The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1893-04-18
THE ALLIANCE LEGISLATION
UNCONSTITUTIONAL.


UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
a Correspor dent Argues that the Consti-
tuition of Both State and Nation
Forbids Such Legislation---Is
He Right?--It Looks
That Way.
MooREsvILLE N. @.
Mr.. EDITOR:-Not long since one of
your correspondents asked you some
questions in regard to the action of the
legislature in Iegislating upon the ALI
ance charter and it's repeal. believe
there were seven questions asked you
and all answered by you correctly ex
cept the first one, and that one was,
Did the legislature, or rather the House
of Representatives, comply with the
requirements of the Constitution in
repeating the charter Of the Alliance
and the whole legislature in amending
the same. very materially differ
with you i'll your answer. You say
thai it did act constitutional. say
not, if there is any meaning in the
English language to its words or to
the construction put upon enactments
of law and the Constitution by the Su-
preme Courts Of the land, the whole
action of the Legislature upon the re
peal and amendments of the Alliance
charter is null, void and unc constitu
tional because all such action would
be er post factO and the impairiDg Of
former contract or obligation.
The Constitution Of the United States
says in article 1, section 10, that no
State shall pass any ''eI post foctO law
or laws impairing the obligation of con
tracts" Article of the Constitution
of North Carolina, section 80, says:
NO eE post fuctO law ought 20 be
made" The first thing to consi Ter in
showing the uncon5titu ionality of the
action of the leg stature Is to see
whether there was a contract entered
into by the Legislature of 1899; and the
Alliance. Chapter 105, of the laws Of
1889, says in section 1, that s. B. Alex
ander, L, L Polk, J. D. Allen, Elias
Carr, T Ivey, John S JOhnst IN, D.
Reid Parker, and such others as may
be associated with them be, and they
are hereby Incorporated (or contracted
with) under the name and style Of the
Farmers State Alliance of North Caro-
lima, and by that name they and their
successors shall and may have con
tinual succession" etc. Now mark the
expression: not for limited time, but
for all time a continual succession.
This act in its several sections proposes
to the parties above named several and
many conditions they and their sue
cessors may perform, provided they or
the chief officers of the Alliance as
stated in section II Of said act would
accept this act. Here, then, is a per
feet contract proposed by the legisla
ture of North Carolina Of 1889, and
accepted by the Farmers State Ali
ance of North Carolina after the pro
posal of the same by the State, and by
being accepted and adopted by the
State Alliance, it became a solemn and
binding obligation between the two
contracting parties forever, there be-
ing no limitation when it should end,
and after the adoption Of the charter
or contract neither party has the
power to annul or break the contract
without the consent Of both parties.
It therefore becomes plain to anyone
that the legislature has no power,
without the consent Of the Alliance,
through its proper legal channel, to
repeal said charter or contract or to
amend the same, because it would i'm
pair the contract voluntarily made by
the State about four years after the
contract had been made, and ratified
by the contracting parties. Not only
is the repeal of the charter unconsti-
tutiOnal, but any amendment made to
the said charter is unconstitutional
and illegal unless the amendments are
legally accepted and adopted by the
Alliance. It always takes two or more
parties to make contract, and it is a
well recognized principle of law that it
takes all parties to a contract to legally
annul, break or amend it. It is also
a principle of law when a legal contract
is made all the parties to it is bound by
it's conditions, and if anyone Of the con
tracing parties break or disobey any
of the conditions of said contract, the
other parties have their redress through
the courts. Therefore if the Alliance
has broken any part of its contract the
agrieved parties to the contract have
their redress in the courts and not in
the legislature.