DOCSLIB.ORG

Local and Special Legislation in Missouri Under the Constitution of 1875 - Part I - Local and Special Legislation in Missouri Prior to Constitution of 1875

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Local and Special Legislation in Missouri Under the Constitution of 1875 - Part I - Local and Special Legislation in Missouri Prior to Constitution of 1875 University of Missouri Bulletin Law Series Volume 19 June 1920 Article 3 1920 Local and Special Legislation in Missouri under the Constitution of 1875 - Part I - Local and Special Legislation in Missouri Prior to Constitution of 1875 Roscoe E. Harper Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.missouri.edu/ls Part of the Constitutional Law Commons, and the Legal History Commons Recommended Citation Roscoe E. Harper, Local and Special Legislation in Missouri under the Constitution of 1875 - Part I - Local and Special Legislation in Missouri Prior to Constitution of 1875, 19 Bulletin Law Series. (1920) Available at: https://scholarship.law.missouri.edu/ls/vol19/iss1/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at University of Missouri School of Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Missouri Bulletin Law Series by an authorized editor of University of Missouri School of Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LOCAL AND SPECIAL LEGISLATION IN MIS- SOURI UNDERTHE CONSTITUTION OF 1875 PART I. LOCAL AND SPECIAL LEGISLATION IN MISSOURI PRIOR TO CONSTITUTION OF 1875. Chapter I. Growth of Local and Special Legislation Under Constitution of 1820.* A. INTRODUCTION. A general or public law is an act of the legislature which lays down a universal rule affecting the entire state or relating to all the members of any given class in the state. A special law is an act which operates only upon designated members.of a class in the state, and does not affect all members of the class alike. If the members of the class thus selected out by the statute are private persons or private concerns it is called a private act. If the act singles one or more units of local government out of a general class of similar units, such as cities, townships, or coun- ties, without any reasonable basis of classification, or if it applies only to a designated locality, it is known as a local act.1 The Missouri Constitution of 18202 contained no limitations upon the power of the General Assembly to enact local and spe- cial laws. Neither was special or local legislation prohibited by .any of the other twenty-three state constitutions in operation in *This article was written by Roscoe E. Harper, who has received the degree of A. B. from the University of Missouri and is at this writing a candidate for the degrees of A. M. and LL. B. 1. For a more complete definition of general and special laws see Chapter IV, infra. 2. The Missouri Constitution of 1820 was drawn up by a constitu- tional convention assembled in St. Louis on June 12, 1820, and was .adopted by the same body on July 17 of the same year; and it was with this Constitution that Missouri was admitted into statehood August 10, 1821. For a treatise on this subject see Shoemaker, First Constitution of Missouri, and also Missouri's Struggle for Statehood, by the same author. LAW SERIES 19, MISSOURI BULLETIN 1820.3 At that time bills granting divorces, 4 relief from fines and penalties, special privileges, charters of incorporation, and local acts regulating the affairs of cities, counties and localities were frequently passed. This was recognized as a proper field for legislative activity. During the first decade of statehood, Missouri was composed of sparsely settled, agricultural communities.5 Her needs were simple and her interests few. The. common law adequately reg- ulated the ordinary affairs of those pioneer days; and the gener- al assemblies, without being