Wednesday, January 28, 1818
Mr. Johnson, from the Committee appointed yesterday, made the following report relative to the revised bills, which was read :
The Committee appointed to enquire and report " What in their opinion, would be the most prudent course, to be pursued by the Senate, in relation to the revised bills," beg leave to submit the following result of their enquiry:---
The Committee acknowledge their incompetency to scan, with critical accuracy, the work, which has been reported to the General Assembly, by the Committee of Revisors, appointed by an act of the last session of the Legislature---They cannot, however, be insensible of the great value of that work, and of the very great labour which it has cost; and the defects which they think they perceive in it, can be attributed only to that want of time, and want of power in the revisors, of which they themselves make mention in their report. They believe that defects do exist, and that they are such as forbid the Legislature, until they are remedied, to give the compilation to the public, as containing the code of our laws. The defects which appear to your Committee, are of the following description---
First---Defects in the arrangement; which may be reduced to these heads, viz:--
1. In putting into one act, what belongs to another.
2. In not putting together in their proper order, the different provisions in the same act, which are connected with each other;
3. In not compiling new bills, formed of the provisions on the same subjects, to be found in various acts, as for example---A bill to regulate proceedings in civil actions at Common Law, to apply to all the courts of law:---A bill to regulate proceedings in Chancery, to apply to the Superior and Inferior Courts of Equity;---A bill regulating costs, to apply to all Courts;---A bill for the limitations of civil actions;---A bill for the recovery of small debts, &c.
4. In not classing the bills themselves, and placing them together, in the order prescribed, by the analogy which they bear to each other---Thus the bills concerning the several Courts of Justice, and proceedings in Courts, with other connected with them, might form one class, and be placed together in their proper order.
Secondly---Defects of omission.---Instances of which, may be found in the omission to compile into one act, the several acts formerly made to prevent the circulation of private banks notes, and the act lately passed to prevent the circulation of the notes of unchartered banks---and the omission to compile, or to note for publication, some important laws, generally denominated land laws, on which they depend the titles of much of the real property in this Commonwealth.
And thirdly---Defects of amendment.---These defects the Committee believe are very numerous, and may be classed under the following heads:---
1. In not reforming the language of the revised bills, so as to make it suitable to the present state of the law----it frequently happening that the language of a law enacted some time since, has now become either improper, or inadequate, in consequence of subsequent amendments.
2. In not making the various provisions of laws, enacted at different times, and now brought together in one bill, consistent with each other.
3. In not suggesting such amendments, as are necessary to remedy the defects of the present system of laws, without changing the essential principles thereof. How to remedy these defects, is a question on which your Committee will offer some reflections to the House:---
They believe it is out of the power of the present Legislature to
apply the remedy.
It is obvious that much time, and much deliberate and critical examination of the subject, would be necessary to the proper discharge of this duty. This, it seems to your Committee, cannot now be bestowed, with the prospect of any useful result. Upwards of ninety revised bills have been reported to the General Assembly; more than forty of them have passed the House of Delegates, and of them, twenty have passed the Senate. The session must now have arrived within a few weeks of the ordinary period of adjournment; and it is believed that there is enough of other business before the
Legislature, to employ the remnant of the session. No hope therefore remains, that the whole code can be gone through; and it is not believed, that with due deliberation, and with proper attention to the other subjects of legislation, any material progress could now be made, with the revised bills. There are some considerations, which would embarrass the proceedings of the Senate upon this subject. Several of the revised bills which have passed, both branches of the Legislature, are intimately connected with others which remain to be acted upon. Some of the bills, which are now before the Senate, are probably as intimately connected with others, which have not yet passed, and may not during the session, pass the House of Delegates. And to act advisedly upon this subject, it appears to your Committee, that all bills intimately connected with each other, should be under consideration of the same committee, at the same time---Again, To facilitate the examination of the revised bills, the books which were used by the revisors, with their marginal notes and references, were deposited with the Clerk of the House of Delegates.---Your commit-
tee are informed that these books, which would in your opinion, afford great facility in examining this subject, cannot be procured for the use of committees of the Senate. In addition, it may be remarked, that the Senate cannot apply the remedy to some of the defects above enumerated ; they have not the power to compile new bills.
The committee are of opinion that a subsequent session of the Le-
gislature would be much more competent to the task of acting judiciously upon this subject. They hope and believe that the revisal would be re-committed to the same gentlemen who have reported it, and that their powers would be enlarged so as to enable them to propose such changes in the present system of laws, as may be necessary to arrest its obvious defects, without materially changing its essential principles. That they should be required to class and methodise [sic] and simplify the system ; that they should be required to cause two sets of their books, with marginal notes and references, to be preserved, the one for the use of the House of Delegates, the other for the Senate ; and that they should be allowed time to perform the work with care and deliberation.
The great advantages which such a course would afford to a subsequent Legislature, in acting upon this subject, need not be enumerated. The classification of the bills, itself, besides the public benefit arising from it, would compensate for the whole expense of the revision, in the time it would save the Legislature in acting upon them.
But if the revisal should not be re-committed to the revisors, yet your Committee think, that a subsequent Legislature would act upon this subject with much greater advantages than the present. The experience of the present, will point out to the future session, the most judicious course to be pursued. In addition to that, the volume at present reported, will be in the hands of the future members for many months before the commencement of the session, and will not be before the public.
For these reasons amongst others, which might be urged, your Committee would recommend to the Senate the adoption of the following resolution:---
Resolved, That the several Committees to whom revised bills have been referred, ought to be discharged from considering them, and that the further consideration of the said bills, ought to be postponed until the first Monday in December next.
The Resolution at the conclusion of the said report, being twice read, was on the question put thereupon, agreed to by the House.
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