The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1889-04-25
AROUND THE CAPITOL.
Matters and Things Picked Up in
Tour of the Departments.
ooMPTRoLLER's DEPARTMENT..


s 800 of Tarrant county bridge bonds for
the school fund.
F. M. Miller, of McColloch county, and
lectors of their res pective counties, set
tied yesterday with the comptroller.
GOVERNORS OFFICE.
The following is full! text of the gov
ernor's veto to senate bill 357, which he
sent to the secretary of state yesterday:
Senate bill No. 357 entitled, Gan Act to
Amend Article 4247, Chapter 10, Title "a
of the Revised Civil Statute of the State
of Texas" is herewith filed with the OBJ
| ieotions which have induced me to with
hold my official sanction to its becoming
a law. Section 6, article 10 of the Consti-
tuition provides that "no railroad COM
pany organized under the law of this state
shall consolidate by private or judicial
sale or otherwise with any railroad COM
pany organized under the laws of any
other state or of the United States" and
article 4247, chapter 10 in the Revised
Statutes, which is designed to be amended,
is an exact and literal copy of section 6,
article 10 of the Constitution, and the bill
under consideration, as passed by the
|
and effect to change the Constitution by
re-enactlng the article 4247 and adding to
it provisions in palpable and direct contra
diction to that instrument. This attempted
evasion of the Constitution, where there is
nothing left to implication, and its decla-
rations are clear and emphatic by legis-
lative construction of it's meaning is SO
transparent that it might be almost con-
sidered an intentional abrogatlon of one
of its clauses upon some supposed neces-
sity to get rid of it entirely by making it
subordinate to the behests of some special
interest. But even should the right to
exercise this proposed power be doubtful,
it is just rule to give the Constitution
the benefit of the doubt, for one breach in
it for the admission of dangerous prin-
ciple or predecent may at any time prove
Trojan horse, which may fly asunder to
disclose the elements of destruction.
Consolidation, which is the essence and
epitomy of this whole bill, means legal
connection "oy private or judicial sale or
otherwise" and otherwise in this case
would be by the act of the
Texas legislature and that of any
other adjoining state or territory. For a
Texas corporation could not run its road
into another state without an act of the
legislature of that state incorporating the
same or some other company to construct
a railroad on the same line, with a pro-
vision similar to that in this bill that the
road in the two states should be "a oOntin-
uous line under one management. This
would be legal connection of the two
roads, one in and one out of the states by
the operation of the acts of the legisla-
lures of Texas and the other state.
The objections to this bill on consti-
tutional grounds should be sufficient but
there are others and by no means the least
of them all, like the sting of the scorpion,
on principle of art that if the head shall
enter, the tail shall follow. The provisions
the bill that the citiz snship or domicle
hall remain in the state, is delusive and
amounts to nothing for two rea-
sons: FIRST, the owners of the
road would live in England, New York or
some other state; and, second, the road
having been made by the law OF two
states continuous line under the same
legslized management, the government of
the United States would not be debarred
from assuming Jurisdiction, judically or
otherwise, on any case wherein, and illegal
connection would give it by the provis
ions of this bill, which seemingly at
tempts to retain jurisdiction in all suits in
the court of the state. Whenever the
facts of the case, or the rights of the
parties in it, give the federal courts juris.
diction, law of this state which assumes
to restrict adj publication of such cases to
the state court would be imperative and
valueless. 1t will be observed that the bill
does not say if any court does properly
assume jurisdiction of case in which
the company is concerned their rights
under this law shall be for
feited, but only seemingly does
SO, If the railway company in charge OF
said line "shall claim or attempt to claim
any other court than the courts of this
state, have jurisdiction over it." This ap-
pears to me sham pretenoe for in any Ii
tigation in any other court than the one
in this state-that is, the federal courts
they need not claim anything about the
Jurisdiction, or, if necessary, may claim
to have their suit in the state court and
let their claim be overruled. In some of
its details this bill might subserve worthy
objects, but am clearly of the opinion
that if it be tested by a strict construc'
ton of the Constitution, which after all is
the only safe, correct and rational mode
of determining the powers of the legisla-
ture, as we'll as the justice and expediency
of such legislation, there is no warrant
for it and no bill ought to stand that does
not fully, completely and in all its parts
hsrmonize with the organized law.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.
Superintendent Cooper has returned
from trip to Huntsville, whittier he went
to visit the Sam Housaon Normal school
He found the school in good condition,
with an attendance of 275.
| Mrs. Christian Zelle, Caroudelet, No,
| is one of hundreds who have tried their
family physicians in vain and were finally
cured only by the use of La-cu pi-a. La
cu-pi-a cured her of a forty-three-y year
chronic ulcer on the leg.
Wife-"Seems to me you're home late
to-right. What's the reason, dear!" Hus-
baad-'T met two dear old friends, and
they have been entertaining me for the
last two hours" Wife-"How nice for
you. Who were they, prsy?" Husband
"Tom and Jerry."-New York Graphic.