Thus it may cure defects and confirm taxes where there was jurisdiction to impose them. (People v. McDonald, 69 id. 362; Terrel v. Wheeler, 123 id. 76; Cromwell v. MacLean, 123 id. 474.) It may confirm a tax imposed where the assessment omits property which might originally have been exempted. (Van Deventer v. Long Island City, 139 id. 133.) It may delegate to a municipality the power to tax for the expenses of the local government. (Matter of Petition of Zborowski, 68 id. 88.)

The power of the legislature to apportion taxes is as broad as the taxing power itself. (Matter of Sackett St., 4 Hun, 92, affirmed in 74 N. Y. 95.) The legislature may authorize the land of the state to be assessed for local improvements. (Hassan et al. v. Rochester, 67 N. Y. 528.)

The legislature may sanction an improvement or expenditure which it could previously authorize, and authorize an assessment therefor. (Matter of Sackett St., etc., 74 N. Y. 95.) It cannot compel an adjoining town to be taxed for the payment of debts previously contracted by a city. (Matter of Assessment, 60 N. Y. 398.)

The legislature may make a tax deed of the comptroller presumptive evidence that the sale was regular. (Hand v. Ballou, 12 N. Y. 541.)

The legislature cannot tax imports (People v. Maring, 3 Keyes, 374); cannot tax national banks (People ex rel. Gallatin Nat. Bk. v. Commissioners, 67 N. Y. 516); but can tax capital employed in the business exporting cotton to foreign countries. (People, ex rel. v. Bd. of Tax Comrs. of N. Y., 10 Hun, 255.)

The legislature may ratify and create a liability on the part of the state for property voluntarily furnished or valuable services rendered at request of a state officer. (O'Hara v. State, 112 N. Y. 146.) It may relinquish a claim of the state or waive its remedies for fraud. (People v. Stephens, 71 N. Y. 527.) It may enlarge the time within which a claim against the state may be filed, if it would not already be outlawed as between individuals. (Parmenter v. State, 135 id. 154.)

It cannot confer jurisdiction on the court of claims to hear or allow a claim against the state, which, as between individuals, would be barred by the statute of limitations. (McDougall v. State, 109 N. Y. 73; Gates v. State, 128 id. 221.)

The legislature may validate the act of a municipality, invalid because of procedure, where the municipality had jurisdiction of the subject-matter (Tifft v. City of Buffalo, 82 N. Y. 204); may ratify an ultra vires contract for a public purpose of a municipality (Brown v. Mayor, etc., 63 N. Y. 239); may authorize local regulations and commit the power of making them to local bodies or the people of localities (Tanner v. Albion, 5 Hill, 121; Clarke v. City of Rochester, 28 N. Y. 605); may authorize a municipality to regulate hawking and peddling (Village of Stamford v. Fisher, 140 id. 187); may establish civil divisions (People ex rel. Wood v. Draper, 15 id. 532); may erect a county (Rumsey v. People, 19 id. 41), but only when it can provide for the new county taking its place in the political and judicial divisions of the state (Lanning v. Carpenter, 20 id. 447); may authorize a village to dissolve its incorporation (Blauvelt v. Village of Nyack, 9 Hun, 153); may distribute the powers of local government between county and city (People, ex rel. Taylor, v. Dunlap, 66 N. Y. 162); may provide that claims be presented to a city council for a certain time before action is brought (Reining v. City of Buffalo, 102 id. 308); may validate a claim against a town, supported by a moral consideration, but irregular. (Wrought Iron Bridge Co. v. Attica, 119 id. 204.)

The legislature cannot vest the performance of specific local and municipal duties in a state board. (People v. Acton, 48 Barb. 524.)

The legislature has no judicial authority and cannot control the courts in respect to the construction of statutes arising before the declaratory statute. (Ins. Co. v. Jenkins, 16 N. Y. 424.) It may conduct a legislative but not a judicial inquiry. (People, ex rel. v. Webb [Sp. T.], 23 N. Y. St. Rep. 325; People v. Otis, 90 N. Y. 48.)

