section 33. as enarossed. The SECRETARY again read the section. Mr. BROSNAN moved to amend Section 33 liy striking out the word " the " before the word " compensation," where the latter word occurs the second tim-', and inserting instead the word "'such." so as to read, " but no in- crease of such compensation shall take effect," etc. By unanimous consent the Secretary was instructed to make the amendment. Mr. McCLINTON. I will ask if there is any provision made here by which the mem- bers will receive mileage? The PRESIDENT. That is left to the Leg- islature to fix. It is contemplated, as I under- stand, that at the first session a law will be passed fixing the mileage for members of future Legislatures, and in the Mi.'^cellaneous Provis- ions, or Schedule, it is proposed to provide for the first Legisltiture. Mr. McCLINTON. Their incidental expenses are provided for in this section, but there is no provision for mileage. The PRESIDENT. Their compensation for services will incUnb? mileage, and that, as a matter of course, will be provided l)y law. THE HOMESTEAO. Mr. McCLINTON. Would it be in order, be- fore taking the vote on the final pas.sage of this article, to move to strike out Section 30? I am one of those who believe that tin; aggre- gate wisdom of this Territory is not bound up in this body. I know ther(! was a little wisdom remaining in Esmeralda when I left, and pos- sibly that may happen to lie sent to the first Legislature. I am opposed most emphatically to encumbering this instrument with special legislation. The PRESIDENT. The Chair is under the impression that at a former stage of our pro- 9tli day.] LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 315 Weduesdaj'.] NouiisE — President — McClixtox. [July 13. ceedings, since this article has been on its third reading, a motion was made and lost to strilvo ont thai section. If the Cliair is correct in that impression, the motion will not be in order. Mr. NOURSE. I think the Chair is not cor- rect. I made snch a suggestion, I l^now, and stated that I would he glad to see it stricken ont. but I do not think there was any formal motion made or acted upon. The PRESIDENT. The Secretary informs me that he tliiuks such a motion was made. Mr. McCLINTON. If the motion has not been made, I now make the motion. The PRE.SIDENT. The Secretary now in- forms me that upon examination he finds that he was mistaken, and that there has not been such a motion. Several gentleman objected to the proposed amendment. The PRESIDENT. The amendment being olijected to, can only be made by referring the article to a special committee, or to the Com- mittee of the Whole with instructions to strike out the section. Mr. McCLINTON. I move that the whole article be referred to a special committee of three, with instructions to strike out Section 30, and report immediately. The question was taken, and the motion was not agreed to. Article IV having been read a third time, as follows : — • ARTICLE rv. LEGI.SLATIVE DEPARTMENT. Section 1. Tlie Legislative aiithority of this State shall be vested in a Senate and Assembly, which shall be designated, " The Legislature of the State of Ne- vada," and the sessions of snch Legislatiare shall be held at the seat of Government of the State. Sec. 2. The sessions of the Legislature shall be biennial, and shall commence on the first Monday of January next ensuing the election of its members, "un- less the Governor of the State shall, in the interim, convene the Legislature by proclamatiou, except as hereinafter provided in this Constitution. Sec. 3. The members of the Assembly shall be cho- sen biennially, by the qualified electors of their re- spective districts, on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November, and their term of otfice shall be two years from the day next after their election. Sec. i. Senators shall be chosen at the same time and places as members of the Assembly, by the quaU- fled electors of their respective districts, and their term of office shall be four years from the day next after their election. Sec. 5. Senators and members of the Assembly shall be duly qualified electors in the resiiective counties and districts which they represent, and the number of Senators shall not be less than one-thii'd, nor more than one-half of that of the members of the Assembly. Sec. 6. Each House shall judge of the qtialiflca- tions, elections and returns of its own members, choose its o\vn officers, (except the President of the Senate), determine the rules of the i^roceedings, and maj- punish its members for disorderly conduct, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members elected, expel a member. Sec. 7. Either House, during the session, may pun- ish, by imjirisonment, any person not a member, who shall have been guilty of disrespect to the House by disorderly or contemptuous behavior in its iiresence ; but such imprisonment shall not extend beyond the final adjournment of the session. Sec. 8, No Senator or member of Assembly shall, during the term for which he shall have been cle<.'ted, nor f(u- one year tliereaflrr, be appointed to any civil office of iir.iiit niulfr this State which shall have been rrcaticl, or the < inolnments of which shall have been iucnascd dining such term, except such office as may be tilled by election by the people. Sec. y. No i)erson holding any lucrative office under the Government of the United States, or any other power, shall be eligible