overburdened, could easily satisfy all the demands for public, private, and local legislation.. So the evils of special and local legislation were not prominent and aroused little, if any, protest. The pioneer period had hardly ended when the new econom- ic, industrial, and social forces, stimulated by recent inventions, opened up highways of commerce, and started the development of the natural resources of the state.6 A more complex state life was being evolved which required more extensive regulation and more careful adjustment from time to time. Consequently 3. Missouri was the twenty-fourth state admitted into the Union. The constitutions in operation in the other states were adopted in the following years; Ala. 1819; Conn., 1818; Dela., 1792; Ga., 1798; Ill., 1818; Ind., 1816; Ky., 1799; La., 1812; Me., 1820; Md., 1776; Mass., 1780; N. H., 1792; Miss., 1817; N. J., 1776; N. Y., 1777; N. C., 1776; Ohio, 1802; Penn., 1790; R. I., 1663; S. C., 1790; Tenn., 1796; Vt., 1793; Va., 1776. Poore, Constitutions and Charters. 4. The Mississippi Constitution of 1817 required the legislature to pass on all divorces before they should be valid. "Divorces from the bonds of matrimony shall not be granted, but in cases provided for by law, by suits in chancery; provided that no decree for such divorce shall have effect until sanctioned by two-thirds of both branches of the General Assem- bly." . Section 17, Art. VI, Miss. Const. of 1817. The constitution of Alabama of 1819 had this same provision. 5. In 1820 Missouri had a population of 66,586, and was divided into ten counties. The population of St. Louis, the trading center for the vast territory lying west of the Mississippi, was only about 5,000. Viles, History of Missouri, pp. 108-119. Switzler, History of Missouri, pp. 285- 296. Ninth Census of the United States, Statistics of Population. 6. Turner, Rise of the New West (1819-1829) pp. 84-95, vol. 14 in the American Nation Series. Also vol. 16 of same series. Hart, Slavery and Abolition, pp. 33-48. Bogart, Economic History of the United States, pp. 170-185. Coman, Industrial History of United States, pp. 207, 231. Coman, Economic Beginnings of Far West, vol. II. LEGISLATION UNDER 1875 CONSTITUTION each succeeding decade had an increased output of laws bo'h public and private over the preceding decade.' Altho the number of public acts increased steadily and ap- parently in arithmetical progression the quantity of local and spe- cial legislation seemed to increase in geometrical progression. More numerous and more insistent became the interests desiring favors from the legislature. The result was that public matters before the General Assembly were smothered and obscured by a multitude of private and local acts. Opposition was aroused to such legislation which finally led to its abolition. A brief review of the character and quantity of legislation enacted by the succeeding general assemblies, operating under the Constitution of 1820, as recorded in the session acts, shows the growth of special and local legislation, and the necessity for its curtailment. B. SUCCESSIVE PERIODS OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITY. The time during which the Constitution of 1820, which con- tained no limitations on special and local legislation, was in oper- ation may be conveniently divided into five periods. These fiv%- periods and the quantity and kinds of legislation enacted during each are shown in the following tables: 7. An interesting review of the economic legislation of this period in the neighboring state of Iowa, which prior to 1820 was a part of Mis- souri Territory, is given in, Pollack, Ivan L., History of Economic Leg- islation in Iowa. LAW SERIES 19, MISSOURI BULLETIN LEGISLATION, PUBLIC AND LOCAL AND SPECIAL, 1820-18858 AV. No. of pages per Periods Quant. of Legis. Percent of Legis. aseby_(I~assembly (2 yrs.). Pub. pages Loc. Fri. Public Private Public ILoc.