Book Description

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1906 edition. Excerpt: ... 4 Hill, 384; De Bow v. People (1845) 1 Denio, 9; Commercial Bank v. Sparrow (1846) 2 Denio, 97; Rumsey v. New York 6' N. E. R. Co. (1898) 130 N. Y. 88, 28 N. E. 763; People v. Devlin (1865) 33 N. Y. 269, 88 Am. Dec. 377, where Judge Potter expresses the opinion that "legislative journals were not legitimate evidence to impeach the statute produced. They are not made evidence by the Constitution; they are not made so by the statute; they were never made so at common law. They are doubtless evidence, from the necessity of the case, on grounds of public convenience, and from the public character of the facts they contain, to prove the proceedings of the body whose records they are, because the Constitution requires them to be kept. Whenever any act or proceeding of such a body becomes necessary to be shown as evidence, such journals may be received, but to impeach the force and effect of a solemn statute duly certified, no authority can be found within the limits of my research to admit them to be legitimate evidence, but much authority may be found to the contrary." By the legislative law of 1892, chap. 682, the presiding officer of each house is required to certify to the passage of every bill by a majority of the house, and, if required in a particular case, that three fifths were present, and that it was passed by a two-thirds vote; and such a certificate is declared to be "conclusive evidence" of the facts therein stated. This section is cited, but without special discussion, in People ex rel. McStedon v. Stout (1856) 23 Barb. 349, involving a question of the delegation of legislative power. The case is cited under that topic in notes to 5 1 of article 3. l6. Private and local bills limited to one...