The Opelousas courier., 1898-06-04

the Legislature shall "eXamlne,
tabulate and count the votes evil
denced by said election returns
The attempt to 60 behind the
election returns at the last cleo
ton threatened to reduce the
State to a state of revolution, and
the Convention did a wise thing
in forever settling this question
in favor of the correctness of the
returns of the votes as cast by
the voters throughout the State,
certified to by the proper election
officers. Any other rule would
give an opportunity to faction
finding itself in control of Il ma
jority of the Legislature to con-
stitute itself a Returning Board,
annul the express will Of the peo-
plc> and set up Il Governor and
Lieut.. Governor Of its own fac
, Radical changes have been made
in tAe Courts OF Appeal. The
Judges Of that court are no longer
to be elected by the Legislature.
The theory was that the members
Of the Legislature would act more
judiciously in cIccting these judges
than tie people would, and that to
confer the power upon the Leglsia
ture would he to take their election
out OF the sphere of politics. Now,
however, the Courts OF Appeal are
to be composed Of two Of the Dis
trlct Judges to be designated from
time to time by the Supreme Court
and who have no addition to their
salaries beyond the payment OF
their necessary expenses IL serving
as Judges Of the Courts Of appeal.
The annual saving to the State
thereby will be the sum OF S2o,oOO.
Another important change i'll the
system is the provision made to APP
peal from the Courts OF Appeal to
the Supreme Court by writ of error
on questions of law. Heretofore
the decisions of the Courts of APP
peal might conflict with those of
the Supreme Court, and yet there
was no remedy. The provision in
the new Constitution for writs of er-
ror to the Supreme Court will secure
uniformity in our Jurisprudence
and enforce from the Courts of Ap-
peal decisions in line with the jn-
risprudence us settled by the Su-
preme Court.
An important provision to the
new constitution is that giving to
the Legislature full authority to
regulate the saleanduse of spirituous
liquors and which is declared sub
ject to Police regulations.
Tho constitution also denounces
dealing or gambling in futures
on agricultural products or articles
of necessity as a pernicious practice
and against public policy where the
intention of the parties is not to
make an honest and bona tide
delivery, and the Legislature will
be required to pass laws to sup
press it. If the Legislature should
exercise the authority SO granted Il
long and p%ersistently urged demand
of the people will be complied
with.
1t is also declared unlawful for
persons or corporations to combine
together for the purpose of forcing
up or down the price of any agrl-
cultural product for speculative
purposes, and the Legislature is re-
quired to pass laws to suppress
it. Thus the argument of the
trusts that laws to suppress them
are in restraint of trade and com
merce and therefore illegal disap-
pears, and the Legislature is in
vested with full power to put an end
to trusts against which q ceaseless
warfare has been waged: especially
by the agricultural classes.
Surely these provisions prove
that the members of the Constitu-
tional Convention were the servants
of the people and safeguarded the
interests of the masses as against
the classes.