public buildings, protecting the public health, etc.,1 or when acting as the agent of the state,2 unless the city charter or the state law, as the case may be, makes the city liable for the damage.3

We are now in a position to understand a very vital distinction between municipal and quasi corporations, which will further aid us in understanding the relations between a city and the state. A quasi corporation has no municipal affairs, but acts as the agent of the state in everything that it does. This could not be otherwise because no quasi corporation has an existence separate from the state. Every such public corporation is a part of the state from every point of view. From the point of view of its municipal

1 45 Cal. 36; 51 Cal. 52; 61 Cal. 271; 115 Cal. 648.

2 63 Cal. 13.

3 The law permits cities or counties to be sued for injuries to property done or caused by mobs or riots.

The courts of our various states uniformly hold that cities are liable for injuries to persons or property that result from errors or negligence on the part of its officers or agents when managing municipal business enterprises. The courts are also uniform in holding that cities are not liable for injuries growing out of errors or negligence on the part of its officers or agents when looking after state affairs. But this uniformity disappears when injuries arise in connection with the management of the general municipal affairs of a city. In California, unlike the practice in most states, cities are not liable for injuries sustained through defective streets, street work, building operations, or through accidents that occur in connection with the work of the fire or the health department.

4 To be sure, the common wants that give rise to the formation of irrigation districts, sanitary districts, etc., as well as many of the wants and interests of every county, are local in character; but they are practically the same in every neighborhood, or county, in the state, and thus each kind of quasi corporation may be and is governed by the same general law. A quasi corporation acts as the agent of the state, not because everything that it does is of state-wide importance, but because in everything that it does it is governed by, or acts under the authority of, general state law. No special law applies to it, and it has no true charter.

5 It follows that no quasi corporations may be sued except in so far as the state law permits. In general the law permits them to be sued if necessary to compel them to fulfill their contracts, provided the contracts relate to transactions that are authorized by law. If, under any kind of contract or agreement, one should work for, sell material to, or lend money to, any public corporation-quasi or municipal

affairs a city is a political organism separate and distinct from the state, for in respect to these matters its charter, if a freeholders' charter, has the power to set aside state law in case of a conflict; but from the point of view of its affairs which are of state-wide importance it is a part of the state, and is governed by its charter in respect to these matters only in so far as the charter is in harmony with state law.

81. The Relation of Cities to the Counties in which they are Located. There is no direct political relation between a city as a corporation and the county in which it is located. The city and the county do their work each independent of the other. Before a community incorporates, the county has charge of its local affairs. When it incorporates, it assumes control of these matters, and, in addition, becomes the agent of the state in attending to certain other matters which were previously attended to by the county. Thus in some respects the community on incorporating is subtracted from the county. But in other respects the county, although it has nothing to do with the city as a corporation, continues to serve the people of the city the same as before incorporation.

The following county officers in their work must in greater or less degree take notice of city boundary lines: the supervisors, sheriff, surveyor, superintendent of schools, members of the county board of education, county health officer, and the recorder. The same is true of township justices of the peace and constables. The other county officers serve the people of the entire county irrespective of city boundaries.

for some purpose not clearly authorized by law or charter, he could not recover payment from the corporation. See 62 Cal. 641; 105 Cal. 151.

The supervisors sustain the greatest loss of power in a community when it incorporates. We have seen that they have more discretionary power than other officers; that is, that they have authority to do many things which they are not compelled to do. This makes it possible for them to apply the general state law to the local needs of their county, and to this end they are authorized to pass county ordinances. Thus the supervisors, more than other county officers, are intrusted with the duty of caring for local wants and interests. But when a community incorporates, it assumes control of its own local affairs, and the authority of the supervisors relative thereto ceases. For example, a city has charge of its own highways, of public sanitation within its borders, and to its legislative council is intrusted the general police power which in unincorporated communities is exercised by the board of supervisors. The result is that practically no county ordinances, except those imposing county and school taxes, and those relative to conducting general elections, have any force within city limits.

