The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-07-12

its nature would not be passed upon by the courts unless there Is speciai provision requiring them to do so
 Mir. Jones-Under the decision o. Jack ct als. vs DeVinney ,and several other cases, think not and this IS the reason we make this appeal 10 our friends who do not seem to really tahe in the full scope of this section. Ahe gentleman from Greene, wno was q Judge or the Supreme Court. thinks ~ would. for one do not But tnere are some other able lawyers on this floor. and the gentleman from Greene Is one of them, who are of the opinion that if those things are stricken out. espe- cially in view of decision or the ou- preme Court on a like provision or the Constitution, 1t may mean the oeath knell to the whole section. It may ", but, mind you, I don't say that IS my opinion, because it is not put tnere are other gentlemen whose opinlon | defer to. think that 1t may sound tne death knell of this whole Articie on Local Legislation if we put III nere language which the supreme Courl says means that the Legislature alons should judge and that the courts snouio not have any voice in it. It seems to me Chat we ought to proceed "i'h great caution. s
 MT. Smith (Mobile)-1 want to asK the gentleman from Montgomery 1T the ar gument he is making is in accord with his opinion.
 MT. Jones-The gentleman did not hear me. said day before yesteroay. and said a moment ago, that was no' my personal opinion.
 MT. Smith-I did not hear you saS that.
 Mir. Jones-But take the gentleman from Greene, who has long been an honored Judge on the bench' ne .hi'lne diffe rentiy, and we may be in the at- 'titude of the eminent Francis s. Lyon, a man of eminent intellect ana me- broad. common sense. and in the Con vention of 1875, they thought they nad provided against the evils with wnlcn we had struggled for a quarter or century in that Constitution and they congratulated the people or Alabama that they had delivered them from these evils; but it was not nVe years before a case came up that knocked down the whole provision ana maoe IL as So much waste paper.
 MT. Macdonald-May I ask the gen, tleman a question? Suppose local law should provide a certain method by which rights might be obtained ana person should follow such methods ana obtain rights; suppose the courts snoulo afterwards decide that general law existed under which such rights might have been obtained by different meth ods. what position would such persoii be in?
 Mir. Jones-He would be in the fix Of any other man who acted on an uH- constitutional law.
 MT. Macdonald-Suppose the law was apparently constitutional? MT. Jones-Every law IS apparently constitutional. l.. MT. Macdonald-Would man oe helped by the general law!
 Mr Jones-I don't think he would De- cause he would be getting his rights under a void statute in violation or the Constitution.
 MT. Macdonald-Void, not voidable. Mir. Jones-No, sir; any law declared void is as though it had never oeen enacted. That is the language or tne decision.
 Now. there is another thing which hope our friends will bear in mino there cannot be very much or tnls les- islation. It is not one time III thousand that any title would depend
 unon some local act that is passed | There are always hard cases in wnlcn an innocent man is hurt by law. but II we once get our people out of the ru' | of favoritism in local legislative mat | ters. that can be attended to by gen. eral legislation, the good that Will re- suit will more than compensate TOT the hardship in any particular case. Ihere | is not a case where a legislator IS com neIled to draw a law that he does mol stop to think and have to consider
 does this thing violate the Bill oi Rights? Sometimes questions come uE
 whether the statute infringes upon the right of life, or liberty in the pursui | of happiness. You have got to take tne
 risk. If you go into a battle, yor | may. be shot You must dc the best you can. There is nc
 provision in our government by wh1cl you can get in advance decision oi l the Supreme Court as to whether law | Is constitutional or unconstitutional un-
 til some like case has come into court
 and been declared constitutional or un-
 constitutional.
 | Mr. Walker-This matter has been discussed before the Convention gooo | deal, and by reason of some inter
 ests being developed on the one side ol l the other. 1t seems to me that the | Convention has to a great extent los1
 sight of the meaning of very 6impit
 provision that is before it and have in
 tervfeted it as going out further than l the provision can possibly be inter- preted when you examine the language | Now. what is the proposed provision
 about which all this discussion is talk | ing place? It is simply this: That nc | special, private or local law except 6 | law fixing the time for holding courts | shall be enacted in any case which is | provided for by general law, or wher
 the relief sought can be given by any
 court of this State. Now, gentlemen oi
 the Convention. don't you all agree
 that if a man already has under the
 general law a thing which he wants or if under a general law already ex- isting, he can get the relief he desires by going to the court, don't you think
 under those circumstances ne ought moi
 to be allowed to go to the Legislature, And. as a special privilege. or benefit
 to him get something that is not oper
 to the remainder of the people? Is thert
 any hardship Tn that? If a general law | already gives the right. why in tho
 world should the Legislature be both
 cred with giving that right over again | If. under the general law already exist | ing, the relief that Is desired can ht
 obtained in the courts which are oper
 to all men. ought one man as a fayol
 to be conferred upon him by the mem
 Der from his county to get that relic
 when everybody else who cannot ge I these favors must go before the court!
 and get it in the way the general law
 prescribes? Now, gentlemen. don't al
 the members of this Convention con
 cede that the applications to the Lesis I AL. l-tv. sI