&Spec. pages I______ __ I_ _ _ 1. 1820-1831 (Ct. 368 ( 207 [ 64%9 36%' 60- 351 1820) st to 6 (275 pb. (140 spec. (No. of (No. of 34%) (46 acts) (23 acts) G. A. (Inc.) acts) & loc.acts) acts 66% acts 2. 1832-1843 -Ytb. 6250 10509 38% 62%9 1049 75 12th G. A. (600 pub. (1000 spec. (No; af (No. of (100 ac 17 acts 62%) ts) (178 acts) (Inc.) acts) &oc. acts) acts 38%) 3. 1844-1853 13th- 17th G. A. 663 2150 24% 76% 132 430 (Inc.) 4. 1854-1859 18th- 20th G. A. 540 3758 13% 87% 180 1252 (Inc.) 5. 1860-1865 21st- 23rd G. A. 462 1746 21% 79% 184 69810 (Inc.) 6. 1865-1875 (Ct. of 1865) 23rd- 1460 2000 42% 58% 324 44510 28th G. A. (Inc.) 7. 1875-1885 (Ct. of 1875) 29th- 1376 100% 275 33rd G. A. (Inc.) 8. It will be noted the number of acts and the number of pages in both of the first two periods have the same ratio and bear approximately the same per cent. Great difficulty was experienced in classification be- cause, quite frequently, the same act was both public and private. So the figures above are only an approximation but it is believed even should the error of classification be as much as 10%, the value of the deductions drawn from ihem are not materially impaired. • 9. Data on number of acts for given period. The acts were tabu- lated for first two periods only. 10. The first session of the 23rd General Assembly was held Dec. 26, 1864, under constitution of 1820; while the adjourned session of Nov. 1, 1865, was under the new constitution of 1865. For purposes of this chart one half of 23rd Assembly is classified in period 1860-1865, and one-half in period 1865-1875. LEGISLATION UNDER 1875 CONSTITUTION TABLE OF LOCAL AND SPECIAL LEGISLATION OF FIRST AND SECOND PERIODS 1820-1843 Total No. Local Relief from fines and Incorporation Period of Loc. &L penalties Spec. Acts% of Spec. No. of % of Spec. No. of % of Spec. No. of Leg. acts Leg. acts Leg.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • In the Missouri Supreme Court ______
    IN THE MISSOURI SUPREME COURT ________________________________________________________________________ CAUSE NO. SC87400 ________________________________________________________________________ CITY OF ST. LOUIS APPELLANT, v. SPRINT SPECTRUM, L.P. RESPONDENT. ________________________________________________________________________ APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT, TWENTY-SECOND JUDICIAL CIRCUIT DIVISION NO. 5 HONORABLE DAVID L. DOWD ________________________________________________________________________ BRIEF OF APPELLANT ________________________________________________________________________ CITY OF ST. LOUIS LAW DEPARTMENT Mark Lawson #33337 Associate City Counselor Room 314, City Hall St. Louis, MO 63103 Phone: (314) 622-3361 Fax: (314) 622-4956 ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS . 2 TABLE OF AUTHORITIES . 4 JURISDICTIONAL STATEMENT . 18 STATEMENT OF FACTS . 19 POINTS RELIED ON . 22 ARGUMENT . 33 POINT I . 33 POINT II . 39 POINT III . 48 POINT IV . 63 POINT V . 77 POINT VI . 88 POINT VII . 94 POINT VIII . 98 POINT IX . 100 POINT X . 103 POINT XI . 110 POINT XII . 116 POINT XIII . 118 CONCLUSION . 122 CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE . 123 2 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE . 123 APPENDIX . A-0 3 TABLE OF AUTHORITIES Page Cases 508 Chestnut, Inc. v. City of St. Louis, 389 S.W.2d 823 (Mo. 1965) 111 Airtouch Communications, Inc. v. Dept. of Revenue, 76 P.3d 342 (Wyo. 2003) 38 Airway Drive-In Theatre Co. v. City of St. Ann, 354 S.W.2d 858 (Mo. banc 1962) 115 Armco Steel Corp. v. Dept. of Treasury, 358 N.W.2d 839 (Mich. 1984) 118 Arsenal Credit Union v. Giles, 715 S.W.2d 918 (Mo. banc 1986) 106 Asmus v. Pacific Bell, 999 P.2d 71 (Cal. 2000) 60 B & D Inv. Co., Inc. v. Schneider, 646 S.W.2d 759 (Mo.
