The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-02-10
Revising and Compiling.
SALT LAKE, February 8, 1884.


SALT LAKE. February 9, 1884.
Editors Herald:
In THE HERALD ofthe 3.d instant
some views were offered by me re-
garding the work OF the com mittee
to revise and compile the lave. In
The HERALD Of the 9th inetant
GA" takes me to task and talks of
malice, low and contemplate in
sin uatiOn, meanness, stabs ia the
back, and so on. Of these matters
"a" may know something. But
know nothing of them and copse-
quently have nothing further to say
about them.
GA" says the Legislature bas D
proved the bill pre- ented by the
com mittee. Not yet. If it hal,
why was the bill Ua1celed out
into the hands OF various
committees, for them to consider
and report upon it? Bsipg a citizen,
interested In common with other
citizenc in the law, I took up the
law appointing the committee, and
the report Of the committee when
they had done their work, and made
some remarks upon the same, Civ
ing, through THE HERALD, public
voice to the talk Of the community.
The committee were to revise and
compile - what? The existing
laws of the Territory, not the laws
OF other commemorative, and also to
note repealed laws and inconsistent
cies and make recommendation sug.
gestions. The committee themselves
say they took the existing laws and
made of them basis for the
bill they presented, and they fur
ther acknowledge that their bill
was not tech ideally in accordance
with the act of the Legislature ap-
pointing them. The committee
voluntarily bring this charge against
themselves, and it Ia natural that
they put it in the mildest form
This is most of what l contended
for. The committee certainly gave
very wide latitude to their inter
probation authorizing them to re-
commend, much wider, 1 do believe,
than the Legislature intended. 1t
was like making the tail bigger than
the cat. And herein comes the per-
tinency of my phrase about stealing
a march on the Legislature.
My letter said it was doubtful
whether 1t was wise to attempt such
extensive changes in the laws un-
der the present circumstances. We
have a Governor with the absslu te
veto and, IS at present associated,
they are two very bad things to 81
together. The Legislative consider
alton of the work of the committee
is eX teneive, and much of that con-
sideratiOn will very likely be- driven
to the last end of the session, for the
latter end of legislative session Is
always the butt end. Things are
passed hastily and with comparative
areleasness then, which could not
be passed at all earlier in
the session. After the Legis-
lature has passed a bill, the
Governor may veto it, or he msy
refuse to approve it unless altered,
amended is the technical term, to
suit him. The bill goss back to the
Legislature, time presses, the men,
bers are weary, the Governors pro.
positions are resd by the clerk, they
are not printed so that every mem
Der can see what they are, they
msy not be perfectly understood,
they hardly can be, in all their bear
ings by the members. But impati-
enee has its influence, WEAKNESS
does its wonted work, and some
member says. SO, dern II, LIT it go.''
81 the bill piS es, perhaps few or
none Of the memoers unders aading
exactly tie precif relations of
the Governors changes to the o Ter
parts Of the bill, or to other laws on
the statute DO ks. Consequently,
when the laws OF the session come
t, be published, even some of the
N smbers Of the Legislature which
passed them are little surprised at
thsfr own seton in the premises,
and are likely to say Of some pro-
vision or other, II did not under.
stand it that way" Herein comes
the pertinency of my remark that it
was the business OF the Legislature
not to be caught mapping, a very
difficult business sometimes toward
the close OF the session. l further
more expressly said that it might be
found that the committee had done
a good work, though not the espe-
cisl work the Legislature set them
TO do, and that the Legislature
might be disp )ssd to adopt their
work after ali.
SALT LAKER.