The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1873-03-14

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come a law until after the first Monday il
April Of that year. was not within leEisla-
nNe mind. The words from and after the
passage OF this Act have special signih-
canoe :" hich warrants the construction that
the year 1872 was meant With these words
the Act goes into effect at the same time as
without them, and no sooner. Statutes take
eHect from their date, unless 1t bc otherwise
provlded.-BrdddSe as. BrOtgnEeid, I'd Watts
~ Sergeant, 21S. The argument, that these
/ words are rendered nugatory unless the Ia w
be applied to 1872, is not, il seems 10 US, vel!
4 louhded. The assessment and collection of
! taxes Is not cai!y nor monthly duty nm
posed upon the commissioners. 1t Is annual,
10 be performed once III each year for that
year, and the Legislature may very properly
nave thought that Tor the year 1872 this duty
had been partially performed uEder the old
! law. Thinking thus, it Is probable they GIu
! not have, as they did not express, an inten-
1 uon that the law should have 4 retroactive
effect, but only intended that the lrst per
! 1orInance of the yearly duty OF the colnInls-
| sIoners thereafter should be i'll accordance
I with Its provisions. II this he correct, the
words have their literal force, and the law Is
entirely harmonious i'll all its proNlSlons.-
| In this view we have taken, the obvious I'M
! port nf the language used, as well the legal
| prohibition which refuses TO give statutes
| retroactive effect unless the intention that
| they should have such effect be clear, con-
| strain IT'S to decide that this statute was in
tended :" go into effect not later than the first
1t is claimed bv the counsel for complain
ant, in his very able and iuge Nous argument,
mat the duty directed to be performed not
iator than the first Monday in April, is mere
~ directory, and that as the interes: of the
paOhc was to be substrved, the statute should
De construed literally, not TO deprive
! the public of the benefit intended to be con
ferred.
II Is true that statutes directing mode Of
proceeding on the part of public officers are
to he regarded directory merely, unless
negative words make the direction impera-
uNo.-D" drriS Statutes, 7l5. But, with
out stopping To discuss the question whether
the negative words, not later than the frst
NonGGy in -fpril make this direction irnper-
atlve, II is sufficient to say that they aid in
clearly ndioating the intention OF the LeZia-
Iature that the Act should not have 4 retro
active effect. In aScertainirg the intent of
the Legislature, it is not material whether
the duty Of the commissioners could have
been legally performed later than the first
Monday of April That question might
arise in the future it is not before us now
Ana while II is true that laws designed to
heneft public interests-and We. have no
douht that this law was so intended and that
1t will benefit the pRblic-are to he literally
construed, Trt hberalitv OF construction car
not he carried 50 far As to overthrow the clear
intent % The law no matter who is to be ben
ehttcd. If III law we find the omission of
something essential, or which is a necessary
result of it's provisions, and requisite to give
the law its full effect, We NAV supply what
Is wanting but not expressed, and extend
the law to what il was m&nif-stly intended
to embrace but does not in express words in
CIuue; but courts are not At liberty to hold
that the Legislature intendrd anything diff
ferent from what their plain language i'm
ports. So that, admitting that this statute
Is directory merely, thar it wab Intended to
benefit the public, and that the public bene-
lit is postponed by the construction we give
il, we cannot amend il as to give any other
effect than was intended by the power that
made it.
The counsel for complainant has cited and
relied ON the case of Commonwealth VI. Co
nynghan, 10th l.. +. Smith, 90, ruling the
questions raised here. We do not think il
does. In that case the Legislature. hy Act
of March 81, 1870, provided for the appoint
mcnt of three coal mine inspectors for the
counties of LuZerne and Carbon, upon the
recommendation OF q board OF examiners TO
he appointed hy the Court OF Common Pleas
of LuZerue coInty. The fourteenth section OF
the Act provided that these inspectors should
be appointed by the Governor, upOn the re-
cOmmcndaton of the board Of examiners,
''1.pOn the passage Of this act" Further, that
the examiners should he appointed by the
Judges ~ I'll" first term OF rhe Court III each
year. The fourth section requires tie in
speCtors to perform certain duties within
four months after the passage of the act. The
first term or The Court for that Year had
passed before the act became = law. AlthO
the first term had passed. the Supreme Court
say, referring to tho sections directing the
inspectors 10 be appointed upon the passage
of this act, and requiring certain duties to
be performed within four months after the
passagr of the act that it was the manifest
intention of the Legislature, from these pro
viSions and many others in the aCs, and from
the whole act, that it was TO go into opera
tiOn soon a. the organization Of its ma
chinerT woy;ld pernit. There, from the
words and provisions OF the acr itself, it was
manifest it WAS to 60 into operation imme-
diately here, from The words and provisions
of the act ITSELF il is manifest that il is TO go
into operation the year succeeding its pass
age.
The argument os respondents, that great
Inconvenience would result were the collect
OTS To he euioined At this late day that their
duplicates, already partly collected, would
have 70 by recalled by the commissioners,
new ones maGe out and delivered TO the
county treaSurer-thus creating great CON
fusion and entailiug Inconvenience, expense
and perhaps positive loss ON the county
has not been considered by uS in trri wing at
our present conclusion. In a doubtful case
but is IS 6f .i' to To- our S hr7 4 tasa
Nor have we considered the point made
by the respondents, that If any wrong is con-
tcInplated about to be done by them, the
coInplaiuants cannot have relief by injunc-
ton but must ask A mand2mus to the COM
misSiOners, commanding them to deliver the
tax duplicates to the county treasurer, that
he NAV proceed TO collect and receive the
taxes a. required by the act. We have pre-
ferred to base our decision on an interprSta-
tion of the act rather than upon a technical
objection TO the form of complaint.
Therefore neither the necessity which
called for the massage of tn law nor the good
it might accomplish if sooner put into oper-
alton can relieve us from the duty of saying
that its most natural aisI obvious import Is,
that it should go into effect in the wear 1873.
And now, March 10Th, 1873, demurrer slls-
taired and bill dismissed at costs Of com
pla.nants. BY the Court.
GUARD YOUE LUNGS.-The lungs are vi
tai parts and any disease affecting them IL
sure to involve the whole constitution SOON
er or later unless it be arrested. Dr. hey
scr's Lung Cure-will not only cure the lungs,
| and heal ulcerations and dissolve tuhercular
matter which may he lodged therein, ont at
the same time il will renov:sie the piood,
/ from which not only the lung tissues are
! formed but likewise every other part OF the