The legislature may create inferior local courts (Sill v. Village of Corning, 15 N. Y. 297); may authorize city courts to issue writs of mandamus (People, ex rel. v. Green, 68 id. 295); may regulate their jurisdiction, within constitutional limitations. (Butterfield v. Rudde, 58 id. 489.)

The legislature may modify the rules of evidence. (Howard v. Mcot, 64 N. Y. 262; People v. Turner, 117 id. 227.) But retroactive laws of this character must be strictly construed. (People, ex rel. v. Ryder, 124 id. 500.)

The legislature cannot deny to a person who has been illegally deprived of his property access to the courts for relief (Gilman v. Tucker, 128 N. Y. 190, 202); but may deprive a party of the aid of a court of equity to remove the apparent lien of a void assessment upon his land. (Lennon v. Mayor, 55 N. Y. 361.) The legislature may direct the enforcement of valid judgments by imprisonment, if property cannot be found. (People, ex rel. Underwood, v. Daniel, 50 N. Y. 274.)

The legislature cannot provide for the surrender of fugitives from justice of foreign countries (People, ex rel. v. Curtis, 50 N. Y. 321); cannot validate a void contract. (N. Y. & Oswego R. R. Co. v. Van Horn, 57 N. Y. 473.) The legislature cannot infringe upon the liberty or the property rights of persons within the protection of the constitution, under the guise of the police power. (People v. Gilson, 109 N. Y. 389.)

The legislature cannot contingently deprive a person of property the right to which was perfect under prior laws. (Burch v. Newbury, 10 N. Y. 374.) The legislature may confirm an irregular election. (People v. Flanagan, 66 N. Y. 237.)

The legislature may regulate or limit the height of buildings. (People, ex rel. v. D'Oench, 111 N. Y. 359.)

The legislature may authorize the sale of land of infants, in being or unborn (Leggett v. Hunter, 19 N. Y. 445); but not of adults without their consent, except for taxes or assessments. (Brevoort v. Grace, 53 N. Y. 245.)

The legislature may distribute the functions of supreme court commissioner, although the office has been abolished. (Hayner v. James, 17 N. Y. 316.) The legislature may create a commission of investigation by joint resolution. (People v. Learned, 5 Hun, 626.)

The legislature cannot create a debt of the state beyond the amount authorized by the constitution. (People v. Supervisors of Kings, 52 N. Y. 556.)

The legislature may determine what estate shall be taken by the state in land acquired for public purposes, although the public use be not necessarily permanent. (Eldridge v. Binghamton, 120 N. Y. 309.)

Number and terms of senators and assemblymen.-§ 2. The Senate shall consist of fifty members, except as hereinafter provided. The senators elected in the year one thousand eight hundred and ninety-five shall hold their offices for three years, and their successors shall be chosen for two years. The Assembly shall consist of one hundred and fifty members who shall be chosen for one year.

[New, superseding section 2 of article III of the amended constitution of 1846, which provided for a senate of 32 members, and an assembly of 128 members. The provision that the senate shall consist of 50 members except as hereinafter provided," refers to the provision in the last paragraph of section 4 of this article.]

Senate districts.- § 3. The state shall be divided into fifty districts to be called senate districts, each of which shall choose one senator. The districts shall be numbered from one to fifty, inclusive.

District number one (1) shall consist of the counties of Suffolk and Richmond.

District number two (2) shall consist of the county of Queens.

District number three (3) shall consist of that part of the county of Kings comprising the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth wards of the city of Brooklyn.

District number four (4) shall consist of that part of the county of Kings comprising the seventh, thirteenth, nineteenth and twenty-first wards of the city of Brooklyn.

