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Townsend,

ABOLISHING THE OFFICE OF LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR.

McFarland,

MR. STEDMAN introduced the following proposed amendment to the McNutt, Constitution, in relation to the abolishment of the office of Lieutenant- Moffat, Governor: Moreland, Resolved, That the following section be inserted in the Constitution, Morse, Nason, in lieu of sections sixteen and seventeen of the present Constitution: SECTION Noel, In case of the death or resignation of the Governor, or his removal from office, the Speaker of the Senate shall exercise the Ohleyer, office of Governor until another Governor shall be duly qualified; but in such case another Governor shall be elected at the next general

election.

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Referred to the Committee on Executive Department.

A PENAL COLONY.

Ringgold,
Shoemaker,

Shurtleff,

Tully,

Turner,

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O'Sullivan,
Overton,
Porter,
Prouty,
Pulliam,

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Reed,

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Swing,
Terry,
Thompson,
Tinnin,

ABSENT.

Herrington,
Hilborn,

Hitchcock,

Huestis,

Hughey,

Joyce,

Kelley,

Kenny,

Keyes,

Dudley, of San Joaquin, Lavigne,

Farrell,

MR. Kelley, of Yolo, offered the following, referring to the owl: Fawcett, WHEREAS, The daily sessions of this Convention are open, and the proceedings are Freud, daily reported by the press of the State, but no adequate means have been provided to ascertain the mode of conduct of delegates in the interval between regular Graves, sessions, and especially in the nighttime; and whereas, an appropriation for the Hager, per diem of Night Watchman would be antagonistic to the true spirit of retrench- Hale, ment and reform; and whereas, an individual member of the tribe that has a peculiar Hall, fitness as a diviner of ways that are dark has entered this chamber, and voluntarily Harrison, assumed the duties of Night Watchman; Resolved, That he be permitted to remain undisturbed on his perch, to view, in Herold, his wisdom, the proceedings in and out of session, of this Convention. [Laughter.]

Lewis,

Martin, of Alameda,

McComas,

Miller,

Mills,

Murphy,

Nelson,
Neunaber,

LEAVE OF ABSENCE.

White,

Wilson, of 1st District,
Wyatt.

O'Donnell,
Reddy,
Rhodes,
Rolfe,
Schell,
Schomp,
Shafter,

Smith, of Santa Clara,

Smith, of San Francisco,
Strong,

Swenson,

Van Dyke,

Van Voorhies,

Walker, of Marin,
Waters,

Wilson, of Tehama,
Winans,

Mr. President.

Leave of absence was granted to Mr. Schell, for one day; to Mr. Mc

THE PRESIDENT. It will be referred to the Committee of the Whole Comas, on account of sickness; to Mr. Rolfe, for the balance of the week; Convention.

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MR. BEERSTECHER. I move we now adjourn until three o'clock next Monday.

MR. CAPLES. I move to make it ten o'clock Monday.

The motion to adjourn until three o'clock Monday was lost on a standing vote-ayes, 42.

MR. LARKIN. I move we now adjourn.

MR. REYNOLDS. I move we adjourn until two o'clock Monday. MR. FILCHER. I move to make it ten o'clock Monday. THE PRESIDENT. At ten o'clock and forty minutes, the hour for adjournment having arrived, the Convention stands adjourned until ten o'clock Monday.

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to Mr. Waters, for two days; to Mr. Bell, for one day; to Mr. Smith, of
San Francisco, for one day; to Mr. Doyle, for one day; to Mr. Wilson,
of Tehama, for two days; to Mr. Kelley, for one day; to Messrs. Huestis,
Winans, Miller, Keyes, and Swenson, for one day each.
MR. BIGGS. I move that leave of absence be granted to all absentees.
MR. LARKIN. I am opposed to the motion. If any gentleman
wants leave of absence, let him ask for it.
MR. BIGGS. The reason I asked for it was to save incumbering the
Journal.

The Journal of Saturday was read and approved.

MR. COWDEN. Mr. President: I was recorded as absent on Saturday. I was present.

THE PRESIDENT pro tem. If there are no reports of committees, a motion to adjourn will be in order.

RESOLUTIONS.

MR. MORELAND. Mr. President: There is a vacancy, caused by the absence of Mr. Berry, a delegate from Modoc and Siskiyou, and I have a resolution to offer on the subject:

WHEREAS, It has been suggested that there is now a vacancy in this Convention from the Counties of Modoc and Siskiyou, caused by the insanity of Mr. Berry, delegate elected by those counties; therefore,

Resolved, That this Convention, on Friday, the twenty-fifth day of October, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight, at eleven o'clock, proceed to the election of some qualified person to fill such vacancy.

THE PRESIDENT pro tem. I think the resolution should be referred to some appropriate committee.

MR. LARKIN. I would like to inquire whether Mr. Berry has resigned? Under the present circumstances, I think it is due to the gentleman and his family that this resolution should lie on the table. MR. TINNIN. I second the motion to lay the resolution on the table. The motion prevailed.

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SECTION. The Boards of Supervisors of the several counties, municipal cities, and towns, shall have power to enact all laws relating to the local government of their respective counties and townships, and municipal cities and towns; provided, said laws shall not conflict with any general State laws; also to fix the salaries, and manner of payment, of all officials (except the Judiciary) of their several counties and townships, and municipal cities and towns.

