Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1835-01-24
COMMUNICATION.
LAWS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.


citizen of the District Of Columbia Would
respectfully call the attention of the members of
Congress to the Volume Of Bills. Of six hundred
and eighty pages, entitled 81 System of
g. Civil and Criminal Law for the District of Co.
+. lumbia, and the organization of the Courts
{" therein, reported by Joint Committee aD
" pointed for the purpose"
The index to this system consists OF one hun.
dred and thirty five ppges.
The Chairman of the Committee of the Dis.
trict of Columbia, in the Senate, has reported
Bil TO provide System of Laws for the Dis
trct of Columbia-the first section OF which en-.
acts that this system shall be the Law through.
ont the District. to take effect within the same
and upon all persons therein, from and after
the fourth day of July in the year 1886.
1t is, by this Bill, proposed to pass the whole
Code as reported by the Joint Committee, with.
out reading each Bill and amending them With
due Difference and respect for the members Of
both Houses, | must deny the constitutional
power Of Congress to pass any law for the ex.
elusive government of this District in am
other manner than they can pass q law for any
other portion of the United States. The mode
proposed is direct violation OF the rules and
orders of the Senate, which declares that every
bill shall receive three readings previous to
its being passed; and the President shall give
notice at each, whether it be the first, second,
F." or third-which readings shall be on three dit.
So ferent days, unless the Senate shall IMAM.
| wmously direct it otherwise:"-that is, have the
three readings on the same day. The 26th rule
declares :" no bill shall be committed or amend.
{" ed until il shall have been fDice read; after
{" which it may be referred to Committee
The same rule exists in the House OF Repre-.
sentatives.
1t is proposed to pass Code Of Civil and Ch
! minal Law. in a manner not only in opposition
IN the rules of the House, but against the uni.
versal course of legislation. 1t is true this
Code contains some useful provisions; il also
contains some very Objectionable ones. 1t pro-
poses to change radically the laws and rules Of
the District, by repeating old laws and intro.
ducing new ones. and to do this without The le.
gislators eren reading the bills. II is submitted
whether proposition to legisate in this mode
for any other portion of the United States, would
for moment be countenanced by any member
| of Congress- III would not, Upon what ground
can it be that Congress can feel authorised 10
| legisate in this carele and Indifferent manner,
for the people Of this District We are as
| much entitled TO the patient attention and inves-
tigation of laws which are to affect our lives
| liberty, and property, as any other portion Of
the people of the United States.
independent of the objection to the proposed
manner of passing these laws, there are strong
objections to every attempt to adopt general
system at once. The only way to have com.
plete system Of Civil and Criminal Law, is to
pass, session after session, such laws as from
time to time the situation of the community may
need, and which experience may render expe-
dent. By this means, good system may be
finally obtained, with which the people in gene.
raj would be satisfied.
The proposed system contains some laws TO
which very large majority of the people of!he
District object-Among those to which the
strongest objections exist are the following:
o1,;a To tta
ton Of the Courts;-they prefer the present ar.
rangement Of the Courts
| 3D. They object to having so many Justices
Of the Peace in the District, one hundred and
thirty five in number; and they object to the
County Court system.
Sd. The proposed system will fix upon the
District from eighty to one hundred Courts in
the year. which, instead of being the insru.
ments of speedy justice, will be the means Of
continual harrassment and veXation, and great
expense.
9TH. The most serious objection is, that the
system proposes to introduce the Civil Law
Code-thus to change. in great degree, the
Common Law principles by which the people
have been governed. and to which they are &C
customed. The States on each side Of the Dis.
trct are and will be governed by the Common
Law rules, except where otherwise provided
for by special statutes; and this District alone is
to be placed under the Civil Law Code. The
people in general are acquainted with the prn.
cciples of the Common Law If the Civil Law
Code is introduced, especially in relation to Of
fences, they will not be able to learn what it
contains, and what may be considered an Of
fence. This Code introduces long list Of de-
finitiOns of what certain words mean-after the
word is defined, then there are rules introduced,
stating what the word used in the definition
means:-As for instance, in page 377, it defines
what negligent homicide Isl il then proceeds,
and declares that certain rules derived from the
foregoing definition are to be observed: it then
gives five rules, which is followed by what is
called examples and Illustrations Of this offence.
Some of the provisions respecting negroes
and slaves are very good, and some very OBJ.
jectionable.
1t would extend these remarks far beyond
what would be eXpedient TO insert in a news
paper, were ! to present all the Objectionable
provisions in this Code. would respectfully
suggest, as the best disposition Of the Code that
1t be referred to three gentlemen of the profes-
sion Of the Law in the District, one to be taken
from each town; who, from their experience
and knowledge of the defects in the existing
laws, would be able to select from the Code
such laws as the situation Of the people most
10 o lak thn