    [Show full text]
  • Sample Ple Sample Sam Ample Sample Sam
    SAMPLE SAMPLE SAMPLE SAMPLE SAMPLE SAMPLE SAMPLE SAMPLE SA SAMPLE SAMPLE SA SAMPLE SAMPLE SA MPL SAMPLE SAMPLE SA MPL DEM SAMPLEREP SAMPLE MPLE SA E in the County ofSAMPLE Cass SAMPLE MPLE Vote for ONE SA FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL MPLE SAMPLE DEM SAMPLE SA TERESA HENSLEY REP JOSH HAWLEY SAMPLELIB MPLE DISTRICT 4 SA Write-in OFFICIAL SAMPLE BALLOT DEM Vote for ONE eneral Election will be held REP SAMPLE MPLE SAM CASS COUNTY, MISSOURI FOR UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE SA LIB LIBERTARIAN - (LIB); CONSTITUTION - (CST); GREEN - (GRN); INDEPENDENT - (IND) NOTICE OF ELECTION GRN GORDON CHRISTENSEN REP MPLE SAMPLE GENERAL ELECTION - NOVEMBER 8, 2016 SAMPLE LIB IND VICKY HARTZLER SA FOR GOVERNORVote for ONE MARK BLISS IND MPLE SAMPLE SAMPLEWrite-in DISTRICT 31 FOR STATEVote SENATOR for ONE SA CHRIS KOSTER DEM MPLE SAMPLE ERIC GREITENS SAMPLEREP SA LIB CISSE W SPRAGINS ED EMERY DEM DON FITZ SAMPLEGRN LORA YOUNG SA MPLREP E SAMPLE LESTER BENTON (LES) TURILLI, JR. TIM WELLS DEMOCRATIC - (DEM); REPUBLICAN - (REP); Vote for ONE DEM Write-in Write-in DISTRICT 33 SAMPLE Vote for ONE MPLE SAMPLE Notice is hereby given that the November G FOR LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR SA FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE REP DEM on Tuesday, November 8, 2016 as certified to this office by the participating entitiesSAMPLERUSS of CARNAHAN Cass County. REP MPLE SAM LIB MIKE PARSON SALIB CHASE LINDER The ballot for the election shall be in substantially the following form: STEVEN R. HEDRICK DONNA PFAUTSCH A vote for candidates forVote President for ONE PAIR and MPLE CST JENNIFER LEACH SAMPLE Vice President is a vote for their Electors.
    [Show full text]
  • Court Consolidation in Missouri, Where Are We After 20 Years?
    Court Consolidation in Missouri, Where Are We After 20 Years? Institute Of Court Management Court Executive Development Program Phase III Project May, 2001 Jerry A. Moyer, Clerk of the Circuit Court Barton County Circuit Court Lamar, Missouri 1 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: 1. The Honorable C. David Darnold, Senior Judge, State of Missouri; Presiding Circuit Judge, 28th Judicial Circuit, 1979-2000, 2. The Honorable Henry L. Lisle, Associate Circuit Judge, Barton County, Lamar, Missouri, 1967-1982, retired; Member of the Cosgrove Committee, 1974-1976, 3. Mr. David Heumader, Trial Court Administrator, 28th Judicial Circuit, Vernon County, Nevada, Missouri, 1998-present, 4. The Honorable Frank Conley, Presiding Circuit Judge, 13th Judicial Circuit, Boone County, Columbia, Missouri, 1970-present, 5. The Honorable Charles D. Curless, Associate Circuit Judge, Barton County, Lamar, Missouri, 1995-present, 6. Dr. Daniel H. Straub, Ph.D., Senior Faculty Member, Institute for Court Management, National Center For State Courts. 7. Mrs. Nancy Griggs, Director of Court Services Division, Office of State Courts Administrator, State of Missouri. 8. Ms. Linda Hope, Evaluation Specialist, Office of State Courts Administrator, State of Missouri. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS (Note: Page numbers are changed in electronic format) Acknowledgments....................................................................................................i Table of Contents....................................................................................................ii List of Illustrations
    [Show full text]
  • Missouri Constitution Article III Initiative and Referendum Section
    Missouri Constitution Article III Initiative and Referendum Section 49. Reservation of power to enact and reject laws. The people reserve power to propose and enact or reject laws and amendments to the constitution by the initiative, independent of the general assembly, and also reserve power to approve or reject by referendum any act of the general assembly, except as hereinafter provided. Section 50. Initiative petitions--signatures required--form and procedure. Initiative petitions proposing amendments to the constitution shall be signed by eight percent of the legal voters in each of two-thirds of the congressional districts in the state, and petitions proposing laws shall be signed by five percent of such voters. Every such petition shall be filed with the secretary of state not less than six months before the election and shall contain an enacting clause and the full text of the measure. Petitions for constitutional amendments shall not contain more than one amended and revised article of this constitution, or one new article which shall not contain more than one subject and matters properly connected therewith, and the enacting clause thereof shall be "Be it resolved by the people of the state of Missouri that the Constitution be amended:". Petitions for laws shall contain not more than one subject which shall be expressed clearly in the title, and the enacting clause thereof shall be "Be it enacted by the people of the state of Missouri:". Section 51. Appropriations by initiative--effective date of initiated laws -- conflicting laws concurrently adopted. The initiative shall not be used for the appropriation of money other than of new revenues created and provided for thereby, or for any other purpose prohibited by this constitution.