Referred to Committee on City, County, and Township Organizations. THE PRESIDENT pro tem. The Committee on Public Buildings will meet immediately after adjournment.

AN EXPLANATION.

MR. TERRY. Mr. President: I have been requested by the Secretary of State to make an explanation. He has understood from some of the members of the Convention that they think he was guilty of

Weller,

Townsend,

Wellin,

Tully,

West,

Turner,

Wickes,

Tuttle,
Vacquerel,

some disrespect to the Convention in sending the volumes here on Sat-Smith, of San Francisco,Tinnin,
urday. He desires me to say that he intended no possible disrespect to Soule,
the Convention, but he simply desired to demonstrate to the Convention Stedman,
the utter impossibility of affording the information desired. The fifty-Steele,
four volumes are entirely filled with articles of incorporation; and Stevenson,
besides this, there are about five hundred not recorded. They are Strong,
coming in at the rate of four to ten a day. It would have required the Stuart,
service of the entire force of his office for three months to make up the Sweasey,
information required by the resolution. He intended no disrespect Swing,
whatever, but simply desired to demonstrate the utter impossibility of Terry,
complying with the request.

MR. LARKIN. Mr. President: I hope this matter will remain until the mover of the resolution is present.

Thompson,

Barnes,

MR. TERRY. I simply desired to say that he intended no disrespect Berry,

to the Convention whatever.

Cross,

MR. LARKIN. I hope this matter will remain until the mover of Freeman,

the resolution returns. This is a matter for this Convention to determine, and it is disgraceful in the extreme. Judge Hale, of Placer, introduced the resolution. After having had a consultation with him, I called on Mr. Beck, and he said the information should be furnished. For some reason, or for some motive or suggestion, he saw fit to insult the Convention by bringing those books here-not to us, but to the people of the State who called this Convention and sent us here, and I desire to have the matter laid over until Judge Hale is here. He had no right to take those books away. Those books should have been retained here until the Convention saw fit to remove them.

MR. TERRY. Mr. President: The report made here was not disrespectful, but was entirely proper. The resolution called for the number of corporations, the date of organization, amount of capital stock, the names and residences of the incorporators, etc. They were contained in fifty-four volumes, filled with nothing else, and could not have been condensed in less than one quarter of that space. It would have occupied no less than one quarter of the space occupied in these books, and it was simply to demonstrate to the Convention that the information was contained there, and in almost as small a space as he could get it. I have made no motion, but simply make this explanation for the Secretary of State-that he intended no disrespect to the Convention. MR. BLACKMER. I desire to give notice that the Committee on Future Amendments will meet after adjournment in the Supreme Court

room.

MR. LARKIN. I give notice that the Committee on Privileges and
Elections will meet immediately after adjournment in room fifty-nine.
MR. EDGERTON. I give notice that the Committee on Revenue and
Taxation will meet in their room immediately after adjournment.
MR. ESTEE. The Committee on Corporations other than Municipal
will meet immediately after adjournment.

ADJOURNMENT.

Van Dyke,
Van Voorhies,

Walker, of Marin,

Walker, of Tuolumne,

Webster,

BSENT.

Hager,

Lewis,

Martin, of Alameda,
Reddy,

LEAVE OF ABSENCE.

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Leave of absence was granted to Mr. Cross for three days, to Mr.
McCoy for three days, to Mr. McComas on account of sickness.
The Journal of yesterday was read and approved.

THE SECRETARY OF STATE'S REPORT.

MR. HALE. Mr. President: I ask leave of the Convention to intro

duce a resolution out of order.

THE SECRETARY read the resolution, as follows:

WHEREAS, Heretofore, to wit, on the seventeenth instant, this Convention, by reso.

lution, duly requested the honorable the Secretary of State of California, who is the legal custodian of the records of all corporations other than municipal, which have been formed under the laws of this State, to be informed by a detailed statement to be made to the Convention, embracing the following points of inquiry, to wit: the total number and classification of all such corporations; the aggregate amount of capital stock of all, and the aggregate amount of capital stock of each class of such corporations; a statement in detail of the principal places of business, and a like statement of the location of the principal offices of such corporations; also, a like statement of the amount of capital stock actually paid up by all such corporations; and,

WHEREAS, Said Secretary of State did, subsequently, to wit, on the nineteenth instant, in nominal compliance with the request contained in said resolution, place on the desk of the Secretary of this Convention a large and cumbrous mass of books from his office, said to contain the record evidences of all the corporations mentioned in said resolution of inquiry, and by his accompanying reply to said resolution proffered said record books to this Convention as the most condensed and accurate reply he could make thereto; and,

be kept and maintained exclusively in the office of said Secretary of State as public WHEREAS, Both by reason of the existing legal necessity that said books should records, and the utter want of reasonable facilities on the part of this Convention to

make abstracts therefrom, covering and embracing the matters of inquiry specified in said resolution, it is the sense of this Convention that the Secretary of State has not complied, in letter or in spirit, with the requests contained in said resolution; also, that it is still his reasonable duty to make such compliance to the extent of his ability; therefore,

Resolved, That said Secretary of State have leave to remove all such record books

At ten o'clock and twenty-five minutes, on motion of Mr. Noel, the to their said proper place of custody, and that he is respectfully requested to furnish Convention adjourned.

