powers and be liable to all the duties herein given to and imposed upon the chairman of the board of supervisors.

Disobedience of subpæna.

SEC. 31. Whenever any person duly subpoenaed to appear and give evidence, or to produce any books and papers, as herein provided, shall neglect or refuse to appear, or to produce such books and papers, as required by such subpoena, or shall refuse to testify before such board or committee, or to answer any questions which a majority thereof shall decide to be proper and pertinent, he shall be deemed in contempt, and it shall be the duty of the chairman of the board, or of the committee, as the case may be, to report the fact to the judge of the superior court of the county, or of the city and county, who shall thereupon issue an attachment in the form usual in the court of which he shall be judge, directed to the sheriff of the county where such witness was required to appear and testify, commanding the said sheriff to attach such person, and forthwith bring him before the judge by whose order such attachment was issued.

Proceedings on attachment.

SEC. 32. On the return of the attachment and the production of the body of the defendant, the said judge shall have jurisdiction of the matter, and the person charged may purge himself of the contempt in the same way, and the same proceedings shall be had, and the same penalties may be imposed, and the same punishment inflicted as in case of a witness subpoenaed to appear and give evidence on the trial of a civil cause before a superior court.

Power to punish for contempt was given to supervisors by section 4047 Political Code, and 4068 contained provisions substantially the same as sections 31 and 32 of the present act by making sections 1985-1997, Code of Civil Procedure, applicable.

Witness not to be prepaid.

SEC. 33. The witnesses summoned to testify on behalf of the county in matters of public concern before the board of supervisors are not entitled to have their fees prepaid; but the board must allow them the reasonable expenses of their attendance. Political Code, section 4069.

The great register.

SEC. 34. The board must provide printed copies of the great register, poll lists, poll books, blank returns and certificates, proclamations of elections, and other appropriate and necessary appliances for holding all elections in the county, and allow reasonable charges therefor, and for the transmission and return of the same to the proper officers. Political Code, section 4064.

In Frandzen v. County of San Diego, 101 Cal. 318, it is held that the county clerk had no authority under subdivision 23 of section 25, nor under section 34 of the act of 1891 [Stats. p. 305], to contract for the printing of the great register. Section 1115 of Political Code directs that "within fifteen days after making such lists (of voters), the clerk must have printed a sufficient number of copies thereof," etc., and section 1116 directs the clerk to distribute them; but section 34 of the county government act directs that the supervisors "must provide printed copies * * * and allow reasonable charges therefor, and for transmission and return of same to the proper officers." And it was held not material whether the printing of the great register should be classed as "job printing" under subdivision 23, of section 25, (subdivision 21 of present act). County elections were formerly

biennial, and are now quadriennial, and it could not be necessary to "fix the price" of printing the great register "annually." The cases of Journal Publishing Co. v. Whitney, 97 Cal. 283, and Maxwell v. Supervisors, 32 Pac. Rep. (not in California Reports), relative to county printing, are cited. See notes to subdivision 21 of section 25 of this act, ante. Canvass of elections.

SEC. 35. Whenever, as canvassers, the board of supervisors have declared the result of an election held in the county, certificates must be, by the county clerk, issued to all persons elected to a county, township, or district office therein, and such other certificates must be made out and transmitted as required by law.

Section 1284 Political Code.

"No declaration of the result, commission, or certificate must be withheld on account of any defect or informality in the return of any election, if it can, with reasonable certainty, be ascertained from such return what office is intended and who is elected thereto." Political Code section 1297.

"The board must declare elected the person having the highest number of votes given for each office to be filled by the votes of a single county or subdivision thereof." Political Code section 1283.

The person receiving the second highest number of votes is not elected even though the one receiving the highest number is ineligible to the office. Crawford v. Dunbar, 52 Cal. 41.

The certificate is prima facie but not con

clusive nor sole evidence of election. People v. Jones, 20 Cal. 50; McGee v. Board of Supervisors, 10 Cal. 376.

If certificate is lost or destroyed contents may be proved by secondary evidence. People v. Clingan, 5 Cal. 389.

Separate certificate is not required for ex officio office. People v. Kelsey, 34 Cal. 470. The certificate is the only notice provided for, and from its receipt the ten days' time for qualifying begins to run. People v. Perkins, 85 Cal. 509; People v. Taylor, 57 Cal. 620.

Debts not to exceed revenue.

SEC. 36. The board must not, for any purpose, contract debts or liabilities, in any manner or for any purpose, which exceed in any fiscal year the income and revenue provided for such year, except as permitted by the constitution. It shall be the duty of the auditor, at the commencement of each regular session of the board, to lay before it a statement prepared by him of the aggregate amount of allowance against each fund, and of salaries and liabilities fixed by law, paid or payable therefrom since the beginning of the fiscal year, together with a statement of receipts of each fund for that portion of the year already elapsed, and an exact estimate of the revenue for the remainder of the year apportioned to the different funds, based upon the receipts for the corresponding portion of the preceding year. Whenever the board shall have levied the state and county tax for the fiscal year, the auditor's estimates for the remainder of the year shall, as to receipts from property tax, be based upon the assessment roll and tax levy, deducting ten per cent. for the anticipated delinquencies. The board shall have no power to make allowances against any funds which, with all allowances previously made, and salaries and liabilities fixed by law payable

therefrom, shall exceed the auditor's estimate of revenue for the year, or such proportion thereof as the time already elapsed shall bear to the entire year. Any allowance made contrary to the provisions of this section shall be null and void, and the auditor shall not draw his warrant therefor, nor the treasurer pay the same. When several allowances are made on the same day, they shall be deemed to have been made in the order in which they are entered in the "Allowance Book," and shall be certified in that order by the auditor.

Section 18 of article XI of the constitution provides that "no county, city, town, township, board of education, or school district shall incur any indebtedness or liability, in any manner, or for any purpose, exceeding in any year the income and revenue provided for it for such year without the assent of twothirds of the qualified electors thereof, voting at an election to be held for that purpose, nor unless, before or at the time of incurring such indebtedness, provision shall be made for the collection of an annual tax sufficient to pay the interest on such indebtedness as it falls due, and also provision to constitute a sinking fund for the payment of the principal thereof on or before maturity, which shall not exceed forty years from the time of contracting the same. Any indebtedness or liability incurred contrary to this provision shall be void." The foregoing is the amended section of 1892. The original section required the indebtedness to mature within twenty instead of forty years.

Section 36 of the previous county government acts, [Stats. 1883 p. 311; 1891 p. 309;