Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1874-09-21
were repealed: and conse-

tippling-shops, were repealed; and conse-
quently that there is rot now, and has not
not been in this State for nearly two years
any law against dram-shops. 1t is per-
haps unnecessary to say that this alleged
discovery, is nothing new; and that the
question now raised was some time since
considered by some of the best legal minds
in the State, and that on examination they
unanimously concluded that there was
nothing in the point suggested, but that
on the contrary the prohibitory law is in
tact.
The facts on which the question is raised
are substantially these: In 1872 the legls-
lature amended Section % of Chap
ter q of the Revised Statutes-the
section prohibiting the sale OF certain
liquors,-by inserting "wine and cider,
i. e. by adding ''wine and cider'' to the
list of liquors expressly prohibited by that
Chapter In 1873, the legislature passed
an act repeating the section of the act OF
1872 which inserted the words ''wlne and
cider" 1t is claimed by some that the act
of 1872 repealed Section % of the Revised
Statutes, and, if so, that the subsequent
repeal of this act of 1872 did not, under
the rules of construction, revive said Sec
ton of the Statutes. The weak point in
this reasoning lies in the assumption that
the act of 1872 repealed Section % of the
Revised Statutes. 1t did nothing of this
kind either directly or indirectly. 1t sim
ply added three words to that section, and
left the original section in full force.
When the act of 1872 was repealed in
1873, these three inserted words, viz.
"wine and CIDER" were simply stricken
out, and the 22d Section of the Revised
Statutes remained as it stood previously,
and there was no necessity for an express
revival of the same,
But another point is raised. Another
section of the act OF 1872 also amended
Section 20 of said Chapter by striking out
certain words and inserting others instead.
The act of 1873 also repealed this section
of the act OF 1872, and then expressly pro-
vided for the renewal of Section 18th of
said Chapter Now it is argued on the
well known principle, insertio unus ex-
clusio aterius, that the express revival by
the act of 1873, of Section 20 of the Re-
vised Statutes, and the omission OF the ex-
press revival of Section %. tends to sus-
tain the conclusion already indicated. In
the first place if there were no reason for
this expression in the one case, and its
omission in the other, it would be more
reasonable to conclude that the expression
was simply surplusage. The principle al
luded to is always applied with extreme
caution. But there was a reason for this
distinction. In the case OF Section % OF
the Revised Statutes, the act OF 1872 did
not strike out single word. but simply
added three words TO it; and therefore it
was thought no one could possibly infer
that the repeal of those three words affect.
ed the section as found in the statutes.
But in the case of section %, the act of
1872 struck out large part OF section and
inserted other words instead. 1t was
thought possible that some one might
raise point that the words stricken out
by the act of 1872 would not remain a part
OF the section of the statutes in case OF the
simple repeal of the act, and therefore Il
clause was inserted in the act of 1873 eX-
pressly reviving said sect. %; and it was
omitted in the case OF Sect. %, simply be-
cause there seemed to be no possible reas-
on for its insertion.
Let no one, therefore, be unnecessarily
startled by the old story that we have no
prohibitory law, but 60 right forward as
usual. We see it stated that some officers
hesitate about enforcing the law, on ac-
count of the scare. There need be no
hesitation on point OF this kind. Indeed
were the doubt better founded, it would
still only remain for officers to suppose
that plain statute, never expressly re-
pealed, and recognized for two years
since the grounds of any doubt arose, is
still the law of the State, and to 60 for
ward and execute it as such without hes
Naturalization Journal.