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to this Convention, by a statement in writing, such reasonable information touching said corporations as expressed in said resolution heretofore adopted, or so much thereof as he shall be reasonably able to so furnish; and if from any cause he is not able, in whole or in part, to make such compliance, then to report to the Convention the cause of such disability.

THE PRESIDENT. The question is on the adoption of the resolution. MR. HALE. Mr. President: I desire in this connection to make an explanation, which is in part of a personal nature. I hold in my hand the original resolution, which, upon my motion, was passed by this Convention on the seventeenth instant, and also the return, which I will shortly read, made by the Secretary of State, in which he inadvertently or otherwise falls into a grave mistake as to its contents. I desire to read for the information of the Convention the resolution:

"Resolved, That the Secretary of State be requested to furnish to this Convention all the information in His possession upon the following subjects, to wit: First-The number and classification of all the corporations other than municipal, now existing in the State of California, and formed under the laws of this State. Second-The aggregate amount of capital stock of all such corporations, and the aggregate amount of capital stock of each class thereof. Third-A detailed statement of the principal places of business and location of the principal offices of all such corporations. Fourth-A detailed statement of the amount of capital stock actually paid up by all said corporations."

This resolution, Mr. President, being introduced on the day I stated, being carefully read to the Convention, was adopted without any amendment, or any motion to amend, so far as I know, and without any objection on the part of any member, so far as I could hear. On Saturday, the nineteenth instant, I was absent, unfortunately, from the deliberations of the Convention, on leave, however, but I see that the Secretary makes this reply, as published in the Sacramento Record-Union: [Reads.] "The President: I have here a communication from the Secretary of State, in answer to a resolution asking for information, which the Secretary will read:

"STATE OF CALIFORNIA, DEPARTMENT OF STATE, }

October 19,

"To the President and members of the Convention:
"GENTLEMEN: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Resolution No.-——————,
adopted by your honorable body on Thursday, October seventeenth, requesting me to
furnish to the Convention all information in my possession upon the following sub-
jects: First-The number and classification of all corporations other than munici-
pal, now existing in the State of California, and formed under the laws of the State
of California. Second-The aggregate amount of capital stock of all such corpora-
tions. Third-A declared statement of all the principal places of business, and the
location of the principal offices of each corporation. Fourth-A detailed statement
of the amount of capital stock actually paid up by said corporations. The various
subjects included in the foregoing resolution, upon which information is sought, are
recorded in the books kept in my office for that special purpose; and in order that
the Convention may have the desired information at as early a day as possible, I
hereby place at your service the records of all corporations on file in my office, and
they are in as condensed a form as the information sought by the resolution would
warrant.

"I have the honor to be your obedient servant,

"THOMAS BECK, Secretary of State,"

floor, and of the Secretary of State, it would appear that somebody has most egregiously blundered in this business, and I suppose to a certain extent I am responsible for introducing this resolution. Allow me to say, Mr. President, that I did not do it upon my own individual judgment alone, though I should have done so without any hesitancy. I did it after consulting and discussing the subject-matter with several pro-well-known and eminent gentlemen of this Convention, and who concurred with me fully as to the purpose sought to be accomplished by the resolution.

Mr. President, I desire to call attention to the fact that if this is his response to the calls of this Convention, it is grossly inaccurate. This may be a typographical error; but I am assured by the Secretary at the desk that the Secretary of State was furnished with a correct copy of the resolution introduced. That, however, is a proposition of little Now, Mr. President, I desire to read a little further from the ceedings of this Convention occurring on that morning, to show what was the temper, tite evident disposition, and the evident intent of this Convention, and the purpose of this report so made by the Secretary of State.

moment.

["The books, consisting of some fifty bound volumes, had been previously placed on a large table at the Clerk's desk.] "MR. LARKIN said: Mr. President: As the mover of the resolution is not present, I move the matter lie on the table until he returns. "MR. MCFARLAND. Mr. President: I would ask if the report does not lie on the table now.

"THE PRESIDENT. Yes, sir. Does the Convention desire the report read? [Laughter]," says the reporter.

"MR. NOEL offered the following:

“Resolved, That the thanks of this Convention be returned to the Secretary of State for the promptness and dispatch with which he has complied with the order of the Convention directing him to furnish all information in his possession in relation to corporations other than municipal. "Resolved, That five hundred copies of such report be printed and laid on the desks of the members of this Convention. [Laughter.]

"Referred to the Committee on Mileage and Contingent Expenses. "MR. MCFARLAND then said: I move the matter be referred to the member from the rural district. [Referring to a large owl which had during the night previous entered the Chamber, and which all day sat perched on the cornice above the President's desk, looking solemn and wise.] MR. MCFARLAND. Will the gentleman allow me to correct that? It was my friend from Alameda, Mr. McCallum, who made that MR. HALE. I accept the gentleman's explanation with great

motion.

ure.

Now, sir, I may have blundered, innocently though it may be, but the Convention nevertheless has shared in that blunder itself, because this resolution was adopted without a dissenting voice, and what was my original motion became its own deliberate act. If there was any blunder about this matter it is now material to know where it is. I still think, and shall think until I am convinced by evidence other than that furnished, that there was no blunder committed on my part in introducing this resolution, or by the Convention in its adoption.

Mr. President, before coming to this Convention, after having been honored by the people of this State by an election to a seat here, I have spent such time as I have been able to spare from other vocations in looking through the reports of Conventions in other States, called to perform duties like unto those incumbent upon us here. In doing so I had occasion to look over the reports of the State whence I came, Illinois, and also over the reports of the State of New York, and those of my native State, Pennsylvania; also, of Missouri and some other States; and, sir, I noticed by all the Journals and reports that Legislatures of those States had provided that the various officers of the State, Secretary, Treasurer, Controller, and all the State officers, should furnish to the Convention all information, upon its reasonable call, to enable the Convention to wisely perform their duties in framing a new organic law. And, sir, I have not been able to find an instance where a State officer has refused this information, though in several States the requisitions have been of the same class as the one I introduced last Thursday. I think I may say, within bounds, that I examined no less than fifty resolutions adopted by the Conventions, asking information of the State pleas-officers like unto that which we ask for, in every sense of the word, and, sir, in no instance can you find in any of the Journals or reports of those Conventions where the Secretary of State, or Controller of State, or the Governor of the State, or any officer of the State, availed themselves of any such privileges as this, or were permitted to make any such reply as has been made by the Secretary of State to this Convention. Now, allow me to call attention to the statute which the Legislature of this State passed-the Act under which this Convention was called and is now sitting: "The Secretary of State, all public officers, and Boards of Commissioners, shall furnish such Convention with all such information, papers, details, books, or other documents in their possession, as the said Convention shall order or require for its use from time to time while in session."

MR. TULLY then offered the following: "Resolved, That five thousand dollars of the money appropriated by the State to defray the expenses of this Convention be placed in the hands of the honorable Thomas Beck, Secretary of State, to defray his expenses while engaged in compiling the information required by the resolution now under consideration." "THE PRESIDENT. It will go to the Committee on Contingent Expenses." There the matter seems to have been permitted to drop for the day. Again, I observe from the report of this Convention that the gentleman from San Joaquin yesterday rose to make an explanation on behalf of and in the naine of the Secretary of State, which I read now, because it seems to be an authorized statement of the Secretary of State, and it is from that standpoint that I desire to call attention to it. It is as follows:

"MR. TERRY. Mr. President: I have been requested by the Secretary of State to make an explanation. He has understood from some of the members of the Convention that they think he was guilty of some disrespect to the Convention in sending the volumes here on Saturday. He desires me to say that he intended no possible disrespect to the Convention, but he simply desired to demonstrate to the Convention the utter impossibility of affording the information desired. The fifty-four volumes are entirely filled with articles of incorporation; and, besides this, there are about five hundred not recorded. They are coming in at the rate of four to ten a day. It would have required the service of the entire force of his office for three months to make up the information required by the resolution. He intended no disrespect whatever, but simply desired to demonstrate the utter impossibility of complying with the request."

Mr. Larkin then spoke as follows:

I think, sir, when I have read this, under these circumstances, that I shall stand, and that this Convention will stand, acquitted of all folly, of all stepping out of the usual and proper course in making this inquiry of the Secretary of State. Mr. President, I wish to say now in regard to the resolution which I have this morning introduced, that I have stated the facts of this matter, and I believe I have done so accurately. Now, Mr. President, is it proper, because, if there be no motive-if there is no substantial reason why this Convention should still desire this information-then this resolution should not be adopted. In other words, we should make up our minds that we did a foolish act, and let it go.

My resolution calls for a different line of action. I thought, and the Convention evidently thought, that the resolution was well timed in its character. I think so still. Now, sir, what does this resolution call for? It calls, sir, for a statement of the total number of all corporations that have been formed, and that are existing under the laws of this State. That is one thing.

Again, sir, it calls for a classified statement of each class of the corporations so formed. Why do we desire this information? Allow me to say why. We all know-or at least every lawyer on this floor will

"MR. LARKIN. I hope this matter will remain until the mover of the resolution returns. This is a matter for this Convention to determine, and it is disgraceful in the extreme. Judge Hale, of Placer, intro-remember-that in the olden times, in the beginning, corporations were duced the resolution. After having had a consultation with him, I not permitted to be formed as now. They were not formed under gencalled on Mr. Beck, and he said the information should be furnished.eral laws. They were grants from the crown; they were charters; they For some reason, or from some motive or suggestion, he saw fit to insult were in the nature of special grants. In the course of time it was found the Convention by bringing those books here-not to us, but to the that great corruption crowded into the administration of government, people of the State who called this Convention and sent us here, and I growing out of this practice, and in this State when they adopted the desire to have the matter laid over until Judge Hale is here. He had present Constitution, following after the laws of some of the other no right to take those books away. Those books should have been States, they provided that corporations other than municipal should be retained here until the Convention saw fit to remove them." formed only under general laws, and we have been living and acting say-under that provision of the Constitution, and laws framed in pursuance of it, from that day to this.

Then the gentleman from San Joaquin, Mr. Terry, is reported as ing: "MR. TERRY. Mr. President: The report made here was not disrespectful, but was entirely proper. The resolution called for the number of corporations, the date of organization, amount of capital stock, the names and residences of the incorporators, etc. They were contained in fifty-four volumes, filled with nothing else, and could not have been condensed in less than one quarter of that space. It would have occupied no less than one quarter of the space occupied in these books, and it was simply to demonstrate to the Convention that the information was con-embraced a very large range of industries and pursuits, and business tained there, and in almost as small a space as he could get it. I have made no motion, but simply make this explanation for the Secretary of State-that he intended no disrespect to the Convention."

Now, Mr. President, this may be a source of great merriment to the Convention. There are some gentlemen who think this a proper occasion for levity, and without desiring to express any disrespect for any member on this floor, I must still be permitted to say that I have never seen more ill-timed levity in anything, and I wish to state why. Mr. President, taking into consideration the tone of some gentlemen on this

It was said by Judge Terry-speaking for the Secretary of Statethat there are fifty-four bound volumes of these records in his office, which contain nothing but the declared statements of the articles of incorporation of corporations which have been formed under these general laws. Now, if we look into the statute books-at least until the Codes were adopted—y -we find that corporations were permitted to be formed under general laws for certain specified purposes. They affairs in this State. When the Codes came to be adopted, the barriers which before that time had been permitted to stand were all swept away, and thenceforth, under the provisions of the Codes, they were authorized to form corporations, by compliance with a few statutory requirements, by a few individuals who had gathered together in a neighborhood for the purpose of carrying on the various industries, and all the various classes of business enterprises.

Now, sir, the purpose of this resolution was to make an exhibit of this state of facts. I was aware of the fact that there was this vast mul

this resolution, but I take a different view of this matter than that expressed by the gentlemen who have addressed this Convention. I am assured by the Secretary of State that no disrespect was intended, and for my part I think that all the information which is of any particular importance was afforded by the exhibition of those books upon that table. If it was important to show that these corporations had multiplied and had grown up-that they pervaded all parts of the State and every possible enterprise in the State-we had ocular demonstration of the fact-after the fashion of the popular mode of teaching--we had the say at a rough guess, about eight hundred pages to the volume, or nearly forty-five thousand pages of articles of incorporation.

titude of corporations, which are as numerous as the sands upon the seashore. I was not unaware of the fact that these corporations were so numerous that their names were myriad-all the way from a corporation organized for the construction and maintenance of a railroad or steamboat line down to a peanut stand. One object of this resolution was to develop these facts in detail, so that when we reached that question we would have the record of facts from the proper offices, as a basis for action. Again, sir, there is another point. This resolution asks for the principal offices and places of business. Why did we do that? Why, sir, it is a fact that these corpora-object lesson before us. We found fifty-four volumes, averaging I should tions, whose names is legion, have places of business-by which I mean the properties to be operated, to be purchased, to be worked-established all the way from the northern extremity of the State down to the southern line, and from the coast back to the eastern boundary, and cover the whole Pacific coast, yet whose principal places of business, almost without exception, is on two or three streets of San Francisco; so that all mining, manufacturing, and agricultural pursuits-almost all the industries of the State, conducted by corporations, have their principal offices of business in San Francisco.

That was why I asked for this information, so as to present the facts | in detail to the Convention, so that we, coming here as representatives of the people, may be able to say how far it would be wise to modify the system of laws under which these corporations hereafter shall be formed

in this State.

Now, what better evidence could we have of the immensity of this interest that has grown up under the lax system spoken of by the gentleman from Placer, Mr. Hale, than the exhibition of the volumes here. And, sir, as to the ability of the Secretary of State to comply, it seems to me that it is easy to judge that it is utterly impossible for a tabulated statement to be made in the time before this Convention adjourns. These articles of incorporation are usually not very lengthy. It would require about a page and a half to contain the articles of each company. Then we would have from thirty to forty thousand corporations. Now, simply giving the names, amount of capital stock, and place of business of these corporations, it——

MR. HALE. It does not call for the names of the corporations.
MR. TERRY. You call for the place of business, the amount of capital
stock, and the amount of capital stock paid in?
MR. HALE. Yes, sir.

MR. TERRY. That would involve the examination of the articles of incorporation of twenty thousand corporations at the very least. At thirty lines to the page, that would be eight hundred pages of the report-that simple statement alone; as I said, I have no objection to passing the resolution. It is the duty of the Secretary of State to give us all the information in his power, but I do not think that he is censurable to the extent that some gentlemen do. For my part, I think the levity was misplaced in a body like this, and that the Secretary perhaps made a mistake in not simply reporting, instead of exhibiting the books to the Convention, that it was impossible to collate the inforeight hundred or one thousand pages, and would be of no use to the Convention unless it was printed and laid upon the desks of members; and I do not suppose that an expense of that kind is to be incurred for the purpose of printing this information.

