Daily Texarkana Democrat. (Texarkana, Ark.) 1890-1894, 1892-09-02
THE CHOLERA PLAGUE.
PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES
AGAINST ITS INTRODUCTION.
The National Executive Has the
Right to Quarantine Ships Hailing
From Infected Ports.

From Infected Ports.
WASHINGTON, September 1.-The
following opinion as to the authority
of the Executive in the matter of
quarantine regulations was sent to the
President by Attorney-General Miller
this afternoon:
Department of Justice, Washington,
ID. c., September 1.-The President
Sir: Answering your inquiry as to the
extent of the power in the matter of
quarantine regulations, | beg to say;
On April 49, 1878, an act of Congress
was approved, [20 States, 637,] giving
to the Executive certain powers upon
this subject.
On the I'd of June, 1879, another
act of Congress was approved ri
States, SCI providing for the repeal of
many Of the most important provis-
ions of the act of 1878: but the later
act was limited in its duration to the
period Of four years; that is, the act of
June 2, 1879, expired by limitation on
the I'd of June, 1888 1t is well
settled principle of the common law,
that the repeal Of a repeating act oper-
ates to revive the act repealed just as
the repeal of an act changing the COM
mon law restores the rule of the COM
mon law prevailing before such act
was passed. AS to the repeal of a re-
pealing act, this rule has been changed
by section II Of the Revised Statutes
of the United States, which reads as
follows:
"Whenever an act is repealed, which
repealed a former act, such former
act shall not thereby be revived I'M
less it shall be expressly so provided"
The act of 1879, however, was not
but expired by limitation,
and section II of the Revised Statutes,
has no application to this
case, In Collins VS.. Smith rs Wharton
6294l it was decided, Chief Justice
Gibson delivering the opinion, that
where repeating act expires by its
own limitation, the act repealed is re-
vived. Accordingly, it was held by
the late Mr.. Secretary Folger, an emf
nent jurist, that this particular act of
1878 was revived on June 2, 1873. The
same view was taken by my immediate
predecessor, Attorney-General Gar
land; and was acted upon no doubt
under his advice by President Cleve-
land and Secretary manning in quar-
against smallpox in Canada
in 1885.
In this view | concur
BY the law of 1878 it is provided,
among other things:
l. That no vessel coming from any
foreign port or country where any
or infectious disease exists,
or conveying any person or persons,
or animals affected with
any contagious disease, shall come into
the United States, except in the man
ner and subject to the regulations in
that act authorized.
2. The Surgeon-General Of the
Marine Hospital Service shall, under
the direction of the Secretary of the
Treasury, be charged with the execu-
ton Of the provisions of this act, and
shall frame all needful rules and regu-
lations for that purpose. These rules
and regulations shall he subject to the
of the President; but such
rules and regulations shall not con-
fict with or impair any sanitary or
quarantine laws or regulations of any
State or municipal authorities now
existing, or which may hereafter be
enacted.
The policy Of Congress has appar-
entity been to mainly leave this branch
of the public service with the States
and most Of the seaboard States have
statutes more or less elaborate on the
subject. The State statutes and regu-
lations, however, may be supplemented
by the National Executive
My conclusion is that the Surgeon
General Of the Marine Hospital SER
vice and the Secretary of the Treas
ury, with your approval, have author
ity to make needful rules and regula-
tions for the quarantining of ships
coming into our hcrbors with view
to the protection Of the health and
lives of our people
Very respectfully.
w. Ii. III. MILLER,
Attorney-General.