The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-07-09
MUNYON'S

that instrument that the citizen shall
have his remedy by due course of the
law and right and justice administered
without sale. denial or delay. If the pro-
cesses of the law are slow and devious,
so that Justice is either denied or delay
ed. it becomes part of our duty to see
that this evil is speedily banished from
our system, and that one more in con-
sonace with the intent and purpose OF
our constitution should be established.
The question relating to the Courts.
and the procedure therein. is one of such
paramount Importance that | have select
ed it as one peculiarly proper to be
brought to your attention on this occa-
sion.
There are question: concerning the
rights of married women with respect to
the control and management of their
property, the law of negotiable instru-
ments, which received so much and such
minute attention from our last Leg.sia-
ture, and the tendency to excessive and
useless legislation. and other questions
of more or less Importance which should
claim our consideration with IA view "
improving the law with respect TO them,
and of making clearer and more explicit
and definite what is now somewhat I'M
certain and obscure.
There is one suggestion. though | Will
make in regard to a matter which seems
to me to be of some Importance i'll the
legislation of our State. 1t Is of the
greatest concern to rs and to the people
that our laws should be clearly aud ac-
curately expressed. i'll correct phrase
ology and in the plainest and simplest
language Much of the litigation and
controversy in the courts arises out of the
Interpretation of the statutes, and this Is
due to the ambiguous form in which they
are expressed. besides, there are certain
constitutional mode and procedure re-
quired to be observed in the passage ana
enactment of statutes, and those OF us
who are acquainted with the trend of he
recent judicial decisions upon this SUB
ject, and we all should he, if we are
not. will see the Importance. if not the
necessity. of adopting some plan or
method by which all bills introduced in
the Legislature shall, at some stage an
the course of their passage, be subjected
to inspection, examination and revision
by some person or body comnetenr ana
qualified by technical knowledge anu OK
perience for the purpose of determining
if the form of procedure has been observ-
ed and if the proposed statute is sol
framed as to express the true intent ana
purpose of the legislative body, an! III
language, as near as may be, free from
ambiguity, and of definite meaning and
susceptible of easy and certain interpre
tati0n. We can not always prevent
carelessness and inadyertance III legisla-
ton. nor can we render statutes nto
language that can be infalibly constra-
ed, but we can do much to conform leg
islaton to correct procedure, AID to|
frame our statutes in language chat IS
reasonably clear and explicit. believe
that in one or more of the States the
duty of revising legislative bills before
they are finally enacted or ratified .
committed to some law officer of the
government who is specially qualified fir
this service. | have no particular
method to suggest for adoption i'll our
State. 1t is not so important how tn
work should he done, so that it is well
done. but some plan of oversight and
revision if placed in the care or charge
of competent persons, can not fail t.
yield good results in the way of ii more
perfect and better understood system of
the statute law.
/ also submit for your consideration.
whether the time has not come and TIE
conditions are not right for a competent
revision .and compilation of the entire
statute law of the State. In this con
ncction it will not be out of place to re-
fer briefly to the reyisions of the laws of
the State at different periods of its 'ey-
istence with the view of showing tbs
regularity with which they were mia Il,
though sometimes at long intervals.
The first revision and compilation Of
the laws was made by james '1redell
under the Act of 1887. and published III
1871 as Iredell's Iseyisal.
In 1892. Judge Martin i'll obedience to
a resolution OF the General Assembly
published Il collection of the Acts Of the
Parliament of England in force in this
State. and in the year 1894. in pursuance
of another resolution of the General As
sembIy passed in the preceding year, he
published collection Of the Private
Acts from the year 1715 to and includ
ing tine year 1890. In 1900 Judge Hay
good published collection of the laws
of the State familiar to the profession
as Haygood's Manual. and in 1903. Judge
Martin. under authority given by the
General Assembly, published a compila
ton and revisal of the statutes passed
after Iredelps Revisal had been issued.
This brought the revision of the laws
to the end Of the year 1903, and nothing
more was done in the way of codification
until 1917. when Taylor, Potter and
Yancey were appointed Commissioners
to revise and consolidate the public
Acts of the General Assembly. This
work was concluded in 1920, and was
published in 1891, under the supervision
of Judge Potter, and known as Potter's
'Reyisal, or the New Revisal. In 1892,
the General Assembly authorized and
appointed Nash. Iredell and Battle Com
missioners to digest and collate the sta
tutes. and i'm 1888 the compilation known
as the Revised Statutes was adopted ana
enacted into law. In 1854. those emin.
ent jurists, Moore. Biggs and Rodman,
under the authority of the Act of 1850.
compiled and published the laws of the
State extending over the entire period of
her legislative history. and gave us the
Revised Code which is not only a work
of the highest merit, but perfect model
of its kind. The new revisions were
made in 1873 and in 1883 by men dis
ting,lished for their legal learning and
il1striors in the history Of the State.