Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1882-03-16
lancas1er Intelligence.
THURSDAY EvEN'a, MARCH 1e, 1852.
The Need of Uniform Laws.

Inc NeeQ OF UNIFORM Laws
David Dudley Field, the eminent New
York lawyer, is more prominent than
any other member Of his profession as
an exponent of the principle of legal cod
ifcation, and to this work in his own
state he has given very great attention.
The codiication there of the penal laws
and of the laws of both criminal and
civil procedure has been accomplished
and in operation for some years with
satisfactory results. In accordance with
the mandate of the constitution, a codifi-
cation of the civil law was undertaken
and finished so long ago as
1865, but it has never yet been
finally adopted as the supreme law OF the
commonwealth, though some years ago
the state Of California adopted it. In
letter to the newspapers, Mr.. Field gives
some excellent reasons why the code
should be adopted, which are less forcl-
BILE in their application to other states,
only because New York is larger, older
and has more complicated interests than
her sister states of the Union. Of course:
no code can be framed that will meet
the entire wants or command the un:
qualified appreciation Of the legal pro-
fession, but it is very certain that the
accumulation of ili-cOIsidered legisla-
tion and the vagaries OF courts have al
most compelled the necessity Of coditi-
cation in all of the larger and older
states. Until the adoption of the new
constitution, our annual statutes were
an immense volume, and no lawyer
could keep informed of the drift Of leg
islation while laymen are yet left to
gropc in total ignorance OF new statutes
annually being passed to affect their
property and liberty, the purport OF
which they never know until they are
awakened 10y the fact that they are af
fected by them or have been uHcon-
sciously violating them. Mr.. Field
quotes !, late chief justice of England as
styling the condition Of law in that
country as Chaos thus poetlcally de-
5cribed by Tennyson
That codeless myriad of preceLcnts,
Thut wilderness OF single instances.
An examination of the statutes of our
state and reading Of the reports will
show that in Pennsylvania the condition
OF things is little short of this, and we
fancy that the tine is not far Off when
one by one the older states will yield to
the necessity for codiication. while the
Younger commonWealthS will he glad to
take the codes ready made, furnished by
the experience of others. Besides the
immediate advantages to each common.
weaith from the adoption of this princi-
pie for Itself. it has an important bear
ing in their relations to each other, and
especially with regard to those subjects
on which there should be correspondence
between the different states. Mr.. Field
says:
The diversity Of laws between the differ
ent states Of this Union has been found a
serious Inconvenience and has led to fle.
quent demands, growing stronger day 10y
day, for an Interstate code or such concert
in legislation as will lead to uniform laws
of marriage and divorce, testament and
SUCCESSION, negotiable paper, insurance,
average, sale, carriage, agency, trust and
corporations, among many others affect
ing the daily life Of an active and adven.
turous people. Comprehensive legislation
on any one Of these subjects would be, to
that extent. a code. Uniformity of law
cannot be enforced by common superior,
fcr We have none legally competent. 1t
can be brought about only by the iniiu.
ence Of example. New York is natural
leader of tile states she has already
wrought q change in the civil procedure OF
halt Of them-indeed of great part of thu
English speaking world.