Now, sir, it was said by Judge Terry that the Secretary of State cannot furnish this information. Why? I beg leave to ask, why? The law provides, sir, that when a corporation is formed that the few persons who are required only for that purpose shall sign articles of incorporation, and that they shall state their corporate name, state their capital stock, the amount of it, state the purposes, for which the corporation is formed, the principal place of business, and the location of their offices. These are matters simply of detail required to be filed under the law. Does the Secretary of State mean to tell us that he has no system of indexing or tabulation by which these few cardinal facts and points can be ascertained? It is incredible, sir, and I want to say, if such is the fact, it would be quite proper for this Convention, or some other authorized body, to pass a resolution requesting the next Legislature to see that this gross negligence is corrected. I cannot believe that it is true.mation in the time. Certainly the information called for would occupy In the resolution I have offered, sir, I ask the Convention to express it, as its judgment, not that the Secretary of State shall absolutely furnish this information in full, but that he shall furnish us what he reasonably can. No impossible or unreasonable thing should be demanded of him, or anybody else, but the resolution says he shall furnish such information as he may have, to the extent of his reasonable ability, and so far as he is not able to comply to make his report to this Convention, stating simply why he is not able to do so, and that will be satisfactory.

MR. WICKES. Mr. President: We have made many mistakes and some blunders. If any one has blundered in the premises, and if any one rests under a cloud of suspicion as to the conveyance of disrespect to this body, I think it would be better to exonerate all parties, and go on with the regular order of the day; and to simplify the matter, I offer this amendment as a substitute for the resolution.

THE SECRETARY read the resolution, as follows:

Resolved, That a committee be appointed to make such cursory examination of made, or whether such examination of said books by a committee detailed to procure the books in question as will determine whether the demand was inconsiderately such information jointly, would be feasible and practicable, to report to this body at the earliest moment.

tleman from Placer, Mr. Hale, ought to be adopted by this Convention
MR. LARKIN. Mr. President: The resolutions offered by the gen-
for several reasons.
lay the report of the Secretary of State on the table.
When that matter came up I made a motion to
It had become
the property of this house. The Secretary of State or some one else
removed the books from this chamber without the permission of this
Convention. They had no authority to do so. On the other proposition,
that he be requested to furnish such information as he may have, or give
of the Convention, I think is perfectly proper. I do not desire to crowd
the reasons why he cannot comply in whole or in part with the request
upon the Secretary of State, although his act has placed us in a very
in the position of being snubbed by the Secretary of State, and through
unenviable position before the people of this State. He has placed us
us he has snubbed the people of California.

I hope this resolution will be adopted. I hope so, because I think the information is important, and I think the people of this State expect us, as their representatives, sent here for the purpose of forming a new framework of government for ourselves and our children who shall come after us, to consider this subject well. I know, sir, and I think many other gentlemen will concur with me, when I say that the people of this State have not, for the first time, heard of these corporations. - They have had their attention called to it for a long time, and they take a very serious view of the situation. They expect us to go to the various offices and ascertain the various conditions, and if there be an unsound sill, an unsafe pillar, or an insecure column anywhere in the structure of the government, that we will carefully examine the defect and wisely find the remedy, so that the structure of our State government will stand safely and securely in time to come, securing to us, and to our children after us, the blessings of a wise and free government. I believe, Mr. President, that this information will materially aid this Convention in the performance of its duty, and, therefore, I ask most earnestly, and yet respectfully, that this resolution may be adopted. MR. BLACKMER. Mr. President: I desire to second the resolution as presented by the gentleman from Placer, Mr. Hale, and for these reasons: First, because I believe that the information called for by the resolution is of paramount importance to this Convention. I believe that that information should be in the hands of the Convention, and in the hands of the committees in whose charge these subjects are to be placed. I believe it ought to be furnished because it was provided in the Act calling this Convention that any officer of the State should furnish, upon the requisition of this Convention, such information for its use. I believe that that information has not been provided, in the spirit in which it was asked for, by the report of the Secretary of State as pre-lution will be adopted, and that he will have a chance to take these sented to this Convention. I believe, sir, that the report from the Secretary of State was not couched in such language as it should have been in reply to the very courteous request of this Convention for that information. If it was not in his power to furnish us the information according to the specifications that were put down in the resolution, it should have been his duty to have said in so many words, "I am not able to give you this information in full.' He should have given us what he could. But, sir, instead of that he sends up here a table loaded with books, large enough to be a load for any man to carry, fifty-four in number, and tells us that it is in as compact a form as he can give us the report.

Now, sir, I believe that the Secretary of State has made a great mistake in this report. Either he did not understand the purport of the resolution, or he did not understand the temper of this Convention. I believe that the resolution ought to pass, further, because it gives to the Secretary of State still opportunity to comply with the wishes of this Convention, and if he is not able to do it in full to give us what he can or give us the reasons why he cannot give it; and it certainly is his duty to do so. I am in favor of this resolution, and hope it will be adopted.

MR. TERRY. Mr. President: I have no objection to the passing of

returned. He has returned, and he has made a proper statement, and
I insisted that this resolution should lie on the table until the mover
offered proper resolutions under the circumstances. I am satisfied that
Mr. Beck now better understands his duty to this Convention and to the
people of the State than he did when he brought these books in here in
lieu of the report that we requested him to make. I hope that the reso-
books from here by leave of the Convention, and have an opportunity
with the request of the Convention.
to make a proper report, or explain the reasons why he cannot comply

THE PRESIDENT. The question is on the passage of the resolutions.
Nevada, Mr. Wickes.
MR. TINNIN. It is on the amendment of the gentleman from

THE PRESIDENT. There was no second to it.
it before the Convention.
MR. BARRY. I second the amendment for the purpose of bringing

MR. LARKIN. I call for the reading of the resolutions.
THE SECRETARY read the resolutions:

WHEREAS, Heretofore, to wit, on the seventeenth instant, this Convention, by resolution, duly requested the honorable the Secretary of State of California, who have been formed under the laws of this State, to be informed by a detailed stateis the legal custodian of the records of all corporations, other than municipal, which ment to be made to the Convention, embracing the following points of inquiry, to wit the total number and classification of all such corporations; the aggregate amount of capital stock of all, and the aggregate amount of capital stock of each class of such corporations; a statement in detail of the principal places of business, and a like statement of the location of the principal offices of such corporations; also, a like statement of the amount of capital stock actually paid up by all such corporations; and

WHEREAS, Said Secretary of State did, subsequently, to wit, on the nineteenth instant, in nominal compliance with the request contained in said resolution, place on the desk of the Secretary of this Convention a large and cumbrous mass of books from his office, said to contain the record evidences of all the corporations mentioned in said resolution of inquiry, and by his accompanying reply to said resolution prof. fered said record books to this Convention as the most condensed and accurate reply he could make thereto; and, WHEREAS, Both by reason of the existing legal necessity that said books should be kept and maintained exclusively in the office of said Secretary of State as public records, and the utter want of reasonable facilities on the part of this Convention to make abstracts therefrom covering and embracing the matters of inquiry specified in said resolution, it is the sense of this Convention that the Secretary of State has not complied, in letter or in spirit, with the requests contained in said resolution; also, that it is still his reasonable duty to make such compliance to the extent of his ability; therefore, Resolved, That said Secretary of State have leave to remove all such record books to their said proper place of custody, and that he is hereby respectfully requested to furnish to this Convention, by a statement in writing, such reasonable information touching said corporations as expressed in said resolution heretofore adopted, or so much thereof as he shall be reasonably able to so furnish; and if from any cause he is not able in whole or in part to make such compliance, then to report to the Convention the cause of such disability.

Mr. LAINE. Mr. President: While I am disposed to see to it that all the State officers shall treat the Convention properly, and make all proper reports which this Convention has a right to call for, I am satisfied in my own mind that in this case we have called for more than the Secretary of State can give. The voluminousness of the matter is such that I am satisfied it would require a longer time than the sitting of this Convention to compile it, and comply with the resolution. I think the Convention acted hastily, though I have no doubt the Convention was impelled by a proper spirit to seek the information. But they acted think without due consideration in this matter.

tice-I understand the old dodge of killing a thing by referring it to a committee. It is very similar to the process by which we bury out of our sight the dead things which we cannot have among the living. I do not think, Mr. President, that this resolution is intended to be of that character. This resolution which I offered is not intended-it expresses no censure towards the Secretary of State-and if it did, sir, I think it would be justified, under the circumstances; but it simply says:

"Resolved, That the Secretary of State have leave to remove all such books to their proper place of custody, and that he is hereby respectfully requested to furnish to this Convention, by a statement in writing, such reasonable information touching said corporations, as expressed in said resolution heretofore adopted, or so much thereof as he shall be reasonably able to furnish; and if, from any cause, he is not able, in whole or in part, to make such compliance, then to report to the Convention the cause of such disability.

I do not know how it is that these books are not here now. He brought them into the Convention, so says the report. I was not here myself. And he made an accompanying report, and stated that he made this in response to the resolution adopted by this Convention. I do not understand how it is that he has been permitted to remove them. I have seen no resolution permitting him or anybody else to remove them. He put them in the hands of the Convention.

Now, this resolution is, first, to get him out of that difficulty. It gives him leave to withdraw them, and return them to their proper place of custody. It is a respectful request to him to furnish the information specified in the original resolution, or so much thereof as he is reasonably able to furnish, and if not able in whole or in part to furnish it, then to report to the Convention the reasons of this disability. I subImit that there is no need of the Committee on Corporations or any committee to investigate this matter. I think this expresses the whole matter. It returns this resolution, and asks him to comply, if able, and if not, to state why not. This certainly needs no report from any other committee to find out the propriety of this request. I hope this motion and the amendment and the amendment to the amendment will not prevail, but that the original resolution will be acted upon by the Con

Now it seems to me, before we pass this resolution, we should be certain that we are right in the matter, and that the officer was in contempt. It seems to me the proper course would be to refer the whole matter to a standing committee of this body, and there is no more proper committee than the Committee on Corporations, selected with a view to dealing with that subject. That committee can go to the Secretary of State and examine the documents, and see if this Convention has properly understood the matter, and report back to this Convention, so that we may all be relieved from any improper course of action. In pursuance of this idea, I send up to the desk an amendment to the amendment, for the purpose of referring the whole matter to the Committee on Corporations, with instructions to investigate the matter and report to this Convention the proper action to be taken.

THE SECRETARY read the resolution, as follows:

Resolved, That the whole subject-matter of the two resolutions introduced by the member from the Second Congressional District, calling on the Secretary of State for information concerning corporations, be referred to the Committee on Corporations other than Municipal, with instructions to investigate the matter and report to this Convention such course of action as in their judgment it is held for the Convention to take in the premises, at as early a day as possible.

