, 1872-10-28
the del7and, and within the past fortnight Va1uea
hare deprecated from Is to 20 per cent.


EAGORGlNG IHE LAWs
Mayor Medill's reply to Mr. Lackner and |
Colonel Knobe]sdorR in reference to the Sunday |
law, is in substance that he shall enforce the law
to the extent Of reporting all offenders to the
Police Courts for trial, but that he shall not en-
ploy his discretionary power Of revolving licenses
except in extreme cases. This is what may be
called q justifab1e lazity. Tho power to revoke !
licenses was given to the Mayor in order to &C.
cure the more prompt enforcement Of the Law,
yet it is d discretionary power, and ia to bo en-
poyed only in cases whore it is, in his judgment,
more useful than tho ordinary processes
of Justice. We think that d sweeping attempt
to revoke two or three Thousand licenses, cover
ing everything Of q fluid nature from fourth
proof brandy to ginger~pop, would produce more
harm than good, and that q prudent officer, hav-
ing 3 due regard to tho public peace, would hesl-
tate. at this timo, to fro all the contents Of
gun which none Of lis predecessors in offioo
1avo employed during tho past fifteen or twenty
years, except in cases marked BY disorderly con
duct.
There is q statute Of this State which pro ides
that any person who shall bring into this State,
or sell; or offer to SELL pack Of playing-cards,
q biliard-table, or bi1liard- balls, shall bo sub
iected to fine Of not less than S25. The Law is
rendered the more absurd because the mlsde~
meanor thus defined is placed, in the same sec
ton, upon level with the crime OF selling OBJ
scene books or prints. Undor this statute, 1t ls
probable that every bookseller, stationor, anu
keeper OF news-dopot in Chicago could be COIL
yicted. and fined. Another section Of the Grim
ina1 Jurisprudence Of this State defines gaming
to mean the playing Of any gamo
for anything Of, value. Still another
provides that every tavern-keepor who shall per-
nit any infringement upon this Interpretation
shall bo fined 500, shall forfeit his license, and
shall not be again licensed as q tavern-keeper
for one year from his conviction. Under this
statute, it is entirely probable that every hotel
keeper in Chicago could be at once shorn Of his
privilege, as the playing Of . game OF billiards
for the prico of tho game (tho usual way OF
playinc) in his houso would mako him amena-
b}e to the punishment thus prescribed To fol-
low the reluctio al absurdum. every hotel IN
Chicago elould havo its doors closed now, ind
the travellers should be requested to take care
Of themselves until houses could be pro-
yidcd where billiard-tablcs could not be found.
| Many Of these impracticablo statutory provi-
sions can be traced back to tho oarly part OF the
century, and are the outgrowth oftho wiadom OF
tho first Territorial Government, tho Same
which furnished US tho "blacl laws' only re-
Gently repealed. When tho statutes OF the State
we're revised at later date, tho criminal code,
of which these are part, WAS transferred bodily
and almost. without amendment. Standing as
they do to-day the existence Of these statutes is
an application of village legislation to city gov
orn1nents. It is unnecessary to say tint such
an application cannot succeed: It does not sue
coed. Under this statute, every Mayor, every
Justice Of the Peace, every Sheriff, and every
Grand Juror is instructed to tako notice
Of al offences against these laws.
It is safe to say, then, that every Justice Of the
Peace, every Mayor, every Sheriff, and every
Grand Juror in the State Of Illinois is guilty OF
q neglect Of duty, and consequent violation OF
his oath Of Office. One result Of the continuance
Of such laws, therefore, is to promote malfeas'
ance in Office Another result, it will scarcely
be denied, is to destroy the popular respect 1ol
law, and to encourage popular disregard for it.
Obsolete laws are not peculiar to this State,
nor to this country. There exists . law in Eng
land, to-day, making it penal offence for Ia
borers to form q combination to SECURE an ad'
vance in wages,-a law that is openly and fre
ouentlv violated. The old law Of England, still
in force, distinctly gives the husband the righ
to whip his vito when, in his superior Judgment
he NAV deem it advisable, law that is not sus
tained IN the minor courts, where tho exercise
Of the privilege is often mooted question
There is Law in Pennsylvania which prohibits
the running Of public conVeyances on the Sab
bath day An attempt was made, few year
ago. under this law, to prevent tho street-car
in Philadelphia from running on Sunday, bu
the Supreme Court, in an elaborate opinion
oye1nled the complaint, on the ground that tn
first day of the week is not the Sabbath day
; and that they could not import Old Testamen
Judaism into modern Jurisprudence. The oil
| law Of this State employs the Same phrase
"sabbath day or night, y in imposing penaltie
. against tipplng- houses, but the later statute
! prohibiting any disturbance Of the pence an
good order Of society, uses the words, " first da
, | of the week commonly called Sunday" It
undoubtedly true that the Lawmakers intcnde
. to refer to the same day in both instances Til
r change Of phraseology indicates that as til
|. State became moro populous it Was found thu
: some scots and nationalities Che Seventh
4 Day Baptiats and Jews, for instance), made
distinction between the Sabbath and Sunda,
which the Legislature was compelled to recoe
nize,
t TIE SAN JUAN B0UNpARY.
T. Among the subjects Of controversy with Gref
= Britain which were referred to arbitration, wa
}, the settlement of the national boundary on II