District number five (5) shall consist of that part of the county of Kings comprising the eighth, tenth, twelfth and thirtieth wards of the city of Brooklyn, and the ward of the city of Brooklyn which was formerly the town of Gravesend.

District number six (6) shall consist of that part of the county of Kings comprising the ninth, eleventh, twentieth and twenty-second wards of the city of Brooklyn.

District number seven (7) shall consist of that part of the county of Kings comprising the fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth wards of the city of Brooklyn.

District number eight (8) shall consist of that part of the county of Kings comprising the twenty-third, twenty-fourth, twenty-fifth and twenty-ninth wards of the city of Brooklyn, and the town of Flatlands. District number nine (9) shall consist of that part of the county of Kings comprising the eighteenth, twenty-sixth, twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth wards of the city of Brooklyn.

District number ten (10) shall consist of that part of the county of New York within and bounded by a line beginning at Canal street and the Hudson river, and running thence along Canal street, Hudson street, Dominick street, Varick street, Broome street, Sullivan street, Spring street, Broadway, Canal street, the Bowery, Division street, Grand street and Jackson street, to the East river and thence around the southern end of Manhattan island, to the place of beginning, and also Governor's, Bedloe's and Ellis islands.

District number eleven (11) shall consist of that part of the county of New York lying north of district number ten, and within and bounded by a line beginning at the junction of Broadway and Canal street, and running thence along Broadway, Fourth street, the Bowery and Third avenue, St. Mark's place, Avenue A, Seventh street, Avenue B, Clinton street, Rivington street, Norfolk street, Division street, Bowery and Canal street, to the place of beginning.

District number twelve (12) shall consist of that part of the county of New York lying north of districts numbers ten and eleven and within and bounded by a line beginning at Jackson street and the East river, and running thence through Jackson street, Grand street, Division street, Norfolk street, Rivington street, Clinton street, Avenue B, Seventh street, Avenue A, St. Mark's place, Third avenue, East Fourteenth street to the East river, and along the East river, to the place of beginning.

District number thirteen (13) shall consist of that part of the county of New York lying north of district number ten, and within and bounded by a line beginning at the Hudson river at the foot of Canal street, and running thence along Canal street, Hudson s' reet, Dominick street, Varick street, Broome street, Sullivan street, Spring street, Broadway, Fourth street, the Bowery and Third avenue, Fourteenth street, Sixth avenue, West Fifteenth street, Seventh avenue, West Nineteenth street, Eighth avenue, West Twentieth street, and the Hudson river, to the place of beginning.

District number fourteen (14) shall consist of that part of the county of New York lying north of districts numbers twelve and thirteen, and within and bounded by a line beginning at East Fourteenth street and the East river, and running thence along East Four

teenth street, Irving place, East Nineteenth street, Third avenue, East Twenty-third street, Lexington avenue, East Fifty-third street, Third avenue, East Fifty-second street, and the East river, to the place of beginning.

District number fifteen (15) shall consist of that part of the county of New York lying north of district number thirteen, and within and bounded by a line beginning at the junction of West Fourteenth street and Sixth avenue, and running thence along Sixth avenue, West Fifteenth street, Seventh avenue, West Fortieth street, Eighth avenue, and the transverse road across Central park at Ninety-seventh street, Fifth avenue, East Ninety-sixth street, Lexington avenue, East Twenty-third street, Third avenue, East Nineteenth street, Irving place and Fourteenth street, to the place of beginning.

District number sixteen (16) shall consist of that part of the county of New York lying north of district number thirteen, and within and bounded by a line beginning at Seventh avenue and West Nineteenth street, and running thence along West Nineteenth street, Eighth avenue, West Twentieth street, the Hudson river, West Forty-sixth street, Tenth avenue, West Forty-third street, Eighth avenue, West Fortieth street and Seventh avenue, to the place of beginning.

