The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1902-08-27

of the most learned jurists of New
England in his time:
'And it is admitted on all hands
that the Legislature may enact laws,
the operation or suspension of which
shall be made to depend upon a con-
tingency. This could not be question
ed, with any show of reason or sound
logic. 1t has been practiced in all free
States for hundreds of years, and no
one has been lynX-eyed enough to dis
cover, or certainly bold enough to de-
clare, that such legislation was, on
that account, void or irregular. And
it is, in my judgement, singular
fact, that this remarkable discovery
should first be made in the free repre-
sentative democracies of America,
and in regard to taking the sense of
these same people upon the expedi.
ency of legislation, where the leg
islators are confessedly the mere
agents and instruments of the people,
to express their sovereign and superior
will, to save the necessity of assembl
ing the people in mass and when,
from the very nature of the case the
representative is, in honor and good
faith, bound to conform his action
to the will and desire of his constit.
uents.
docs any one seriously doubt the
perfect propriety of the Legislature,
upon questions of general policy,
affecting equally the whole State, act
ing upon the known will of the State,
where that is known? We suppose not.
And if the session of the Legislature
were long enough, this might be as
certained during the session-as it is
to considerable extent, sometimes,
by petitions-and legislation made to
conform to such informally expressed
will But if the sessions are too
short, and more formal expression
of the will Of the people is desired,
it amounts to the same thing, practi.
cally, to provide that the law shall
not come into full operation until
the people have had all opportunity
to say whether they are prepared to
conform to the required change. And in
regard to these great moral, social and
economical reforms, can it be doubt
ed that the question of the preparation
of the public mind to sustain them,
firmly and quietly, lies at the very
foundation of all hopeful legislation
on the subject? And is this not pre-.
cisely what American Legislatures,
both State and national, have always,
in effect, although not in form, been
accustomd to do? The Legislatures
have the power to alter county and
town lines, and the place of holding
courts. But legislation upon these
subjects is made to conform, as far as
practicable, to the supposed wishes OF
those interested; and numerous
statutes upon these important sub
jects, whose binding force has never
been questioned, have, in terms, beer
made to depend for their whole force
and vitality upon the future contin
gency of the expressed and recorded
corporate vote of those interested
Numerous other instances may b.
found where statutes have been mad
depend ent upon future contingencies
not only for the time of their coming
into force, but for their very vitality
and no question of their validity ha
ever been made upon that ground
This is all recognized as sound Law
and established precedent by thos
courts and those judges who hav
attempted to argue that law, mad
dependent upon popular vote, wa
different in principle from one de
pendent upon other contingencies
But all such attempts, seem to me al
together illusory and, to some extent
captious, not to say frivolous.
IF the operation of law ma
fairly be made to depend upon futur
contingency, then, in my appreheI
sion, it makes no essential differenC
what is the nature of the contingency
so it is an equal and a fair enc,
moral and legal one, not opposed
= sound policy, and so far connecte
with the object and purpose of ii
Q statute not to be mere idle and a
: bitrary one And to us the contingel
4 cy upon which the present statut
was to be suspended, until anoth'
Legislature should meet and have q
opportunity of reconsidering it, WI
\ not only proper and legal, and jul
: and moral, but highly commendab
and creditable to the Legislature WI
7 passed the statute; for, at the We
! threshold of INJURY into the exp
diency of such a law lies the 9th
! and more important inquiry, Are q
, people prepared for such law? o.
= it be successfully enforced?
. X
/, After full examination of t
arguments by which it is attempted
+ be maintained that statutes made
! pendent upon such contingencies a
( not valid laws and good deal
study and reflection, must decla
[ that / am fully convinced-althou
I at first, without much eXaminatio
! somewhat inclined to the same OPP
! ion-that the opinion is the result
/ false analogles, and so founded up
a latent fallacy. 1t seems to me ii
al the distinction attempted betwe