The county sheriff does two kinds of work: he is the executive officer of the superior court and also the county peace officer. As executive officer of the court his authority is in no way affected by city boundary lines, for he must serve attachments, executions, warrants, and other orders of the court in all parts of the county. As regards his duty as peace officer the case is somewhat different. The maintenance of peace in cities involves the enforcement of state law and city ordinances. The sheriff pays no attention to the enforcement of city ordinances; that is left to the city or town marshal, or the police. It is the duty of these municipal officers also to enforce state laws within city limits, but if they fail at any time to do this it is the duty of the sheriff to interfere. He seldom finds it necessary to interfere in any city that has a well-regulated police force.

The jurisdiction of township courts within city limits varies. In some cities they have no jurisdiction over criminal cases; while in others they have concurrent jurisdiction with municipal courts over petty criminal cases (misdemeanors) which arise under state law. They nowhere have jurisdiction over cases arising under city ordinances, except by express provision of city charters (§ 204). Constables execute orders of township and other courts irrespective of city boundaries. They are also peace officers, with power to arrest

any person who is suspected of having broken any state law or county ordinance. They have no authority to enforce city ordinances, and, like the county sheriff, they usually take no part in enforcing state law in cities which have adequate police protection.

It will be remembered that the county surveyor is the county engineer, and that he makes surveys by order of the supervisors or the superior court, or on the request of private individuals who pay the required fees. As county engineer or as surveyor for the supervisors he is almost never called upon for service inside of city limits;1 but city boundaries make no difference to him in his capacity as surveyor for the superior court or for individuals.

City boundary lines make very little difference to the county superintendent of schools. About the only difference is that he is not required to approve the plans for school buildings to be erected in cities having boards of education.2 In such cities also the local boards of education prepare courses of study for the schools, and grant diplomas of graduation to those who have completed the work of the grammar schools; whereas these matters are looked after by the county board of education for other parts of the county.

The county health officer has no authority whatever in cities. We have seen that the recorder, in addition to keeping a record of deeds and other papers, keeps a record of births and deaths and issues burial permits. In every city, burial permits are issued by the local health officer or clerk, and in every city having a freeholders' charter births and deaths are recorded by the health officer rather than the county recorder.

82. Consolidated Cities and Counties. A consolidated city and county is a single public corporation which does the ordinary work of a city, and, in addition, does for its people and the state at large the work which a county ordinarily does within city limits. San Francisco is our only consolidated city and county. It is a municipal corporation governed by its charter; but, inasmuch as it attends to a

1 Of course he might do work for the county inside of a city, as, for example, ir connection with the construction of county buildings.

2 That is, cities using fifth class and freeholders' charters.

larger number of matters of state-wide importance than does an ordinary municipal corporation, more of its officers in the discharge of their duties are guided by state law than in any other city. The officers of such a corporation must consist of the usual city officers, and as many from the county official list as are necessary to do the added county work.1

If we think of the government of San Francisco as formed by combining the government of a California county with that of a city, it will be seen that, when feasible, offices and boards have been consolidated. The board of supervisors and the city council have been merged into one "board of supervisors." The city and county have one board of education, one assessor, one tax collector, one treasurer, one auditor, one superintendent of schools, one engineer, and one health officer. In each of these cases corresponding county and city offices have been combined. But, on the other hand, there are both a justices' court and a police court; a county clerk and a clerk of the board of supervisors, who is really a city clerk; a district attorney and a city attorney; a sheriff and a chief of police. Of this group, however, those which are taken from the county list have their duties considerably modified. Thus the criminal jurisdiction of the justices' court is transferred to the police court; the county clerk does little except to act as clerk of the superior court; the district attorney gives his entire time to the prosecution of persons accused of crime; and the sheriff's duty consists mainly in acting as executive officer of the superior court. Other officers from the county list are added, who exercise in San Fran

1 These latter are provided for in the charter, but their duties are in the main left to general state law.