Senate bill No. 207 enacts that the provisions of the act "shall not apply to any county until first adopted by resolution of the board of county commissioners, and said action approved by the court of common pleas of the proper county." Section twenty-one of the bill also provides that it shall not apply to any county prison governed by special laws, until such laws. are specifically repealed.

Senate bill No. 269 contains this proviso: "This act shall not be in force in any city of the third class until accepted by councils thereof by ordinance."

House bill No. 113 provides that "this act shall only apply to such cities as shall accept the provisions hereof by ordinance duly adopted by the council thereof and approved by the mayor."

House bill No. 196 enacts that it shall not be in operation nor shall it go into effect in any city of the fourth and fifth classes until councils accept the same by ordinance.

House bill No. 194 provides, in the first section of Article XIII, that it shall only operate in cities accepting it by ordinance of councils. Article

XIV provides that any school-district in any city accepting the act may elect not to be governed by it, but to remain under the special laws now governing the district, or may, from time to time, accept parts of the act.

House bill No. 223 contains this language: "The provisions of this act shall not take effect in any city of the fifth class within this Commonwealth in which there is now no office of city recorder, until the same shall have been approved and adopted by ordinance of the council or councils of such cities."

The prohibition of section 7, of Article III of the Constitution, against the passage of local or special laws "regulating the affairs of counties, cities, townships, wards, boroughs, or school-districts" is absolute. The prohibition against local or special laws upon this subject includes the command that whenever laws relating thereto are passed, they shall be general in their application. Anything which defeats or limits their general appli cation is obnoxious to the prohibition. If certain counties or cities cannot be specially legislated for by name, they cannot be thus legislated for by including them in an exception to a general law. The inhibition is against passing laws that will operate upon them alone to the exclusion of others in the same general legal category. Again, the fact whether a law is general or special is to be determined by the force of its operating words at the time of its passage, and cannot be made to depend upon the happening of any such contingency as the desire or action of the councils of a city or the act of a board of county commissioners. If the Legislature cannot give a particular county immunity from the operation of a general law, it cannot depute to a city or county the privilege of giving itself such immunity. The power denied to the superior body cannot be vested by it in the subordinate. Neither can the intendment of a broad Constitutional provision be defeated by any mere juggle of words. If the law only recognizes cities of given classes, the Legislature cannot further divide those classes into those accepting and those not accepting legislation. Neither can such a division be set up as counties governed by special laws and those not governed by special laws. If this could be done, the whole purpose of the Constitutional prohibition would be defeated. Some counties or cities in given classes would be governed by one law, and some by others. If the bills now objected to should be signed, the extent or generality of their application would be dependent entirely upon the willingness or unwillingness of certain counties or cities to be governed by them. Surely, this cannot be done, 15 VETOES.

and the purpose of the Constitution be defeated in such an indirect and specious manner. The tendency of this sort of legislation has become so great that I think it time to assert rigidly the spirit and letter of the Constitution. It is true that many laws containing option clauses have been enacted in the past, and some may have received the sanction of the present Executive. The recurrence of this character of enactments, however, has become so frequent as to induce me to attempt to out-root the practice, if possible.

Many of these bills contain other objectionable features which I do not deem it now necessary to discuss, as the reasons I have already assigned are, I think insuperable obstacles to their enactment. In support of the line of argument I have adopted, I refer to the work of Mr. Buckalew on the Constitution, pages seventy-three and seventy-four.

ROBT. E. PATTISON.

THE THREE FOLLOWING APPROPRIATION BILLS, NOS. 88, 89, AND 90, WERE APPROVED EXCEPT AS TO CERTAIN ITEMS WAICH WERE OBJECTED TO AND VETOED AS APPEARS IN THE APPROVALS BY THE GOVERNOR.

No. 88.
AN ACT.

To appropriate the sum of five thousand dollars ($5,000) to the Home for Old Ladies, situate at the corner of Frankford avenue and Clearfield street, in the city of Philadelphia.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted, &c., That the sum of five thousand dollars ($5,000) is hereby appropriated to the Home for Old Ladies, situated at Frankford avenue and Clearfield street, two thousand five hundred dollars of which amount shall be used to satisfy a second mortgage, and two thousand five hundred dollars to build an infirmary, the same to be paid out of any moneys in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.

APPROVED-The 9th day of July, A. D. one thousand eight hundred and eighty-five, except as to the item of twenty-five hundred dollars to build an infirmary, which is hereby disapproved. This item was contained in the application made by the institution to the Board of Public Charities, and the Board refused in their report to recommend its appropriation. For this reason it is disapproved.

No. 89.
AN ACT

ROBT. E. PATTISON.

Making an appropriation to the Lackawanna Hospital, in the city of Scranton. SECTION 1. Be it enacted, &c., That the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars be and the same is hereby appropriated to the Lackawanna Hospital, in the city of Scranton, for completing the building and for support and maintenance of said hospital, namely: Ten thousand dollars for the completion of buildings, seventy-five hundred dollars for maintenance and support of sai ho-pital, for the year commencing June first, Anno Domini eighteen hundred and eighty-five, and seventy-five hundred dollars for support and

maintenance, for the year commencing June first, Anno Domini eighteen hundred and eighty-six: Provided, That the directors or managers of said institution shall make, under oath, a semi-annual report to the Auditor General of the Commonwealth containing an itemized statement of the expenses of the institution during the previous quarter; and, unless such itemized report is made and approved by both the Auditor General and State Treasurer, the State Treasurer is hereby directed not to pay any money unless such reports are made and approved: And provided further, That no warrant shall be issued for the payment of the said sums until a sufficient amount of money is in the State treasury not otherwise appropriated to pay the same.