to any civil office of profit under the State ; provided, that Postmasters whose compensation does not exceed five hundred dollars per annum, or commissioners of deeds, shall not be deemed as holding a lucrative office. Sec. 10. Any person who shall be convicted of the embezzlement or defalcation of the pubUc funds of this State, or who may be convicted of having given or ottered a bribe to procure his election or apijoiut- ment to office, or received a bribe to aid in the pro- curement of office for any other person, shall be dis- quahfled from holding any office of ijrotit or trnst in this State ; and the Legislature shall, as soon as practica- ble, provide by law for the punishment of such defal- cation, bribery or embezzlement, as a felony. Sec. 11. Members of the Legislature shall be priv- ileged from arrest on civil process dtiring the session of the Legislature, and for fifteen days next before the commencement of each session. Sec. 12. ^\^len vacancies occur in either House, the Governor shall issue writs of election to fill such va- cancy. Sec. 13. A majority of all the members elected to each House shall constitute a quorum to transact busi- ness, but a smaller number may adjoiu-n from day to day, and may comxsel the attendance of absent mem- bers, in such manner and under such penalties as each House may prescribe. Sec. 11. Each House shall keep a journal of its own proceedings, which shall be published, and the ayes and noes of the members of either House on any question shall, at the desire of any three members present, be entered on the journal. Sec. 15. The doors of each House shall be kept open during its session, except the Senate while sitting in executive session, and neither shall, without the consent of other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which they may be holding their sessions. Sec. 16. Any bill may originate in either House of the Legislature, and ail bills passed by one may be amended in the other. Sec. 17. Each law enacted by the Legislature shall embrace but one subject and matter, in-operly con- nected therewith, which subject shall be briefly ex- pressed in the title ; and no law shall be revised or amended by reference to its title ; but. in such case, the act, as revised, or section, as amended, shall be re- enacted and pubhshed at length. Sec. 18. Every biU shall be read by sections on three several davs, in each House, unless, in case of emergency, two-thirds of the House where such bill mav be pending, shall deem it expedient to dispense \rit'h this rule : but the reading of a biU by sections, on its final passage, shall in no case be dispensed with, and the vote on the final passage of every bill, or joint resolution, shall be taken by ayes and noes, to bo en- tered on the journals of each House ; and a majority of all the members elected to each House, shall be necessary to pass every bOl, or joint resolution ; and allbillsor joint resolutions so passed, shall be signed by the presiding officers of the respective Houses. Sec. 19. No money shall be drawn from the treas- ury but in consequence of appropriations made by la\v. .AlU acciu-ate statement of the receipts and expendi- tiu-es of the pubhc money shall be attached to and published with the laws at every regular session of the Legislature. Sec. 20. The Legislature shall not pass local or spe- cial laws in any of the foUowing enumerated cases, that is to .say : Regulating the jurisdiction and duties of .Justices of the Peace and of Constables: for the punishment of crimes and misdemeanors; regulating the practice of courts of justice: providing for chang- ing the venue in civil and criminal cases; granting di- 316 LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. [9th cIpj. AVednesday,] NOURSE. [July 13. vorces; changing the names of persons; vacating roads, towii plots, streets, alleys, and public squares; sumiuouiut; uud enipauueling grand and petit juries, and i)rt)viding for their compensation; regulating county imd township business; regulating the election of county and towiiship otlicers; for the assessment and coUivtiou of taxes for State, county and township purposes: providing for ojjening and conducting elec- tions of State, county, or townshii> officers, and dcsig- natiuf,' tlic places of voting; nor ijrovidiug for the sale of real estate, belonging to minors or other persons laboring imder legal disabihties. Sec. 'Jl. In all cases enumerated in the preceding sections, and in all other cases where a general law can be made applicable, all laws shall be general, and of uniform operatiiui throughout the State. Sec. 2'J. Provision may be made by general law for bringing suit against the State as to all habilities orig- inating after the adoptiim of this Constitution. Sec. i-i. The enacting clause of every law shall be as follows: •• The people of the State of Nevada, repre- sented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: — " and uo law shall be enacted except by bUl. Sec. 24. No lottery shall be authorized by this Stat+>, nor shall the sale of lottery tickets be allowed. Sec. 25. The Legislature shall establish a system of county and township government, which shall be uni- form throughovit the State. Sec. 20. The Legislature shall provide for the elec- tion of a Board of County Commissioners, in each County, and the County Commissioners shall jointly and individually perform such duties as may be pre- scribed by law. Sec. 27. Laws shall