49 Ga. 232 | Ga. | 1873
In Prothro & Kendall et al., vs. Orr, 12 Georgia 36, it was held that the 5th section of the Act of 1809, entitled “An Act to authorize the clerks of the Courts of Ordinary, sheriffs, coroners and surveyors to hold their office during the intervention between the election and commissioning of their successors, and to regulate the transfer of papers and money,” was variant from the title and void. The 5th section made it the duty of the officers elected to apply to the Executive for their commissions within twenty days after their election.
In The Justices, etc., vs. Hunt et al., 29 Georgia, 158, Stephens, Judge, makes a strong argument illustrating this point. The title of the Act was “An Act to appoint county treasurers and define their duties.” A section in the Act gave the Justices of the Inferior Court power to issue executions against defaulting treasurers. Though the judgment of the Court was put on another ground, the Judge pronouncing the opinion gave it as his decided conviction that the section referred to was unconstitutional, because it was a total departure from the caption of the Act. He said, “ to issue an execution against them (the treasurers) is a totally different thing from appointing them or defining their duties.” With equal force may it be said that the power given to the Mayor and Council of Americus to levy a tax and issue bonds, and the exemption of the citizens of the city from county taxation, are totally different things from creating an independent Board of Education, and defining its powers as such a board. So in Sanders vs. The Town Commissioners of Butler, 30 Georgia, 679, it was decided that a statute, under the title of “An Act to regulate the rates of tavern licenses in this State,” could not, in the body of the Act, confer a power to grant the license, for it would be variant from the title.
But the evil of such a practice was seen, although it has been so often said that those words were sufficient to call the attention of members of the Legislature, on the passage of bills, to the necessity of looking to all the enacting clauses, as the title gave notice that the object of the Act was not fully given in the caption. To remedy what was believed to be pernicious, even with those words of notice, the constitutional prohibition has been enlarged so as to inhibit the passing of “any law which refers to more than one subject matter, or contains matter different from what is expressed in the title thereof.” Does not this close the door against any force or effect being given to the words, “ for other purposes ? ” If those words were once,necessary to permit the introduction of matter in the bill, different from what was embraced in the other-portion of the title, would not that very thing show now that the bill would thereby become obnoxious to the other clause prohibiting more than one subject matter ? The necessity of such words, under the provision as it formerly stood? to prevent the bill from containing matter different from the
The judgment of the Court below is affirmed, with modification accordingly.