The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1879-08-28

paying this amount on the ststs debt
Laughter and applause.1
THE coDI. :
Much complaint has been made about the
length Of time the last Democratic Legisla-
ture was In session, and Republicans, con-
scious Of the good work performed in the
codification OF the laws. are attempting 10
,belittle this great task by representing that
1t was all performed by the Codifying Com
mission, and the Legislature had nothing to
do but to rush it through. They have more
confidence now in the Codifying Commission
than they had during the sessions Of the Leg
i~slature. for the Republicans sat in their
seats and, when possible, compelled the
reading OF every word Of three thousand
pages Of the laws, and Republican members
never permitted an opportunity to escape
them OF flibustering to defeat the code, and
~prolonging the session, and when 1t came
up for final passage many OF them voted
against 1t, and the Republicans in both
ment, and they 60 down in history as the
opponents Of the greatest and most bene-
fetal work achieved In Ohio since the
adoption Of the Constitution OF 1852!
Gibbons, In his 'Rise and Fail of the
Roman Empire" records this fact: All the
laws Of Rome were craven on brass tablets
and deposited in the basement OF the Capt.
tol. This continued until the days OF the
Emperor Justinian, when the Empires stock
OF brass became SO enormous that even law.
yers did not know the law Ia thing that il moi
unusual In our day.. 1t was enacted that who
ever offered q bill that tailed TO become q
law should be strangled on the steps Of the
Capitol. As a consequence, there was q lull
in legislation. Justinian undertook the
great task OF arranging a code for his Empire
out of the mass of stuff that had been &C.
cumulating for centuries, and he gave moi
only to his own Empire, but to the world and
posterity, a work that permeates every sys
tenn of laws in the civilized world. The
United States, and many of the State gov
ernments, have adopted . code simplifying
their laws for the benefit Of the citi
Gems and to expedite and per
feet Justice. Several years since
q Democratic Legislature created {
Commission to codify the laws of Ohio. Our
statutes were scattered through twenty-siz
annual volumes, dating since 1858, and many
of them were confused. conflicting and con
Trajectory upon the same point. The frs
presented to the last Republican Legislature
in the shape Of 9 Criminal Code. It took
Republican Legislature one hundred ant
twenty-six days to pass. this Code, con
sisting of 81 pages and PSI sections, one
t~wenty-ninth part only of all the Code a
passed by a Democratic Legislature. TIL,
burden Of enacting this Code devolved upor
the last Assembly and it assumed the re
sponsibility, and the work will soon be il
your hands for your approval. Every line,
every word and punctuation point was care
fully considered in Committees of the tw,
Houses; then debated in the House and Sen
ate; then considered in a Joint Committee
where the parts were blended in q har
monious whole, the sections being mum
is 80 classified, as will be seen by the follow
ing analysis, as to enable every, citizen to be
come his own lawyer: