Thursday evening, March nineteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, at eight o'clock, for the purpose of hearing an address on the subject of "The Relations of the Geological Survey to the Interests of the State," by Professor Whitney, State Geologist.

No. XIX.-Concurrent Resolution.

[Adopted March 21, 1863.]

Joint Resolution declaratory of the Adoption of the Amendments to the
Constitution proposed by the Legislature at its Twelfth Session.

WHEREAS, The Legislature of this State, at the twelfth session, Preamble.
proposed certain Amendments to the Constitution of the
State, which were agreed to by a majority of the members
elected to each of the two Houses, and entered on their
Journals, with the yeas and nays taken thereon, and refer-
red to the Legislature then next to be chosen; and, whereas,
further, in the Legislature next chosen, at the thirteenth ses-
sion thereof, said proposed Amendments were agreed to by a
majority of all the members elected to each House, and sub-
mitted by said Legislature to the people of the State for their
approval and ratification, at the general election held in the
year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, at which
election the people approved and ratified said proposed
Amendments, by a majority vote of the electors qualified
to vote for members of the Legislature voting thereat;
therefore-

Resolved, By the Senate and Assembly, that the following are the said Amendments:

ARTICLE FOUR.-LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT.

SECTION 2. The sessions of the Legislature shall be biennial, Sessions of and shall commence on the first Monday of December next ensu- Legislature. ing the election of its members, unless the Governor of the State shall, in the interim, convene the Legislature by proclamation. No session shall continue longer than one hundred and twenty days.

of Assembly

SEC. 3. The members of the Assembly shall be chosen bien- Members nially, by the qualified electors of their respective districts, on chosen. the first Wednesday in September, unless otherwise ordered by the Legislature, and their term of office shall be two years.

and

SEC. 5. Senators shall be chosen for the term of four years, Senators at the same time and places as members of the Assembly; chosen. no person shall be a member of the Senate or Assembly, who has not been a citizen and inhabitant of the State, and of the county or district for which he shall be chosen, one year next before his election.

SEC. 6. The number of Senators shall not be less than one

Senators.

Number of third, nor more than one half, of that of the members of the Assembly; and at the first session of the Legislature after this section takes effect, the Senators shall be divided by lot, as equally as may be, into two classes. The seats of the Senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year, so that one half shall be chosen biennially.

Apportion

ment.

Election of
Governor.

Of State officers.

Duty of Secretary of State.

Judicial power.

Supreme
Court.

SEC. 30. When a Congressional, Senatorial, or Assembly District shall be composed of two or more counties, it shall not be separated by any county belonging to another District. No county shall be divided in forming a Congressional, Senatorial, or Assembly District, so as to attach one portion of a county.to another county; but the Legislature may divide each county into as many Congressional, Senatorial, or Assembly Districts, as such county may by apportionment be entitled to.

SEC. 39. In order that no inconvenience may result to the public service from the taking effect of the Amendments proposed to Article Four by the Legislature of eighteen hundred and sixty-one, no officer shall be suspended or superseded thereby, until the election and qualification of the several officers provided for in said Amendments.

ARTICLE FIVE.-EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.

SEC. 2. The Governor shall be elected by the qualified electors at the time and places of voting for members of the Assembly, and shall hold his office four years from and after the first Monday in December subsequent to his election, and until his successor is elected and qualified.

SEC. 18. A Secretary of State, a Controller, a Treasurer, an Attorney-General, and a Surveyor-General, shall be elected at the same time and places, and in the same manner, as the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor, and whose term of office shall be the same as the Governor.

SEC. 19. The Secretary of State shall keep a fair record of the official acts of the Legislative and Executive Departments of the Government, and shall, when required, lay the same, and all matters relative thereto, before either branch of the Legislature, and shall perform such other duties as may be assigned him by law; and in order that no inconvenience may result to the public service from the taking effect of the Amendments proposed to said Article Five by the Legislature of eighteen hundred and sixty-one, no officer shall be superseded or sus pended thereby until the election and qualification of the several officers provided for in said Amendments.

ARTICLE SIX.-JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT.

SEC. 1. The judicial power of this State shall be vested in a Supreme Court, in District Courts, in County Courts, in Probate Courts, and in Justices of the Peace, and in such Recorders' and and other inferior Courts as the Legislature may establish in any incorporated city or town.

SEC. 2. The Supreme Court shall consist of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices. The presence of three Justices shall be necessary for the transaction of business, excepting

such business as may be done at Chambers, and the concurrence of three Justices shall be necessary to pronounce a judgment.

of Justices.

SEC. 3. The Justices of the Supreme Court shall be elected Election by the qualified electors of the State, at special elections to be provided by law, at which elections no officer other than judicial shall be elected, except a Superintendent of Public Instruction. The first election for Justices of the Supreme Court shall be held in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-three. The Justices shall hold their offices for the term of ten years from the first day of January next after their election, except those elected at the first election, who, at their first meeting, shall so classify themselves by lot, that one Justice shall go out of office every two years. The Justice having the shortest term to serve shall be the Chief Justice.

and powers.