be made to exclude from serv- ing on juries all persons not qualified electors of this State, and all persons who shall have been convicted of bribery, perjury, forgery, larceny or other high crimes, unless restored to civil rights : and laws shall be passed regulating elections, and prohibiting, under adequate i^enalties, all undue influence thereon, from power, bribery, tumult or other improper practice. Sec. 28. No money shall be drawn from the State treasury as salary or compensation to any officer or em- ployee of the Legislature, or either branch thereof, except in cases where such salary or compensation has been fixed by a law in force prior to the election or appointment of such officer or employee ; and the salary or compensation so fixed shaU neither be in- creased nor diminished so as to apply to any officer or employee of the Legislature, or either branch thereof, at such session; provkO-d, that this restriction shall not apply to the first session of the Legislature. Sec. 29. The first regular session of the Legislature under this Constitution may extend to ninety davs, but no subsequent regular session sliaU exceed sixty days, nor any special session convened by the Gover- nor exceed twenty days. Sec. 30. A homestead as pro\'ided bv law, shall be exempt Irom forced sale under anv process of law, and shall not be aUenated without the joint consent of hus- band and wife, when that relation exists; but no prop- erty shall be exemi)t from sales or taxes, or for the payment of obligations contracted for the purchase of said preiuLses, or for the erection of improvements thereon; proruUil, tli<> provisi<^ns of this section shall not apply to any process of law olitained by virtue of a lieu given by the consent of both husband and wife, and laws shall be enactt^d providing for the recording of such homestea taxation, shall press into their service all who are in their power, suborning all the voters they can ; and the other class, in favor of equal tax- ation, stiall be driven to the same course; so that money will be spent and squandered, and bribery practiced, in consequence of the action of this Convention, for the purpose of carrying one side or the other of this issue. Why should we leave this question in doubt for all future time? I ask if that is wise statesmanship, and sound legislation? I ask if it is in accordance with our sense of justice and right between man and man? It looks to me rather like a coward- ly ettbrt to escape from our just proportion of the Inirdens of society. Our forefathers, about the years 1774, 1775, and 177G, became terribly excited, and I think justly so, because on the part of the mother country there was a determination manifested to tax the colonies, without giving them the privilege of representation. Now, do you want to introduce here a system equally false, by providing that there shall be protection of law afforded to some, without support of law on their part? Do you mean to say that a hole in the ground has no value, and then say that if any person jumps it, you will allow the owner to appeal to the courts to protect that hole in the ground ? " No legal protection," is my doctrine, '• where there is no contribution to sustain legal authority." This is a question, it seems to me, which appeals to the reason and common sense of the Convention. For one, I would rather that my right hand were stricken from my side, than that I should knowingly be a party to the commission of an act of injustice towards any man, and esjjeeially towards that great class of the community whose labors tend to cheapen our produce. I say, if there is anything which should be exempted, it should be such intei'ests as conspire to give us potatoes for a cent and a half instead" of five or ten cents a pound, and wheat and oats and beans at less than one quarter, or at least, less than one half the prices they would command but for the existence of those interests. It is by virtue of future competition that our mines are to be worked hereafter at a cheap rate ; and just in proportion as you cheapen production, just in that proportion will the mines rise in value. Now, I had the honor to address the Conven- tion the other day in favor of aiding the Paci- fic Railroad ; and one of the strongest argu- ments I could urge in behalf of that great en- terprise was, that it would l)ring into play hun- dreds and millions of tons of quartz that are now worthless, and worse than dead on the hands of the miners, because they are in the way — that it was going to open up new fields of productive mines to the mining class, and give employment to thousands and tens of thous- ands of laboriug men. Now, do you say that it would be unjust to tax the mining interest to pay the interest on those railroad bonds? Would you exact it all from the farmers whose property, to a certain extent at least, is to be depreciated by the railroad ? Would you exact it from the farmer and give it to the miner, whose interest is to be augmented by the rail- road? Would that be right and just? Would it be acting as one man would have another man act towards him? I feel, while standing before this Convention, the same power press- ing upon me to do justice to my fellow-men, that I do in my individual capacity, in the pri- vate walks of life, and I hope no power will ever drive me from that path which has been marked out for me to jiursue. I have occupied a great amount of time al- ready on this