The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-05-25
THE NEW REVENUE LAW
CASE TO TEST rTs VALIDITY IF
 HEARD.
State Brings Suit Against W. T Robertson for License Tax. Judge sayre Will Render
 an Opinion Monday.

The case to test the validity of the new revenue law enacted by the last legislature was argued before Judge Sayre for six hours yesterday. At the conclusion of the argument Judge Sayre took the matter under consider atfon and will render a decision at lO o'clock Monday morning.
 This case is the one brought by W. M. Blakey. Tax Commissioner of Mont gomery County, representing the State of Alabama against w. T. Robertson for $350. alleged to be due for license tax as imposed by an act created by the recent legislature. The liquor men of Montgomery took up the fight as whole because the raise in the license for selling liquors was materially in- creased. On wholesale dealers H. cense was raised from s20s per year to SS60 per year.
 The whiskey men contended that they had already paid license for the present year and thought it unjust that an additional tax should be inn posed upon them. They held mass meeting and raised fund to employ counsel It was decided that test case should be made and the suit of the State against w. T. Robertson was the result.
 It was contended by the defendant that this bill. as passed by the House and Senate and as approved by the Governor are not one and the same, in
 that the first bill introduced was a ma. chinery bill for the collection of taxes and licenses and the bill as passed is a bill for the raising of revenue and the levy of taxes.
 It was further contended by the de- fendant that the bill was unconstitu- tional, because the Senate after the bill had reached that body (after having
 been passed by the House) adopted material amendments to two sections of the bill which amendments were concurred in by the House, but were omitted from the bill as enrolled and signed by the presiding officers of the two houses and by the Governor. It was also contended that the bill Is not valid because 1t was signed by Hon. A. M. Tunstall as speaker pro tempore of the House and that under the Constitution the temporary speaker had no authority to sign bills passed. In support of the second contention the defendant sets up that the original bill on file in the office of the Secretary of State shows the amendments on its face. the amendments being written on slips of paper and pasted on the
 bill itself the name of the Secretary of the Senate being written across the end of each of these slips of paper. The plaintiff insists that unless the decisions of the Supreme Court of Ala bama and of the United States are in error the court cannot look to the original bill or any other paper de- posted in the office of the Secretary of State to contradict the bill as signed
 by the Governor, but that unless the Journals of the House and Senate af- firmattvely show that the constitution
 was not complied with in the passage of the bill, the court is bound to con- slider the bill as signed by the Gov ernor as conclusive and to hold the law valid.
 The attorneys for each side argued the case at length and cited many au- thorities to substantiate their argu- ments.
 At the conclusion Judge Sayre an- nounced that he would render a decis- ion in the case at 10 o'clock Monday morning.