St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1909-03-27

/ AFEICl6G I'D, LOOs duQ AOL VI uAS
Constitution Of 1879, saving and ex
cepting ID one respect, which is in-
tended By the present Constitution to.
impose additional restrictions upon
the creation of new parishes or change
of parish lines, for while the consti
tuition of 1879 referred these ques-
tions to a mere majority Of the voters
voting, the present constitution pro-
hibits any change in these respects,
unless approved Of by two-thirds Of
the qualified electors of the parish
OF parishes affected thereby
The advocates Of the theory Of in
depreciation adopted BY the Attorney
General contend however that the
tWo-thirds requirement refers exclu-
siYely to a proposed change Of parish
boundaries. This Interpretation of
these Articles Of the Constitution
leads I'd consequences so absurd as TO
be entirely inadmissable. Is it possi-
Bile that the trainers of the Constitu-
ton SO carefully guarded against any
change or rectifcation Of the bound
aries Of contiguous parishes, even
where such change would necessitate
the transfer of the smallest extent Of
territory or space from one parish to
another, by requiring the assent there
to of two thirds of the qualified cleo
tors Of both parishes affected thereby,
and vet at the same time permit a
new parish to be- carved bodily out Of
the territory Of an existing parish by
Legislative edict, and without con-
suIting the wishes of the residents,
as contended for by the Attorney
General? That is exactly what he
contends for, if he be correctly re-
ported in your columns. We invoke
against his opinion, the familiar rules
Of interpreting laws, that those on
the same subject matter must be
construed together; that the inter-
probation is to be preferred which
does not lead to absurd consequences,
but which reconciles apparently con-
hicting provisions occurring in laws
on the same subject matter. It is
sufficient to repeat here what has
often been said before in this con-
nection, that the creation of the new
parish necessarily causes a change Of
existing parish boundaries, and the
trainers Of the Constitution must be
presumed to have had this simple
proposition of fact in view in
framing these Articles. It would be
d reflection upon their intelligence to
hold otherwise.
The creation Of the parish of Evan
geline, as proposed, would change the
entire western boundary Of the parish
Of st. Landry, removing it near
twenty miles eastward from where it
is at present, and the advocates Of
the Attorney Generals view contend
that this can be done BY a mere legis-
latiye act, admitting at the same time
that a change of parish lines in a
question Of boundary cannot be eff
fected without the assent Of two
thirds Of the qualified electors of both
parishes affected thereby.
tt seems to The writer that those
who concur in the Attorney Generals
Interpretation ignors the fact that
the trainers of the Constitution Of
.lI879, as wen as Of the present Con
stitution, did not intend to confer
upon the legislature the power to
create new parishes, for the legisla-
ture had that power inherently as an
attribute of its sovereignty and had
always exercised it from the date Of
the Constitution Of 1921 up to the
date Of She Constitution Of 1879.
Not one of the Constitutions adopted
previous to the Constitution Of 1873
contained any reference to the crea-
tion of new parishes, it being assumed
} always that the legislature had
pIenary authority over that subject
matter. The Insertion ii the Consti-
tuition Of 1879 Of Article 29 was
therefore not intended toconfer upor
the legislature q power which it did
not already possess, but that Article
: as we'll as the corresponding Article
: In the present constitution, was in.
serted ex industrial, and for the mani
fest purpose of imposing restrictions
J upon the existing legislative author
ity, and to give direct application anC
emphasis to those restrictions. a
pressing necessity for restricting tht
: legislative authority to create new
parishes existed at the time Of TIKI
adoption of the. constitution of 1879
while there was no necessity what
ever for the adoption in the constitu
ton of a State policy upon the mucl
, less important question Of changing
parish lines. The Republicans, while
III control Of the State government
had exercised the legislative author
: ity to create new parishes arbitrarill
and in contrayention Of the wishes b
= the residents of the territory affected
! They had created a number of new
: parishes by legislative act, in SOM
: Instances apparently with the view O
i forcing the people Of Louisiana Il
/ commemorate some Of their favoritl
I public characters, examples Of Whicl
are the creation Of the parishes D