The Illinois free trader and LaSalle County commercial advertiser. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1841-1843, 1843-03-31

1t appears 10 have been twice efa6ora,eiy
argued by counsel on both sides, and de-
libcra,ely considered by the court. On
the part Of the demandant in that case II
was insisted that the laws of Kentucky
passed in 1897 and 1912 concerning oc-
cupying claimants Of land impaired the
obligation of the compact made with Nir:
GINA in 1899. On the other hand it was
conlcnded that these laws only regulated
the remedy and did not operate on the
right of the lands.
In deciding the point, the court says,
alt is no answer that the acts OF Ken
lucky now in question are regulations of
the remedy, and not of the right to the
lands. If those acts SO change the nature
and extent of existing remedies. as mate
rally 10 impair the rights and interest Of
the owner, they are just as much aviola-
ton of the compact, as if they directly
overturned his rights andinterests." And
IN the opinion delivered by the court after
the second argument the same rule is re-
i.erated in language equally strong See
pages 75. rs and 81 This judgment of
the court is entitled TO more weight, be-
cause the opinion is stated in the report
of the case, to have been unanimous and
Judge Washington who was the only
member of the court absent at the first ar
gument, delivered the opinion on the sec
ond
We concur entirely in the correctness
of the rule above stated. 1t is difficult
perhaps " draw a line that would be APP
plicablc in all cases. between legitimate
alterations of the remedy, and provisions
which in the form of remedy impair the
right. But it is manifest that the obliga-
ton of the contract, and the rights OF Il
party under it, may in effect, be destroy
ed by denying remedy altogether, or
may be seriously impaired by burthening
the proceedings with new conditions and
restrictions, so as to make the remedy
hardly worth pursuing. And no one we
presume would say that there is any sub
stantial difference between retrospective
law declaring particular contract or class
ofconlracts to be abrogaied and void; and
one which took away all remedy to en-
force them, Or encumbered it with condi-
tons that rendered il useless or impraci-
cable to pursue it. Blackstone in his
commentaries on the laws of England, l..
vol. So, after having treated Of the dccla-
ratory parts of the law, defines the rene
dial in the following words:
1.-The remedial part ofthe law is so ne
cessary consequence Of the former two,
that laws must be very vague and imper-
feet without it.-For in vain wonld rights
be declared, in vain directed to be obser-
we'd, if there were no method Of recover
ing and asserting those rights when
wrongfully withheld or invaded. This is
what we mean properly when we speak
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