Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-10-21
A Complex System Derived From
Many Sources.
NEED FOR A. CAREFUL REV EION
Antique English Statutes Still in
Force Here.
A WYER'S SUGGESTION.

1ue laws OF the DlStr1ct OF SOlumDla Cou-
sist:
!. OF so much Of the laws Of the state Of
Maryland existing in the District on the
9th day Of February. 1901. as remains I'm
changed by Congress, or by authority
thereof. r. S. d. c.. Sec. 3d.
2. OF acts of Congress relating specially
to the District, the Constitution of the
United States and all such laws Of the
United States as are not locally inapph-
cable R. s. D. c.. Sec. 81.
8. or acts of the defunct legislative as
sembly of the District.
4. OF all such laws and ordinances of the
cities Of Washington and Georgetown. and
of the levy court of the District, not incon-
sistent with other laws of the District as
remain unmodifed or unrepealed by Con-
gress. or by authority thereof. r. S. D. c.,
Sec. 81.
The laws of the state of Maryland on the
9th day Of February. 1901. consisted Of the
common law Of England. such Of her stat
utes as by experience had been found apph-
cable Ito the local and other circum-
stances Of the people of Maryland. and had
been introduced, used and practiced in their
courts of law and equity Dill Of rights Of
Maryland) and Of acts of the colonial and
state legislatures.
photography Of the District Law.
This is a comprehensive view Of the
field which the student must explore to dis
cover what is the law of the District. The
photography of that law may be stated as
follows: The common law of England Will
be found IN approved text books, such as
Blackstones Commentaries, Greenleafs
Evidence, Hawkins Pleas Of the Crown,
and others; the statute law of Maryland as
it existed February a. 1901, appears In
Kiltys British Statutes In force in Mary
land. Alexanders British Statutes in force
In Maryland, kiltys Laws OF Maryland,
and Dorsey's Laws Of Maryland. The acts
of Congress relating to the District are to
be found in the Statutes-at-Large OF the
United States and complied in the Revised
Statutes of the United States. ed. 1873 and
supplement of 1891 The acts of the legis-
lative assembly of the District and ordi-
nances of the cities Of Washington and
Georgetown and Of the levy court OF the
District will be found in the official publ
cations thereof under those titles respect
lively. work on law and equity practice
in the District by Mr.. Franklin H. Mackey
explains that subject. And finally embrace
ing all these sources of the law are the re-
ports of the Circuit and Supreme Courts of
the District, of the state OF Maryland and
Of the Supreme Court of the United States.
The great difficulty under which the legal
profession and the public labor is that no
single volume exists in which all the stat
ute law Is to be found, and that il must be
SearCneO Tor IN more imam nail q dozen I'LL
ferent places. The nearest approach to
code consists Of a compilation of statute
law and digest Of decisions, by M. Thomp-
son, esq, published in 1868. This. though IT
processes to contain all the laws of Mary
land, acts Of Congress of a general nature.
and English statutes in force in the Dis
trict, is but little more than a bird's-eye
view of the whole 1t contains the lam
guage of no English statute, except por-
ton of the statute of frauds. % Car II. c. 3.
and merely refers to a few others by their
titles emitting among others the famous
statute of Westminster 2.l3 Edw j. for the
preservation of estates TAIL q Jac.I, c. l6,
which prescribes the limitation of actions
for the recovery Of lands: and many others
equally as important and familiar. This
book Is a small octave, and the price. $40 A
more pretentious volume is a publication
by Thos. Cogley, ESQ.,, 1882, which purports
to be a digest of decisions of the courts of
last resort in the District. and a compila-
ton of the laws Of Maryland, British stat
utes and acts of Congress in force therein.
The plan of setting out under their appro-
pirate heads. first the statutes, and after
them the decisions of the courts relating to
the subject. which the editor has adopted,
10 convenient and commendable, but the
classification of subjects Is much too
general to make the material In the book
easily accessible. Like Thompson, also. the
editor omits many Of the most important
of the British statutes or fails to put them
where they can be found without turning
over the leaves Of the book one by one. The
market price OF this DOCK Is $l0
Early Effects of Compilation.
The necessity Of complete and succinct
compilation and revision of the laws Of the
District was felt at an early period. have
before me now as many as five abortive eff
forts at the codiflcation of those laws. The
first Is entitled code of Laws for the Dis
trict Of Columbia" and was published in
1873 1t was prepared by Judge William
Cranch of the Circuit Court of the Dis
trict, In pursuance of act Of Congress, April
g. 1916. authorizing the judges of the Cir
cult Court and the attorney for the District
ito prepare a code of Jurisprudence for the
said District The whole work devolved
on Judge Cranch. The next codiflcation
was by Robert Ould and VIM. b. b. Cross.
Commissioners. under act of Congress.
March 3, 1855, entitled IAN act to improve
the laws of the District of Columbia, and
to codify the same Another. entitled
Laws of the District of Columbia" was
published at Washington in 1865. and print
ed at the government printing office, but
contains no evidence Of legislative sane
ton ard does not appear to be authentic.
The fourth was made by George P. Fisher
and others. commissioners, under an act
Of the legislative assembly of the District
and was published in 1872 under the title
District of Columbia. Revision Of Laws"
Tie fifth and last Is styled Project for a
Civil Code for the District of Columbia.
and was prepared and published in 1879 by
Edward Chase Ingersoll under an act of
was more radical than any Of its predeces-
sors. 1t provides a new system Of civil pro-
cedure, and codifies the rules and principles
of the common law in imitation Of the mod
ern code" None of these various labors
all of which. except perhaps one, purported
to be somthing more than compilations Of
existing statute law, appears to have
proved satisfactory, and all of them repose
on the shelves of our libraries. serving no
other purpose than memorials Of the dis
satisfaction Of the people with the dis
persed condition of the statute law of the
District, end of their unsuccessful efforts
to bring 1t together.
The necessity of a thorough compilation
of the statute law Of the District Is two
fold; first, that 1t may be authoritatively
determine ed what British and Maryland
statutes are in force therein and secondly
that the whole body of the statute law
may be brought together in one volume
and rendered easily accessible to the legal
profession to the courts and the officers
thereof and to the public at large. speak
now Of compilatio only the mere bringing
together Of the law without meddling with
its text. In respect Of the first need ex-
pressed above. II Is to be observed that
there is no means of precisely determining
what British and Maryland statutes are
law in the District, except as to such of
them as have been judicially recognized by
the courts of the District being in force
therein. AS to them the question may be
deemed at rest, and they may be accorded
the same force and effect an act of Con-
gress. But a laborious search must be