The intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1887-1891, 1888-01-21

l lCItI HuCh u uuCslioh w lhS nv
people than to an individual The pco-
pie are sovereign, but their sovereignty
must be exercised in the mode which
they have pointed out in the cOnstitu-
ton"
The law of that case is still the law
in New York. Bank VS.. Rome, lS n.
Y, IS; Bank vs.. Brown, 20 n. Y,
467 People VS.. Fire Assn, 90 N. Y,
81. In Delaware the legislature pass
ed an act, the first section of which
prOvided:-"That on the first Tuesday
in April, 1917, the citizens OF the several
counties of this stale shall decide by
their votes whether or not the retailing
of intoxicating liquors shall be per-
United in said counties" And the
law was held unconstitutional because
OF being a delegation of legislative
power, Booth, e. j., remarking:-
"The laws licensing the sale OF spirit
nous and vinous liquors are valid laws,
and must remain in iull force until
repealed or modified by the regular
aud constitutional exercise of the leg
~islative power, by a law passed by the
senate and house of representatives in
general assembly met. No such law
has been, or was intended to be, pass
ed by the legislature. They purposely
avoided it. They merely left the sub
ject to the people of each county to
decide by ballot, whether the license
laws should be repealed or not, within
such county and until such decision
should be made by u majority of the
legal voters, the laws were to remain
in full force. The people of each
ty were to act on The subject, and not
the legislature. The license laws were
TO be repealed in u county, not by the
will of the legislature, but by the will
OF u majority of the citizens who voted
In such county, although it might be
against the will of u majority of the citi-
Zens of the state; by the exercise Of
legislative power by the people OF q
county, which could not be done by
the people of the state; by u law,
falsely so-called, enacted aud passed
through the medium of ballot boxes,
and not by u law enacted by the senate
and house of representatives of the
state of Delaware in general assembly.
The design and true character of the
act OF the l9h of February last, are
TO confer the functions of the legisla-
ture OF the state upon the people Of n
county to give them the means OF
exercising Legislative power, by
authorizing them TO decide by their
votes whether the retailing of iutOxi-
eating liquors should thereafter be
lawful in their county. A law when
passed by the legislature, is a complete,
positive, and absolute law itself, deriv-
ing its authority from. the legislature.
and not depending tor the enactment of
its provisions upon any other tribunal,
body % persons. 1t may be limited to
expire at a certain period; or not TO 40
into operation until a tnture time, or
the happening of q contingency, or
some future event; Or until some con
dition be performed. OF this descrip.
ton, are many of the laws of the
general government respecting duties
and iinposts: and laws of our W
state respecting private corporations,
which latter are not to operate until
ON condition be performed. > " =
All such laws arc complete and posi-
tive in themselves when they pass from
the hands of the Legislature e, and are
not to become laws by the creative
power OF other persons. But the leg
islature Is invested with 10 power to
pass All act, which is not a law in itself
when passed, and has no force or
authority as such, and is not to become
or be a law, until it shall have been
created and established by the will and
act of some other persons or body, by
whose will, also, existing laws are to
be repealed, or altered and supplied.
The act of the 18th of February, 1s47
is of this character. In a legal sense,
it is not u law it is not complete and
positive in itself. 1t is moi a rule
prescribed by the supreme power of
the state to its citizens enforcing some
duty or prohibiting some act: but was
to become a rule only when enacted CT
sanctioned by the popular vote Of a
county and then TO be a rule prescrib-
ed not by the constitutional legislative
power of the state, but by the power
of the majority in a county over the
minority. Excepting the fifth
section, the act of February last,
in effect, is in the nature of u hi |
prepared and presented by the legisla-
ture OF the state to the people of each
county, to be enacted Or rejected by
them. = = But the act of the 18th
OF February delegates the legislative
power of the state to be exercised by
the people of each county, 10 only in
Il single instance, but year after year.
BY the 9Th section, Whenever one-
iourth in number of the legal voters at
the last preceding election in any
county shall request the levy court to
present the question of ''LicenSe" or
"N0 License again to the people, it
becomes the duty Of the levy court to
give public notice thereof; and the
question is to be again decided by ballot
OH the next succeeding first Tuesday in
April; and so on, in every year in
which such written request shall be
made. BY the constitution of this
state, the Legislative power cannot be
called into action Oftener than once in
every W 70 years, except by the COVER
nor upon extraordinary occasions and
then to be exercised only by Il senate
and house of representatives. But the
9th section of this act, transcemdinS the
constitution, authorizes a minority of
voters in each county TO call into action
every year the legislative power on this
subject, to be exercised by the people
Of such county through q ballot box
thus actually annulling the constitution
snd subvertipg Il form of govern
mcnt.' Rice vs.. Foster, 4 Harr, 479.