New Orleans Republican., 1871-04-06

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eHhiaE = & = - - y9(4 - baHejl
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bo1ieatiooa 4reeee4i = - - ~ -
current rt0o - have - 00aos tnas eoon
was the intonezen - every man w1o voec0
for the amendmene eathef IN the Aeglaiar
ture Or q the polls.
With ehle vlew, a. Deoo.ies yl.eeeseeFy = 10 20
further exa3ine tno Question: q - concu-
tuttqnel nm1tat1enc or present extent q the
6oo oAeoe.
ney Hooooe 20 ne cconoet.uon OF
the seOonGqucsf1on presented IN TINS case.
That qaestson = nvoiyea 70 me prepoS.mcn
Of counee! ior respondent and Tor me Stage' q
who insist that the act tor tho relief OF :. y.
Nixon makes pure and simple donation 70
him; tnat st tne ume u Was passod tno Etss0 ~
did mot owe hlm dollar, ana tnst sno 10y,
elature mas NO consutuuOnsI pOws. ~
"make donations to individuals ior PEis"'0
purposes" h, Il. .s55s Z
One who studies the judicial history OF
the United States will be struck with the
fact that the courts have always been ex-
tremelv unwilling to condemn or even criti-
cise, the acts Of the executive and legislative
denartments. Judges have understood that
the existence of our system OF government
deDends upon tho maintenance Of the equal
itv and Independence of the coordinate
hy.rcIas Perhape. too, they have fully
Appreciated the fact that unless they were
v;iling sO to accord the entire Independence
~ the other branches. that they would be
Doverless TO perform the duties imposed up
ON them BY the constitution. Whlle the
judiciary department.. IN purvlew OF tne
constitution, u the equal OF the others, stili
it ID the weakest; 1t u. indeed, pOweriess.
And yet, to the glory Of our country: ft can
be said, that her judges nave seldom nincneo
from their duty of sustaining and deienaing
the rights Of the citizen when assailed.
do not loose sight of these views.
Upon my mind there is not tho shadow OF
o doubt that the act No. ~ aforesaid is
simply donation OF $oO,S4l 20 70 james
O. Nixon. In arriving At this c0nciuslOn,
do not 20 beyond the face OF the law. Aside
from the clap-trap contained in the Pream
BILE, the bill declares thas nixon, wnc W.
once public printer, and who was paiG 70,
his work by checks upon the treasury, snsn
now receive tho aforesaid amount OF money
to compensate him for losses sustained by
him in selling his warrants at adlecount:
Here the Legislature renders . Juagment
against the people OF the State ZOE nIty
thousand dollars, and orders its execution,
upon claim. which would Oe summanly
dismissed BY any court IN the civihsed
world. The State has paid these ~arrs4Cs ~
in full. The money has been conocte0 io5
that purpose BY taxation: NIXON Was Psa0
in full, as the preamble IN this OIL, et1.os,
for he who accepts notes and Sells Lnem
discharges the debt. johnson, %;
COwan, 303; Barbour, 4O6.
An individual can have NO superior claim
unon 4 contract with the State than against
an inilividual. 8 Selden,.- Is Peters, 81.
We are now brought to the consideration
| of the important proposition involved in this
| case. Has the Legislature the constitutional
nover To snpronriate money for private
r~,,,cses which has been raised by tax.
at;nre : 1ba examinatiou of the question
viii raceaaarilv involve the determination
| "f tho evteDt cf the constitutional authority
of the ;u6;~;arv fo nasa unon such an issue.
Ths Tatmre If fmerican constitutional
vovernment has been 90 often and 90 ably
| S;scnsaed hv the learned judges and dis
t;ncnished nublicists of our land, that there
| a,ees;,. I;ttIo IN ha aaid. From these re-
| ,,.-+. .cd wr;t;ngs MA ascertain that Ger.
t.;r rr;rc;rles and rulee have been def.
r;telv and }ndisnutably established.
\ Xworo onr earlv iudicisl writer's the con.
i .+;srt;n,s ra. cften sIoken of "A an ex.
rress;or of the social compact, which was
s.nnosad hr the French philosophers of the
e;ghteenth century to be the basis of gov.
ernment' The prouosition was even then
S;ecneeed whetI1er the Judiciary could de.
| c1ore an act void hecause it violated 1.-THE
fnndamental principles Of right and justice
;cherent in the nature and spirit of the
soc;aI comract.n ssIt NAV be well doubted, .
savs Chief .Iustice Marshall in Fletcher vs..
| PGck. "vhether the nature of society and
of rovernment does not prescribe some
Iimifs TO the legislative power" Per
| hane in this day We have q more
/ practical and more correct understanding
Of the nature of government than was en-
tertained by the earlier writer's, who were
much under the influence of the abstract
ideas which actuated the French revOlu.
| tionists. We now consider constitutional
government as an outgrowth of modern
| Civilization; as the defined but still expand
ing line mark of nationality; as the original
charter of the peoples liberty, with the
amendments not vet completed. But if al
| firet. in the desire to protect national life
and personal liberty, there was struggle
| to find some limitation upon the authority
Of government in the nature of the social
relatione. 80 to-day it is declared that Oul
notions of modern liberty preclude the idea
/ that government can exist for any Other
nurpcse than the welfare of the public; that
! the power delegated to the government can
he used for any private advantage.
| when the colonies severed their cOnnec
tion with England, they became possessed
of the full powers Of the British Parliament
These powers were supreme and unlimited
W;thonf; nausine to consider the history
| r