Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1892-01-12

county az one time some years ego
made q horizontal reduction Of q
certain per cent. on all taxes. What
did it do 1t for? To avoid paying
its proportion Of the taxes. You
cannot give it that construction; it is
doing violence to the law, and IL IL
doing violence to the Judgment and
good sense Of the legislature. They
never contemplated that. It is a
strained construction. The other
construction | gave IL is reasonable
one; II is In cognizaDce with the
very policy that must have actuated
that body when they Iassed this
law. 1t cannot be otherwise. And
that is the law in my opinion. The
other gentlemen say it does not re-
peal it, IL is not repugnant to it; it is
construed with it. That is the law.
1t is akin TO IL. / presume they
have claimed 1t did not embrace the
same subject matter-that cannot
belt bears upon its face taxation
this act does-that speaks Of assess-
ments-we take the assessments, we
take the valuation ss given and re-
turned and we make a new valua-
ton, that is, we add to or deduct
from. What IL the subject
matter of this in legal contempla.
ton, what is it? 1t is taxation; il
Is all taxation; it all refers TO the
subject of taxation and the subject
matter Is the same-it is one statute.
That is all there il in IL. | claim it
technically comes within that con-
struction. 1t Is the roll contemplated
by that statute; 1t is the certified roll
of the county clerk to all inteDts
and purposes In contemplation of
the statute and In contemplation Of
the law. There is no difficulty
there. L do not want 10 take up the
time Of this board any further.
There is one thing, do not know
whether this question has been
raised or not. 1t says the secretary
of state shall report this action
within five days. OF course, the
secretary Of state In reporting this is
a ministerial officer and it makes no
difference IL 1t Is not reported for ten
or twenty days, it would not in.
validate the assessment, from the
fact that in all cases that have been
decided-election cases and all those
cases where the direction is minis
terial-the law directing an officer
to do that which is not judicial but
is not mandatory-the
law would not be considered manda-
tory, but merely directory, and
substantial compliance with it Is all
that Is required. BY substantial ]
mean honest, straight, square, with.
out corruptioD-that is what the
law books say Is substantial compli.
ance; that which Is directory as con
tradistinguished from that which is
mandatory. But the board of equali.
zation is judicial body. There is
no question about that. The very
oath the board take settles that at
once. To illustrate, the difference
between that which the secretary of
state is required To do under this |
enactment I'm performing his duty,
what is directory and not manda-
tory, l simply say the board In its
action was performing judicial func-
ions; Ii was settling the question
udicially and consequently they
we're required to do that work In a
pecified time and that was manda.
ory; but you are not now acting
udiclally, you have no judicial
unctions-t board has no right to
surp the judicial functions. There
re three coordinate branches of
overnment; they are exclusively
'ithin themselves and neither has q
light to usurp or encroach upon the :
uthority of the other. / claim, in
eteTmining this matter you must {
'llow the law without making any
ldlclal construction of 1t.
Gov. Pennoyer: That is my CON G
'ntion; we have got to follow the I
tier of the law. These interpreta- }
ons where you consider the inten- I
on we have nothing to do with. I
Mr.. Bllyeu; You will levy under a
lis enactment, but be that as II d
lay you are to take that, construe I
and determine whether you will L
Il under the one or the other. I
aim there Is only one, II is all one, {
nd In determining that It is not q :
IdiclM question TO determine what ;
le Intention OF the Legislature was Il
pcessarily, 1t is a fact in every b
ANS mind, II Is taking into con. &
deration that which the legislature a
ad In mind at the time IL passed {
ais act and II does not take Judge n
take that into consideration. @
ou take this law aud read II; OF a
'urse, when n person Is perform p
* a ministerial act under the law
, has got to understand what the q
W says, he has got TO take Il aud, y
he can, understand and follow IL. a
hat Is what you must do, That is Il
i determining whether this act IL al
I'D or not void-it Is the duty ol t
,ourt 20 determine that question. a
DO you understand the legislative ia
Ind In that enaotmeut9 DO you gS
Idersiand the legislative mind IN bC
nded the taxes Of the state should -
levied upon this equalization I'd
der the boarde Is that what YOU 81