New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1870-01-25

/ SS1.-y SOAouS dAobAuOSlJ AEQuiASug lo bUhb VI
1875, and every ten years after. The ap.
portionment for the election of 1872 must be
made on the basis of the census OF 1870.
That for 1870 may be made on the basis OF
lature.
THE report tries to get around the I'M
| eqnlvocal, positive and unmistakable decla-
rations Of article sixteen, that the terms Of
the members of the lower house, and conse.
| quently OF one-half those Senators, will
expire two years from the closing day of the
election, by insisting that this means the
first Monday in November every two years, :
as mentioned in article seventeen, and that
this Legislature was provided for separately,
| TO be elected on seventeenth and eighteenth
| April 1868.
"If there we're anything in this bubble,
| 1t would apply more to this Legislature than
to any subsequent one; for Article seventeen
says the election in November shall be com
pleted i'm one day. while the allusion in
article sixteen to the day Of the closing OF
the general elections must certainly refer
to case when there is both an opening and
a closing day.
But we have no space to continue this
subject further at this time"
part of the above having been read by the
| Secretary
Mr.. packard think the Senate is salts.
fed, from what has been read. that these
reports which have thus been slandered
and misreDresented, without giving the
| public either an abstract or the reports in
| full, that the statements in that paragraph
are without any7 Foundation whatever. Had
this newspapers almost any fair news
paper would have done-given the reports
before commenting on them, this resolution
would have been unnecessary. The article
also cast a decided elur upon the General
Assembly. l do not propose to go into a
discussion upon that, but wish the min
l H.. IL, 1
public might know what they are.
Senate bill No. ITO. ''an act to authorize
the purchase of four hundred copies of the
new digest of the Louisiana Reports be-
ing under consideration
Mr.. Ray: The object of this bill is to buy
400 copies of the digest of the decisions of
the Supreme Court, which is q continuation
of the digest from the time that Hennen
closed it down to the present time. | have
examined this work and think it is we'll and
very properly got up, 1t is prepared mainly
on the planOf Hennen. think it is moth
ing but right that the State should take a
sufficient number to supply its judicial and
other oficers-400 copies at So so a vol
ume, which is considered very reasonable
price.
The bill was passed.
Senate bill No. SO, IAN act to amend and
re.enact the Civil Code of LouisiaRa," etc.,
being under consideration
Mr. Ray: Session before last an
act was passed appointing a Joint
committee to revise the statutes Civil Code,
and the Code Of Practice of this State. The
committee was authorized to employ some
one to do this work. under their supervision.
had the honor of being selected by the
committee, and in November, 1868, the
work was commenced. The Legis ature
required the report to be made at the next
session. That was found impossible, but
by employing considerable force the work
is now completed. The revision of the
Civil Code has been prepared with grea
care. The work has been performed, in the
main, by one of the most distinguished
lawyers in the State, Isaiah Garrett, of
Monroe. The revision of the Civil Code
contains 81 the changes that have been
made upon the old Civil Code of 1925,
by action of the Legislature. AL that por-
ton that was abrOgated by the constitution
of 1868 and the laws of Congress bearing on
our constitution has been erased, and every
provision of the law that had reference 10
the subject contained in the Civil Code has
been carefully revised aud reduced to ar.
ticles. All the old articles of the Civil Code
that had become obsolete have been
omitted, and all the amendments that were
yet in force have been incorporated in q
separate part. A new numbering of The
articles was found necessary; but where the
old articles have ben retained, the old
HuHlDcI 10 Au5GElSu III DlhOhbNbs 4ubIG dIb
1856 articles altogether, a few more than
there were in the old CODE This revision
is now submitted by the committee
in a shape of an act, to be passed
by the Legislature. 1t was incompetent to
pass this act, comprehending many objects,
unless they were expressed in the title, but
| If presented in different acts, the title could
be no further than it is as presented in this
one act. In any other way it would be al
most impossible to revise the code without
taking up each title by itself; but, accord
| ing to the present constitution, If the title
expresses the objects of the act following,
there is no difficulty. The constitution of
| 1852 provided that an act could not be on
more than one subject, consequently, in
1856, when the statutes were revised, they
had to pass separate acts upon every statute,
which is the reason why they are so
voluminous; but the constitution of 1868
provides that any number Of subjects
may be treated in, an act
If the title expresses them all
1t would be impossible for US to spare
time to read over all the articles of the
Civil Code. Most of it consists of the old
code; the only changes are those made
necessary by new legislation since the adop.
ton of the constitution OF 1868. OF course
the committee who had charge of the re-
vision gave good deal of attention to it,
but the person chiefly to be relied upon is
the one appointed to revise it. If any
amendments are hereafter found necessary,
they can be made by separate acts.
Mr.. Bacon: think it would be hasty to
act upon this volume In this way, although
have confidence in the integrity, aud
fidelity and ability Of the gentlemen who
have undertaken this duty. agree
with the Senator that it would be
now impossible for us to examine IL through
out, even if we were organized in { sixty
days session for that special purpose, to go
through the Civil Code, without saying any
thing about the Revised Statutes. But if
we lay over this matter and do not act upon
it at this session, it can be examined not
by commission, but by members of the
bar throughout the State, who will form
themselves into voluntary commission to
examine this revision, and see that 1t Is cor
rectly made; and, if there be any mistakes
OF any kind, will detect them aud give notice
thereof through their representatives. 1t is
their interest TO look 1t through, and there
are enough bookworms among them, being
Of careful and siudious habits, who will I'M
dertske to do this OF their own motive as a
pastime OF recreation. will call the atten-
tion of the Senator from Ouaohita and his
colleague upon the commission, to the fact
that there are discrepancies in the code as
originally passed; discrepancies in the trans
lation of French into English, and it should
be provided for by subsequent legislation, If
there be any errors in the typography as
/ the manuscript or the proof readirg-and
the very best proof readers are liable to
make mistakes. which unaccustomed proof
readers are much more liable. If there be
any such discrepancies, 1t may prove very
| great detrimeRt to large interest of the
/ State 10 make 1t q law. Il seems to me that
| the better course would be to lay this