The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1889-10-29
4 Number of New Laws Repealed
by the Revision.
Confusion Likely to be Cause d
by Some ShOrt-LiYed Laws.

come to the surface from time to
time, but one of the most curious and
most necessary to be understood by
county and municipal officers, and by
the people generally, is that certain
amount of the new laws enacted and
passed with emergency clauses and
published in TIE session acts, will be
absolutely repealed. by the operation
of the revised statutes, on the first
day of November next. Old legisla-
tors protested to the new members
against the enactment of new laws ir-
respective of the revision. but many
of them failed or refused to under.
stand that new laws enacted at the
revising session do not necessarily be-
come part of the statu es, but are
governable by the nature and charac-
Ter of the revised chapter, article or
section to which the new legislation
is an amendment.
For instance. on page 118 of the
session acts of 1889 will be found an
act governing the fees of clerks of
courts. 1t became law on the date
of its approval, April II, but on the
first of November it w,li cease to be
law because the com mittee Of the
legislature which revised the chapter
on Fees" had their own ideas
about the fees uf clerks of courts, and
the new law was not Incorporated in
the revised chapter.
Ga page 26 of the session acts is an
act providing for the funding of the
bonds and Indebtedness of counties,
townships, parts of townships, cities,
villages, incorporated towns and
school districts. The act became
law February 26. but the chapter of
the new statutes relating to munich
pal bonds differs materially from this
act, and hence the act will be large y
repealed on the first day of Novem Der.
On page AZ of the session acts, is an
act amendatory of section 1912 of the
statutes of 1879, or, rather, the SUBJ
stitutlon of an entirely new section,
relating to the levy and collection of
taxes for improvements in cities OF
the fourth class. Under any ordinary
process of reasoning, the new section
might be expected to appear in this
form in the statutes of 1889; but such
is not the case, as the legislative com-
mittee enacted a section Of its own,
and inasmuch as the revised bills on
~scities, towns and villages" VAS AT
proved at later date than was the
act on page AZ of the session acts,
the revised section will govern.
On page 30 of the session acts is an
act exempting fraterDal societies from
the operation of the insurance law.
This act became law on May Z. but
this section will appear in the sat.
utes enlarged to twice Its length, there
.by emphasizing and increasing the
privileges of beneficiary societies.
In short many of the new laws
(which have governed the people dur
5ng the past six or eight months will
pass out of existence on the first of
November. or at leas. such parts of
them as are not incorporated in the
revised bills. Of course this temper
airy legislation may have served USE
full purpose in protecting and guiding
the people, but it is equally certain
that the legislature would have saved
much time and confusion if it had
bent its energies to put It's new legis-
iation directly into the revision, ill.,
stead of its struggling and disconnect-
ed acts which ultimately failed of
their purpose. There is one instance
where long enactment passed, as a
separate bill. though all the tedious
stages of legislation, and then was in
corporated bodily in revised bill and
went over all the ground again, hav-
ing been, therefore. twice passed by
both houses, and twice signed by the
governor. If Legislators could learn
that a revising session is for the pur.
pose of putting their new legislati n
into the statutes instead of into the
session acts, the work OF revision
would begin Immediately upon the as
4sembling and be finished quickly and
IN good order. Prospective candi-
dates for the legislature in 1898 should
cut this out and paste it III their hats.
These short-lived laws are likely to
cause considerable confusion. A law
for the funding of bonds and other
indebtedness of town, cities, counties
and townships was carefully prepared
and passed at the last session, to en-
able a number of towns and townships
TO refund their outstanding bonds into
securities bearing from 5 10 4 per
cent less interest. Besides just meet
ing a number of existing cares the
law was a very desirable one to have