New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-11-03


Ordronaux, LII d. svo. PIP. COG Phiiadeipha'
T. & J. W. Johnson.
No system of government has been more abundantly
described in authoritative writing than that In opera
ton In this Union and the States composing It, Dr.
Ordronaux has nevertheless supplied in his "Const-
tuonal Legislation" exposition of that system wch
may be Justly praised both novel and valuable
IL does not merely expound the Constitution what IL
does In that direction is. indeed incidental 10 tS mann
purpose, a review Of what has been drawn during
century OF legislation from the general law unaer
which the Government has moved IL inquiries parucu
larry into administrative law and the shape IL mas
assumed under the substantive law of the Constitu
Hon 1t undertakes TO show not so much the theory
of the Constitution as the actual practice OF courts
legislatures and executives in construng anu CHI
forcing 1t. This is not OF course, new hcld vi III
vestgation but the literature Of 1t Is fragmch'ary
ill-assorted and not easily got at Dr. ororo,suA
gives us, what is not To be elsewhere ootaihea u
comprehensive view of how the Constitutional mandates
have been carried out in the laws Of the Nation ana
Of the States composing 1t, and the value OF Ills Worh
is in proportion 10 the enormous labor OF research IL a
imposed upon its author
The opening pages Of the book suggest It's ecncsiS
and NAV give rise to the objection that they
a.. too elementary The sources and organization
Of representative government ought 10 10 well
understood by every schoobov and this is stuoy
of the legal edifce built ply century OF such gov
eminent under the architectural rules OF the American
Constitution IL was scarcely necessary 10 occupy
sixth part of the book in tracing the processes bv wch
the faaces and fctions OF royal prerogauVe nave
been surrendered TO Anglosaxon hardihood' HOW
ever interesting such an inquiry be- It's practical
results have been embodied in thousand school his
tories. and might have been summed up sufhclenty IN
fraction Of the space Professor Oronaux has devoVed
20 them He has treated them entertainingly, ana
with such an intelligent appreciation of their bear1ns
on the work performed by the fathers OF our Govern
X,oSp 9TH pnfiv he
TO the space they occupy than jealous fear lest the
main work has suffered by contraction here and there
We think indeed that IL has. Many OF tho most III
terestlng features of constitutional jurisprudence have
received less attention than the learned writer was
fitted TO give
Dr. Ordronaux's method is not that of the ordinary
textbook writer 1t is rather that OF the college
yecurer What he has written here is the result Of
what he has spoken at Columbia and Dartmouth. It's
graceful, easy dicton, elaborated periods ana occa
sional eloquence borrowed from the classroom
Their effect is most agreeable Nothing, certainly not
g legal principle. loses by being well expressed Ihere
Is a mean between the ordinary style OF the lecturer
and the ordinary style OF the textbook writer whlcn
Is here employed to excellent advantage. 1t sacri-
fees nothing of deHnve accuracy TO rhetorical warmth
md color but it appreciates the Of picturesque
expression Primarily, Constitutional Legislation"
is intended for the service Of lawyers and law givers
but no one who cares Tor the STUDY
of our governmental system can fail to ind
the book serviceabe. In the period covered by our
National life forty-fve different Governments have
come into being under the Constitution. and have
administered the peoples affairs according TO their
conceptions OF its principles. What could be more
important than to examine how far consistency has
distinguished their proceedings, and to measure the
significance Of such departures from the general method
and spirit as may be revealed. The establishment OF
the Supreme Court as co-equal branch of the Fed
thnritv IN urnOD
States at It's bar. is, of largo guarantee OF
harmony So is the provision which imposes on Con-
gress the duty of seeing that the form Of Govern
mcnt In each State is republican, but In the comph-
Gated affairs of all these distinct political societies
with jurisdictions that stretch across a continent,
many different points of view have been developed
from which to regard the body of general law.
legal principle applied to human affairs at rest may
mean something very different from that which 1t can
be made to mean when applied to particular events
and circumstances under the influence Of public or
partisan necessities.
Having found in the events which gradually led to
the transfer of power from the Throne to Parliament
the main sources Of the Anglosaxon idea Of popular
rights, and in the Mayfower Compact the germ Of
American civil organization developed later in the New
England town meeting. Dr. Ordronaux deals ju-
dclously with the qualified sovereignty OF an Ameri-
can State. He travels the field of ancient and
modern societies in vain to find the parallel OF this
anomalous organization. 1t was the product Of no
mans BRAIN 1t came into being as the result of con
ditons that could have arisen at that time, or
earlier. nowhere else in The world. The colonies
were equal in their delegated rights and were bound
together in struggle in which each had an identical
interest The fate Of was the fate Of all Gen
eral not local, success aimed at. and achieved
None could be independent of the rest At no time
after the issue with the mother country had been
Joined was any assertion OF unqualified sovereignty
rard hv
the fruit OF common exertions and common victories
The dependent relation which each sustained 10 the
others at every point during the development OF
the Constitution acknowledged. The rights they sur
rendered TO the Federal Government were theoretical
rather than practical
Many curious conflicts have arisen IN tho supreme
Court over the relations Of the States each other and
to the National Government. and especially with re-
gard TO the effect OF the Constitutional Amendments
commonly known the Bill OF Rights. DR.. OdronauX
presents an exceedingly elaborate review Of the
staints imposed on the Federal authority, as they
have been defined by the highest voice OF the Nation
His chapters taxation. interstate commerce. the
involability of person and property, citizenship, the
impairment OF the obi CATION OF contracts and privileges
and immuniies, place in clear light the rights and
responsibilities OF citizens and states under Federal
Government. The delicate points that have been
brought up by the exercise OF wide range of sovereign
authority the part of the State, by the conflicting
interests OF states and by the demands Of citizens for
protection against their own State government or
against that Of the Union. discussed after
other with much perspicuity. and the motive of the
law finally laid down in each case is revealed.
Naturally, the most interesting portion of this work
is that which deals with the functions the State gov
eminent and with the citizen in his relations thereto.
The powers OF the President and Congress being
aely bounded and interpreted by single tribunal the
field Of speculation to their nature and has
been so contracted TO leave at this time little occas-
sion of dispute But the powers of the State being
premc except in such particulars are enumerated
and distributed among the various officers according
10 the requirements of forty -four different consttu
lions comparative study of method is full of
terest to the reader ii Of labor to the author.
Dr. Ordronaux performs this work OF comparison with
The object Of getting at the general conception of the