Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-04-06

OF the popular vote az certain cleo
ton 49,. -.
State v. Parker, &c Yer. s57, holds:
Legislation Submission Of laws
TO the people. The Maine Liquor
law OF Vermont was passed TO go
into effect on the second Tuesday
OF March 1885,. with proyiso. that
a vote should lie taken in relation
10 the time when the act should go
into operation. and IL majority Of
the votes cast should be no then
the act should go into operation
In December 1e52-held, constitu-
tional." F..
The following quotation from this
ase Is Of interest: IT.. .a-
"And II is submitted on all hands
that the legislature may enact laws,
the operation or suspension Of which
shall be made to depend upon a
contingency. This could not be
questioned, with any show OF reason.
or sound logic. II has been practis.
ed lin all free states for hundreds
OF years. and 10 one has been lynx.
eyed enough q discover. or certain
ly hold enough to declare, that such
legislation was, On that account.
void and irregular. And It Is, In
my judgment, Il singular fact. that
this remarkable discovery should
first be made I'M the free representa-
tive democracies OF America; and
In regard 10 taxing fhe sense of
these same people, upon the exped-
1ency Of legislation, where the legis-
Iators are confessedly the mere
agents and instruments Of the
people, to express their sovereign
and superior will, to save the neces-
sity OF assembling the people in
mass; and when, from the very ma
ture Of the case. the representative
IL In honor and good faith. bound to
conform mis- action to the will and
desire of hig constituents.
Does any one seriously doubt the
perfect propriety OF the legis-
latufe; upon questions of general
policy, affecting equally the whole
state, acting upon the known VIII
of the state, who're that is known
We suppose not And IL the ses-
sions OF the Legislature we're long
enough, This might be ascertained
during the session az e ID 70 >
considerable extent tometimesby
petitions. and Legislation made to-
conform 10 such informally express.
ed win. But ~ the sessions are too
short, and 4 more formal expression
Of. the viii OF the people Is desired.
AMOUNTS to the same thing practi-
caily, to provide that the law shall
not come into full operation until
the people have had an opportunity
to cay whether they are prepared
TO conform to the required change.
And In regafd TO these great moral,
social and economical reforms, can
II be doubted that the question Of
the preparation Of the public mind
to sustain them, firmly and quietly,
Hes at the very foundation Of all
hopeful legislation on the subject?
And is this not precisely what Amer
lean Legislators both state and ma
tional have always, In effect, al
though not IN form, been accustom.
ed TO do? The legislators have the
power to alter county and town lines.
and the places OF holding courts.
But legislation upon these subjects
e made TO conform, as far as practi.
cable, to the supposed wishes OF
thoGe Interested; and numerous
statutes upon these important sub
iects. whose binding force has never
been questioned, have, in terms,
been made to depend for their whole
force and vitality upon the future
contingency OF the expressed and
recorded corporate vote Of those
interested. Congress passes laws.
almost every session, whose opera
ton is made contingent upon the
revenue laws OF foreign states. or
the navigation laws. or regulations.
and upon q hundred other uncer
tainties, more or less affected by the
Will or agency OF voluntary beings
or communities: and in most Of
these cases the suspension or opera
ton Of the enactment depends ulti.
mately, perhaps. upon the mere will
and agency Of our executive govern
ment;. and Of the perfect regularity
and constitntionality Of such enact
fhents no question was ever made.
Numerous other instances may be
found where statutes have been
made dependent upon future con.
tingencies, not only for the time OF
their coming in force. but for their
very vitality; and no question Of
their vitality has ever been. made
upon that ground. This Is all re-
cognized as sound Law and establish,
ed precedent by these courts and
by those judges who have attempted
to argue that law, made Deepen
dent upon q popular vote. was dit.
ferent in principle from one depen.
dent upon other contingencies. But
all other attempts seem to me al
together illusory, and. to some ex-
tent. captious, not TO say friyo
lous.r
THE recent case Of State V. Frear,
20 N. w. 951. holds that
1.-The legislature though having
no right TO delegate its power to
er TO make q law, It can make law to
become operative on the happening
q certain contingency or on the as.
certainment Of q fact on which the
law makes or intends to make its
"a.