APPROVED-The 9th day of July, A. D. one thousand eight hundred and eighty-five, except as to the item appropriating ten thousand dollars for the completion of building, which is hereby disapproved. This item was not asked for in the application made by the hospital to the Board of Public Charities. All the aid asked for in that application is recommended by the Board and appropriated by this bill. Those items I approve, but, adhering to the action of the Board of Charities, I disapprove of the item named in excess of their recommendations.

ROBT. E. PATTISON.

No. 90.
AN ACT

Making appropriations for the State Hospital for Injured Persons of the Anthracite Coal Regions of Pennsylvania.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted, &c., That the following sums be and are hereby specifically appropriated to the State Hospital for Injured Persons of the Anthracite Coal Regions of Pennsylvania, for the years commencing June first, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and eighty-five, and for the year commencing June first, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and eighty six, to be paid in equal quarterly installments, except for the sums appropriated for the erection and construction of a boiler house and improvements in the heating apparatus, and for the erection of a laundry and equipping the same; for grading, improving, and planting the grounds; for furniture, beds, bedding and renewal of the same; for improvements and repairs to the building; for library, horses, harness, and enlarging the stable, out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.

For the erection and construction of a boiler-house, boilers, and improvements in the heating apparatus, and for the erection of a laundry and equipping the same, twelve thousand dollars.

For grading, improving, and planting the grounds, for the year commencing June first, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and eighty- ́ five, five thousand dollars.

For furniture, beds, and bedding and renewal of the same, for the year commencing June first, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and eighty-five, seven hundred and fifty dollars.

For furniture, beds, and bedding and renewal of same, for the year commencing June first, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and eightysix, seven hundred and fifty dollars.

For cementing the cellar floor and plastering the ceiling and walls of the same, and necessary repairs to the building, four thousand nine hundred and eighty-nine dollars.

For improving and enlarging the east and west wings of the building, five thousand dollars.

For library, five hundred dollars.

For horses, harness, vehicles, et cetera, and additional stabling room, one thousand dollars.

For salaries of officers and employés and for the support and maintenance of the institution, for the year commencing June first, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and eighty-five, thirty thousand dollars. And for salaries of officers and employés and for the support and maintenance of the institution for the year commencing June first, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-six, thirty thousand dollars: Provided, That the trustees of said institution, shall make under oath a quarterly report to the Auditor General of the Commonwealth containing an itemized statement of the expenses of the institution, showing the amount of provisions, articles, et cetera, furnished the institution, the price paid and the name of the person or persons furnishing the same and the date on which the same were furnished during the previous quarter; and unless such itemized report is made and approved by both the Auditor General and State Treasurer, the State Treasurer is hereby directed not to pay any more money to said institution until such report is made and approved as aforesaid: And provided, That the superintendent shall, after the passage of this act, for two consecutive weeks and yearly thereafter for the same length of time, commencing on the first Monday in April, advertise in three newspapers of general circulation for bids to furnish all needed supplies for the year beginning June first, next ensuing. Said superintendent shall furnish promptly on application to all persons desiring to bid an itemized list of the kind and probable amount of supplies required. The board of trustees shall award the contract for such supplies to the lowest and best bidder, taking such security for the faithful performance of the contract as they may deem necessary. The said appropriations to be paid on the warrant of the Auditor General on a settlement made by him and the State Treasurer, and not until the treasurer shall have sufficient money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated to pay the quarterly installments due said institution.

APPROVED The 9th day of July, A. D. 1885, except as to the following items, which, not having been recommended by the Board of Public Charities in their annual report or in excess of their recommendations, are hereby disapproved, to wit:

The item of twelve thousand dollars for the erection and construction of a boiler-house, boilers, and improvements in the heating apparatus and for the erection of a laundry and equipping the same.

The item of five thousand dollars for grading, improving, and planting the ground for the year commencing June first, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and eighty-five.

The item of seven hundred and fifty dollars for furniture, beds, and bedding, and the renewal of the same, for the year commencing June first, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and eighty-five.

The item of seven hundred and fifty dollars for like purposes for the year one thousand eight hundred and eighty-six.

The item of four thousand nine hundred and eighty-nine dollars for cementing the cellar floor and plastering the ceiling and walls of the same,

and necessary repairs to the building. The Board of Public Charities. recommended only five hundred dollars for these purposes.

The item of five thousand dollars for improving and enlarging the east and west wings of the building.

The item of five hundred dollars for a library.

All these items are hereby disapproved.

There are other items in the bill in excess of what the Board approved, but not wishing to leave the institution entirely without funds for its support, I have been constrained to allow them to take effect. Certain other suggestions as to the management of the institution are, I regret to say, not incorporated in the bill as they should have been.

ROBT. E. PATTISON.