Изображения страниц
PDF
EPUB

found guilty of corruption, venality, inefficiency, misconduct, immorality or inattention to duty; held within title." "An act creating the office of the state board of auditors and prescribing the duties thereof," provided that the secretary of state, state auditor and attorney-general should constitute the board and that they should examine the books and vouchers of the state treasurer at least twice a year, that the treasurer should deposit all funds in banks, to be designated by the board and governor, that such banks should give bond to be approved by the board and gov ernor, and that the treasurer should not be liable for the loss of funds so deposited by the failure or act of the bank. It was held that the subject of the act was the security of state funds and that the subject was not expressed in the title.45 An act to establish an office may provide how the election to the office may be contested and in what court.45

§ 156. Acts relating to irrigation, drainage, levees, and the like. An act "to regulate the use of water for irrigation, and providing for settling the priority of rights thereto, and for payment of the expenses thereof, and for payment of all costs and expenses incident to said regulations and use," is only equivalent to the briefer title which might have been adopted: An act to regulate the use of water for irrigation. This was held to be the controlling purpose of the law; that the rest of the title refers to nothing which is not germane to the subject thus expressed. Incidental to a proper regulation of the use of water diverted from

44 Rodgers v. Morrill, 55 Kan. 737, 42 Pac. 355.

45 State v. Nomland, 3 N. D. 427, 57 N. W. 85, 44 Am. St. Rep. 572.

At

46 State v. Slover, 134 Mo. 10, 31 S. W. 1054, 34 S. W. 1102. Speaking of the title, the court says: once the suggestion comes as to the method of electing or appointing the incumbent, the length of his term, the salary or perquisites, the filling of the vacancy in case of

death or resignation, and nothing could be more natural than to look to the body of the act to ascertain what provision had been made to insure the orderly succession in the incumbency of the office, and to provide for settling the dispute of rival claimants thereto. Certainly such a provision as is found in section 16 would be germane to the subject and would have an obvious connection with it." pp. 17, 18.

natural streams in (Colorado) is a determination of the priorities of water rights.47 An act to provide for water rights and irrigation may include provisions for condemning land for ditches for irrigation purposes.48

"An act to provide for the establishment, construction and maintaining drains in this state," is sufficient to cover all the provisions of a general drainage law, a drainage commission in each county, levying of special assessments, issuing bonds, creating of a sinking fund, and repeal of inconsistent laws.49

§ 157. Acts relating to roads, bridges, ferries, etc.— Acts to provide for the construction of such works may confer the power of eminent domain for that purpose.50 An act to provide for laying out, opening and extending streets in municipalities may include provisions validating former proceedings. Roads and bridges are not distinct subjects, and may be legislated upon in one act.52 An act to provide for establishing, working, repairing and maintaining the public roads and bridges in the several counties of the state authorized the levy of a county tax for the purpose, and provided that one-half the tax on property in incorporated towns and cities should be turned over to the municipalities to be used on their streets. The proviso was held within the title. An act to appropriate money to aid in building bridges in certain counties may provide that the counties shall keep such bridges in repair.

53

47 Golden Canal Co. v. Bright, 8 Colo. 144.

48 Paxton & Hershey Irr. C. & L. Co. v. Farmers,' etc. Co., 45 Neb. 884, 64 N. W. 343, 50 Am. St. Rep. 585, 29 L. R. A. 853.

49 Martin v. Tyler, 4 N. D. 278, 60 N. W. 392, 25 L. R. A. 838; Bye v. Stafford, 4 N. D. 304, 60 N. W. 401; Wishmier v. State, 97 Ind. 160. For title of general drainage act held sufficient see Lien v. County Com'rs, 80 Minn. 58, 82 N. W. 1094.

An act to amend the

50 Slocum v. Neptune, 68 N. J. L. 595, 53 Atl. 301; Seabolt v. Com'rs, 187 Pa. St. 318, 41 Atl. 22.

51 San Francisco v. Kiernan, 98 Cal. 614, 33 Pac. 720.

52 State v. Street, 117 Ala. 203, 23 So. 807.

53 County Com'rs v. Jacksonville, 36 Fla. 196, 18 So. 339.

54 State v. County Com'rs, 83 Minn. 65, 85 N. W. 830.

general road law, which was applicable to counties not under township organization, contained a provision that the amend atory act should apply to counties under township organization. The provision was held void as not within the title.55

§ 158 (100). Acts relating to courts and judicial prac tice and proceedings.- One act may relate to all or a portion of the courts of a state in defining their jurisdiction or regulating their practice. In the Matter of Wakker, an act in relation to justices' and police courts of New York was held not to be obnoxious to constitutional objection on account of two courts being the subject of legislation. The court say: "It was the object of this law to establish justices' courts of civil and criminal jurisdiction within this city, and to abolish such minor jurisdictions as stood in the way of the courts to be created. The well-known jurisdiction of justices of the peace for the country is divided by this statute between the new justices created by it, upon one set of whom is conferred the civil and upon the other the criminal jurisdiction of the country magistrates. The office of justice, its tenure and jurisdiction, and the compensation of its incumbents are provided for, and clerks are ordered and compensated by this law." It provided also that its provisions should be applicable to the justices and clerk of the marine court. That court was substantially a justice's court, it being distinguishable only by having additional jurisdiction in certain marine cases not cognizable by justices. On this point the court say: "It would be giv ing an undue importance to this one feature in respect to jurisdiction to hold that this alone deprived it of the character of a justice's court, while it possessed all the main characteristics of that tribunal. It is still a court of inferior and limited jurisdiction, conducted, in all respects material to this argument, as a justice's court. If this be correct, then, in the strictest construction of the article of the constitution under consideration, a statute in relation 55 Shively v. Lankford, 174 Mo. 535, 74 S. W. 835. 56 3 Barb. 162.

to justices' courts, confined to the organization and regulation of these courts, may properly embrace in its provisions. the marine court."

An act was held valid in Kentucky which regulated the jurisdiction of several courts, the inferior courts of the state. It was an act to regulate the civil jurisdiction of justices of the peace, police judges and quarterly courts, and the appellate jurisdiction of the circuit courts on appeals from their judgments, and to authorize the quarterly courts to appoint clerks. The act was treated as one to regulate the jurisdiction of several of the courts of the state. The subject was deemed single.57

Where the title was to create new courts in a county and to limit the jurisdiction of justices of the peace, it was held not to express two subjects.59 An act for the better administration of justice in the town of Sweden abolished the office of police justice for the village of Brockport within the town and created the office of police justice for the town. The act was held valid.59 Under a title to establish the city court of Valdosta in and for the county of Lowndes, a provision giving the court jurisdiction throughout the county was held germane.60 An act to repeal an act establishing municipal courts, passed March 17, 1897, continued the courts until January 1, 1898. This was held within the title. An act in relation to superior courts and the elec tion of superior court judges covers provisions for division of the state into districts, and for the election of judges in the districts. An act concerning evidence provided that the court might make an order for the examination of the person of the plaintiff in personal injury cases by a physician or surgeon in order to qualify him as a witness in the suit.

57 Allen v. Hall, 14 Bush, 85.

60 Mattox v. State, 115 Ga. 212, 41,

58 In re Greer, 58 Kan. 268, 48 S. E. 709. Pac. 950.

61 Bogue v. Seattle, 19 Wash. 396,

59 People v. Lane, 53 App. Div. 53 Pac. 548. 531, 65 N. Y. S. 1004.

62 State v. Rusk, 15 Wash. 403, 46 Pac. 387.

63

64

The provision was held within the title. An act was entitled "An act respecting writs of error." A supplement to the act provided for the review of cases on law or fact by a process which was called a writ of error, but which was not of the nature of a common-law writ of error but of an appeal. It was held not to be within the title. An act to establish a court necessarily includes provisions for the appointment or election of a judge and other officers, and how and by whom jurors should be chosen and summoned." An act to provide for appeals from interlocutory orders granting injunctions or appointing receivers may not provide for an appeal from an order refusing to dissolve an injunction or to discharge a receiver. Where the title was "An act authorizing parties defendant in certain actions to sever, and to have the cause as to themselves transferred to the county of their residence," a provision that in certain actions a single defendant may have such transfer is void.

66

67

63 McGovern v. Hope, 63 N. J. L. before us is an appeal, and not one 76, 42 Atl. 830. in error.

64 Falkner v. Dorland, 54 N. J. L. 409, 24 Atl. 403. The court says: "The act does indeed designate such process a writ of error; but that does not make it such. Be sides, in view of the constitutional prescription, such new-fangled process thus sought to be instituted must have been, before and at the time of the passage of the law, of the nature of a writ of error. or the title was grossly illusive. The process contrived by this law has for its function the removal of decisions founded on blended law and fact, a function that in no sense appertains to writs of error, whose sole ability always has been and is to bring before the higher court, for review in matters of law, the judgments of inferior jurisdictions. Most plainly, the procedure

"The criterion in these cases is to ascertain as closely as practicable what impression, as to the object of the statute, its titular expression is calculated to disseminate. The obvious purpose of the requirement is to give information on the subject to legislators and the public. Looking at the title of the law in question in this way, it seems quite unreasonable to deny that its object as expressed is wholly misdescribed; consequently it is erroneous in the worst degree, for it is misleading." pp. 410, 411.

65 Commonwealth v. Green, 58 Pa. St. 233.

66 Taylor v. Kirby, 31 Ill. App. 658.

67 Saunders v. Savage, 108 Tenn. 340, 67 S. W. 471.

« ПредыдущаяПродолжить »