The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1881-06-18
Communicated.
SUNDAY ORDINANCE REDIVIVUS.

of the constitution Of 1868, in that it did
not express in its title all its objects !;
that the title Of the act is simply to au-
thoriZe Police Juries to pass an ordinance
regulating or prohibiting the sale Of
liquors and merchandise on Sundays, and
that the act contains other objects, not
expressed in its title, viz: creating Il
new offense, leaving the penalty to be
affixed by the Police Juries, and
permitting them to use the name of the
State to enforce the same, etc, etc.
Under the rule for the construction Of
laws, it is said that parts Of Il law may
be good, if they can stand separately,
although other parts of it have been de-
clarcd null. Therefore, as the title Of
Act No. "a is to authorize Police Juries
to regulate or prohibit traffic on Sun
days, and as the first paragraph of sec
ton one of said act is in accord with
said title, and is entire and distinct and
not essential to the other parts of said
act, it should stand and it is law Of
itself. If SO, then under that Act No. 81
Police Juries are authorized to regulate
or forbid sale Of goods on Sundays.
The Supreme Court in its decision sta
ted as much when, ayuendo, it threw out
the suggestion that Police Jures had,
under the laws Of the State, authority to
determine the quantum of fines against
those who transgressed their regulations
and to enforce said penalties-now
through the District Attorneys as they
did formerly by their Parish Attorneys.
Ii, then, tho Police Jury Of this parish
have passed Sunday ordinance, affixed
II penalty and instituted prosecutions in
the name Of the State, they will simply
now have to discontinue the suits, be-
cause the Supreme Court have decided
that 50 much Of the Act No. 81 as created
u misdcmeanor for violating u Sunday
ordinance is unconstitutional, and also
that the name of the State could not bc
used by Police Juries in prosecutions for
violations OF their ordinances.
1t was m;lnifcstly i'll order for our Po-
lice Jury to repeal the Sunday law or,i-
nance, as it has done. What next /?
Make il new ordinance. 1t would be Il
radc mccum if this could done and one
day !, week of rest he extended to all
persons. Before the war and during the
reign Of compulsory labor, our slaves did
not work on Sundays, except during
rolling. Since the war our freedmen do
not engage in field labor on sundays.
Catholics and Protestants alike consider
the Sabbath Il sacred day and keep it to
Il certain extent. Hence, 10y reason of
this common understanding among an
overwhelming majority Of our citizens
Sunday might with proprety be set
apart us the day of rest, since one should
be accorded, and this without woundny
the religious scnsibilitics Of any one.
But Will a Sunday ordinance stand the
test OF our Supreme Court! Act No. 81
received the sanction Of the late SUI
prcmc Court, and under the faith OF that
decree, parish after parish passed the OF
dlnancc and gradually the State was set
Ting quietly down to its day Of rest,
when 10! our present tribunal gives us t.
understand that one swtllow does not
make Il summer no more than one tecis-
ion makes Il Jurisprudence.
Now, i'll the face of tins last Judgment,
which reverscs former one, and keep
ing in view the spirit which dictated the
later decision, can it he expected that
our superior court will do otherwise than
annihi!;tte Il Sunday ordinance, We're one
to be passed by our Police Jury ! 1t
will say, as it has already said oyucndo,
that such a regulation violates "cu,mon
right" intermiNes Church and State"
and is oppressive and unequal because
that which is forbidden in Ascension is
allowed in st. James. Arc not cattle
permitted to 1un at large i'll some par
ishes and impoundeu i'll others :. Is it
not lawful for hogs to stray on New
River and to be shot on the Mississippi .
Are not stations castrated i'll one parish
and left to roam in another! But those
police regulations our court calls princi-
pies OF i" common right" and say they
infringe 90 natural liberty" Without be-
ing called upon to decide, our court goes
out of the record ayyucndo to give us Il
chapter on moral theology, OH the jasyea-
tum OF nat"role, which are far better cx-
planned in Cicero, Grotius, Hobbs, l'ut1cn-
dorf, etc.
1t is not attempted here to chop logic |
with our Judges, for they are supposed to
know the law and they may haye deci-
1ed justly, but from what has fallen
from them it may safely bc predicted
that the next Sunday ordinance of the |
Police jury will he
\ DEAD COCK IN TIE PIT.
An intelligent and we'll informed Nat |
eintochcs correspondent Of the Shreve-
port STANDARD. whose identity it is not !
difficult for us to divine, protests against
the persistent efforts made BY the papers
to eNas.cratc the effects of the late fire
ut NatchitocheS and to herald forth
tho utter prostration of business interests
il that town. The correspondent asserts
that every business firm, save one, which
from the fire has resumed opera
tons, and the demand for buildings for
stores and residences is much greater