The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1888-01-19
TnE ATTORNEY -GENERAL's REPLY.

| C0LUMBIA, 5. G., January 10, 1888.
| lion. JOhn Peter HichurdS0n, G0reyH0y,
! C0iumdin, S. c.
DEAR SIR: | have the honor to acknowl.
edge the receipt Of your communication of
this date.
You submit for my consideration and
opinion the following question:: "Do the
| persons who have been elected by the Gen.
cral Assembly under and by virtue OF AN
Act TO amend an Act entitled an Act to
| create Department of Agriculture &c.
nppl owed 22nd December, 1887, now con,
atilutc the Board Of Agrculturc?" In re,
! ply, have to say, that on the same day
that said Act was passed, the General AS
| sCmby elected ten members Of said Board
rs directed by said Act. The persons SO
| elected constitute the Board of Agriculture,
unless it should appear that ut the time of
the election the General Assembly was not
authorized to hold the same The only
doubt as to the validity Of the election that
could be suggested is, that no day is
| specially named in tic body of the Act rs
the day upon which it shall take effect, and
hence, If ii be sub icCt to the provisions of
| the Act of 1879 General Statutes, Section
| 33), its operation would be suspended until
the expiration of twenty days after its pas.
sage. In reply to such suggestion, would
Submit the following propositions, viz:
| |. l CndCr the Constitution Of this State,
every Act of the General Assembly takes
effect Immediately upon its passage
| =. No Legislature is authorized or cm-
| powered to provide any rule or regulation
| Tor the guidance or government OF SubSC-
| qucNt Legislatures
| IL We have reference only to the COnsti.
| tuition, then the Act in question took effect
| on the 22l December. 1887, the date of its
| approval by the Governor. If it did not
then take effect, it must he in consequence
OF the regulation prescribed by the Act of
1919. But ii one Legislature has no bower
| To impose any restrictions upon any other
Legislature, then the Act Of December %,
1887, would In 80 way be Affected, in refer
cHcc to the time when it shall take effect
10y the provisions OF the Act OF 1919, un-
less it DC presumed that the former body
intended to conform to the rule or rcgula-
ton prescribed by the latter. This PFC
sumption could only arise from the fact
that the Act Of 1879 was upon the statute
books, and If subsequent Legislatures did
not intend to be bound thereby it would
nave been repealed. But, on the other
hhnu, 1t is also to be presumed that tic
Lcgi >lnturc intended the Act to take effect
according to the provisions of the Consti-
tuition, unless the Act contains words show
ing contrary intention. This latter pre-
sumption, 1t seems to me, Is stronger than
The former. However, if it he otherwise.
still any presumption thHt the Legislature
intended to adopt as n part Of this Act the
provisions Of the Act Of 1879, or that the
same should not take effect until twenty
days after its passage, is rcbuttcd by the
Tact that on the very day Of its passage, to
wit, on December %, 1897, the General
Assembly held an election us prescribed by
| The Act in question, and elected the mem
bCrS Cf the Board us therein provided