The Daily clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1866-1888, 1880-01-09
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE.
SENATE.
THIRD DAY.

THURSDAY, Jan. 9Th.
| Senate met pursuant to adjournment. 1t.
| Governor Sims in the chair
All the members present except Messrs
Cowan, Perkins and Singleton.
Mr.. Reynolds asked leave of absence from
day to day for Mr. Cowan.
Mr. King introduced Hon. G. W. Gayles
| Senator elect from the 2Sth District, who APP
peared at the bar of the Senate and took the
prescribed oath
MIR. Bills offered the following, which was
adopted:
Resolved That the clergy of the city be re-
qucsted to open the morning sessions of the
Senate, with prayer.
A communication from Hon. j. A. P Camp.
bell, relative to the Revised Code, was receiv-
ed and read, as follows;
Gentlemen of Senate and House of Represcn-
tatiycs-
| have performed the work assigned me by
the act entitled "An Act to revise and codify
the laws Of the State of Mississippi APPROX
ed February y, 1878; and having only one
draft of the Code, AS prepared, have placed it
in the hands of the Governor for submission
to you, for your action upon 1t,
| have taken as the basis of my action the
existing statutes, and have presented them, for
the most part making only such changes rs
experience'has suggested to be necessary, and
adding such new provisions as appear to be
required to complete the statutes and make
them n harmonious and efficient body of laws,
plainly expressed, conveniently arranged and
easily to be understood by those for whom
they are designed as rules of action. Many
of our statutes have existed, in the language
in which they are now, since 1922, and some
of them since long prior to that. Much of the
Code of 1857 was transferred from the Code of
lS0, and, in turn, was copied into that of 1871
While there has been growth, by addition to
the statutes, in successive years, there have
been preserved, unchanged for more than fifty
years, the most important provisions affecting
the affairs of the living, and the administra
ton of the estates of the dead Amid revolu-
tons and changes of the Constitution, the
statutes have remained unchanged aeper
ally, suited to any Constitution likely to be
accepted by the people, change of
the Constitution requires no change
in the great body Of the statutes, Secession
required only the substitution of "Confeder-
ate for United before States, and the
statutes harmonized with the new conditions.
The Constitution of 1869 IA faithful copy of
that Of 1882, with few changes, and few adj
ditionSl necessitated little other change in
The statutes il found in force, than to make the
Probate Court Law a part of the Chaucery
Court Law. The Code of 1871, under the Com
stituuon Of lSba retained nearly all OF the
articles of the Code Of 1857, and the very few
omitted, except the chapter on slaves, free ne
groes and mulattoes, were probably left out
by inadvertence. Of the twenty-nine hun
dred sections into which the Code of 1871 is
divided about twenty-siX hundred were
copied from the Code of 1851
The fidelity of the copy to the original is
not apparent to the casual observer Qniy be.
cause the excellence Of the Code Of 1857, is
ohscured by the arrangement and confusion
of that of 1871.
lmbued with the spirit of conservatism,
apparent in the history of legislation in this
State; firmly convinced of the error of sud-
den and violent changes in the laws generally
understood and acquieSoed in; believing that
rule not the wiSest and best, but which
is understood and accepted, is more desirable
than better one, not demanded by the popu-
lar will, AMI apprised that through success
sive generations little change has been
demanded or made in the statutes familiar to
the great body of the people, and affecting
their every day life, | have faithfully pre-
served the main body Of these statutes, which
have proved their excellence by long tolera-
ton by those who could have changed hut
chose to p eserve them, and have endeavored
to perfect the system by judicious pruning
and careful grating guarding against a |
spirit Of change. and never. changing, except
cautiously, and thereby surely to improve
| have had in view judicial Interpretation. |
have added to my own, the experience of ali !
who allowed me to lay theirs under coutribu- |
ton; have labored earnestly and unremitting- /
" for almost two years, and now present the |
embodiment Of my effort to accomplish the