question, and at present will say no more. I only desire that every member shall act as though he himself were the party in interest. The only way liy which we can hope to secure an efficient State Government, is to unite as one body, having one common interest, and one common destiny, and let each one of us do everything he can to promote the common object, for the support of that State Government. Mr. MASi )N. This question has been so ex- tensively discTissed that I have got about into the position of that Dutch Justice of rather dull comprehension, who thought he could de- cide the case after hearing one side, but after hearing the other side, found he could not de- cide it at all. There has been a doubt express- ed as to whether we have a right to tax the mines at all. under the Enabling Act, and it has been urged that if the farms can be taxed as 328 TAXATION. [10th day, Thursday,] Stcktevaxt — Mason. [July 14. property, then the mines can just as legally be taxed as property, under the Enabling Act. That act says that the property of the United Stiites shall not be taxed, and therefore, by incorporating this Article X, as it is now print- ed into our Constitution, we should be adopt- ing only a nullity and a dead letter, under our Enabling Act. I hope therefore that the amend- ment as introduced l)y the gentleman from Sto- rey (Mr. Tozer) will prevail. I consider that it IS long enough and broad enough to cover the whole ground, and I do not want the shafts and bolts of malice to be thrown at that class of peo])le whom I represent especially and par- ticularly. Now, my friends from the " cow- counties."' as they are called, would not like to Lave those words expunged, and the words '• including farms and farming property " in- serted. .Mr. STURTEVANT. I should have no ob- jection at all to using those words. Mr. iIA80N. I say they would not like to have the words " mines and mining property " expunged and another clause substituted, to wit : •• farms and farming property." Mr. STURTEVANT. 1 should have no ob- jecion to specifying both — none whatever. Mr. ^lASON. Then, of course, the gentle- man will vote for the amendment of the gentle- man tVom Storey (Mr. Tozer.) I am satisfied he will, and I am much obliged for the expres- sion of his sentiments. Now, the way that sec- tion reads as he proposes to amend it, I think no man at all conversant with the subject will deny that it covers the whole ground. It says : — Section 1. The Legislature shall provide by law for a uniform and equal rate of taxation, and .'^Iiail pre- scribe such regulations as shall secure a just valuation for taxation of all i^roxjerty, both real and personal, excepting such properly only as may be exemjited by law for luuniripal, educational, literary, scieutific, re- ligious, or charitable purposes. Now, I consider that that covers the whole ground, and your Constitution will then go be- fore the miners, and ))efore the people of the Territiu'v. without any odious distinction — with- out alfording any opportunity for any class of persons to say that this Convention took par- ticular pains to throw their bolts of wrath at them. We, the miners, have as good a right to be considered as the head and front of this Territory as the farmer-; themselves have. Look at the argunu'uts they use, sir. Who de- veloped the resources of the country? What were the farms of the Carson and Washoe val- leys worth until the miners developed their claims ami built up a State in five years ; a thing unparalleled in the history of the world? Is there any taxable pro])crty in this State out- side of the mines? Do the mines of Esmeralda produce no property out.side of the mines them- selves ? Yes, sir. And is not that property a source of revenue? Why, sir, seven-eighths of our taxable jiroperty at the jjresent turn', is ill connection with the niines. and in the capi- tal employed in their development. Sir, it is impo.ssible for the most fervid imagination to conceive the vast amount of wealth existing in this Territory. Go into the counties of Nye and Lander and Humboldt. Why, sir, you find your Ophir and your other mines in Virginia, would be looked upon there as insignificant, in comparison with the vast amount of wealth ex- isting in those regions of the Territory. Take it from Amador eastward — the coast is clear, I believe, though the gentleman Irom Amador (Mr. Warwick) is somewhere in the house — there is Austin, and Big Creek, and lone, and Union District, and Lamartiue District, and Kentucky, and San Antonio, and all those dis- tricts, which will vie. I believe, with Virginia in the course of the next five years. I have said that I do not profess to be a prophet, but I have a perfect right to prophesy, nevertheless, and I say that in five years from now, when the disturbances which now agitate the public mind shall have ceased, when peace with her halcyon beams shall be restored to bless us, when we shall have become a part of the great Federal compact, when' the currency of the United States shall be the capital em- ployed in our midst, and shall be equally as valuable here as it is in the East, when we do not set up as a standard of value that which is only an article of speculation in the eastern portion of the United States, when we shall have a National currency as a basis, when we can speculate because we shall have the article among us to speculate upon — I say, when that time shall come, the history of the world has never produced, and can never produce, a par- allel to the wealth which this Territory will be in possession of. Now, sir, I maintain that those who develop the rich mines of this Territory, are entitled to equal consideration with the farmers, who be- come rich on the products raised from the soil and exchanged for the bullion of the miners. I know our interests are identical. I heartily concur with the gentleman from Storey (Mr. Collins) that we are not independent of each other, but must work together harmoniously, for the promotion of each others' good. We want your potatoes and cabbages, and you want our bullion ; and although we frown a little at the prices we have to pay for your cabbages, yet you smile when yott receive and pocket the compensation. But do not in yotir hearts hold wrath towards us. Be generous. Place us on an equality with yourselves ; that is all we ask. Leave it to the Legislature to say how all property, both real and personal, shall be taxed equally. But you want to in- corporate a clause here designed for the miners particularly. I tell you if you do that, they will look upon this instrument, when it shall be presented to them, as the illegitimate offspring of a corrupt political body, and a miscarriage at that. It will be one of those peculiar cases of miscarriage, too, that always produces death to the body suffering it. Now, sir, I am anxious that Nevada shall be a State. I am anxious that she shall be one of 10th day.] TAXATION. 329 Thursday.] NouRSE — Johnson. [July 14. the stars in that grand Confederation of ours. I am satisfied that this Union will be reestab- lished, though the Carolinas should become a forest of creaking gibbets, though vultures should gorge themselves upon the hanging skel- etons of traitors, and though smoke and cin- ders should cloud the skies of the once sunny South. I say it were even better that seven millions of tyrants should be ground under the chariot-wheels of conquering freedom, than that succeeding generations should be placed within the grasp of despotism. [Applause.] And we will be the golden star of that Confeder- acy. We have the gold — all we want of it. If we had the Pacific Railroad now — if this war should cease — with the capital of the eastern States, which is there in aVnmdance, to develop our vast resources — why, sir, we would rise higher in the estimation of the world than it is possible for the most exalted imagination to conceive. Now, I hope and trust that the pro- posed expunging of those few words, in accord- ance with the amendment of my friend from Storey. (Mr. Tozer,) will prevail. It will settle the whole matter satisfactorily to the miners. They will see that they are not to be the exclu- sive objects of indignation and wrath, and I tell you we will pay just as big prices for your pota- toes and cabbages as we can aftbrd. Mr. NOURSE. I wish to state a few reasons why I am not satisfied with the section as it would stand after striking out the words, '• mines and mining propert}\'' It would then leave it to read that all property, I'eal and personal, should be taxed. That is all right. But the point has been well made that, under a similar provision in the California Constitution, mines are not taxed in that State ; that the Calllurnia Legislature, through a series of years, has reso- lut(;ly refused to tax them. The gentleman on my right from Storey (Mr. DeLong) has main- tained, as a lawyer, that under that wording, the Legislatui'e need not — and I presume he means they cannot — tax the mines. Now, it is of no consequence that the President of the Convention thinks otherwise — an opinion which the gentleman from Storey (Mr. Fitch) drew fi'om him with so much art and with such an air of triumph. That is the very point, the very objection to the section as it will be left, that while the gentleman from Ormsby (Mr. John- son) thinks that under it, the mines may be taxed, the gentleman from Storey (Mr. DeLong) thinks that under it, the mines may not be taxed. Mr. JOHNSON. I think I have enunciated distinctly the proposition that under this En- abling Act, the Legislature would not have the power to tax the mines, as the property of the Federal Government, but that in the former Convention, before the Enabling Act was passed, I felt satisfied they had that power. Since the passage of the Enabling Act, how- ever, containing inhibitory language, I do not think they could do it. Mr. NOURSE. Then my point is stronger still, for gentlemen on both sides think that un- der .such a provision, the mines cannot be taxed. Now, I start out witli the proposition that if the mines cannot be taxed, we cannot run the State Government. The snrti\ce property alone, with any reasonably conceivable increase, cannot carry it on. Now, can there really be any di- versity of interests between the mining coun- ties and the so-called " cow counties? " What, in this connection, my constituents expect from me, I do not know, having been nominated without my knowledge or consent, and elected in my absence, (and they came very near de- feating me,) but I consider that I am not here to advocate only their peculiar interests, with- out regard to the peculiar rights and interests of others ; but I am here as a member of a Con- vention to form a Constitution for the whole State, and to do that which will be really just towards all, as the gentleman from Storey (Mr. Collins) has stated his position to be. Now, can