Vicksburg weekly herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1868-1883, 1870-07-23
emam'a q O. Aou'' q Rep.

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rc5sataffuess
II. b Bill 25L, entitled Han act q
regulate the Judicial printing Ga
the several Circuit Court DistFiota,H
appUars 10 me 20 be open 10 the
following objections:
The Constitutional suggestion on
which the bin proceeds is one Of
those which necessarily became,
after g time, obsolete.
When II speaks Of aloyal7 papers
&c uses language special to Q tempo
rary condition Of things. At pres
ent | IN not aware that any journal
Of Mississippi, however widely il
may differ from my own views Of
wise policy and patriotic duty can
be declared with prOpriety by the
body whose utterances are law, to
be disl0yGI In view Of this matter
Of fact the question may be put
with great cogency is not the Con.
stitutional suggestion on which the
bill before me rests made, by its
very terms, obsolete.
The Constitutional section on
which the bill proceeds Is not man.
datory. It amounts to neither
more nor less than Q suggestive
permission. With the free option
thus given us, as to the acceptance
or rejection Of that suggestion, we
are bound to consider the section
as presenting an open question of
principle aud expediency. But
instead Of entering on the exami-
nation of the section as it stands
in the Constitution, the practical
application of the examination to
the subject in hand, demands that
the section be dealt with as ren-
dered in the bill before me. And
it may be observed here with that
view, that the bill, while purporting
by its title to dispose of the "Judi.
cial printing in the several Circuit
Court Districts" disposes, not only
Of the Judicial printing of the
Chancery Court Districts, but,
passing beyond Judicial printing
altogether, disposes of the Munich.
pal printing of the boards of
Supervisors of the different coun.
ties" and of the Councils of incor-
porated towns and cities.
ls the employment of the Con-
stitutional permission given, as in
the bill before me, proper or ex-
pedient? Several corporate towns
are contained in a Judicial District,
and several Of these have each local
paper. When the local paper may
not have received any of the print
ing disposed of In the bill, the PEG.
pie Ofthe town In which that paper
is published would be compelled
by the provisions Of the bill, to 90,
for the advertisements Of the cor.
porate business Of their own town
to the columns of q journal pub.
lished In some other town! Is this
expedient or proper? The bill
undertakes to fix the price for adj
vertising in q newspaper having a
large circulation at the same stand
ard as that for advertising in at
paper Of small circulation. Is this
expedient or proper? The bill re-
stricts private litigants and public
administrators in their rights to
transact certain business under the
benefit Of free competition, and
excludes them, In their advertising,
from the right to choose the papers
which bring them into communi.
cation with the largest numbers Of
the public. Is this proper or ex.
pedient?
Is the employment Of the con.
stitutiOnal permission, as enforced
in the bill befor me, justifable as a
question of principle? The system
of association underlying our
national life rests on the theory
that the rights of the constituent
members shall remain intact. This
system Is not more sound in policy
In reference to the constituent en-
titles Of the nation, than it is in
reference to the constituent entities
Of the State. ] object on this
ground to the employment Of the
Constitutional provision rendered
In the bill before me, 40 to an I'm.
necessary invasion Of the rights Of
the several Judicial Districts, coun.
ties, towns and cities of the State,
to administer their own affairs.
The freedom and equality of all
men before the law are fundamen.
tai principles Of the Constitution.
These provisions make that instru-
ment opposed in spirit to every
form Of monopoly.
To employ the permissOry sug.
gestion under review in the form Of
the bill before me, would not only
establish o printing monopoly in
every Judicial District in the State,
but would make that violation Of
the principle Of fair trade, all the
more offensive and unjust by regu.
lating the price of certain commodi.
ties OF supply and demand, at a uni
form standard by legislation As
. question Of principle the bill be-
fore me must be held, in this point
Of view highly Objectionable.
But the bill will subsidise, IL NAV
be pleaded, the journals of the par.
ty In pOwerl What Of that? The
precedent will hold hereafter to as.
sist the journals now out Of power,
should reverses bring upon the
country the calamity Of govern
ment by those who now oppose US.
And while such subsidies may do
good service to the owners Of the
to be benefited by II, l am