Carrizozo outlook. [volume] (Carrizozo, N.M.) 1910-1945, 1915-12-03

familiar with the duties dev0lving
upon him under the constitution.
u Il to he presumed. and can We logic.
ally assume that the constitutional con
veniicn intended, that the journal, pre-
pared hy onc man or Is usually the case,
prepared by some stenographer acting for
the clerk. seldom II ovcr fend. under
standngly. in the assembly, should take
controlling prudence over tbs solemn act
Of the speaker OF the house, the president
II the senate ths clerks Of the no Use and
senate and the governor Of the state In
signing and certifying 20 the fact that the
bill duly passed and become a law We
do not belivc such ~ have been the in
tention Of the trainers Of the constitution,
and the consequences Of such n constitute
ton are 10 fraught with evil and uncer
tainty and wi lead TO such endless con
fusion, that il Is clear the court should
not 20 construe the language used. unless
surh is the only reasonable alternative
Certainly ~ u what the law Is, Is great
y w uVoifth ootu ny tne 'oht' "bN
the people Courts take judicial know
ledge Of the statute law Of the state aud
the people are bound 10 know the law at
their peril Ignorance Of the law IL no ex-
cuse A legislative assembly meets aud
enacts certain supposed laws, which are
published and distributed 50 that all may
know what the law is. The people act
under what they assume the law to be
from n reading Of the published acts
courts administer the law under such sup
posed acts Of the Legislature; no question
may be raised as to a certain act under
which large property interests may have
been acquired, or even criminal penalties
prescribed or %abrogated, until long year
afterwards, some inquiring individual re-
sorts to the legislative journal and dis.
covers that somo constitutional provision
prescribing the method Of procedure H.
the legislative assembly, is not shown a.
have been complied with This, in Stone
appropriate manner, is called 10 the at
tention Of the courts. and the law Is held
never to have been q acted Aud II must
not he supposed that even one suit or nc.
ton would finally settle the matter. We
have several provisions 10 our constitu.
tion, prescribing what the Legislature
shall do in the enactment OF laws Some
one provision had not been complied with
while another might invoke one might
question a law because some other pro
vision, and we would never definitely
know hat n statue had been enacted
legally until the courts had said that each
Of such provisions had been complied with
and that such fact was properly recorded
10 the journal, by the journal clerk. For
illustration, Sec IL. Art ~ provides;
Each house shall keep a journal Of
It's proceedings, and the yeas and
nays on any question shall, at the
request Of one-fith Of the members
present, be entered thereon"
Section is. same article, provides:
mo bill, except bills 10 provide
for the public peace health and
safety, and the eodiGcation or re-
vision Of the laws. shall become a
law unless II has been printed, and
read three different times in each
house. !" etc.
"No hill shall be passed except by q
majority In each house. nor unless on
It's final passage n vote be taken by
yeas and nays, and entered ON the
journal. ."
There may be other provisions Of the
aame import, but certainly the above are
sufficient TO clearly demonstrate the I'M
certainty which will prevail and the end
less litigation which would ensue before
Il would become definitely known wheth-
or a given act had been consttutionally
enacted.
Here follows quotation from the case
Of Elk parte Wren. 90 Miss. 5l2, SO Am.
Hep $3.50
referring to the dangers which may
attend the application Of this rule, and
the abuses 10 which il might be subjected
the supreme court OF the United States.
in the case Of Marshall Field a Co. W.
Clark i43 US. 649. 30 La Ed. 294, said
Here We omit this quotation aIso.)
In the case Of State vs.. Jones, 0 Wash
ington. 453 to ass, the points Out
the elect OF any such contention as thai
ided for boy appellant in this case