business relations with one another. They provide for the organization and procedure of the courts; for the government of counties, townships, cities, and villages; for the establishment and support of schools and benevolent institutions; for the prevention and punishment of crime; for the levying of taxes to defray the expenses of the State government in all its branches; for the conduct of elections; for the formation and regulation of railroad, manufacturing, mining, and other business corporations; for the buying and selling of houses, lands, and goods, and for all lawful contracts that may be made by residents of the State. Thus it is seen that State law protects, guides, or restrains the citizen in nearly all his doings.

It is the business of the General Assembly to elect two citizens to represent the State in the Senate of the United States, as provided in the Constitution of the United States; and to divide the State into districts for the election of members of the national House of Representatives.

36. The General Assembly.-The members of the General Assembly are chosen at the general State election on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each odd-numbered year (1903, '05, '07), and serve for two years from the first day of the following January. The General Assembly meets in regular session on the first Monday of January following the election (1904, '06, '08), and usually sits for five days each week for several months. The governor may convene the General Assembly in extraordinary session at other times. Members are paid a salary for their services; at present this is fixed by law at $600 a year. They also receive twelve cents per mile for travelling expenses, reckoning the distance from their homes to the Capitol by the most direct route.' The Constitution specifies who are eligible to membership

1 See Art. II, Sect. 31.

in the General Assembly, but each branch judges of the election and qualifications of its own members, and prescribes its own rules of procedure in transacting business.1

37. The Senate.-The State is divided into thirty-three senatorial districts, the number and boundaries of which were fixed by the Constitution in 1851, and can be changed only by amendment of the Constitution, except in one class of cases. Each district embraces one or more counties. While the number of districts is fixed, the number of senators depends on the population of the State. Every ten years the population of the State, as determined by the national census, is divided by thirtyfive, and the quotient is used as the basis of representation in the Senate for the next ten years; that is, this is the normal number of people to be represented by one senator. It is, however, provided that every senatorial district having three-fourths this number of inhabitants shall have one senator; districts having two full ratios shall have two senators; those having three ratios shall have three senators, and so on. Provision is also made for additional senators in one or more of the biennial periods during the decade, from those districts having a fraction greater than one-fifth over an even ratio. This causes the number of senators to vary in different legislatures. When any county forming part of a district acquires population equal to a full ratio, it may be made into a new district by itself, if the remainder of the old district to which it belonged has also population sufficient for one senator. This is the only case in which the number of districts can be changed except by amending the Constitution. The

1 See Art. II. Sects. 3-8.

2

3

2 The membership of the Senate for the five General Assemblies from 1901 to 1911 is as follows: 1902-03, 33; 1904-05, 33; 1906-07, 37; 1908-09, 34; 1910-11, 34.

3 See Art. XI, Sects, 6-10.

decennial apportionment of senators is made by the governor, the auditor, and the secretary of state.1

Each senator is chosen by the electors of the district which he represents, and he must have been a resident. of that district for at least one year.

All impeachments of State officers charged with misdemeanors in office are tried by the Senate." Appointments many offices made by the governor must be submitted to the Senate for confirmation.

to

3

38. The House of Representatives.-The number of members of the House of Representatives varies slightly in different legislatures, and is determined by the same officers and by a process similar to that employed for the Senate. Every ten years the population of the State is divided by one hundred, and the quotient is the ratio of representation for the ensuing ten years. Any county the population of which is not equal to one-half this ratio is joined with the neighboring county having the smallest population, to form a representative district; except in such cases each county constitutes a separate representative district, and the number of representatives from each district is determined by its population as measured by the ratio of representation; additional representation for some of the biennial periods is given for fractions over one-fifth of a ratio, as in the case of the Senate.* Each member is chosen by the electors of the district, and he must have been a resident of the district for at least one year before his election.

The House has the sole right to institute impeachment proceedings against State officers charged with misdemeanors.2

1 See Art. XI. Sect. 11.

2 See Art. II. Sect. 23.

3 The membership of the House of Representatives for the present decennial period is as follows: 1902-03, 110; 1904-05, 110; 1906-07, 113; 1908-09, 109; 1910-11, 111.

4 See Art. XI. Sects. 1-5.

39. Organization of the Two Houses.-Each branch of the General Assembly has a presiding officer, clerks to prepare and record the business, sergeants-at-arms, and other necessary officers and attendants. The lieutenantgovernor of the State is president of the Senate. That body chooses one of its own number as president pro tempore, who presides in the absence of the lieutenantgovernor. The presiding officer of the House of Representatives is called the speaker, and is chosen by the members from their own number.

40. Committees.-An important part of the legislative work is done by committees. The usual subjects of State legislation fall into about forty classes or groups. For each of these groups a standing committee in each branch of the General Assembly is appointed early in the session, by election in the Senate, and by the speaker in the House; proposed laws are usually referred to the proper committees for consideration before they are taken up in the house. The committee examines the proposed measure, and if it meets their approval they report it back, either in the original or in a modified form, and recommend its adoption; if they disapprove it, they either make no report or an adverse one. While the legislature is not bound to acquiesce in the decision of the committees, the latter really exercise a guiding power on legislation, by deciding, to a great extent, what measures shall be considered by the legislature. Their examination, improvement, approval or rejection of the different proposals makes it possible for the General Assembly to transact business far more rapidly than it could otherwise be done.1

1 In the General Assembly of 1894 there were thirty-eight Senate committees and forty-two House committees. Some of the leading committees are-finance, judiciary, municipal corporations, private corporations, railroads and telegraphs, agriculture, manufactures and commerce. The Senate committees usually consist of five or seven members, while those of the House have as a rule seven or nine members.