The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1891-01-08
TsE COST OF MAKING OUR LAWS. .
Some Interesting Comparisons Of the Work
of Different Sessions.
News and Courier.

~
At the recent session Of the Legisla.
ture 225 Acts and Joint Resolutions
were passed. I OF this number only II
were Of public nature, while l9l were
of purely local and special Significance.
This is not good record. y very great
mass of the bills introduced during the
session which were not passed were OF
a purely private and special character,
and the Legislature, which was elected
for the purpose Of making laws for the
people, Gid Tot succeed III attaining the
objects for which it vas chosen. we
have entirely too much legislation. OF
the making Of laws there is practically
no end, and local and special leglsia-
tion," as Governor Ti!!nlan said III his
inaugural address, ''are the curses OF
our time
In his address before the American
Bar Association in 1856 the Hon. Will
liam Allen Butler directed attention to
the unnecessary or impracticable legls-
lation which distinguishes the sessions
Of all the State Legislatures and the
equally great disproportion between the
laWs-Ghich promote private and local
interests and those which are Of public
concern. Dr. Butler estimates that the
price paid for current legislation in the
States and in Congress can not be less
than ten millions Of dollars annually.
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
committee rooms and upon the floor Of
the House or Senate, and in the en-
gross ing 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 was7S6, 500, and
the cost Of local and special legislation
was S22650. 1t does not require any
argument to show that too much
money is expended by the State upon
legislative matters, III which the State
as 4 whole is not greatly interested.
The recent legislature was in session
for thirty days and during this time
was actually employed il the work Of
legislation for only twenty-five days.
The average number Of bills passed
day was nine and fraction. This
was u very good record, so far as the
number vi bills passed Z day was con-
cerned, and compares very tavorably
with the record made by Leg. .slatures
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.
In 1889 the General Assembly of this
State passed upon the measures brought
before it at the rate OF eight day. In
1885 the Legislature performed the feat
of disposing of 20 measures day. In
1859 the General Assembly threw out
three-tOurths Of the measures proposed.
In 1855 it enacted half of those which
were introduced. Ia 1859 the General
Assembly passed 10 public Acts and 10
private Acts. In 1883 the number of
public Acts was ii and the number Of
private Acts was ll3. In 1890 the num-
Der Of public Acts passed by the Gen
eral Assembly was Il and the number
of local and special Acts was 1911.
Several attempts have been made to
prescribe and regulate the introduction
into the General Assembly of measures
relating purely to private interests, and
there has been a reduction in the mass
OF local and private legislation, but the
late General Assembly broke the record,
so 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 Of small mo-
ment 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"
We attribute great deal of the un-
necessary time consumed by the Legis-
lature to the ineXperience of the men,
bers of the House and not to any dis
position on their part to make laws
without excuse. We presume that
during the recess all of these matters
Will be fully considered by the mem
bers Of the General Assembly, and
when the next session is held there will
be, as Governor Tillman suggested in
his inaugural address: "An absolute
refusal to waste time on silly, wild cat
schemes and local and special legisla-
tion which are the curses Of our time"
At any rate, we shall hope for so de-
slrable cOnsummation.