The Daily Texarkanian., 1896-03-12

repealed or ltS construction COn-
troHed by the presumed or even
well known views of the members Of
the Legislature. Courts have no
dispensing power over statutes;
where they contain no exception .
the courts can make none. Law
sons Rights, Remedies and Prac-
tice: Sec. 3773. The law expressly
saws that the court SHALL order
the subdivision election when petit
toned to do so, and there is no ex-
press provision preventing such
election, even after the county has
adopted prohibition. And the fol-
lowing rule is laid down in South
erland on Statutory Construction,
Sec. 349: "The penal law is intend
ed to regulate the conduct of per-
sons of all grades OF intelligence
within the scope of responsibility.
1t is therefore essential to its JUS
tice and humanity that it be ex-
pressed in language which they can
easily comprehend; that it be held
obligatory only in the way in which
all can and will understand it. y
Hence, every provision affecting
any element of a criminal offenSe
involving life or liberty is subject to
the strictest Interpretation, and
every provision intended for the
benefit of the accused for the same
humane reason receives the most
favorable construction. The rule
that penal laws are to be construed
strictly is perhaps not much less
old than construction itself. y
1t is the Legislature, and not the
court, which is to define crime
and ordain its punishment.
Sec. $50: "a penal statute can
not be extended by implication or
construction. 1t cannot be made
to embrace cases not within the
letter, though within the reason
and policy, of the law =
Penal statutes can never be ex-
tended by implication, to either
persons or things not expressly
brought within their terms. \
1t would be extremely wrong that
man should by long train of con-
clusiOns, be reasoned into penalty
when t1e express words of the act
of parliament do not authorize it. "
The Texas Criminal Statutes pro-
vide: "Article 6. Whenever it ap-
pears that an article of the penal
law is so indefinitely framed, or of
such doubtful construction, that it
cannot be understood, either from
the language in which it is express
ed, or from some other written law
of the state, such penal law shall
be regarded as wholly imperative. "
Article 5, preceding "In the con-
struction of this code, each general
provision shall be controlled by a
special provision on the same sub
iect, if there be a conflict" ="
After one years trial of prohibi-
ton in Bowie county, at an actual
loss of over seven thousand dollars
to its treasury, it has proven fail
ure and farce. During all that
time | had no jurisdiction over the
subdivision embraced in the recent
election, and no bona dde effort was
ever made, so far as / know, by
those who did exercise jurisdiction,
to procure the prosecution and
punishment of violators of the pro-
hibition law, Notwithstanding the
many rumors of it's violation; there
fore | am not to blame for it's fail
ure in Texarkana. The only bona
tide, effort, SO far as | know, ever
made in Bowie county to euforce
the prohibition law, and the only
conviction ever obtained in Bowie
county for its violation, was the
court over which I have the honor
to preside. In the performance of
my official duty / am guided solely
by the law, and in this instance |
feel that have the highest author
ity to support the view | take of
the subdivision election,
Respectfully,
JNo. ]. KING.