and his official rights as auditor of the State of Iowa during the years 1885 and 1886, and for interest thereon since paid by him, there is hereby appropriated, out of any moneys in the State treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of four thousand dollars, the money hereby appropriated to be paid to John L. Brown; and the auditor of State is hereby authorized and directed to draw his warrant on the State treasurer in favor of John L. Brown for said

sum.

Sec. 2. That the acceptance by John L. Brown of the sum appropriated herein shall be taken as full settlement of all claims by said John L. Brown as against the State of Iowa, growing out of the matters recited in this act.

Sec. 3. This act, being deemed of immediate importance, shall take effect and be in force from and after the date of its publication in the Iowa State Register and Des Moines Leader, newspapers published in Des Moines, Iowa.

Approved April 14, 1896.

I hereby certify that the foregoing act was published in the Iowa State Register, April 24, and Des Moines Leader, April 25, 1896.

W. M. MCFARLAND, Secretary of State.

In this bill notice (1) the style (Art. III., Sec. 1), (2) the purpose and the amount of the appropriation (3), the proviso insuring against any further claims on this ground, and (4) the time when the act takes effect. When would the act have taken effect if the third section had not been included in the act? (See Art III., Sec. 26).

245. The Oath of Office,--Sec. 32. Members of the General Assembly shall, before they enter upon the duties of their respective offices, take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation: "I do solemnly swear, or affirm (as the case may be), that I will support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of Iowa, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of Senator (or representative, as the case may be) according to the best of my ability." And the members of the General Assembly are hereby empowered to administer to each other the said oath or affirmation.

Notice that one is given the choice between swearing and affirming. This is a concession to those who have conscientious scruples against swearing. This oath of allegiance to both United States and Iowa is required by the Federal Constitution. Any one who violates this oath by engaging in insurrection against the United States, or giving its enemies aid and comfort, is disqualified for holding any civil or military office under the United States or any State, or for becoming a member of Congress. This disqualification can be removed only by a two-thirds vote of Congress. (Constitution of the United States, Amendment XIV., Sec. 3).

246, The State Census.--Sec. 33. The General Assembly shall, in the years one thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, and one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, and every ten years thereafter, cause an enumeration to be made of all the (white) inhabitants of the State.

(Amended by striking out the word "white" at the general election in 1868).

This enumeration is called the State census, and is

taken by the township assessors, reported to the county auditor, and by him reported to the secretary of State. The preparation of blanks and the general supervision of the census is in the hands of the executive council of the State, comprising the governor, secretary of State, auditor, and treasurer. (Code, §§ 171-174). Until 1875 the census was taken more frequently, about once in two years. The United States census is taken once in ten years, but it comes in the years whose numerals end with zero. In connection with the census, many items of interest are usually reported, e.g., foreigners not naturalized, number of militia, children between five and twentyone years of age, etc. Code $171.

The

247. Apportionment of Senators.-Sec. 34. number of senators shall, at the next session following each period of making such enumeration, and the next session following each United States census, be fixed by law, and apportioned among the several counties, according to the number of (white) inhabitants in each. (Amended by striking out the word "white" at the general election in 1868).

Compare the frequency of apportioning senators and representatives (Sec. 36). The last apportionment of senators was made (Chapter CXXIV., Laws of the Twenty-sixth General Assembly) in 1896, and, without giving any specific ratio, provided for fifty senators, and assigned the various counties to the fifty senatorial districts.

248. Number of Senators and Organization of Districts.-Sec. 35. The Senate shall not consist of more than fifty members, nor the House of Representatives of more than one hundred; and they shall be

apportioned among the several counties and representative districts of the State, according to the number of (white) inhabitants in each, upon ratios to be fixed by law; but no representative district shall contain more than four organized counties, and each district shall be entitled to at least one representative. Every county and district which shall have a number of inhabitants equal to one-half of the ratio fixed by law shall be entitled to one representative; and any one county containing in addition to the ratio fixed by law, one-half of that number, or more, shall be entitled to one additional representative. No floating district shall hereafter be formed.

(Amended by striking out the word "white" at the general election in 1868).

This section puts an absolute limit of fifty upon the number of senators, and one hundred upon the representatives. There is also a relative limit set upon the number of senators. (See Art. III., Sec. 6.) Note the restriction on the number of counties in a district and the number of members allowed to each district.

249. Floating Districts.-The meaning of the term "floating districts" is best illustrated by a citation from the political history of Iowa. In one of the acts of the legislature which provided for representative and senatorial districts, it was declared that the county of Van Buren should constitute one representative district, with two representatives; Henry county another district, with two representatives; and Lee a third district, with three representatives, and then the same act provided that these three counties, Van Buren, Henry, and Lee, should jointly constitute a representative district and have one representative. This last district was what was then called "a floating

district," although, as Prof. T. S. Parvin remarks, the district was fixed enough, and it was the representative who was a "floating member." This representative was chosen sometimes from one county and sometimes from another.

250. Apportionment of Representatives.--Sec. 36. At its first session under this Constitution, and at every subsequent regular session, the General Assembly shall fix the ratio of representation, and also form into representative districts those counties which will not be entitled singly to a representative.

The last apportionment was made in 1896 (Laws of Twenty-sixth General Assembly, Chapter CXXV), and the old ratio of 22000 was reaffirmed. The State is divided into ninety-one representative districts. Most districts comprise one county and have one representative, but occasionally two sparsely settled counties are united in one district, and nine districts comprising single counties with large population have two representatives.

The 91st District includes two counties, viz., Worth and Winnebago.

The 82d District includes two counties, viz., Clay and Palo Alto.

The 81st District includes three counties, viz., Osceola, Emmet, and Dickinson.

The 80th District includes two counties, viz., O'Brien and Lyon.

The 76th District includes two counties, viz., Humboldt and Pocahontas.

The 75th District includes two counties, viz., Wright and Hancock.