124 JOURNAL OF PROCEEDINGS [Jan. 28

insertion of the usual clause to this effect, and cannot be re-
ferred to the people under the Amendment; except that any
law making an appropriation to a public institution in excess
of the next previous appropriation for the same purpose, can
be so referred to the extent of the excess, and to that extent
cannot become effective until the first day of June, but to the
extent that such appropriation does not exceed the next pre-
vious appropriation for the same purpose it can be made effec-
tive at once.

No law embraced within the fourth class, "licensing, regu-
lating, prohibiting, or referring to local option the manu-
facture or sale of malt or spirituous liquors" can be referred
to the people under the Constitutional Amendment. Whether
or not such a law (fan, in any event, and independently of the
Amendment, be passed without a referendum, is a question
which may hereafter arise directly, and, therefore, I do not
think that I should express any opinion upon that question at
this time.

Any law which does not fall within one of the above four
classes, can in no event take effect before the first day of June.
In such case a clause in the law providing that it shall take
effect from the date of its passage, or at any time before the
first day of June, would, in my judgment, be simply nugatory,
and the law would take effect on the first day of June, not-
withstanding such clause.

If such law contains no clause at all as to when it is to
take effect, then, in my judgment, it will take effect, under the
Constitutional Amendment, on the first day of June, unless
previously referred to the people. In order, however, that
there should be no possible question about this, I think it
better to add a section to all laws which are not embraced
within one of the above four classes, to the effect that "This
Act shall take effect from the first day of June, 1916. "

Very truly yours,

ALBERT C. RITCHIE,

Attorney-General.
[Which was read and ordered printed in the Journal. ]

ORDERS.

On motion of Mr. Brown it was ordered that Mr. Williams
be excused from today's session on account of important busi-
ness.