In Re Newell

The petitioner, by a proceeding in habeas corpus, seeks release from custody on a charge that he has violated the provisions of an ordinance of the county of Los Angeles passed by the board of supervisors on January 22, 1922. •

The provision of the ordinance which he is charged with having violated declares it to be unlawful for any person to ship or offer for shipment ‘ ‘ citrus fruits in boxes or other containers or in bulk if the contents of any package or of the fruit in bulk contains fifteen per cent or more of citrus fruits showing in two or more segments of each fruit marked evidence of frost injury.”

The Political Code (sec. 4057) provides that, except as provided in section 4058, no ordinance “shall take effect within less than thirty days after its passage.” Section 4058 provides for a referendum and that such referendum may be initiated by a petition presented to the board of supervisors within thirty days after the final passage of the ordinance, with respect to all ordinances, except, among others, any “ordinance for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety.”

The ordinance in question declares that it shall take effect immediately upon its…