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The Unfinished Prayer of Governor William Irwin: A Blueprint for California’s Constitution
By Paul Statchen CA
In 1875, Governor William Irwin stood before the people of California and delivered what we can now call his "prayer" for the state. He didn’t just speak; he prophesied the structural rot that debt, corporate entanglement, and unequal taxation would bring to our Republic. His prayer became the spiritual foundation for the Constitution of 1879—the very Constitution we operate under today.
But has his prayer truly fruitioned?
While the 1879 Constitution codified his requests for a Railroad Commission and limits on local debt, we have drifted. The "millstone" of debt he warned against is heavier than ever, and the self-supporting systems he envisioned for prisons and water have largely vanished into a black hole of taxpayer funding.
If we are to hold onto this Constitution, we must complete his prayer. Below is an analysis of his original requests, their current status, and three concrete plans to finish the work he started.
The Prayer & Its Fruition
1. The Prayer Against Debt:
Irwin called debt "the bane of modern States" and "a millstone about the neck of all civilized peoples" (Irwin). He prayed for a Constitutional limit on local indebtedness, arguing that one generation has no right to mortgage the labor of the next.
Status: Partial/Regressed. While the "two-thirds vote" rule for local bonds exists (Art. XVI, Sec. 18), modern "creative financing" (like Certificates of Participation) often bypasses the voters entirely. The borrower is still servant to the lender ("Proverbs 22:7," Berean Study Bible).
2. The Prayer for Corporate Separation:
He prayed that the State never give or loan its credit to private corporations, calling it a "perversion" of government power (Irwin).
Status: Fruitioned (Technically). The "Gift Clause" (Art. XVI, Sec. 6) bans giving public money to private entities. However, in practice, public-private partnerships often blur this line, risking the very entanglement Irwin feared.
3. The Prayer for Irrigation & Self-Sufficiency:
Irwin prayed for "irrigation districts" where the land that benefits from the water pays for the water—not the general taxpayer. He viewed this as a method of "fertilization" where the cost is borne by the increased value of the land (Irwin).
Status: Incomplete. While we have irrigation districts, the concept of localized self-sufficiency has been replaced by massive state/federal reliance, detaching the cost from the direct benefit.
4. The Prayer for Self-Supporting Prisons:
Irwin argued that prisons should be "self-supporting" and that taxpayers should be relieved of the burden of maintaining them. He proposed utilizing prison labor to cover expenses (Irwin).
Status: Failed. California’s prison system is one of the largest budget items in the state, costing billions annually. The vision of a self-sustaining reformatory is non-existent.
Plans to Complete the Prayer
To honor the intent of the Second Constitution, we must implement the following plans to close the gap between Irwin’s prayer and our reality.
Plan 1: The "Iron-Clad" Debt Protocol
We must complete the prayer against debt by closing the loopholes that allow the State and counties to borrow without true consent.
Step 1: Pass a constitutional amendment or statute that defines all forms of future obligation (including pensions and revenue bonds) as "debt" subject to the two-thirds voter approval rule.
Step 2: Implement a "Pay-As-You-Go" system for non-emergency infrastructure, forbidding the encumbrance of future generations for current operating costs.
Step 3: Enforce a strict "Zero-Inference" rule on public credit: No public funds shall secure private equity, directly or indirectly.
Plan 2: The "Producer" Prison Reform
We must return to the idea that the penal system should not bankrupt the citizenry.
Step 1: Transition state prisons into self-sustaining agricultural and industrial centers where operation costs are met by internal production (food, textiles, infrastructure materials), as Irwin suggested with the Folsom granite quarries.
Step 2: Allocate a percentage of these earnings directly to the prisoner for their post-release integration (as Irwin specifically requested: "ten per cent or less... given to him... at the time of his discharge"), ensuring they re-enter society with capital, not just a record.
Plan 3: The Localized Water Independence Act
We must complete the prayer for irrigation by returning the cost/benefit responsibility to the district level.
Step 1: Decentralize water management back to local Irrigation Districts that are funded strictly by the land value uplift they create, rather than state income taxes.
Step 2: Mandate that new water infrastructure (such as atmospheric water generation or local capture) be financed solely by the specific districts benefiting from them, ensuring that "only the land... should be taxed to provide irrigation" (Irwin).
Conclusion
Governor Irwin’s Inaugural Address was not just a speech; it was a warning. He warned us that a government that mortgages the future and entangles itself with private interests cannot survive as a Republic. The 1879 Constitution gave us the tools to heed this warning, but we have let them rust.
We have formulated these plans to polish those tools and finally complete his prayer. However, a tool that no longer functions must eventually be replaced.
If we cannot complete his prayer for our current Constitution, we should consider making a new constitution.
Works Cited
Irwin, William. "Inaugural Address." Governors of California, California State Library, 9 Dec. 1875,
https://governors.library.ca.gov/addresses/13-Irwin.html The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible. Bible Hub, 2020,
https://biblehub.com/bsb/
Paul Statchen CA, assisted with Google Gemini AI
February 2026
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