Kent & Co. On The Supreme Court

One Prof. 0. A. Ksnt, of the übtvcrsity Lw Department, resident of Dit, and a railroad atiornej, hu set bimselfupaa on independent upreme Court, and oallcd ti his.aid in rerersiog tho lato decisión of the olcl Sapreme Couit, threo otlior ratlroad attbrtieys', ono ot whom, at loast, baviug argned the decidbd caso, ouglit to have lid better taste than to ruh iut" the newrp;ipers, charge tho court wiih usurputiun, and vio wiih the liucrs of the press ia abusing the oonourring judges lor doing thoir duty. We do uot propose to review ihis extra-judicial aud singular critioiain at length, that duty beiog ruther thf pruvince of a lawyor, but siinply to discuss a single point which cauuot fail to disclose the sophistioal and pettifoggiug nature of the document. Mr. Kent, charging Judge Goolbï and Campbell with having goue to a "liighcr la" than the Constitution for their iospiration, - what iie ought not, as a Ilitdica!, to Hud fiuh with, - quotes in piojf froin Judgo Cooley : "It is conceded, Deverthele8, that there are certain liinitationsof this power, (that of tasauon) not prescribed in expresa tern s by any constiiutional provisión, but iuhereat in the subject itself, which altend its exorcist ander uil oircunistiuioes, and which ara as inflexible and absolute in their restraint us if direelly imposod in ihe most positivo form of word." And frona Judge CaMFBBLL : "It canuot bo ed that thcio is no limit to the pow er of tuxation which can prevent the sitioo oí all taxe fur all purposes which thu liegislaturo' may chooae Thrre are pur poses, the illcgali'y o niiiüli would bc bo ruauifest that al thougli not weutioned in auy cous'.itu tion, no one eould hestate to gay the bunlen was notvaiïdlj irnposed to fur i'iu.r theiii." To refuto this position, he tumnjoas Jnd;e Coolky to the stand lud iiijs : "This is a conclusión con tiary to the theoiy of a republioan gov erninfttit. aud uot to be maintained for a moue.it. See Cooley Const. Law, puge oo aud 84, whtro it is expressly lait down by Judge UooiBT thut the courts u:nnot (;etiou the validity of auy pro vióiin of u S;ate Coübtitution, not con flic:ing with the Uuittd Ütates CoDBti D, because öf itg suppoged couüic w i t ; i any iunduiiontal rules of right or of gyvernmeut." ïhe eourt haviug fuil ed to fiud the act in questioii autliori t.d by V.e Ciiiistitu;ioii, what has the citatiou to do with it ? It ia a iegiíia tivo act the.v are que.-tiouiog as covjlict ing with inherent right, and not a c&n Btitutional provisión. Btft let us (uotü tho very languago of Jpdgrf Coolüí from tho pages referred to : "Sul)ject to the foregolDg principies anc llmltations, each yute mast Judge for what provision8 shall beinserted in iisCou sUtutloa; how the powers of gpveromeu sliail bu apporlloned iu order to toelr prupe exerclse ; what protection shall be t&rowi arouiul ihe person or property of the clti zen ;aud to what extent private rightsshal be requlred to yleld to tlie general good Aud the courts of the State, still more th courts of the Union, would be concluded from iuqmring into the justiee of their ac tion, or questionin its validity, because o ii ii j' Bupposed conflict with Hiudamenta rule of right or of govermnent, unie tAey iTlould bc alilo to altow coUision at some poin beliceen the instrument thus formed and tha paramount au whteh constituUs, in regard to the mibjecl it covert, the fundamental rule of activ.'t llirougliout the ichute United BtaUt." And if ou sueh groued a constitution al prorisiou can ba set asido, Mr. Kent' owu witness being authority, cannot an unauthorized legislative act be dtc'arec void for conflicting wilh that " para mount law" which guarantees that the property of onö man ühall uot be taken without bis coDseut oud given to an o the f ? Now let Ú8 put Judge Cooley on tbc stand again. Wo quote from his book referred to. Suuiming up bisdiscussioi of the subject, and concedicg tho genera want of power in a court to ho!d laws uncousátutionul because eonflictiug wit! it views of policy or notions of right, he sjys, piige 174 : " It does not ibllow, however; that