The Lewiston teller. (Lewiston, Idaho) 1900-1905, 1901-02-07

houses met in Joint session Yesterday te
commence consideration of the state'
ctues. Senator Ballentine was elected
chairrfmn- at the joint committee. After
some discussion it was decided to allow
the code commission to come before the
committee to explain and defend thei,
work, which is being vigorously attacked
Henry Il. johnson was before the com
mittee yesterday afternoon for some
time. He presented partial list of the
flaws and errors in the codes that he has
discovered. He elaborated the points he
made against the code freely. 1t was ev-
ident the question he raised had the ef-
feet OF convincing the committee of the
necessity of proceeding cautiously with
consideration of the codes. The COM
mittee adjourned subject to the call of
the chair. The following list presents
some OF the objections Mr.. Johnson
makes to the codes:
The act creating this commission au-
thorized it "to revise, simplify, arrange
and consolidate the statutes in force at
the time the commission shall make its
final report" designating in their report
what laws OF general nature ought to
be enacted in addition to the codes re-
ported"
BY no rule of construction can this be
read as power Of attorney from the leg
islature authorizing wholesale insertion
OF new matter into the body of our law
much less the elimination of the old.
Radical changes have been made by the
insertion of new and the omission of old
matter which are Of doubtful expediency
fraught with possibly dangerous conse-
quences, and wholly unwarranted under
the act.
In the general Encouragement of our
present revised statutes no clue is given
to indicate what has been done with the
missing sections. An examination of the
meaning of the foregoing here follows
with some particularity:
First, of the political code, Sec. .S85-
This section declares when vacancy
occurs in public Office. A comparison
with the chapters on vacancies in the re-
vised statutes discloses the fatal OMISSION
(absence from the state without proper
permission beyond the period allowed by
law 1t seems to have been assumed
that the old law on vacancies was re
pealed by the first session law; but re-
peals by implication are not favored and
there is nothing to Indicate that the leg
islature intended repeal.
Second, of the code of civil procedure.
Sec. 3I56-This section defines the orgi-
nal jurisdiction of the district courts. AS
the statute now stands its minimum jur-
isdiction, where there is money demand
is $too. The omission of this minimum
makes the jurisdiction concurrent with
that of justices of the peace in all cases
in which the demand or value of the
property in controversy does not exceed
500; on the other hand it is proposed to
restrict and curtail its powers in those
matters now specifically conferred upon
it in subdivision three of our present
statute, which is as follows: 1.-THE juris.
diction of the district court extends
sd. to all civil actions which in
volve the legality of any tax, i'm
post, assessment, tool or municipal 6ne,"
The matter comprised in this section is a
special grant of statutory Jurisdiction
which has been exercised by our district
courts unchallenged for 20 years; it was
taken from California, where it has stood
unimpaired for 50 years. 1t is no answer
to say that the subject matter of this sub
division is covered by the constitutional
grant of jurisdiction Gin all cases both in
law and in equity" This is merely a
grant of the same jurisdiction that had in
territorial days been conferred by the or
gauic act 1t is we'll known that the jur-
isdiction exercised by the courts of COM
mon law in this country is largely de-
pendent upon special statutes comforting
it, and many of the statutes for the first
time create the rights and prescribe the
remedies for their enforcement.
How, with the provision eliminated,
could the district court pass upon the
validity of an ordinance Of this city inn
posing "tax, impost assessment, toll or
municipal finer" Boise City is an indie
pendant body polite, or corporate, unlike
county which is political sub. division
of the state created for the convenience
Of administering the state government,
and its corporate acts are not renewable
by the district court in the absence Of a
statute extending jurisdiction in that be.