MR. BROWN. Mr. President: I feel to favor this last amendment. I have heard a great deal said about this matter, and I have heard read the resolution of the gentleman from Placer. I am well convinced that at the time of the passage of that resolution this Convention desired only what was reasonable. Our desire was to have proper information in regard to corporations, and we wished to know everything that reasonably could be known. But I am thoroughly convinced that the resolution embraced too much. I am convinced, since the matter has been discussed in this body, that the resolution was too broad, and too much in detail for the Secretary of State to comply with in any reasonable length of time. For instance, he was to give the aggregate amount of the capital stock, and of each class thereof; a detailed statement of the principal place of business of each corporation, and the location of the principal office of each corporation, and a detailed statement of the amount of capital stock, and the amount actually paid up by all such corporations. This embraces a great deal in the aggregate and a great deal in the detail. I am fully convinced that although we were desirous of having this information brought before the Convention, yet there was too much required. I think we should allow a committee to investigate this matter, that we may know whether or not we do not have need of some information with regard to the vast amount of work that is required in this case. Therefore, I am entirely in favor

of the last amendment.

MR. NOEL. Mr. President: It seems to me that ordinary prudence, and a decent regard for the dignity of this Convention, requires that this matter be dropped, and I move that the whole matter be indefinitely postponed.

MR. BARTON. Mr. President: I am in hopes this resolution will not prevail to postpone the whole subject-matter. I am in hopes that neither of the two amendments will prevail. In my humble judgment, Mr. President, this Convention to-day occupies rather an unpleasant position in regard to this immense amount of matter that was presented here, purporting to be a report from the Secretary of State in respouse to a resolution offered by the gentleman from Placer, Mr. Hale. I would like to ask the gentlemen of this Convention, where are the volumes presented here as a report in response to the call of this Convention? If those documents are considered valuable, it is well that this Convention understand that they are responsible for their delivery. They were carted in here, in my opinion, with disrespect for this Convention, and they have been carted out with the same degree of disrespect. Now, sir, shali I, as a member of this Convention, wink at this thing, and say that a public servant shall become the master of the people's representatives in this Convention? I hope not. I don't wish to detain the Convention, but I hope the resolution offered by Judge Hale will pass.

MR. HALE. Mr. President: I desire to say one word. I hope that the amendment to the amendment will not prevail. I understand how easy it is-I am not altogether unacquainted with parliamentary prac

vention.

MR. O'DONNELL. Mr. President: I hope this whole matter will be laid on the table. We are now censuring an officer without giving him an opportunity of being here before this Convention. It is impossible for an officer to produce what was required of him by that resolution in the next three months. hope, Mr. President, that this whole matter will be laid on the table. I make that motion, that it be laid on the

table.

THE PRESIDENT. The first question is on the motion to lay the whole matter on the table. The Chair hears no second to the motion. MR. HALE opposed the amendments, and urged the adoption of the original resolutions.

MR. MCCALLUM. Mr. President: I submit that this motion to indefinitely postpone and the amendments should be voted down, and the matter disposed of on the original resolution; and I desire to call the attention of this Convention to a paragraph in the Secretary of State's report, which is in fact and in substance the whole of it: "The various subjects included in the foregoing resolution, upon which information is sought, are recorded in the books kept in my office for that especial purpose, and in order that the Convention may have the desired information at as early day as possible, I hereby place at your service the records of all corporations now on file in my office, and they are in as condensed a form as the information sought by the resolution would warrant." That, sir, is the whole report, except the recital of the resolution. I say the friends of the Secretary of State, in my judgment, should vote for this resolution. He should have an opportunity to set himself right. The information furnished by the gentleman from San Joaquin is not official information to the Convention. The Secretary of State should have an opportunity to state the reasons why he did not comply with the original resolution. There is nothing in his report either replying to the resolution or giving any reason for not doing so. And more than this, it is not accurate upon its face. Those books, the great mass of them, are records of the certificates of incorporation. We may have been in error from the beginning. It may be that this is a sort of comedy of errors from the beginning. The gentleman who made the motion may have been in error in asking too much. The Convention may have been in error in adopting the resolution. The Secretary of State was evidently in error in his facetiousness, for that evidently was the design of it, and he was in error in sending the books into the Convention.

MR. GREGG. Mr. President: I rise to a point of order. The motion to lie on the table is not debatable.

THE PRESIDENT. The motion was not seconded.

MR. MCCALLUM. Now, the resolution offered by the gentleman from the Second District merely calls upon the Secretary of State for such information as he is able to furnish, and if he cannot furnish it all, to state the reasons. No reasons have yet been assigned to this Convention why he did not furnish the information, except what is indirectly stated by the gentleman from San Joaquin, no doubt correctly; but the information furnished by the Secretary of State is what he should have furnished to the Convention officially. There is no censure in the resolution offered by the gentleman from Placer, none whatever, but it gives the Secretary an opportunity to comply with the request or state the reasons why he has not done so. And, sir, that portion of the resolution which he could not comply with, if it is true that there are twenty-five thousand certificates of incorporation, he could have given that amount of information, and there are certainly other means whereby he could have furnished it without so voluminous a report; and, as to the balance, he could have stated the facts which he stated to the gentleman from San Joaquin. We can pass this resolution, and I have no doubt the Secretary of State will be glad to set himself right.

MR. STEDMAN. Mr. President: A resolution was offered and adopted by this body, requesting the Secretary of State to furnish us

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