The New York herald., 1879-02-07
COdificatiOn.

at Buffalo last evening on the Codes of
New York and codifcation in general
suggests an inquiry why the coditication
which the constitution requires has not
been carried out We know that TWO COM
missions were set to work Immediately
after the adoption of the State constitution
of 1876. .and that they prepared and
presented to the Legislature Code IN
five divisions, called Codes Of Civil
and Criminal Procedure, Political. Penal
and Civil Codes, containing in all about
seven thousand sections, in which they
claimed to have included ''the whole body
of the law of this State" using the phrase
ology of the constitutional other words,
all the statute and common law. 1t
was this work to wfich Mr. Field re-
ferred as the Codes Of New York. Now,
why has not this work been acted
upon? This is question which it be-
hooves Legislators to answer, and which
they will have to answer by and by to their
constituents, even if they do not care to
answer to their own consciences Every man
who takes his seat in the Senate and AS
sembly swears to support the constitution,
and that instrument required the Code to
be prepared and published ''prior to its
being presented to the Legislature for
adoption" This language, if it be not ab-
solutely senseless. means that the Legisla-
ture shall at least consider and act upon
the report Of the codifers.
But the fidelity Of the legislators to their
oaths is on affair between them and their
consciences; their fidelity to the wishes and
between them and the people, and it is this
aspect of the question that we propose here
to consider.
Certain facts may Be assumed; everybody
knows them, and no time need be wasted in
proving them One is, that our law is
chaotic mass; another, that lawsuits
are a delusion and q snare; inter-
minable delays, expenses without limit, and
utter uncertainty as to the result, are the
features of present litigation. This is not
necessary condition Of our social and po-
litical life; there is wrong somewhere, and
it is the business of somebody to find it
out and put an end to it. Who is that
somebody? We answer, it is the legislator
first and the lawyer next-the former be-
cause he makes the laws and the latter be-
cause he knows best what laws should be
made. Let us, then, have few plain words
with both.
TO the lawyer we say, bestir yourself;
you see the condition we are in, and you
know or should know the remedy. 10 the
legislator we say, turn your attention from
local bills and the filling of petty offices to
the courts and their doings and the scan
dalous condition Of the laws. If you have
not the knowledge or the spirit necessary
to relieve the people take the advice of
those who have.
What is it to have the laws codified? 1t
is to have them in ineligible propositions
and convenient form.
Is not that possible? We know that it is
possible. No artifce can conceal that fact;
no sophistry convince. us to the contrary.
The French people have had their laws in
this condition, from the beginning Of the
century, within about the same COM
pass as that to which our codifers
reduced our own. If you 60 into a
counting room in Paris you will be pretty
sure to find copy of the French Code. In
this country general acquaintance with
France. Indeed, it is more necessary, and
if there be any country in the world where
O code is desirable it is here.
We live and move and have our being in
an atmosphere of law; we cannot escape
from it; we cannot live without it; if we
conform to it we are we'll; if we oppose it
we suffer. What an absurdity, then, it is;
what wrong not to place it within our
reach, within the reach of every person who
is its subject. One would have supposed
that it would be the first aim Of civilized
people to make their laws SO ineligible
that he who runs might read.
We have lately looked over again tho
codes prepared by our codifers and find
our first impressions confirmed, that they
are full and comprehensive, well expressed
and we'll arranged. A glance Mt the various
divisions and titles will show how full they
are. Besides the division called the Political
Code, which contains oil the laws relating
to government and official relations, there
are the divisions called Codes of Civil and
Criminal Practice, the Penal, which defines
all the crimes cognizable by the law, and
specifies the punishment for each, and,
lastly. there is the division, greatest of all,
callel the Civil Code, which defines all per-
sonal relations, rights and obligations, all
kinds of property, and all kinds of con-
tracts-as for instance, sale, loan, SER
vice, partnership, insurance and negotiable
securities. The value Of this work is not
left to conjecture nor to the opinions of
experts; it has been decided by experience.
We know that it has been used in forming
the codes of. India and has been incor-
porated in the largest measure with the