WHAT'S THE LAW?

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 655, 4 November 1909, Page 7

WHAT'S THE LAW?

COMMENT BY MR. JUSTICE EDWARDS, i "NUMBERLESS .IMPORTANT,. CHANGES.", ; .Jli tho ootlrsoof his.; judgment, 'dblivotcdi ■ yoptord'a'y, in the appeal case,'' • Minister'' for''' Customs .versus Frauds MEa'rhiid,-' licensee; of. , , Hotel, Cecil, Mi-: Justira Edwards,referred'to : : ', the, effect of : tho consolidation: of{'the. statutes.'' ~ The.case hadboeni braujhiMd diite'riuiiio who:'' ' ;ther: hotelfceepersinight,'legallyjisell :bccr.':iii : ' '-qtianiitfes .of ''two■ Ball-iiis'oiid.:up'jrards.- '"■;■='.•' : '■'■'•' ; .His Honour .said, that counsel )'or the''appellant had -rested: upon-, tho contention th'ot-thc' ■ . separate BUb-sactions of Seotiou 17'ol" (ho Beer ' ; .JJiity Act,:, 1003, when■;• traced ''.back'-- to.their' < original; source,. bqro ; a diiferei:: ddristnlcljdii' ' ; from that which-, would otherwise bo .attached to. them'livtheir-present,collocation.,:Th'e pdiv- i ,erj;.duties, arid-..functions' imposed upon.-the commissioners, appointed under,, tho 'Reprint/of Statutes Act,'. 1895, were hot'merely -'io;.roprodude .in a' codified .form,th'c pre-ekistiri", ligis'iV 0 ? 1 ,„ Am . on S ° th « things,. thoV Statute' pro-' vided (Section .3, Sub-Section -2) that' "They. i (the commissioners) shall' revise, .correct, arrange, and, consolidate such Acts', committing ■' , all such enactments and parts'thereof, as are ■ , of.a temporary, character or of a'locator per- i eonal natnro.; or havd expired, become obsolete, ; beeh repealed, or had their effect; (8) they shall ; omit,mere formal and introductory words; niid ; all enactments repealing any matter, and shall ' make such, alterations, as may ,bo'necessary to: .< reconcile ,the.contradictions; supply, the'bmls- 1 ' sibns, arid amend the imperfections of tho. ex- ■ : isting ,ActsK(l) they shall also, report upon• : such contradictions, omissions, ' and iriipcrfec-: ttons.us-may appear in.the existing Aots,''with the mode m which they have been.reconciled, ; '.' supplied, and amended the "same,'-. ■<. Tho mode •: in which the -commissioners-:had, interpreted' - tU'M«.ppwcr»: ; wa'B .'shown: by; the ..following' pas- '• saja/from their, report,, niado in-intended pur- , suance; of. those .clauses.:—"Part of the''duty- -. imposed upon,us- is! to -repeat'tho Nsbntradlc ' nous,, omissions, and .imperfections r a'ppcaring ; m the cxis'.iiKj Acts,: and tlio 'mode in' which ' they have been , reconciled, supplied; .and' amended. 'Wo do not understand : :this to re- . quire-us to specify every alteration or chaupro wo.have made. Tho resources of the,printing I ibffjco would be unequal, to such a- task; aB, j apart, 'fiom numberless ..verbal alterations, .] ninny. Acts aro. almost.wholly recast. 'Such of i .them, however, as:in our judgment : are of, i .•mfficient importance,:to.call for the attention/' I of the Legislature,.are referred, to in th'osup-'. i plementary statement appended to this report." 'i This report had been laid, before both Ilou-os of tho General' Assembly, and the' Legislature, ' therefore,, with ■ full knowledge that tho com.'nXssioners had altered and; changed the law in •numberless .respects, and had .reported only j such .of those • alterations' and'changes' ul 'in '<■ their judgment importance ,; ' to- oall .for tho. attention of ■thc.Wgislature, * chose to repeal, substantially 1 tho whole of the 1 •', statute, law: of the Dominion,: and: to : pass , without '.'an''■■Act' whioh' adopted 'a setof so-called.statutes,.which were really l ' but' ,■ sohodules to. the adopting' Act, and thus to re'. ■ enact the law with such changes as had re- ■•; commended themselves to the commissioners. '.'A. very brief experience of: tho' so-called " consolidated Acts of .3908 shows, that tho com- I missioners have introduced-ohaiges df-an im- J pdrlant character-', into the legislation without- \ rcalling tho' attention of; Parliament c continued his Honour.M'For example, in the - v Commissions of Ihquir.vi|:Aci,l9oS. .'thor : coin-' I missioners, .without referring to ' it in 'th<sir - report, have, in. Section! 12, introduced into • the : Act entirely liew provisions; to' tho ; iriK portanco ,of which:T have recently hadxecu- •■■ sion to;draw attentionin.the cases of Huglieii' -v ;r!;- Hanna and Hughes v.'.'Self.rlh' these-cif.' t cumstarices, it is, in my.opinion.'.impbssiblo, to ■'■' attribute to the Legislature , the:- intention •- merely to consolidate, and hot to alter,'■* the : <'■:. law.. It vill take ,manyyears, I donbt.noti _ to ascertain what changes have beehintro- J duced into the,law by the ,legislation bf 1908, I but for .better or. worse that legislation: has 5 been enaotedj and the, only possiblo'mode of „ dealing with it is, in iny opinion,. to deal with F if accordinit £ to the ordinary canons of: con- f strudtion." It' rcquirea muoh patience and «•:- J1 search, in any caso dependiuw-iinon.the statute law, to ascertain what changes have beeninado' ?' inthoaavr os'it stood; before 1908.' Ifthoro is to be added to this the; necessitv of endeavour. n ing first of all to ascertain,.the effect'of the tt law prior to tho legislation 1 of IMS.', and, then ' attempting to reconcile that legislation'with .1 tho,prior law, the task will be one which'will '" be-.practically impossible of. performance.:: To : ' so endeavour to \construe:.tho legislation of ' ; 1908, would moreover defeat .the very aim of :'•'■ that legislation." : ;- ; -:: ; •'.>•■„ ;; !- "It would be:till)-height of judicial irony"'■• n his Honour went.-on, "to hold that if a pub- n lioan dcßires> to know whether or not ho"may : without subjecting himself to liability: to Crim' ,; ina! proceedings, sell, beer, drawn from a' cask u in resoect.of: which duty: has already been paid,, in quantities, of.-.two gallons, and,'-tin- "' :wards, ho cannot- .ascertain '■ that foet without- n traoing tho legislation -baolt to the-year. 1880 ■■'' mastenpg: tho, exact : effectJof: that: legislation; : . and then ascertaining whether or: not that ef. P feot hos.been modified or nullified,by the leriv t! of :.';:i.: ! i.:, !.. ±.:<>+ -,■/,;(.■ ",y.r/!/. w