The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1893-04-08
THIBODAUX, La, SATURDAY, APRIL s. 1893
Am. 4 Eng. Encyc. of law. Vol. 6

same meaning as the phrase "thc law
or the land in Magma Charta and
guarantee that every citizen shall hold
his lie, liberty, property ard immuni
ties under the general rules which
govern society: thus excluding. as
not due process of law. acts VI attain
der. bills of pains and penal les, acts
OF conliScation, Legislative judgements
and DEGREES and other similar arbi
frary eXtrtlons of power under the
forms Of ie4lSIati0h. so thas IL il, not
every Legislative enactment that forms
due process of law.
HultaGo Us. People of Cal, 1I0 t.
S. 516.
law estlieting the exertion Of the
powers of government. is the maxim
which has crystalized INTO Article s
OF our constitution, "that in al crimi
nal prosecutions the accused shall ei.-
JOY the right to be informed of the na-
ture and cause of the accuSation."
Tins Is Il wise and SalUtary rule.
Crimes and offtnses in this State are
statuary and .jastlce and humanity de
mand that IA person accused should
know the cause of the accusation. the
law with the violation OF which lie l.
charged.
No criminal prosecution can stand
aSai.st any one tor any act ofcommis-
sion or omission, unless it be founded
on and sanctioned by statute ex-
rressly fo, bidding or commanding the
~ nd L
violation. The inhibition or COM
mand of the law maker must be posi-
tive and express and nothing shonld
be lett To lntendment. in order that
every citizen may know III advance
what acts OF man are forbidden or
commanded, the violation of which in
cuts the dispieasure aud entails the
penalties of the law. And when IL law
Furnishes the omission of a certain act.
the command should designate pos
itively the persons or class of persons
upon whom the duty OF performing
the act is imposed.
These | take to be fundamental
principles underlyingour system Of
criminal law and the observance Of
which is essential to the preservation
of the people.
The act in question, must be tested
by these principles in so far as it un
dertakes to punish by criminal prose
! cution the defendant for his failure to
| remove his rice tiume
The defendant is prosecuted unde,
Section of the act No. ) which pro
vides, inter ALA, that any person who
shall fail to remove from the leveas
any existing rice hume, dahl. pipe o,
other conduit after said after nutitica-
tion to remove the same by the police
jury of his parish shall be deemed
guilty of a misdemeanor and punished
by fine or imprisonment, as limited in
the act, OF both, at the discretion oi
the court. This provision is as broad
as it is possible to make It, 1t under
takes to punish any person. that Is all
persons. who shall fail to remove, not
his or her rice -flume &C.. or any other
particular rice t1ume &c, but any eN-
listing rice-tiume &c, that the police
fury may have seen proper to notify
him to remove. This section doe,
|
J rice-tiume sc. from the levees: il
simply denounces penalties against
any person who shall fail to remove
them after notification, that is com
mand, by the police jury to remove
tie same. If there be any express
command to the defendant or to the
class Of persons to which he belongs
we must look for it elsewhere. We
look for ! tin vain in section one. h
only other section OF The act bearing
on the subject. On the subject of re
moval thai section provides tina, the
police jnries of the several parishes %
the State are hereby required to SET
that all rice fumes, dahls, pipes o1
other condnits now existing i'll the
public levees of the State are taken
out and removed theretrom before tht
LIST of january 1898"
That is all it commands 30 perSci
in particular to remove these rice
fumes &c. from the tt.vcc>. much les,
does it require the riparian prupie
tors, the class to which the defcndan
belongs. to do so. II mctt.!. require
the police .iures to SEE that they ar
removed; by whom, OF IN What man
ner or by what means. seems To br eu
trusted to the discretion ot thr police
| jurieS. It is true that in thr exec els,
of ,heir discretion the police iurle
might require the class TO which de
fendant belongs to remove these oh
structions. as ii might require al! til,
inhabitants of the dist:j"t affected t.
turn out and labor in etfecting the re
moval, or adopt any other Lawful
means it may judge proper. AM
possibly they might enforce theii reg
ulationS en- the subject by appropliat
penalties, bat these WoUld, uuael til
4-.,....-l