as shall be prescribed by law.' It is insisted that the assessment in question was not made under any uniform rule of taxation provided by the legislature, and that it was therefore void. It is not now necessary to determine what is the true import of the first clause of this section. No new rule of taxation had been provided by the legislature when the assessment was made, and it is not pretended that this provision of the constitution executes itself." And an assessment under the old law was held proper.
In People v. Bradley, 60 Ill. 390, this same principle was discussed. In that state a court had been established by statute, known as the "Recorder’s Court of the City of Chicago," with its jurisdiction defined, judge, clerk, juries, and officers provided for. The constitution of 1870 continued this court as the "Criminal Court of Cook County," but with a change of judges, and enlarged geographical jurisdiction, but with a portion of the jurisdiction of the former court expressly denied, and none of the jurisdiction of that court expressly conferred. The case was habeas corpus, issued from the criminal court of Cook county. It was urged that this court was without authority to issue that writ; but the supreme court, after quoting the constitutional provision, say: "This provision, as clearly appears from the context, was intended to be self-executing, and operate upon the court in question immediately upon the constitution being adopted. * * * In short, all the machinery through which the functions of the criminal court are exercised is afforded by the statute creating the recorder’s court, or else such functions must be considered as dormant until the means for their exercise shall be provided by legislation." In Nevada a law of 1861 provided for a homestead that should be exempt. A subsequent constitution declared "a homestead, as provided by law, shall be exempt from forced sale under any process of law," etc. There was also a clause similar to § 2 of schedule to our constitution. Property had been levied upon by a sheriff that was claimed as a homestead, and the position taken by the officer was that the constitutional provision repealed the former law, and, as no homestead had been provided by legislation subsequent to the adoption of the constitution, that therefore the
