New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-02-23

ents to attend to all matters in which they
are interested, and do not see any good
reason for tho pOstpOnement of this measure
simply on account OF his absence. He
| might he absent tomorrow and the day
after Tomorrow. and the day following,
and if we once establish this precedent, we
would be continually pOstponing the bill
until he made his appearance The most OF
| the section interested in this bill Is III the
Senatorial districts OF Senators Syphcr and
Daigie, and they are both i'll their seats. A
portion of Senator HunSaker's district may
also be interested in the matter. l am OF
the opinion that the postpOnrment OF this
bill will work an injury to the districts whose
representatives are present. and l hope,
| therefore, that the motion Will not prevail.
Mr.. Inyraham: understand from Senator
Daigle that he is willing that such changes
should be made in the bill as would make it
| meet with the approval of Senator y liara.
| |, therefore, withdraw my motion to post
| pone until day after tomorrow.
| Mr.. holland remarked that the district he
| represented was as much Interested III the
| bill as that OF Senator Oilara lie there
| fore renewed the motion to postpone until
| day after tomorrow.
| The Senate refused to postpone.
| The first three sections of the bill were
| then adopted
While the secretary was reading the
| fourth section. Senator Oliara appeared
| and took his seat.
Mr.. O'llara: There are as many as eight
| or ten Senators whose districts are repre-
scented in this bill. myself among them. l
| want to have something to say on this mat
| ter. | see that it is proposed to attach the
| parishes of Latourche aud Terrebone to that
of Cameron to form one judicial district.
| Mr.. Anderson explained that such WAS
| not the intention of the bill.
| Ar n.u.,,. 7 ,,,. ,I,.,, Nh, ri Al, Of
Mary is stricken out in the first section and
| the parish Of Vcrmiion inserted in IFS stead.
Now. insist that this bill should be re-
! trrred to the Senators whose districts are
| Interested in it, Both senator Swords and
| myself are III favor OF leaving the parishes
| of LatOurche. Trrrebonne and st. Mary
| form the Fifteenth Judicial District. | now
move that this bill be referred t" the Sena-
| tors representing the interested districts.
| Mr. Anderson: | hope that motion will
| not prevail. rs it is immaterial to Us whether
| the parish of St Mary shall remain i'll the
| Third Judicial District or be attached to
| the fifteenth. The judicial district which
| in part represent is now composed OF five
| parishes One of these five is the parish of
| st. Landry. whic., is very large. ami which
alone requires the attention of the judge OF
| that district for four months in the year.
| The district is composed of the parishes OF
| ST. Landry. Calcasieii. Cameron. Lafayette
| and Nermilion. The courthouse OF the
| parish of Calcasieu is distant one hundred
miles from the courthouse of st. Landry.
| Then from the courthouse OF the parish of
Cameron it is seventy miles. The district
is too immense for one Judge TO attend to
properly. In fact the parishes OF CalcaSieu
and Nermiion alone ought to form one
district. The gentlemen from the other
parishes can satisfy themselves. All we
want is relief. is our judge and district
attorney cannot discharge the duties OF
| their offices properly on account OF the
great size of their office properly on account
of the great size OF their field o1 labor. The
Third Judicial District ia also composed OF
five pa rish-S-St. Mary. Iberia. St Martin. La
tourche and TerrebOnne 1t IS Impossible tor
the Judge and District Attorney of that Dis
trict to attend 10 their duties properly. We
desire to form two more Judicial districts
out of :hosc ten parishes. There are plenty
of people and there Is enough territory to
make them. The gentlemen from the Third
Judicial District can settle the matter
among themselves. 50 far ~ il relates To
their own section. All want i that Il
portion of the labor shall be taken of from
our Judge and district attorney.
Mr.. O'llaIa: | hope nv motion t. refer
this bill to the Senator's from these judicial
districts will prevail. l have no objection
to the Senator from st. Landry Mr.. Andcr-
SON making any change he peases III his
own judicial district. provided ne does not
interfere with mine.
Mr. Anderson said the bill could b. taken
MP immediately and amended so a. % meet
the views OF Senator . liaIa.
Mr.. D'Hara preferred that L should be
committed
Mr. Blackman incurred if Il. Ill had
been referred to ana reported UPON by the
judiciary crmnlttee
Mr. Ray: Tile bill has been referred to
the judiciary committee twice. When the
first report of the committee was presented
to the Senate. there seemed 10 De some Dis
satisfaction ON the part ot The Senators from
the section interested, ana the bill was re-
committed. | became satisfied, a..rr
thorou. h examination OF the subject, that
the st Landry district and the Third Ju-
dicitl District we're entirely too large 80
permit the Judges and district attorneys 10
discharge the duties ri their respective OF
fees ia proper manner. We came 70 thc
conclusion that there was enough territory.
and that the population was large enough
to Justify the creation OF two new judicial
districts in that section. The Judiciary com
mlttee have gwen the subject al the con
s,ieration possible.
Mr.. Backman: | wish to call the attent ION
of the Senate to one fact which may have
escaped the attention of the Judiciary com
mitec i'll their examination OF this subject,
Article cighty-thrce of the constitution pro
vides that the General Assembly shall
divide the State into judicial districts, which
shall remain unchanged for period of four
years. Now, by reference to the Revised
Statutes, it Will be found that in 1868 the
Legislature passed an act distributing the
State .udicially. and fixing the terms for
holding the courts therein
Mr.. Ray: The Senator from Claiborne is
mistaken: i. there has been no law passed
on that subject.
Mr.. Blackman: The whole law in the
Revised Statutes in reference to judicial
districts. was adopted during the last SEES
sion of the General Assembly. The law
that | refer to provides that certain par
isles of the State shall form certain judicial
districts. Whether any change has been
made in the districts since the law was first
enacted. has nothing to do with the uucs-
ton, because that law was adopted with
the whole of the Revised Statutes. | hold
that under article eightv-three of the con-
stitution, the judicial districts can no: be
changed until three years hence. | think
that we can not pass this law without vio-
latiug the constitution. 1t is useless, there
fore. to refer the bill to any committee. |
have no doubt that the distin gushed chair
man OF the judiciary committee overlooked
this constitutional objection to the bill
Mr.. llunsaker: | am surprised to see
the Senator from Claiborne take such
legal stand on this subject. 1t has been
decided by the Supreme Court that the
digest was "A compilation of the laws which
| we're ia existence. and that when the Legis-
lature adopted that digest it was merely
| thp expression of their will that that should