The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-07-12
HIS DECISIONS OUT OF DATE
Last Years Decisions Don't Apply to
This Years Law.

Attorney Cole Expounds Some Con-
stitutional Principles Which He
Thinks Lawyer Chisholm is Trying to
Upset-Will the Law be Declared I'm
constitutional P-The Murphy Dam
age Suit to be Continued To-day.
r. Henry Cole was on hand promptly
yesterday morning when the motion to
dismiss his case was called up for hear
ing in the city court. He was ready to
meet his opponent, Mr.. W. s. Chisholm,
both with law and facts.
In urging his demurrer Mr.. Chisholm
took practically the same ground he did
the day before. He made the point of UNI
constitutionality on the ground that the
title of the act did not give sufficient not
ice of what was contained in its body.
The body Of the act and the caption, he
said, were at variance, which was con-
trary to the constitution.
He referred also to the fact that the
fine was not mentioned in the caption and
that it was excessive, the provisions of
the act fixing no maximum or minimum
penalty nor leaving it in the discretion of
the Jury as to what amount the fine
should be, but fixing it at $1,000 in all
cases where party was convicted.
THE PRICE TOO HIGH.
This, he said, was excessive, and in
this respect was contrary to the
organic law of the state, the
constitution of which provided that
excessive fines should not be
imposed, but that they should be in pro-
portion to the magnitude of the Offense
Mr.. Chisholm cited several instances
where an act of this kind would be clearly
in violation of the constitution.
Mr. Chisholm said the defendants had
no fear as to the result of the case. but
he asked the court to take this opportu-
nifty now to declare the act null and void,
as it was. He referred to the improper
service of notice in the case, and quoted
several supreme court decisions to show
that when the body of an act and its cap
tiOu contained different subject matters
it was unconstitutional.
MR.. CHIsHoLM's DECISIONS OUT OF DATE.
After reading his petition and all his
plans, Mr.. Cole gravely announced to the
court that Mr.. Chisholm's supreme court
decisions were out of date. Mr.. Chisholm
had quoted no decisions made since 1882,
whereas the act had been passed in 1891
Therefore, they did not bear on the case
He has asked Mr. Chisholm for some re-
cent decisions ON the subject and the
learned counsel had failed to furnish
them.
Mr. Chisolm, he said had assumed to
override the authority of the General AS
scmbly of Georgia, which had passed this
act assembled in congress at Washing
ton" This deliberative body, he said,
was based fundamentally on the constitu-
ton of the United States. Therefore Mr..
Chisolm was endeavoring to override the
authority of the supreme law of the land.
A QUESTION OF JURISDICTION.
Mr.. Cole was further of the opinion
that Judge MacDonells court could not
declare an act of the legislature uncon-
stitutiOnal but that it would have to be
done by the supreme court. Ho said he
had been an efficient member Of the
Plant system" and that he had been
wrongfully discharged without any truth
full or satisfactory reasons.
He was stopped in the midst of his
argument at 10 o'clock, at which hour
the Murphy damage suit was to come up.
At the conclusion of this case Mr.. Coles
case will be taken up and disposed of.
The outcome of this case will be watch
ed with interest, as it is the first one that
has been brought under the new law re-
quiring corporations to give their en-
ployes reasons of their discharge
in writing Mr.. Cole says if his suit is
dismissed he is all ready to carryit up to
the supreme court and that he will test
the raliditV of the law there