Morning journal and courier., 1884-01-24
Thursday. January R4, 1884.

THE STATUTE LAW OF THE STATE
 About year ago at the meeting of the State Bar association, held at Hartford. a committee consisting of Johnson T. PIatt
 Charles E. Perkins and John M Hall. was appointed to inquire into and report upon the following matters. First: As to whether revision of the statute law of the State is desirable at present; second: What. if any, thing, can be done to make the statute law of the State more accessible; third: At what date ought the annual statutes to 20 into effect?
 The committee made their report yester- day. They say that they have heard no suf-
 1clent reason for new revision of the stat
 utes at this time, and they think there are weighty reasons against it. They point out that there is no guaranty that another revi- sion would be more satisfactory, and the session laws are in print, and their contents
 made more accessible than hitherto by the index prepared and published under authori. ty of the State. Besides, the statutes relat- ing to certain topics of general interest, as railroads, elections taxation, etc.. have been collected and reprinted by the State, and can be obtained separately. The fact that the legislature at it's annual session passes a large number of public acts, and that In few years the volume of these comes to be considerable, does not seem to them to call for the restRting. of the whole body of statute law. Besides, as they point out, good part of this legislation is evansscent and feetinR in character, and never becomes a permanent addition to our jurisprudence. Of the l, 171 chapters contained in the public aets enacted during the last eight years nearly one hundred have already been repealed. The committee very justly condemn the vicious system of lawmaking which prevails in this State They say, among other things: There is little incentive to master complicated set of rules when the prospect is that the next General Assembly will make the knowledge valueless. Our vicious system has it's Ieeit- innate result in the validating acts so-called, passed year after year. The only excuse that can be urged in their behalf is the chaotic condition of the law, and in effect they are premium for negligence and inat- tsntion. In no other State OF country is this kind of legislation carried to the extent it is here, and in many cases it goes to the very verge of constitutionality. It has come to be so that if man has acquired right under existing laws he is never safe while the Gen. eral Assembly is in session unless he has au attorney in attendance at Hartford to watch his interests.
 Concerning the second question considered by them-What, if anything, can be done to make the statute law of the State more &C., csssible?-the committee say that the statute law is in state of confusion and uncertainty, but they do net believe that any revision Hke- ly to be entered on at present will remove or sensibly diminish these evils. But If in the near future any general restatemsnt of the statute law is deemed necessary they are of the opinion that it should be in the form of a compilation rather than a revision, and they give some valuable advice about the arrange ment of the statutes when another revision is undertaken.
 As to the third question-A6 what date ought the annual statutes to go into effect?- the committee think the first day of July succeeding the adjournment of the legisla- ture is the right date. This will give the people an opportunity to know their con- tents. It will give time for printing, distri- button and examination, and will also proba- ply obviate the necessity for a change on &C., count of the exigency of long session, as was the case last year.
 We think the committee are right in re- porting against a revision at this time. Pre- vious revisions have done great deal to mix the law up, and the proper time to try again does not seem to have yet come.