it be right, simply because a particular in- terest is dominant — simply because it has the most wealth — that it should be exempted from taxation? Can it be right, because the mining interest of the Territory is that interest without which there would be nothing else, perhaps, in the Territory, that therefore that interest should be exempt fi'om taxation ? Upon the same ground, you might exempt the shipping inter- est in Maine, the commercial interest in Massa- chusetts, or the farming interest in the western States. We know that the farming interest builds up cities, just as the mining interest does — that it creates property, just as the commercial interest in Massachusetts creates property ; and yet those interests do not come forward and ask for exemption. Theyrecog- nize at once the doctrine that they, like all others, must bear their share of the burdens of the Government, simply because they receive their full share of the benefits of the Govern- ment. Now. it cannot be that the " cow counties " are to be helped by any course that will injure the mines. It cannot be that any representa- tive of the agricultural interests desires, for the benefit of his particular county, to strike a blow at the prosperity of the mines. No man can be so foolish as that, because that would be striking a blow at the market for his products, and thus it would recoil upon himself It is not because the representatives of the agricul- tural interests desire to set up independently for themselves, that they want the mines taxed ; but because they want even-handed justice. They want a course pursued by which it will be possible— for it will be hard enough, any how— to carry on a State Government, under the Constitution which we frame. Now, if this clause should be amended, as proposed to be amended by the gentleman from Storey, (Mr. Tozer,) it would simply provide for taxing real and personal property. These min- ing claims would seem to be included in that phrase, " real and personal property," or to be 330 TAXATION. [10th day,. Thursday,] Sturtevant — DeLong — Noukse. [July 14. neither real nor personal property. But careful conveyancers have used the terms, " real, per- sonal.'and mixed,"' so as to include all kinds of property, and it is contended thatmiding claims are simply possessory rights. Now,1)y the amend- ment proposed by the gentleman from Ormsby. (Mr. Johnson.) this question is put at rest for- ever in our organic law. which would be left otherwise still open and undetermined, so that those possessory rights, which are as valuable as any other rights of property, shall be taxed. Ami why sliould not we have the right to tax a man who has the privilege of taking out ore? Why not tax that man as well as to tax a toll- road ? The man who builds a toll-road to Lake Talioe. for instance, would have no right to sell the land over which it passes. He does not own the property. Yet, who doubts the right of a State to tax that toll-road ? What man says that toll-roads should be taxed only on their net proceeds? But why not? I can see no more reason ibr taxing the right in one case than in the other. Now, sir, the argument against taxing the mines according to their cash value, has lost much force, even to the unreflecting portion of the community, since the last Constitution was framed. There was then a speculative move- ment in the country, which has now, thank God. gone down. It was an argument then put forward, that it would not do to tax the mines on their speculative value, because that would prevent their development. I think there is not nuich speculative value left in them now. I guess they have got to the bed-rock, and I think there is not much danger that those spec- ulative mines will be taxed at a higher rate than they ought to be. But was that ever a good argument? Was it a good one last year? Does this Territory need more prospecting ? Is that what it wants? Does it need that pros- pecting shall be encouraged l)y exemption from taxation? Is not what we want, rather, the di'velopment of the thousand and one mines already discovered? Is not that what is re- quired, rather than encouraging the '■ poor miner" in seeking for new ledges, when we have not the hundredth part of the capital necessary to work the ledges which have been already discovered? Now, as the matter stands at present, there is not even a diversity of opinion, for gentlemen on both sides believe that if these words •• miners and milling property"' are stricken out, the Legislature would have no ])ower to tax the mines. How does it leave us then? It l(>aves us with only the surface pro])erty. upon which to carry on the State Government. Now. in addition to the argument of the gentleman from Ornisljy, (Mr. Johnson,) founded on the En- aliling Act— the argument which satisfies tin; gentleman from Storey, (Mr. DeLong.) that the mines cannot be taxed because they are the luopiM'ty of the Federal Government— we have till- argumi-nt to be presented to the Legisla- tiinire, and to the courts, that this Convenlion did not intend to tax the mines, even if it shall be decided by the Convention — and possibly it may not be so decided — to omit those words. There being a doubt in respect to the language, and reference being had to the reported Pro- ceedings of the Convention, to see with what view the language employed was adopted, it is found that while the words "mines and mining property " were included in the original