We have never had a Constitution for California, 41. We have the old Constitution of remote interior State of Iowa, 41. Suddenness of Monterey Convention of 1849, 41, 42. Constitution was adopted by only 12,061 votes when our population was 76,000, and mostly voters, 42. Where source of such universal complaints must be looked for, 42, 43. DETAILED OBJECTIONS TO CONSTITUTION. No limit to legislative expenditures, 44. As reckless regarding local as State government, 44. The laws themselves entice to dishonesty, 44–5. Office hunting a business pursuit, 45. No limit to Legislature granting State lands, 45. No limit to State interference in local county affairs, 45. Representation too small for great State, 46. No proper and prompt provision to punish bad State officers, 46. Impeachment absurd for this State, 47, 48, 49. Defects of omission and commission, 49-50. Recital of defects by Articles and Sections, 50. Biennal sessions predicted to prove failures, 53. Legislature not elected for, nor fit to attempt revision of Constitution, 54, 55. ELABORATE STATEMENTS OF CONSTITUTIONAL DEFECTS. The Supreme Court legislated, 57, 58. It created Courts of Equity, Ibid. Bad limitation to "laws of a general nature," 59. Bad provision about disputed membership, 60. Bad provision for punishing State officials, 60. Bad provision about re-enacting all laws amended, 60, 61. Bad provision as to pardoning criminals, 61, 62. Bad provision for education, 63, 64. Bad provision as to official salaries, 64, 65. Objection to high salaries, 66. Bad provision as to publication of laws, 66. No regulation at all of "all important subject of taxes and taxation," 67. Its mode of taxation "infamous," 67. On the whole the Constitution of Iowa had better been copied entire, 67-8. Ours more vicious as to getting a Convention to revise it, 68. The people always superior to their office holders, 68–9. Californians intelligent, demand more simple straightforward modes for Whole vitality of present Constitution consists in mere provisions to elect and Brief detailed statements of defects in Constitution-twenty-two in number, 70, 71, 72, 73. Every honest citizen desires its reformation, 74. The judiciary-elaborate argument against the entire system existing, 75 Statesmen must attend to public complaints, 75. The people no more lawless than their judges have been, 76, 77. No Court has any right to make any law whatsoever, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82. Their duties and just powers do not require it, 82. In what form must tyranny come that we may know it is present, 80. Constitutional partition into three powers discussed. Leads to danger of false construction, not in English nor U. S. Constitution, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89. INTRODUCTION AND EXCUSE FOR THIS ADDRESS. THE canvass is now half over, and no speaker, so far as I have noticed, has said a word on the subject of a Constitutional Convention, certainly the most important question to be decided at this State election. And some of the newspapers have already actually spoken in opposition to it. The statute submitting the question to the decision of the people has so provided that every elector who votes for any member of the Legislature, and, therefore, in effect every elector who votes at all at this election, will be counted as having voted against a Constitutional Convention, whether he desires his vote to be so counted or not, unless he carefully sees to it (for the measure has many secret enemies), that his own ticket (and every ticket ought in justice to be so printed, and the people ought to see to it that it be so printed), contains the express words FOR THE CONVENTION. In consequence of this unfairness of the law submitting the question, and compelling every vote to be counted against the measure, except those only which contain the words "for the Convention," and owing to the general indifference or foolish cowardice, and inexcusable distrust of the people already too prevalent in opposition to it, there is much cause for the friends of the measure to take alarm, lest it be again defeated in this State through shere distrust of the people, or shere inadvertency. I have, therefore, determined to call special public attention to the subject in this apparently presumptuous manner. But, in order that I may remove any fair suspicion of immodesty or inexcusable presumption in thus appealing to the electors in behalf of the measure, I will briefly refer to my previous connection with the subject, as my excuse (if any excuse be needed), for thus addressing the electors of the State. Nearly twenty years ago February, 1856-I urged upon the Legislature and the State "the necessity of immediate Constitutional reform." I was then so thoroughly in earnest, and so completely in the right, that with my inexperience, with my poor abilities and with my "maiden speech," I so convinced the Legislature and the country, even at that early day, of the necessity of immediately calling a Constitutional Convention, that at the next succeeding session my Bill in behalf of a Convention was carried through both Houses by the requisite two thirds vote of all the members elected to each House. At the State election of 1857, the electors (in my opinion) fairly and constitutionally adopted the measure, and ordered the Legislature to provide for the Convention, and by a majority of nearly two to one; and in an actual voting on that question of nearly fifty thousand electors, more than half of all the electors then voting in this State. But the Legislature of 1858 refused to provide for it, on the ground that those who voted at all at that election on any question, that is, for members of the Legislature, must be counted as having voted against the Convention, unless they expressly voted in favor of it, with the express words "for the Convention" on all their ballots. In 1849-over a quarter of a century ago—our present Constitution was prepared by strangers to this country, hastily assembled in a constitutional convention at Monterey, and was hastily adopted by a vote of 12,061, all told! Even the few votes adopting it, were mostly cast by strangers, just arrived and just arriving into this country. The Constitution had been hastily prepared and hastily voted for by almost everybody and anybody, because the Government of the United Ssates had (wickedly) neglected to provide for any Territorial Government over this country, and some civil government was deemed to be immediately indispensable. At the State election of 1857 nearly three times as many legally resident citizens of the State, voted in behalf of revising the Constitution as had previously been sufficient to adopt it, and, nevertheless, their votes were ignored by the Legislature of 1858. And the opinion of the people and the necessities of the country are likely to be again treated with equal indifference unless the people speak this time in a voice so loud and so unmistakable that the next Legislature will not dare to neglect nor disobey it. The action of the Legislature of 1858 dejected but did not at all discourage the earnest friends of this measure. Yet the press and all the party leaders of the State seemed so indifferent to the subject, that I determined to wait in patience until all the people of the State might come to see the indispensable necessity of a Convention, as |