The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1870-09-07

The MUTILATIoN OF THE STATUTES. Hon.
Joseph Baker of Augusta, in the Kennebec
Journal of Tuesday, gives his version of the
facts in the case of the alleged unauthorized al
terations in the copy of the newly revised stat
utes, which he is charged with having made,
and for which he was dismissed from his place
as commissioner by the Governor and Council.
Mr.. Baker says in substance that when the
work was divided among the three commits
sioners it was a creed thatseach should prep are
and finish his part in blank books provided for
that purpose; the whole work to be revised by
the commissioners jointly before being report
ed to the Legislature. Mr.. Baker alleges that
[ Mr.. Wed gewood disregarded the agreement
and took San old volume of the Revised Stat
utes, and in pencil, in pen and in slips of
print he spread the subsequent acts around
the top, bottom and sides of the pages, many Of
them without sectioning and without fixing
the language as he intended to have it, The
work was completed at so late period before
the day required for the report of the Com mis-
sioners to the Legislature, that no time was
lett for careful examination, and the conpila-
ton in its imperfect state was adopted bv the
Legislature, but it was never enorossed except
by fiction. Mr.. Barker continues:
After the Legislature adjourned, it was
found on examining the first volume of this
part of the work, that the arrangement of the
sections in many chapters were defective that
subsequent acts had been tackled on the end of
sec ions ia the old revision when the old and
The new were each sufficient for section of it,
SELF and when the subsequent matter was not
kindred, to save the labor of rescectioping the
chapter; that in one or more instances sub
sequent act was incorporated into the wrono
subdivision so that 1t would certainly mislead
and in most cases the subsequent acts were
crowded III without any change and with all
their complicated and accumulated yerbiage
when by reconstruction they could have peen
reduced from one fifth to one-third and made
much palmer. L believed then and do
now that the original resolve and the public in
terests required that the work should De made
into a uniform whole. Acting on this conyic
ton, what actually did was to bring the sec
tions into their natural and suitable order, re-
section the chapters where they needed it, and
eliminate the mass of useless words, and make
the whole more orderly, compacS and plain,
while preserving identcally the same meaning
in every particular.
Mr. Baker, in closing, enters formal COM
plant that the Governor and Council, without
giving him any notice that action was to be
taken in the premises, arragDed him in his alb
sence, tried him without a hearing, executed
their sentence behind his back and left him to
receive the first iptmation of it from a public
newspaper
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