Con- stitution adopted by the former Convention and taken by us for our basis, in going over the work of that former Convention and fram- ing it to suit ourselves, we have struck those words out. leaving it in every other respect the same as we found it. Is there not thereby a strong argument afforded, to show that this Convention intended not to tax the mines? So it seems to me. If, therefore, those words are not stricken out. or if the amendment of the gentleman from Ormsby (Mr. Johnson) is not adopted instead, we are surely adopting a Con- stitution with a provision, in effect, that the mines are not to be taxed. That conclusion seems to me to be inevitable. Mr. STURTEVANT. There is one point which I would like to hear explained, and that is, the term •' real property." Is real property a perfect title ? Mr. DeLONG. It is immovable property, xinything which you cannot move around with you is real property ; it is something which is really there. Mr. NOURSE. I have already suggested my views upon that subject, but I will give them more fully. The mere possessory title to lands of the United States, considered as the right of possession, is not real property. Our courts recognize it as evidence ti'om which to presume a grant, when the question of the ownership of the United States is not raised ; but considered in its true light, as a mere right of possession, I think that every lawyer will agree with me that it is nothing more than a chattel real, and is not real property at all. The United States Enabling Act prohibits the taxing of the land, as land, or as the land of the United States — and, the United States having the fee in it, if that question is raised, in a tax suit, and it is shown that the land has been taxed as real projierty, and it is shown also that the fee is in tlie United States — I think all lawyers will agree with me that not only the mines, but also the farms which are in that condition, would be exempt from taxation. But when it is taxed as the right to possession of real property, recognized by our statutes and judicial decis- ions, then that right of possession to real prop- erty, of which the United States owns the fee, is taxal)le as much as any other description of property. Therefore it is, that I favor the amendment of the gentleman from Ormsby, (Mr. Johnson,) which provides not only for tax- ing real ])ro])erty, and personal j)roperty. but also tlie property which jtartalves of the nature of lioth. or •• mixed," as it is sometimes termed, like chattels real — the possessory rights which 10th day.] TAXATION. 331 Thursday,] Warwick — Nourse. [July 14. are so familiar to us all here — those rights to the ijossession of ledges, farms, and all that. It is provided by this amendment, that they may be taxed ; whereas the amendment of the gentleman from Storey (Mr. Tozer) makes no such provision. Now, it seems to me that leav- ing this clause without such a provision — with- out any provision for taxing this property, or these rights of possession — is going to deprive us of the right to tax, not merely our mines, but even our farms. It seems to me that il would exclude from taxation all but a small fraction of the lauds in our State. There would perhaps be no land subject to taxation, except that lor which a patent has been issued l^y the United States Government, so that taxes can be a.ssessed upon it. Unless the amendment of the gentleman from Ormsby shall be adopted, it will leave us with scarcely anything in the world to tax, and that is without reference to the mines at all. We shall have no taxable farms, or anything else, there being here such a large class of property consisting merely of possessory rights. I do earnestly hope that the amendment will be adopted, so that all this property, of whatever description, shall be uniformly and equallv taxed. :\Ir. WAKWICK. 1 hope, for one, Mr. Chair- man, that the amendment ottered by the gen- tleman from Ormsby (Mr. Johnson) will not carry. There is probably no question in the administration of government that has occupied the attention of statesmen so much as the very delicate cpiestion of taxation. That the gov- ernment must be supported, is a self-apparent fact ; and that means must be provided for its support, is also self-evident. But how to pro- vide those means, as I said before, has been a question which has exercised the wisdom of the greatest statesmen, for all time past. In the productions of every country, it has been found absolutely necessary, in some cases, to discrim- inate — to encourage some by bounties and benefits, whilst others are most heavily taxed. It always has been the policy of the United States, that those things which are articles of ne- cessity, or the production of which is extraordi- narily hazardous or difiBcult, should be encour- aged by extraordinary bounties : while other things, easy of production, are considered ca- pable of bearing a heavj% and sometimes an onerous tax. The gentleman from Washoe (Mr. Nourse) alluded to the State of Massachu- setts. Now, if he is cognizant of the affairs of that State, he is dotibtless aware of the fact that large bounties are paid to encourage the fislieries there. Why ? Because they produce a species of taxaVjle property from the deep, a place where it could not otherwise be taxed, but when produced, it becomes a legitimate subject of taxation. That is the very point which we ought here especially to consider. Now, the