Ir any case l!ie courts, belore tliey can se aside ii law as iuvalul, must be able to line in tiie coustitutiou some speciüc iuliibitiou which lias beun disregarded, or some ex press comrnand which has been dlaobeyed Prohl bltions are only important vrhcrethej are i:i the natme of. exceptlona toa gen erJ ürnut of power ; and il tl:e authorltj to do au act lias not been granted by thi sóverelgn to lts itative, it eannot ytöprohlblt its being done." And again, ou page 176 : " The rules which confine the dlscretloi of Parllamcnt wii!iii#tiie aueient landmarks are rules for the constrnctlon of tin. power of American legUlatures ; aud however prop rand prudent it may be expresa ; i prohlblt thoso tlilngs wliich are not uudcrslood to be wlthlu the proper attrl ■ I ;islatlrc power, sucli prohibido can tíeter öe essenlial, wlicu the exteut of the power apportioued Lk the legislativa de eut iu cousklereci, and appears not. lo i to cover th ob.uox.lous authority. atlon coufer iJevrer," And the court could notSud that the titution of this State had eenpowercd tho Legislatura to autlioriza munici■; to force money from our pocket. by way of taxaiiuc, and givo it to Mr. or bia eliti:ts to aid thern in !)uilding ruÜroaJj, rol'.ing milis, faotqriee,or lor auy other purpoae, either privatu ur ::blic. Bui Judgo (Joo.'.kv does not stand loue, Let na buuirnon to h:a support so eminent a jurist as the late Justiee StortY, f.-ho says : "The fiinilaroKiital maxima of n frec govjrnmeut ■tüi to requlre tbat tlie righ-w of id private property should je held uacreO. At least uó court pf ju I ivould be warrauted in assumlng that tbê ;)■.'.( r to ld - a lUuant lo the coinmon prinIplcs of justlco aud civil llbertj - lurked lader i . .,; graut oí auor oughl to be linplled lïom auy ression qf 1 1 . the : lic TI peo uot to bw presmned 1 1 .) part with nits :) viuii t their j ' y ;uul weli-belug, without vry stroug md direct expressloas o!' snch au ' iou." Aud sgaii, aud cxactly to tïie poiat q dispute : " We know of no case la which a legislativa act to transfer the property of A to Ii, without hls consent, lias over been held a constitutlanal exercise of legislatlTe power in any rit:ito in the Union. On the coinnuy, it iias been constant)] as Inconsistent wlth Juat principies, by every judicial tribunal In which it lias been a to bc enforotd." And again : " It isclear tliat etatiitos passul n.L'.iiiit plairi a!; obvious principies Df coTomon right i;.ni common reasoo are.absolutely nuil n:i I vold so far as they are calculated in opérate against those principies." Now if Justioe Stoky was uot an old fngj, " vegeteting " beforo spueulators had loarned tlie seience of gtealing railrou.ls, and if the oourt was right in hoMiog ;i railroad a private enterpriso, it nei;d not Btavcli tilo Constitution for a prohibitiory ciaus, tbough it did ïcfcr to thm. So ono Cliief Justtoe IIosmf.r, of Conn., onee beid : " Wlth rlio.se jndgea wtio assert the omnlpotence of the Itglalataro in all cases where tin; constitutioa has not nterposed an f x i i i c i L restraiut, I caunot agree." And ono Jnstioe Nki.son, of tbc Uuitcd States Supremo Oourt : " It is dow consldered an universa! and [üivlainental proposition in any wcll-rejíuand properly admlntatered governinent, whether embodled ui a constitutioual power or not, that private property cantaken fora gtrlctly private pnrpose at all, nor for pabilo without a jast COBlp Dsatlon." Even under the rigbt of "eniineRk locnain," wLicb Kunt, Walker & Co, play ou ns on " a harp of a tbousand btrings," coiupensatiou must be made for tbe rigbt of wiiy, and cati money - not tbo subject ominent domain - be takon for tbo use of a private corporation, uo compensation beinur attempted, except such as is given tbe uutaxed public. So niuch for this first charge of u judióla! usurpaiion." ïho other two charges rest on a still sandier fouudattau. - Tbe reader will readily sco that wo are no believer in the modern doctriue - as radically iuterpreted - that the legislature is omnipötent aiul supreme, di! that it can do anything aud everything nol prohibitcd to it.