Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-12-06
TEE LAWS.
A New Code or a Compilation Needed
To the Editors of the Unien and American:

- new Go0e OF u hAPAh8shOn NCS0co
To the Editors of the Unisn and American:
The condition Of the public laws of the
State calls for improvement Not un-
frequently The subject Of revision is dis
cussed among members of the legal pro-
fession; and to the people at large, the
confused collection of laws now existing
in eight or ten volumes of acts published
since the Code, presents a very incompre-
hensible enigma. The necessity for a
work of revision Is manifest and not
more for the benefit of the people than
for LAWYERS, since even the latter are
often greatly embarrassed in seeking for
the exayt letter of recent statutes. More
than ten years have elapsed, embracing
twelve sessions of the General Assembly
since the adoption of the Code, not in
GLIDING the session just begun. During
this period the accumulation of laws has
become very great. Numbers of the
statutes have been altered or amended
and some of them repealed by direct
enactment, while many others have been
materially modified by laws containing
no actual reference to them. 05 ase &
1t is highly expediens therefore, that
some plan be adopted TO reduce into a
practical form thar portion of the laws
which is of general application. The
most natural suggestion is that of new
code. Indeed, work of this character
may have already been projected.
If this be the case, the following consid,
erations may not be unworthy of notice
A new code is matter attended with
much difficulty. The magnitude of the
work-Bnown only to few-should pre-
clude any proposition looking TO such an
object, except upon absolute necessity.
The body of laws revised by Meigs and
Cooper in many respects is masterpiece
of State codes Unless upon the most
judicious advisernent Tennessee cannot
afford to substitute a new code for one
that bears the approval and attestation OF
many years. The hazard of the expert
ment of new codes is well expressed in
recent letter to the Lord Chancellor from
Mr.. w. r. Fisher, one of the Digest
Commissioners of England, which was
published in the London LG,O Times, of
Oct. %, and quoted in the Albany IN. Y
Lo10 Journal, of Nov. 10, as follows:
''It will never do to have the failure of
the New York Code re enacted in Eng
land. OF that code, our author says,
with perfect truth, that it has never ben
adopted by the authorities of the State
it is a dead letter. 1t does not represent
the law as it is, but as ifs trainers desired
that it should be; and without entering
into the question of its general accuracy,
it seems to me to be valuable to us only
as an illustration of what may be taken
as a maxim, that for all practical pur-
poses, excessive compression leads to de-
struction, instead of to improvement of
the law
Apart from the risk, (not to mention
the pecuniary outlsy,) which would at
tend a new codification of the laws of
this State, there seems to be no substan-
tial cause for such a work. 1t is true
that the altered state of society renders
certain portion of our code nullity. The
slave laws for instance, except for histor-
ical value, well might be removed from
our books. But these, occupying no very
large part of the code, Qess than 200 ont
of 5, 800 sections certainly do not injure
or materially affect the remaining portion.
1t is also true that some other parts of
the work, having been repealed ought TO
be expunged; yet a comparison Uf the
number of repealed sections with the
whole will show that the former consti-
tute so small fractional part as to de-
serve but little notice, and like the laws
concerning slavery. do not affect the gen.
ersl utility of the code. 1t is to be OBJ
served that large part of the repeating
acts were passed by the Legislature of
$3.50; so that the experience of ten years
proves no serious inconvenience has arisen
from few Ineffective clauses.
1t may also appear that it is important
to make the appropriate changes in those
parts of the Code which have been
or modified. This would avail
as the greatest argument for a revision,
were it not that the laws enacted since
1858, very generally contain matter that
is entirely new, and hence only few sec
tons of the Code require rewriting.
These later laws stand as additions or
statutes, rather than as
alterations to the Code.
A revision of Meigs' and Cooper's
work, therefore, is not demanded at the
present juncture. If the laws subsequent
to the Code exist In a disconnected and
greatly confused state, the evil may be
remedied by much simpler and reader
plan. A plain compilation of the laws,
to be used as supplement to the Code,
involves neither the dangers of failure
referred to above, nor any very great ex-
ercise of intellectual power by the COM
piler; while at the same time, by skillful
of the laws under the respec-
tive titles, it presents the will or inten-
ton of the Legislature in their own words.
A plan so well adapted for practical use,
cannot but commend itself to the favor
of every person interested in affording to
the citizeps of this State better access
to knowledge of their laws. s.