gentleman from Washoe rises, as others did before him. and speaks as if the nnnes were not taxed. Sir, they are taxed, from the first pick that strikes the ground, and the powder that opens the rocky seam, to the ore after its production, and the bar when it is run into silver, and the property that accumu- hites from that basis. There is not one article, from the moment you open the mine, up to the moment you produce the ore, and to the time when that ore is distri))uted to the four winds by its owners, but it is taxed, in some shape or other. The question that divides the Conven- tion at present is, the policy of taxing those mines, and of taxing them too, if I may be al- lowed to use the expression, in their crude state. A company is formed, and, upon paper, their capital is stated to be one million of dol- lars ; are they to be taxed on that amount? Now, sir, I represent a mining county, and I have its interests very closely at heart ; the more so, perhaps, for the reason that if this ])roposition should carry, I should be one of the victims of the injustice of this mode of tax- ation ; and I will briefly tell you why. With a very excellent prospect of success, in company with a number of other individuals, on the twentieth day of last December. I commenced running a tunnel in the town of Amador. I worked my mine night and day for six months — from the twentieth day of December to the twenty-third day of June — at an outlay of over twenty-two thousand dollars, from which I have never yet realized a return of one cent. The capital of the company is represented at sev- eral hundred thousand dollars. Now, there may come a time when that claim can afford to contribute to the support of the Government, and then it will be a legitimate subject of tax- ation. But what would be the result, if the project encouraged by some gentlemen oji this tioor were to carry ? Why, sir, the result would be, that that company, disheartened by past ill success, instead of endeavoring to resuscitate, and to drive on their work, would feel them- selves crushed to the earth ; and then what be- comes of your taxable property ? Suppose you sell us out under the hammer of the sheriff, what do you gain by it? Why, sir, you get nothing birt a barren rock. If you were to sell us out to-day, at sheriff's sale, that mine itself, with all its valuable improvements, costing twenty-two thousand dollars, expended in the labor of six months past — the whole thing to- gether, I say, upon which has been expended over twenty thousand dollars, would not bring five hundred dollars. Mr. NOURSE. Will the gentleman allow me Lo ask him a question ? I know of two quartz mills in Washoe County, which are nearly done, but are not yet ready to earn a dollar ; yet they are taxed at just about their cost. Now, is it any harder for these men whom the gentle- man speaks of, to be taxed on their mine at its cash value, prior to reaching the rich rock, than it is for the owner of these quartz mills to be taxed on them prior to their earning any- thing ? Mr. WARWICK. Certainly it is, and I will tell you why. 332 TAXATION. [10th day. Thursday,] NouKSE — Warwick — Johnson. [July 14. Mr. NOURSE. I would like to have you tell me. Mr. WARAVICK. There are none so blind as tho^e who will not see. Now, I will tell you why it wtiuld be injustice to tax a mine which is yet undevelopt'd. although you can at the san'ie time tax a mill which is nearly finished, with the greatest propriety. We will suppose that this mill could be completed so as to get to work iu thirty days. Undoubtedly a mill- man would not start without knowing that he can get a sutHcient amount of ore to crush, for milling is conducted now on the same kind of business calculations as the transactions of merchants, and though they are not always suc- cessful, yet when they are well conducted, they are generally successful. Mr. NOUKSE [interrupting.] Are not many mills out of employment now? Are they not thri)\vu out of emplovnient for want of ore? Mr. WARWICK. I do not know. As to first- class mills — I can only speak for Lander County in that respect — there is not one mill within the i)recincts of that county of a character fit to extract the silver from the ore but can have work, night and day, crushing ore worth from seventy-five to one hundred dollars a ton. No. sir ! and if there were ten times as many mills as there are in that county, there would not be one of them renntining quiet, night or day, for want of ore to crush ; and the miners would willingly jiay them remunerative prices for crushing, for we have mines which I believe, before God, will pay richly for hundreds of years to come. Now if, after these mines begin to pay, they would escape taxation, then the ])eople of the agricultural counties might justly find fault with the language of the article which we propose to incorporate in the Constitution of the com- ing State. But it is not a fact that they escape now ; in no wise do they escape. Every article they use is taxed, and every article they pro- duce is taxed. It is only a question of policy now— whetlier you will ;illow them to develop themselves, or crush them out before the chance for their develoj)nient comes. Take the seed whicli produces tlie giant pine that grows in the State of California — that wonder of the world, which attracts visitors from every part of the earth, and has elicited exclamations of asttiuislunent from men of ahnost every nation an