SEC. 4. The Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction Jurisdiction in all cases in equity, also in all cases at law which involve the title or possession of real estate, or the legality of any tax, impost, assessment, toll, or municipal fine, or in which the demand, exclusive of interest, or the value of the property in controversy, amounts to three hundred dollars; also in all cases arising in the Probate Courts; and also in all criminal cases amounting to felony, on questions of law alone. The Court shall also have power to issue writs of mandamus, certiorari, prohibition, and habeas corpus, and also all 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.

of District

SEC. 5. The State shall be divided by the Legislature of Judicial eighteen hundred and sixty-three, into fourteen Judicial Dis- Districts. tricts, subject to such alteration from time to time, by a two thirds vote of all the members elected to both Houses, as the public good may require; in each of which there shall be a District Court, and for each of which a District Judge shall be elected by the qualified electors of the District, at the special Election judicial elections to be held as provided for the election of Justices of the Supreme Court by section three of this Article. The District Judges shall hold their offices for the term of six years from the first day of January next after their election. 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 thirty consecutive days shall be deemed to have forfeited his office.

Judges.

of District

SEC. 6. The District Courts shall have original jurisdiction Powers and in all cases in equity; also, in all cases at law which involve the jurisdiction title or possession of real property, or the legality of any tax, Courts. impost, assessment, toll, or municipal fine, and in all other cases in which the demand, exclusive of interest, or the value of the property in controversy, amounts to three hundred dollars; and also, in all criminal cases not otherwise provided for. The District Courts and their Judges shall have power to issue

County
Courts.

Jurisdiction.

Probate
Courts.

Justices of the Peace.

Recorder's
Courts.

Clerk of
Supreme
Court, etc.

Commissioners.

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 in each of the organized counties of the State a County Court, for each of which a County Judge shall be elected by the qualified electors of the county, at the special judicial elections to be held, as provided for the election of Justices of the Supreme Court by section three of this Article. The County Judges shall hold their offices for the term of four years from the first day of January next after their election. Said Courts shall also have power to issue naturalization papers. In the City and County of San Francisco the Legislature may separate the office of Probate Judge from that of County Judge, and may provide for the election of a Probate Judge, who shall hold his office for the term of four years.

SEC. 8. The County Courts shall have original jurisdiction of actions of forcible entry and detainer, of proceedings in insolvency, of actions to prevent or abate a nuisance, and of all such special cases and proceedings as are not otherwise provided for; and also, such criminal jurisdiction as the Legislature may prescribe; they shall also have appellate jurisdiction in all cases arising in Courts held by Justices of the Peace and Recorders, and in such inferior Courts as may be established, in pursuance of section one of this Article, in their respective counties. The County Judges shall also hold, in their several counties, Probate Courts, and perform such duties as Probate Judges as may be prescribed by law. 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 custody in their respective counties.

SEC. 9. The Legislature shall determine the number of Justices of the Peace to be elected in each city and township of the State, and fix by law their powers, duties, and responsibilities; provided, such powers shall not, in any case, trench upon the jurisdiction of the several Courts of record. The Supreme Court, the District Courts, County Courts, the Probate Courts, and such other Courts as the Legislature shall prescribe, shall be Courts of record.

SEC. 10. The Legislature shall fix by law the jurisdiction of any Recorder's or other inferior municipal Court which may be established in pursuance of section one of this Article, and shall fix by law the powers, duties, and responsibilities of the Judges thereof.

SEC. 11. The Legislature shall provide for the election of a Clerk of the Supreme Court, County Clerks, District Attorneys, Sheriffs, and other necessary officers, and shall fix by law their duties and compensation; County Clerks shall be ex officio. Clerks of the Courts of record in and for their respective counties. The Legislature may also provide for the appointment by the several District Courts of one or more Commissioners in the several counties of their respective districts, with authority to perform Chamber business of the Judges of the District Courts and County Courts, and also to take depositions, and to perform such other business connected with the adminis tration of justice as may be prescribed by law.

SEC. 12. The times and places of holding the terms of the Holding several Courts of record shall be provided for by law.

Court.

no fees.

SEC. 13. No judicial officer, except Justices of the Peace, To receive Recorders, and Commissioners, shall receive to his own use any fees or perquisites of office.

SEC. 14. The Legislature shall provide for the speedy publi- Report of cation of such opinions of the Supreme Court as it may deem Supreme expedient; and all opinions shall be free for publication by any

person.

Court.

Judges.

SEC. 15. The Justices of the Supreme Court, District Judges, Compensaand County Judges, shall severally, at stated times during their tion of continuance in office, receive for their services a compensation, which shall not be increased or diminished during the term for which they shall have been elected; provided, that County Judges shall be paid out of the County Treasury of their respective

counties.

ineligible.

SEC. 16. The Justices of the Supreme Court, and the District Judges Judges, and the County Judges, shall be ineligible to any other office than a judicial office during the term for which they shall have been elected.

SEC. 17. Judges shall not charge juries with respect to mat- Charge to ters of fact, but may state the testimony and declare the law.

SEC. 18. The style of all process shall be "The People of the State of California," and all prosecutions shall be conducted in their name, and by their authority.

SEC. 19. In order that no inconvenience may result to the public service from the taking effect of the Amendments proposed to said Article Six by the Legislature of eighteen hundred and sixty-one, no officer shall be superseded thereby, nor shall the organization of the several Courts be changed thereby, until the election and qualification of the several officers provided for in said Amendments.

ARTICLE NINE-EDUCATION.

juries.

Public

SEC. 1. A Superintendent of Public Instruction shall, at the superinspecial election for judicial officers to be held in the year eighteen tendent of hundred and sixty-three, and every four years thereafter at such Instruction. special elections, be elected by the qualified voters of the State, and shall enter upon the duties of his office on the first day of December next after his election.

And that the same have been constitutionally adopted, and have become a part of the Constitution, to take effect as provided in said Amendments.