New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1870-11-22

that this act passed.
This examination Of the organization in
the parishes was necessary to an under
standing of the question presented in these
cases.
The law makes special provision for
schools in the city of New Orleans. There
is to be q city board of school directors,
consisting of eleven persons; six are to be
chosen by the State Board OF Education,
and the Council of the city are to elect live.
This board 1T is provided, "shall have all
the powers and perform all the duties in
reference to the public schools OF the city,
and to the distribution of the school funds
thereof, herein conferred upon the parish
boards of school directors for other par
;shes'' They are directed to organize and
to at once proceed to appoint for each ward
of the city OF New Orleans ward board Of
school directors of five persons. tSection
fifty-four., Section ffty-six constitutes
each ward body corporate for school pur-
poses. Sec ion fifty.seven is as follows:
"Be it further enacted, ETC.. That each
ward board of school directors in the city
duties, and be governed by The regulations
herein prescribed for district boards OF
school directors in other parishes"
If there were no subsequent provisions III
the law, il would seem that there could be
no doubt or disagreement as to the relative
powers and duties Of the city and ward
boards. They are each corporations. Cor
porations have no powers not granted by
their charters, either expressly or by neces-
sary intendment. Pet. 49, In section
fifty four it is declared that the city board
shall have the powers OF parish boards in
the country; We have found what those pow
ers are.
Up to the point We have gone. no other
powers are given to the city board. Sec
ton fifty-seven vested the ward boards
with the same power conferred upon the
district boards in the country. We have
found the powers of such boards to DO those
of the primary government and control OF
the schools. Bat withal counsel for the city
board argued that it might be presumed
that the Legislature did not intend to give
the control OF the schools to the ward
boards, notwithstanding the language
quoted. This presumptive argument was
made from the suggestions that in other
towns and cities in the State there were no
! ward boards, from the fact that the ward
system contemplates no government fer the
high schools, and because the law declares
that if those parts Of the city now known
as the Fifth and Sixth Districts should be
incorporated, as they were, they should be
brought under the control of the city
board.
But presumptions can not override the
and can easily be understood. The fact that
| i'll consequences may follow makes laws bad,
but not null. If the wards have no power
to establish high schools, 80 much the worse
for the system; but that can not destroy the
fifteen school districts in New Orleans,
which we have thus far found the law has
created. Nor can the fact that there are no
ward boards in New Orleans of the powers
Il aOD farrp2 fyDOu them
This brings us to the consideration OF sec
tons sixty-one and sixty-twO Of the act,
whose construction makes the issue between
these itigants. They read as follows:
SEC 81. Be it further enacted, etc, That
| the control and direction of all public
schools within said city, which are sup
ported from public school moneys, whether
| such moneys are derived from municipal or
State taxation, ia hereby vested in the
| Board OF School Directors for the city OF
New Orleans, that shall be appointed under
| this act: and ell laws or parts OF laws by
which the Common Council Of New Orleans
| is empowered to elect board of directors
| of the public schools. and by which any con
| troll over any of the schools named above, is
given to said board of directors appointed
or elected by the Common Council of New
Orleans. and the special act of the General
Assembly, approved March II, 1853, en-
titled IAN act relative to public schools in
the city of New Orleans" be and the same
are hereby repealed. a.
SEC. o. Be it further enacted. etc, That
| the sole and exclusive control and regulation
of all public schools within the city OF New
Orleans, whether supported by municipal or
Estate taxation, is hereby vested III the
Board of School Directors for the city OF
New Orleans, and the other subordinate and
local boards appointed in said city i'll ac-
cordance with the provisions OF this act;
and that the offices OF all school directors i'll
said city. appointed or elected, or assuming
to act under authority OF any law made
prior to this act, are hereby terminated and
made to cease; and all the powers hitherto
conferred upon such school directors BY
virtue of any law or of any ordinance OF said
city, are hereby abolished and annulled.
The next section directs the city board to
at once make application to the persons
controlling the schools for possession. and
makes it {. penalty for such persons TO re-
fuse 10 turn over.
The position assumed by counsel for the
! city lbOard is that those two sections, sixty
one and sixty-two, repeal, by implication
| the previous sections of the law, which vest
the primary control of the schools of New
Orleans in the ward boards, if indeed, such
control is given; that these sections are
unambiguous and give such primary control
| to tie CITY board, and if the previous sec
| tons conflict with these they must give way
| to the latter, as the latest expression OF the
! legislative will.
One of the fundamental rules for the in
| depreciation Of statutes, is that you are not
permitted to so cOnstruc q law as to render
any part of it meaningless; you must. If
| possible, give force and effect to every pro-
| vision. Ii the previous sections OF the law
| can be harmonized with sections sixty-onc
| and sixty two, it must be done.
The language Of these two sections,
which, it is insisted, gives to the city board
that control they claim, is general. The
| rule laid down in Bacon's Abridgment tvol-
ume 6, 23l Verbo Statute) has been quoted
| and Endorsed by our Supreme Court: III a
! particular thing be given or limited in the
! preceding part OF a statute, this shall not
| be altered or taken away by subsequent
! general words of the same statute st.
| Martin vs.. New Orleans, IA Annual lib;
Rogers vs. Beiller 3M. 672.
Here are sections explicitly vesting the
! primary control of the schools in the ward
! boards; following is a general provision
that the schools in New Orleans shall De
under the control Of the city board. But
section sixty-two, which almost repeats sec
| ton sixty-one, refers to the ward boards as
| local and subordinate. Then if the exist
| ence of the city board and ward boards Is
| recognized in this section, and other see
! tons define their respective spheres and
| duties. we must construe these latter sec
tons, general in character, by the special
| provisions preceding.
Sections sixty-one and sixty-twO have
| reference not to how the schools in New Or
leans shall be governed and controlled, b'it
| to the transition from the system which pre-
! coded this to the one now established. Sec
ton sixty-one says that the new city board
| shall now have control and direction OF the
| schools to the exclusion Of the old board
| Section sixty-twO repeats the same thing