The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1895-07-25

f the Stste--trying to prevent the COL
ection Of taxes for public purposes,
rying to ruin the States credit-in
act would plunge everything into
litter chaos if they could, for no other
.eason in the world than that they
we're told by the people at the last
election that they were no longer
wanted in charge of public affairs.
This is Democracy! How much will
you have of it.
Now let's see how utterly foolish
and disgustingly mean and how in
competent they have been about this
thing.
Section 1859 of The Code says:
"The Secretary Of State within thirty
sion Of the General Assembly, shall
cause to be published by the State
printer all the laws and Joint resOlu-
tons passed at each session, and each
volume shall contain his certificate
that it was printed under bis direction,
from enrolled copies on lie in his Office.
In the printing he shall omit the GER
tihcate required to be endorsed on the
-; utv bat 81.
mediately after the title Of each law
the word passed." adding the day,
month and year.
Now the instructions to the
Secretary of State in this matter are
plain. If he must certify that these
laws are printed under his direction
&c, it reasonably follows that be
should not certify to any illegal
document, because when the laws are
once published they 60 out to the
world and are laws in fact and for
government. Did the Secretary of
State make such q certificate? In
the very volume containing the reve-
nue. act, page 81 Of Public Laws of
1895, appears the following:
RALEIGH, May 23rd, 1896.
81, Octavius Coke, Secretary of State
hereby certify that the foregoing
(manHscript) are true copies of the
original acts and resolutions on file in
this office" OCTAvIUs COKE,
Secretary of State.
This would alone settle the validity
of the Revenue Act if nothing else
appeared; because the certificate of
the Secretary says the act is true
copy of the original &C. on file in
this office. But the Secretary seems
disposed to fall in line with the
kickers and prayers; and seems to
desire to help create confusion &c;
for after the above certificate was
published in the laws he sent out an.
other one under date of July 18th
1895 which reads as follows:
"AttentiOn is called to the fact that
the printed volume of the Public Laws
of 1896, there is printed at the end OF
chapter ll6, being an Act to Raise
Revenue, the words ratified the 12tt
day of March, A. ID. 1885," These words
do not appear at the end of the Origi.
nal of said chapter and Act filed in this
Office" OCTAvIUs COKE,
| Secretary of State.
| Humph! What sort of official busl
ness is this-what sort of competen
cy-what kind of efficiency is shown
in certifying that thing is so, ant
then certifying that thing is no
sol The Secretary of State is {
powerful big man indeed if he cal
regulate the operation of laws o.
this State by sending out certificate,
when notion strikes him. If this
procedure is to hold good, what il
to prevent some Secretary of Stat,
from sending out q certificate
sometime and upsetting the Who'll,
State government if he should hap
pen to want to do so.
We think the Secretary of State
would hardly dare assert that thu
laws passed during the last ten o.
twenty years are void, and yet il
some Populist should make such 6
claim there would be just as much
sense in it as there is in tire Demo
cratic claim that the Revenue Ac
is void. Read section 1869 of tn,
Code again. 1t says the Secretary
shall insert, Immediately after tn,
title of each law the word Passed, ,
adding the day, month and year
This is something which the present
secretary OF State nor any OF his pc
litical predecessors have done. The,
have failed to comply with the law
therefore it would be just as proper
for POpulist to raise cry that al
the laws not. showing these word.
are void as it is for the Democratic
thunder belchers to rage over thu
omission of some other words. But
q Populist has sense enough to know
and is honest enough to concede tina,
legislative intent should be carried
out $50 far as it can be done within
the fair meaning of words used b,
lawmakers" according to the opin
ion of Judge billiard.
Now to do away with technically
L Il