San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-12-15
LAW SUGGESTIONS.
A Criticism Upon the Proposition to
Pass too Many Bad Laws.

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Pass too Many Bad Laws.
Editor LIGHT
Inotice in the Express that Judg,
Wurzbach, member elect to the legis
lature, is engaged in draughting {
batch of laws, which he will intro
| duce into the legislature. Now, sup
| pose he introduces a dozen laws, and
each member of the senate and the
! house should introduce the same
number, there will be over 500 new
laws introduced, exclusive of the
usual complem 9nt of amen lments OF
existing statutes. This plethora o.
legislation is a nuisance. Frequent
changes of the statutory law
is the curse Of every state
in the Union, and the evil real
Lord Mansfield maintained, that a
bad law which was stable, was much
better then good law, that was be-
ing constantly changed by the legis-
lature, since, when the people become
used to a bad law, which was fixed
and stable, they bought and sold with
reference to it, and were not ruined
by frequent changes of the law. Judge
made law is the worst and most OPP.
pTessive of all laws imaginable, mas
much as it is an Interpretation of a
law subsequent to its enactment and
is, for that reason, retroactive IN its
operation. Every new law has to be
construed by the appellate court,
every amendment os all existing
law has also to be construed,
and the result is a large crop,
of litigation, which proves to ne ruin
Gus to hundreds of men who. parhans
bought ana sold under legal advice
Hence the need of u conservative aud
broad minded appellate court, free
from slavish attachment to techni-
cality and judicial causitry. A bless
ing rarely vouchsafed to the citizens
of any state in the Union in these
days of multltudinous laws.
The LOchrlans in ancient greece
were famed for the paucity and the
excellency of their laws, a blessing
which they attained by virtue of
law, to the effect that when a man
new law, he should do so
with halter around his neck, and
in case his law was re
jected, he should be led out
and hung Immediately as disturber
of the peace of the country. Such
law as, that, here in Texas, would
probably decimate the legislature,
and, perhaps, put an end to the life
of my friend Wurbach. I hope he
will stop his mill for grinding out
new laws and give us brief breath
ing space and deluge of new laws.
My chief purpose in this commune
cation was to point out the hazard of
the courts of county com
to borrow money upon
county bonds, for the prosecution of
road Improvements. 1t is perilous to
vest this power of going into
debt in municipal and county
corporations, since history and ex-
perlence show it has been shame
FULLY abused. The municipal indebt-
edness of the United States is some
thing fearful to contemplate and is
heavy load on the taxpayers of the
various cities and towns, and what is
worse, the bulk of the money was
and wasted in the most
shameful manner in corrupt jobs.
The county Indebtedness in some
states Is also fearful to contemplate.
II the counties wish to improve the
roads within their limits. instead of
them to borrow money
upon bonds, it would be better to let
them "pay as they CO." by author.
izing them to expend 81 500 per year
in that direction, such amount to be
raised by taxation.
And In order to guard against par
tialIty and favoritism in the dis
bursement of this TO I'd fund. the law
should require road running north
and south in county, to be first i'm.
professionally, a road running
east through the county, and after
these shall have been improved, then,
work to be begun on the next most
important road. 1t is better to take
ten years In which to improve the
roads than it is to attemmpt to accom-
plish 1t out of hand, by borrowing a
large sum OF money by the sale of
county bonds Under the last named
plan, the probability is much OF the
money would be wasted and reckless
ly expended. H. A.