Delaware state journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1870-1883, 1873-10-25
The NEW LIQUOR LAW.

THE NEW LIQUOR LAW.
Bow 1t waq IEtorprstsd by the suissx
County Court-1hs Lev hfooSntsef
the ExpodieHcy M P:Og,4e'Y Of tns
Traffic.
Our special correspondent at George
town has already furuiobed ue With the
outline of the Interpretation put unon the
new liquor law by the Sussex County
Court, but as t. is q very important
matter and deeply interesting 10 large
portion Of the community, ws publish II
ln full below. This explanation NJ the
law was brought out BY the presentation
of a liquor license application, which
was opposed by tho temperance people,
who contended that the letter and spirit
OF the new law had been disreRarded oy
tho applicant. az his retition would snow.
Chief Justice Gilpin delivered the opinion,
which is as follows =
The purpose OF this, act is to regulate
and rot entirely prohibit the sale OF In
toxicating liquors. II recognizes the
expedieuey and propriety If not the neees-
slty of the traffic under certain limita-
tations and restrictions, aud on certain
specified conditions contained IN the sct.
hIDOuE lllt iNiAEi 10 Ant hhoN
an anphca nj for n tavern license shall
produce the certificate tf twelve substan-
tlal freeholders Of his district, that he IL
a proper and suitable person, thai taY-
ern Is necessary at the point designated
to accommodate the public, &c. Look.
ing only at the letter of the Law, Il might
hear tue interpretation insisted upon by
the Attorney General, but we must search
for the scope ana meaning OF the lau-
guage, and apply to its fair and reason-
able construction. The evil Intended to
be reraedled was doubtless the prevalence
of intempersnce, which was supposed to
be in large degree the result Of the sale
OF liquor By the multiplication nj taverns
spd restaurants under the former law.
which allowed any aud all persons 10 OBJ
ain lcsns to keep such IN establish
1eut on the prepaym 9rt OF "a fee to the
Clerk of the Peace and the recommends
ton Of twenty-four freehclders OF the
FL v,tlred In which the applicant resided.
THIS was thnught to be too general N Its
terms, and tie law now under considera-
tiou was passed 10 ordain a more restfic-
tive 8 system and to render it more difiicult
to procure a license. The Clerk OF the
Peace colld exercise no discretion. II
the forius of the law were compiled with,
IL wns luis dnty 10 Issue the license and he
could not withhold ". By the present
act this Court is invested with the pow
er Of granting or refusing license, al
though the forms of the law in Hll respects
may have been observed, but the discre-
tlon used by tho Court should be a legal
and judicious, nc. an arbitrary one.
The wor ds substantial fteehOldeis of
the district" may bear several constrre-
tiOns. They may be beld to mean, lsi,
that the signers must be residents OF and
owners of o freehold estate In the dis
trlct I'd, ron resident owners OF land In
the district or, Sd. residents OF DIS
trict and owners OF freehold elsewhere.
] We have, af tr due consideration, adopted
the last as the fair aud reasonable con-
struction, and which, from analogy to
and comps rison With similar phraseology
in the statutes, we believe to be the true
meaning Of Tho words. II could not
have intended thst q freehold intHrest in
the district without residence would be
sufficient, for that in effect would meke
the land OF more importance than the
citizen, aud sublnit to the determination
OF non-iesidents 4 question most directly
and seriously affecting the domestic eon-
cerrs and welfare of Zach member cf the
resident community. To adopt such a
meaning wonld he to pernlt the owner OF
a freehold in the district, al hougn he
might be a resident of London or Paris,
TO take a part IN the decision of q purely
local question. On the contrary, we
think by substantial freeholders of the
district" are designated the class and de.
scription Of persons by whom the certiti
cate must be sigBed, TO wi, residents ol
the district who orc men of substance
real and bona titls owners VI real estate
10 the county. 70 attach narrower
and more restrictive meaning to the
words, and require the sigpers TO bc resi-
dtnts and freet oldArs of and within the
district, wonld be applying rigid end
unreasonable contraction, and defeat
the intention of the law, which is to
regulate and not prohibit the license
system. Many OF the school districts are
OF small territorial extent, and the
owners Of the land within the bounds
few and not Sufficient enough 10 furnish
the regulate number of signers, while
the number of residents In the district
who own laud elsewhere In the county
may be numerous enough to make q
compliance with the Law feasible.
Freeholders are designated not because
they rvpresenL the land of the district,
but because they are generally men oi
substance aud have fixed and permanent
residence which will enable them from
personal knowledge 10 judge of the quail
fcations of applicants tor licenses, and Of
the wants and needs of the community
IN which they i've. Persons who are not
freehOiders Gre excluded not because
they are intellectually or morally unfit
but because IL was designed to exclude
Z suiouTuers and others who were supposed
not TO have or feel the samc interest, OF
have Hs much at stake in the district as
; tile more permanent residents. Had tho
Legislature intended to require the resi-
dent tJ be likewise freehOlder Ui.hin The
district, they would have used appropriate
words 10 nvey that Idea, as has been
done in other statutes where someH hat
similar phraseology Is found. For in.
slant. IL the charter Of the City of VII
! mingtou, the qualification OF member
! OF Colncil is that he must be "a resident
, and frechulder IN the ward for which ht
= is elected And 70 IN reference 70 tht
Assessor; he must be ''the owner Of Il
freehold estate 'oiihin the city,"
In his case, the applicant not having
pres .uted q certificate signed By twelve
substantial freeno.d,rs Of the district, ia
: which be proposed to keep tavern, un-
der the construction we have given to the
: law, his application is refused.
There is another defect in the certificate
ofthls applicant which is fatal, The laH
requires that "lhe certificate and recon
mendation shall be signed with the prop
cr signatures and In the proper hand
writing of such freeholders, but If any
such cannot write, ne may sign by mark
which shall be duly attested by a witness
subsciibing;" whereas several Of the
, names to the certificate before The Cont
have been signed by pToeuration. which
. is not compliance with this provision
Of the law.
a 80, 900 Parrot.
! "He was nineteen years old, could talk
! like lawyer, and was the handsomesi
J bird thai ever lived"