The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1893-03-10
THE ANNOTATED CODE.
A Very Flatterlug Criticism BY the Am.
erican Law Review.

erlCan Law keSlews
The people of Mississippi are to
be congratulated on having II
thorough coditicaiion OF the entire
body of their public statutes by
men competent TO perform the
difficult task. We use The word
codilica,ion, because his work is
something more than mere com.
piial.on. A very large portion OF
the previously enacted laws OF
Mississippi which have been col
lected in this volume, have been
entirely rewritten SO as 10 suppress
verbiage and tauiology, to Top off
eXcrescences, and 10 get each stat
utory provision into plain and
good English, SO that ordinary peo.
pie can read il and understand ii.
Following many OF lbe sections
is a collection of decisions Of the
Supreme Court of Mississippi, in
which The particular provisions
have received Interpretation. The
authors IF the Code state that they
have been careful in this colIec.
lion 10 present only such decisions
as would be likely to enlighten
without misleading the non pro
fessional reader; from which we
infer that matters involving hisi0r.
ical detail and explanation of
changes which have taken place
not only in the working OF parlicu.
lar statutory provisions, but also
in the theories of the Court of last
resort have been omitted. Mi>sis.
sippi sill retains what is called the
common law sy ystem OF pleading
and a separate court ofChancery.
J An examination of The title Of
tins Code relating TO the Circuit
Courts, which are the courts OF
common law jurisdiction, will show
that the system Of pleading has
been very much simplified and
will perhaps lead to the conclusion
that there is not, after all, so very
much difference in the use between
what is called the common law
system and the Cole system Of
pleading.
The establishment .of new
Constitution in Mississippi render
ed a thorough revision of the stat
ute law OF that State necessary, OF
at least highly eXpedient. The
Constitution contains a good dea
which would afford The subject oI
curious study. 1t illustrates the
strong tendency among American
people to get every important law
into the organic law, on sort o.
theory that If il is once got there
it Will euf,rce itself.
This Constitution contains M
less than 2S5 sections. Many o.
lhese sections contain matters
which might perhaps better have
been left TO The Legislature.
The difficulty with written
Constitution IS that it gets the law
into a straight jacket. 1t can only
be amended in The mode which il
! prescribes and that mode general
ly involves so much machinery
that amendments come with diff
Guilty and very slowly. The Con
. sti,ulion of the United States, brie
as it is, is a sort of straight JACKIE
political Code, under some OF The
provisions of which the American
people are literally suffering.
/. established and it perpeluate
at least SO far as the Senate is con
cerned, a rotten borough system
, of government. We see he srec
:, ,ac.e of the State of Nevada whicl
at this hour, in consequence of th'
abandonment of her mines. doe
+ not probably contain more thai
/ $4,000 inhabitants, having the sam
r representation in the Senate as lh'
/. Slate of New York, which contain
i about 100000 inhabitants.
1 AT the last election in Caliiorni
{ the question OF elec,ing Senator
/. of the United States by direc
p vote of the people OF the State, wa
!. submitted to the electors and wa
, carried by vote OF about Ten t
o one. This may be taken as not a
= unfair indication of the feeling c
q The electors of The country on tn
! subject of choosing all their pull
Il lie officers by the direct popula
i vote And yet the system OF whlc
/. we speak cannot be got rid {
o without The consent of three
=. fourhs of The States and the Ii
v tie States will not without con
q pulsion or revolution, consent I
|. surrender up the right which the
e have of an equal representation
q the Senate. Our government tht
e fails to yield 10 the popular vii
,e and not unlrequently we are actl
q ally governed by a minority of III
m electors.
" There is, Of course, another s,d
Of the picture. IN countries lib
Y. England, where they have i
ID written constitution, and whel
Q. the most fundamental organ
is changes may be wrong By "a ba
,e majority OF the House of Con
,e mons, The Lords. trembling r
OF their own political existence, n
q daring to interpose. we see Il
" other side OF the picture, a COVER
O. ment whose conservatism depen
upon the whim and opinion Of Il
electoral body, always more
! n less unstable in the best conditi'
by Of public opinion.
lir The pendulum will sooner