District number seventeen (17) shall consist of that part of the county of New York lying north of district number sixteen, and within and bounded by a line beginning at the junction of Eighth avenue and West Forty-third street, and running thence along West Forty-third street, Tenth avenue, West Forty-sixth street, the Hudson river, West Eighty-ninth street, Tenth or Amsterdam avenue, West Eighty-sixth street, Ninth or Columbus avenue, West Eighty-first street and Eighth avenue, to the place of beginning.

District number eighteen (18) shall consist of that part of the county of New York lying north of district number fourteen, and within and bounded by a line beginning at the junction of East Fifty-second street and the East river, and running thence along East Fifty-second street, Third avenue, East Fifty-third street, Lexngton avenue, East Eighty-fourth street, Second avenue, East Eightythird street and the East river, to the place of beginning; and also Blackwell's island.

District number nineteen (19) shall consist of that part of the county of New York lying north of district number seventeen, and within and bounded by a line beginning at West Eighty-ninth street and the Hudson river, and running thence along the Hudson river and Spuyten Duyvil creek around the northern end of Manhattan island; thence southerly along the Harlem river to the north end of Fifth avenue; thence along Fifth avenue, East One Hundred and Twentyninth street, Fourth or Park avenue, East One Hundred and Tenth street, Fifth avenue, the transverse road across Central park at Ninetyseventh street, Eighth avenue, West Eighty-first street, Ninth or Columbus avenue, West Eighty-sixth street, Tenth or Amsterdam avenue and West Eighty-ninth street, to the place of beginning.

District number twenty (20) shall consist of that part of the county of New York lying north of districts numbers eighteen and fifteen, and within and bounded by a line beginning at East Eighty-third street

and the East river, running thence through East Eighty-third street, Second avenue, East Eighty-fourth street, Lexington avenue, East Ninety-sixth street, Fifth avenue, East One Hundred and Tenth street, Fourth or Park avenue, East One Hundred and Nineteenth street to the Harlem river, and along the Harlem and East rivers, to the place of beginning; and also Randall's island and Ward's island.

All the above districts in the county of New York bounded upon or along the boundary waters of the county, shall be deemed to extend to the county line.

District number twenty-one (21) shall consist of that part of the county of New York lying north of districts numbers nineteen and twenty, within and bounded by a line beginning at East One Hundred and Nineteenth street and the IIarlem river, and running thence along East One Hundred and Nineteenth street, Fourth or Park avenue, One Hundred and Twenty-ninth street, Fifth avenue and the Harlem river to the place of beginning; and all that part of the county of New York not hereinbefore described.

District number twenty-two (22) shall consist of the county of Westchester.

District number twenty-three (23) shall consist of the counties of Orange and Rockland.

District number twenty-four (24) shall consist of the counties of Dutchess, Columbia and Putnam.

District number twenty-five (25) shall consist of the counties of Ulster and Greene.

District number twenty-six (26) shall consist of the counties of Delaware, Chenango and Sullivan.

District number twenty-seven (27) shall consist of the counties of Montgomery, Fulton, Hamilton and Schoharie.

District number twenty-eight (28) shall consist of the counties of Saratoga, Schenectady and Washington.

District number twenty-nine (29) shall consist of the county of Albany.

District number thirty (30) shall consist of the county of Rensselaer. District number thirty-one (31) shall consist of the counties of Clinton, Essex and Warren.

District number thirty-two (32) shall consist of the counties of St. Lawrence and Franklin.

District number thirty-three (33) shall consist of the counties of Otsego and Herkimer.

District number thirty-four (34) shall consist of the county of Oneida. District number thirty-five (35) shall consist of the counties of Jefferson and Lewis.

District number thirty-six (36) shall consist of the county of Onondaga.

District number thirty-seven (37) shall consist of the counties of Oswego and Madison.

District number thirty-eight (38) shall consist of the counties of Broome, Cortland and Tioga.

District number thirty-nine (39) shall consist of the counties of Cayuga and Seneca.