Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1866-02-21
IOWA COUNTY RAILROAD BONDS.
Supreme Court of the United States De-
ceInber Term, 1860.

Mr. Justice Swayne delivered the opin
ion of the court
The case came into this court from the
circuit court Of the United States for the
district Oh Wisconsin upon a certificate
that the judges OF that court were opposed
IN opinion upon the FOL owing question:
l. Whether the said act of the legisla-
tnre of the state OF Wisconsin, entitled
An act 70 authorize the counties and
towns through which the Mineral Point
railroad passes to aid its constrGctiof,.'
approved March %. 1853 under which
taeSe bonds are issued, Is general law
within the meaning of section 81 Of article
I. of the constitution Of the state of Wis
c0nsin
2 Whether the said act not being pub
lished A. a general act. and having been
first published after its passage in the vol
u,ne OF local and private acts on the fourth
dav Of October, 1888, and after the issuing
of the bonds, IL not such an exercise Of
power ~ the state government OF legisla-
ture, showing that the act Is not a general
act. j. binding on the courts.
g. Whether. if the said act IS such a
general law, any act or omission Of the
said county, It's officers, or electors, short
I of an election under the act was published
+ in October. IS 8. VIII der the bonds
valid, or stop the defer liant from cues
tionns their validity in the hands Ct
/ bono file holder
I In the view which we have taken Of the
I first two questions they may be properly
( considered together.
Article = section 2l, of the constitution
/ Il Wisconsin, pro lacs that no general
/ law shall he in force until Published
The 18th section Of the act OF 1872
J. { Il r.Te rs,Ep
and the attorney general to divide all the
laws passed nv the legislature into two
classes. and directs that each cllss shall
be publ he'd in II separate volume that
the first class shall include laws Of 4 gen
eral nature; the second class. all laws
which are not included in the first class,
and that the title plgeS Of the respective
volumes shall express whether they con-
tain acts Of a general nature OF the private
anl iocal acts" SC
The statute upon which the questions
here under consideration arise. was pass
81 subsequently TO the taking effect Of tits
act
The secretary of state and the attorney
general decided that it was not = general
law, but a local act and ii was classified
accordingly. but the Volume containing it
was not published until after the action Of
the voters, which it authorized had been
taken ana the bonds had been issued
The decision a 70 the character Of the
act, WAS made bv those upon whom the
law dcvolved that dntv. l. i not claimed
that It Was not fairly made. nor il it de-
MED that il was in accordance with the
rule which had prevailed down to that
time, AMI which prevailed subsequently,
un,il the supreme court passed upon the
Gu(.sapr tho Of tI,a
Leon, which was decided in the year
ci4hteen hundred and iftv-nine.
Thi action IS conclusive as to the ez~
ecutive department Of the government
prior to that period, and it IS entitled to
greater weight from the fact that the
highest law officer Of the state participate
ed in the decision
The subject came incidentally under the
consideration of the supreme court of the
state in Iewctt " the town Of Grand
Chute Wisconsin. 80 The question in
that case WAS. whether 4 statute. in all re
Spccts identical with the one under which
these securities were issued. n regards
the question before us, vas pleaded as a
private act should he The question
whether Il 1caS n prirafe act WIS notmado
in the ease. That VAS implicitly conced~
ed lv the counsel on both sides The
court say:
The case of action is founded on
pirate statute. or rather upon certain In
>trumcnts or contracts in writing which
dnrtyo their validity from such pirate
statute Bv ia comm 0 law il was neceS
-ury 10 set ont such statute in the declar~
alton, otherwise tho court would not take
notice or it, provisions unI:te in this re
poet public stItffeof winch the court
was bound to take Judicial notice t. ugh
the latter were not pleaded But section
50 of the code Of rr ace3ure provides n
follows In plea },n- private statute
az right derived thereGrom It shall na
sufficient 70 refer % snch statute hy is
tjfc AMI the day Of H. passage and the
court shall thereupon take judicial notice
thereof In this ease the plaintiff in his
complaint did re er % the statute from
which his ri-lt was deri ed " reference
10 It's tide and the dav Of its passage and
lie thus brought the whole statute within
the judicial ln Wedge OF the court. &c
Here was clear judicial recognize hv
the highest court in I state in accord
ance with the previous determination or
the executive department The executive
and judicial departments wern in harmony
upon the subject This case was decided
in ISIS. Ii shows the understanding of
the tar md The bench down 70 that time
Prior t. that period no ia;imatien had
been given bv any depaetmen. af the gov
eminent that statutes wa~a u he regarded
otherwise than a. local in their character.
and broadly DISTINGUISHED from general
laws within the meaning OF the constitu-
ton.
The subsequent aiiuiicationz in the
state =. Leon. Wisconsin pa. decided
in lS52, and the case which followed it.