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than officially recognize what was already the law of the land. The new document laid the foundations for state control by declaring the "the water of every natural stream, not heretofore appropriated, within the state of Colorado, is hereby declared to be the property of the public." Drawing on customs evolved in farming communities and in the mining districts, where water was diverted for placer operations, the constitution also stated a new doctrine of prior appropriation: "The right to divert the unappropriated waters of any natural stream to beneficial uses shall never be denied. Priority of appropriation shall give the better right as between those using water for the same purpose...those using the water for domestic purposes shall have preference over those claiming for any other purpose, and those using the water for agricultural purposes shall have preference over those using the same for manufacturing purposes.” The greater part of the flows of the South Platte River and tributaries had been appropriated prior to 1879. Controversies resulted in physical encounters and often bloodshed. The difficulties had grown so significant that by the time the second General Assembly of the state was to meet in 1879 an effort was made to provide a means for adjudicating the rights of the different appropriators. A statewide convention was called by Greeley irrigators to be held in December of 1878 in Denver. They realized that the courts were too slow to offer protection to growing crops. As a result of that convention it was recommended the following changes be made to the existing laws. First they recommended dividing the State into water districts corresponding with the natural drainage basins; second, the appointment by the Governor of a water commissioner in each district whose duty it would be to divide the water on the basis of prior appropriations; third, a plan for securing a record of priorities through referees' hearings in each district plus recommended the position of State Hydraulic Engineer. The Legislature responded by creating ten water districts, all but one in the South Platte River system, and also provided for the appointment of ten water commissioners. It empowered the District courts to appoint referees to determine the priority of rights on each stream in the ten districts. The legislature refused to provide for a State engineer or for the gauging stations. To economize, the supervision over irrigation was given to the State Board of Agriculture. The Water Commissioners were to be appointed by the governor upon the recommendation of the County Commissioners located in each water district that was created. Their duties were "to divide the waters of the public streams in times of scarcity among the several ditches and canals, according to prior rights of each. The first water commissioners were put in an unenviable position of not knowing how much water was in each stream and in most cases they did not know how to measure how much water was being diverted by the irrigators. In the beginning water commissioners were allowed to work a maximum of 80 days a year. They were paid by the county commissioners that they served, if there was more than one county being administered during a specific period of time the counties split cost equally. The water commissioners pay was $5 per day and their assistants were paid $3 per day for a maximum of 25 days. The Water Commissioners could only begin working when they were requested to deliver water according to the priority system due to water shortages. The Colorado System had been defined but not completed as the Second General Assembly left it; the legislation satisfied neither the lawyers, the ditch owners nor the farmers. Early in January of 1881, another irrigation convention was called by farmers who felt that further changes to the existing administrative system