The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-07-13

men o& nave been sent nere oy the pe0- pie. and presume that they are capa- bls Of enacting general laws. So far. sir. if we examine into the code and subseQuent acts. we find that they have already provided several general laws for the doing of these things. which the legislature under the pres ent Constitution had abstained from enacting in special statutes. The pro- bate judge or probate court has juris- dictiou of many, the court of chaneery has Jurisdiction, the circuit court has Jurisdiction in some cases. VIII you undertake to say by your action that the Committee on Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Sem ate are incapable of extending those laws and providing ably and wisely for all these things which cannot be &C., compilshed by direct local legislation to be done. Why, it is not wise to con- for such extensive powers upon the Commissioners Court. composed in the main of good men. but men as a rule not experienced at all in matters of that kind. and we set up more con- fusion. more trouble. infinitely more than results now from local legislation. Now, sir. the legislature or General As sembly, whichever it may be called, l prefer to call 1t legislature because it is one word. and everybody nearly uses it. it Is common sense-the legisla- ture is capable of dealing with the question. They can pro- vide general laws under which all these things can be done and should they fail to do so--they may not act the first session; some things may be overlooked; they may fail to agree on some. but the other provisions which have been adopted, and which l presume will be, do not deprive the people entitled to special relief from local legislation, where no general law has been passed. It should not. and there is nothing we cannot argue from any standpoint in reason that the Legislature Is incapa- ble of dealing with it. Now the amend ment that offer Is plain and simple. no complication about it. Whenever you launch out and undertake to say how they shall do this. deal with this or that thing, unless you specify ev- erything which the foregoing pro- vision that has been passed on and adopted, prohibiting and denying the Legislature the right to do 1t. you get up inextricable confusion, room for doubt litigation and trouble. Now us- ten carefully at this: ''The Legislature shall pass general laws" not that they may. but that they shall pass general laws, under whica local and private interests shall be provided for and pro- tected. What farther do you want to go? You give them ample power and leave 1t to them to do it, but gentle men supporting this proposition put in as a substitute for the section and pending amendment, not only under take to confer the power, but they have undertaken to tell the Legislature how to do 1t. and with another provis- ion If 1t don't work they can undo 1t and try another scheme. That should have no place in the Constitution. Here is a simple declaration that con- fers all the power you wish to give the LegislatureS or /General Assembly, which ever you may cali 1t, and every gentleman can feel a guarantee that 1t will be properly attended to just as much and effectually as that body at tends to other matters committed to 1t, and I hope the substitute will be voted down and this simple proposition adopted.
 MT. Bulger-It seems to me that this Convention is going as far wrong with their limitation on the legislative power of this State, as the Legislatures in the past have gone wrong in enact ing local laws Now the proposition in Section is to transfer from the rep resentatives of the people in the Gen. eral Assembly, from all parts of the State, the power to iegislate. back to the separate counties by their Com missioners' Courts or Boards of Reve- nue. Now. understand the purpose of the committee in reporting this section is to simplify the local laws in this State and to make the laws easier to find and easier to understand, and to curtail the expenses upon the people of enacting local laws and to make the laws better and more wholesome to the people of the State. l submit, sir, this section, If adopted. will do neither; but will have quite a contrary effect in this State. It will not make the laws evidently any better or safer, because no gentleman on this floor will contend that his Commissioners Court at home Is more capable of legislating for the people of his county than the General Assembly of Alabama, composed of 100 select men. In addition to that they have a check upon them of thirty three men in the Senate: and, in addi- tion to that. they have the great safe guard of the veto power of the Execu- tive of this State. I am one that does not believe the Commissioner Court is more capable of making laws for a county than this legislative body in Alabama. Therefore, l cannot believe that the laws would be better made. Now, MT. President, will they be easier to find or easier to understand2 I sub init if the laws are put into one book. though it be as large as the largest book written. they are easier found and easier understoond than if they are enacted in all the counties in Ala bama ana scattered all over the State. So no man might find them. and the wisest lawyer in Alabama cannot un- derstand the laws, because they are scattered from one end of the State to the other and they are put in sixty-six books instead of in one. l say as to that proposition, it falls to the ground As to the expense of making these laws, I submit 1t will cost the people of Ala bama largely more money to have their local laws enacted under this proposed section of the Constitution than 1t will for the Legislature to do 1t. We put in this Constitution a limitation on the time which the Legislature shall remain in sessIon-fifty days. I have never known a Legislature in Alabama or in any other state. to adjourn be- fore it's time expired by limitation. Now. if you take this work from the Alabama Legislature. they will give their whole time to as many general laws for local purposes as possible, and then to the general laws of the State. Fifty days is long enough to pass all the local laws necessary for the people of Alabama; and is long enough to pass all the genral laws for our state Now if these Commission