The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1858-04-09
The Snprnme Court and Common
Schools.

Schools.
The Supreme Court have again had
the subject of taxation by cities for com
mon schools before them. The city Of
Lafayette petitioned the Court for re-
hearing Of the case, and the Court after
hearing counsels have re affirmed their
former decision and sustained it by fur
Their reasons. The following extracts
from the opinion embrace all the mates
rial points in the opinion as delivered by |
Judge Perkins. 1t will be read BY every
one interested in the subject Of common
schools.
The Constitution of Indiana ordains that |
tho General Assembly shall "provide, by
law, for a general and uniform system of
common schools, wherein tuition shall be
without charge and equally open to all. y
Sec. l, Art. s. 1t also ordains that that
Assembly shall provide for the election by
the voters of the State, of State Supcrin-
tendent of Public Instruction." Sec. S,
Art. S.
The case rests upon the provisions Of the
Constitution we have quoted. They enjoin
one general uniform system of common
schools; which, to be such, all admit, must
operate alike in town and country. No other
provision was needed in that instrument to
produce such a system.
But it does contain another provision, viz:
that the General Assembly shall not pass
any local or special law providing for the
support of common schools. Sec. %, Art. 4.
And the question arises: Why was that
prohibitory section inserted! To what was
It addressedl What was its designl 1t was
II y
schools, for that had already been plainly
provided for. What was its objectl What
could it be addressed to but city and town
schoolsl We cannot suppose that in so care
fully considered an instrument as State
Constitution, it was inserted without aim,
without some meaning. What was it!
The question is easily answered, when
considered in the light of history. Under
our former Constitution, we had had two
systems of common schools, the general and
the local, and the local had broken down the
general system, and neither had fourished.
See Greeneastle township q. Black, supra
This was an evil distinctly in the view OF
the Convention which framed the new Con-
stitution; and it was determined that the two
systems should no longer co-exist; that the
one general system should be continued
strengthened by additional aids, and tina
the counteracting local system should 60 on
of existence--should cease.
We have said that under the former Con
stitution, the local school system broke dowI
the general one; and the same would be TIL
result were both tolerated under the presen
Constitution. An ordinary amount o
knowledge of human nature, and tie mo
tives that govern legislative bodies, mus
suffice to convince any one of this fact
The constituents of members representa-:
counties having towns and cities which hat
adopted the local system would, to q grea
M M n hpr m int rta
with that; they would have no interest il
keeping up the general system; and hence
their representatives would naturally unit
with the enemies of that system in tn
Legislature, to render it inefficient, merel,
nominal; and, under such influences, il
would wither, if not die. While, on TIN
other hand, if to obtain schools for thei
own constituents, they were compelled to
vote them to all the people Of the State, tin
efficiency and permanency, as well as equal
ity and uniformity of the general system
would be maintained.
The question next occurs, is the act o
1856, authorizing cities and towns to Pa.
teachers of common schools by taxation o
the citizens, o local law?
The Court is not insensible to the Difficult
ty of determining, in many cases under ou
Constitution, what constitutes such q law
The question is often one of much embar-
Tassment; and few authorities are found t
aid in its solution. But in the present case
it would seem that there could be but httl
difficulty in arriving at a correct conclusion
The subject of the act of 1855, it will be OF
served, is not the organization of city an
town corporations, but the maintenance
public or common schools, and taxation Il
that purpose. And we have seen that con
mon schools as q whole, are made State IL
stitution-a system co-extensive with I'll
State, embracing within it, every either
every foot of territory, and all the taxab
49, aWath e Natn w No Ia n
of the State is divided into school district
undar the general school system, includir
the towns and citics-they are school di
tricts. Now, law that is less general tha
the single subject upon which it is to operat
cannot, as general rule, certainly, be gel
eral law. But, on the other hand, if it
as general that subject, it certainly wi
as general rule, be a general law.
Here, as we have seen, the subject is cor
mon schools. The subject embraces all {
persons and all the property of the State.
Yet, this law of 1855, operates, and is d
signed to operate, only upon portion of t
PERSONS and property of the State; to
operative only in part of the school d
tTicts. The State is divided into distri'
tor common school purposes. The cit
and towns form a part of the districts, a
must do so, to render the school system &c
eral and uniform. Now, suppose the schC
law in terms provided that taxation for col
SYSTEM, should be uniform except in Il
portion of the school districts situated
towns and cities; but that in such distric
n tax, additional TO that levied in the ru
districts, might be imposed, and a differt
organization and management of the scho
adopted; would any one pretend that
law thus framed was uniform in its opeI
ton as required by the Constitution; a
not LOCALE See The State VS.. Barbee, IL
25s. Yet, such is the SCHOOL law Of
State if the act of 1855 is part of it;
the additional taxes levied by cities a
towns for school purposes, are levied only
virtue of that law of the State specially
thorizing them. 1t constitutes one law,
scale of taxation, for one part of the sch
districts, and another for the other part
But here we are met with the argument &
cities and towns are in u measure, indep
dent governments, iHPeri1 an imPerto, d
may be indefinitely endowed with the pc
or Of taxation.
We admit that great powers may be c.
ferred upon municipal corporations for c
porate purposes within constitutional linn
The city of Aurora Q. West. Ind. "a.