The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1891-01-01
What our New Laws Cost.

295 Acts and Joint Resolutions were
passed. OF this number only A. were Of
q public nature, while 191 were of purely
local and special significance. This is
not good record. A very great mass Of
the bills introduced during the session
which were not passed were of a purely
private and specisl character, and the
Legislature, which was elected for the
purpose Of making LAWS for the benefit
of the people, did not succeed in attain
ing the objects for which it was chosen.
Wehave entirely too much legislation.
OF the making of laws there is practically
no end, and "local and special legisla-
tion, as Governor ,Tillman said in his
inaugural address, "are the curses of our
time,
In his address before the American
Bar Association in 1886 the Hon. Will
lidm Allen Butler directed attention to
the unnecessary CT impracticable legisla.
tion which distinguishes the sessions Of
all the State Legislatures and the equally
great disproportion between the laws
which promote private and local inter-
ests and those which are of public con.
Germ. DR.. Butler estimates that the price
paid for current legislation in the States
and in Congress cannot be less than ten
millions of dollars annually.
q It is estimated that each Act and
Joint Resolution passed by the General
Assembly in this State-the printing Of
the bill, the time consumed in the COM
mittee rooms and upon the floor of the
House or Senate, and in the engrossing
rooms, is in round Numbers about $3.50.
Accepting this estimate as very nearly
correct, the cost of public Legislation
during the recent session of the General
Assembly was $500, and the cost Of
local and special legislation was S28,650.
1t does not require any argument to show
that too much money is expended by the
State upon legislative matters, in which
the State as q whole is not greatly in
terested. The recent Legislature was in
session for, thirty days and during this
time was actually employed in the work
of legislation for only twenty-five days.
The average number Of bills passed q
day was nine and a fraction. This was q
very good record, so far. as the number
of bills passed q DAY was concerned, and
compares very favorably with the record
made by Legislatures before the war, but
the objection is not to the dispatch of
business so much as to the number of
measures acted upon by the Legislature
which should never have been introduced
in that body.
lll In 1869 the General Assembly of this
State passed upon the measures Brought
before it at the rate of eight a adsy. In
1888 the Legislature performed the feat
of disposing of twenty measures day.
In 1859 the General Assembly threw out
three fourths of the measures proposed.
In 1883 it enacted half of those which
were introduced. In 1859 the General
Assembly passed forty public Acts and
nineteen private Acts. In 1888 the e.num-
Der of public Acts was III and the num-
ber of private Acts was 113. In 1890
the number of public Acts passed by the
General Assembly was forty-four and the
number of local: and special Acts was 19l.
z Several attempts have been made to
prescribe and regulate the Introduction.
into the General Assembly of measures
purely to private interests, and
there has been reduction in the mass of
local and private legislation, but the late
General Assembly broke the record, 80
to speak, OF more recent years. At this
session fully three fourths Of the time of
the Legislature. was taken up in the
discussion Of matters tof small moment
to the public, and the weightier matters
of Legislation were rushed through at
railroad speed, without full discussion
and because they had been determined
upon as imperative to the success of the
Administration in power" "a.
# We attribute q great deal Of the unne:
cessary time consumed by the sLegisla.
ture to the sinexperience Of the members
of the House and MOTTO any disposition
on;their part to make laws without ex--
cuse. We presume that during the
recess all of these matters will be fully
considered BY the members of the Gem.
eral Assembly, and when the next ses.
sion is held there will be, as Governor
Tillman suggested in his inaugural ad.
dress ''tAn absolute refusal to waste
time on silly, wild CAT schemes and local.
and special legislation, which care the
curses sof our time." At any rate, ne
shall hope for so desirable 8 consumma-
ton lVews and Courier.