27 Kan. 77 | Kan. | 1882
The opinion of the court was delivered by
The only question involved in this case is, as to the constitutionality of ch, 113, Laws of 1877, entitled
Neither of these objections is well taken. That portion of § 16, art. 2, quoted, was not intended to abolish the doctrine of repeals by implication, and to reverse the established maxim, that where statutes are inconsistent with each other, the la'tter repeals the former. The constitution of Maryland contains the following clause: “No law shall be revived, amended or repealed by reference to its title only.” The court said, in Davis v. The State, 7 Md. 152: “This was intended to prevent incautious and fraudulent legislation. It does not apply to an independent act using a new or reviving some previous policy of the state. In such cases, the enactment of one law is as much a repeal of inconsistent laws as if the latter were repealed by express words.” (Cooley Const. Lim. 185; Lehman v. McBride, 15 Ohio St. 573.)
The act of 1877 is clearly inconsistent with §4, ch. 96, Laws of 1875, and if otherwise valid, repeals by implication . the statute so far as Phillips and Norton counties are concerned. While repeals by implication are not favored, the provisions of the statute of 1877 are so irreconcilable with the provisions of the statute of 1875 as to the counties mentioned in the statute of 1877, that both cannot stand. The latter, if otherwise constitutional, must be applicable to the counties of Phillips and Norton.
The question presented under art. 2, § 17, is one of greater difficulty, and yet we think the statute of 1877 fairly comes within the decision of Beach v. Leahy, 11 Kas. 23. It was
The judgment of the district court will be reversed, with direction that judgment be entered for plaintiff in error.