    [Show full text]
  • You Are Advised That the Proposed Constitutional Amendment May Change, Repeal, Or Modify by Implication Or May Be Const
    NOTICE: You are advised that the proposed constitutional amendment may change, repeal, or modify by implication or may be construed by some persons to change, repeal or modify by implication, the following Articles and Sections of the Constitution of Missouri: Article I, Section 8 and the following Sections of the Missouri Revised Statutes: Sections 105.450 through 105.496 and Sections 130.011 through 130.160. The proposed amendment revises Article III of the Constitution by amending Sections 2, 5, 7, and 19 and adopting three new sections to be known as Article III Sections 3, 20(c), and 20(d). Be it resolved by the people of the state of Missouri that the Constitution be amended: Section A. Article III of the Constitution is revised by amending Sections 2, 5, 7, 19, and adopting three new sections to be known as Article III Sections 3, 20(c), and 20(d) to read as follows: Section 2. After the effective date of this section, no person serving as a member of or employed by the General Assembly shall act or serve as a paid lobbyist, register as a paid lobbyist, or solicit prospective employers or clients to represent as a paid lobbyist during the time of such service until the expiration of two calendar years after the conclusion of the session of the general assembly in which the member or employee last served and where such service was after the effective date of this section. (a) No person serving as a member of or employed by the General Assembly shall accept directly or indirectly a gift of any tangible or intangible item, service, or thing of value from any paid lobbyist or lobbyist principal in excess of five dollars per occurrence.
    [Show full text]
  • The Source of Authority for Rules of Court Affecting Procedure
    Washington University Law Review Volume 22 Issue 4 January 1937 The Source of Authority for Rules of Court Affecting Procedure Tyrrell Williams Washington University School of Law Follow this and additional works at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_lawreview Part of the Courts Commons Recommended Citation Tyrrell Williams, The Source of Authority for Rules of Court Affecting Procedure, 22 WASH. U. L. Q. 459 (1937). Available at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_lawreview/vol22/iss4/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law School at Washington University Open Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Washington University Law Review by an authorized administrator of Washington University Open Scholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY LAW QUARTERLY Volume XXII JUNE, 1937 Number 4 THE SOURCE OF AUTHORITY FOR RULES OF COURT AFFECTING PROCEDURE TYRRELL WILLIAMSt This article is divided into sections as here indicated. Section 1: The Scope of This Article. Section 2: What Is Procedure? Section 3: What Are Rules of Court? Section 4: The Different Functions of the Judiciary under a Typical American State Con- stitution. Section 5: The Doctrine of Inherent Judicial Power over Matters Ancillary to the Administration of Justice, but Concurrent with Non-Frustrating Legislative Power. Section 6: Certain Doctrines at Variance with the Doctrine Presented in Section 5. Section 7: The Doctrine of Legislative Supremacy in the Field of Procedure. Section 8: Constitutional Limitations on the Doctrine of Legislative Supremacy. Section 9: The Doctrine of Inherent and Exclusive Judicial Rule-Making Power in the Field of Procedure.
    [Show full text]
  • Statewide Initiatives Since 1904 - 2000154
    Statewide Initiatives Since 1904 - 2000154 Year State Type Measure Number Subject Matter Description Pass/Fail 1904 Oregon DS 2 Election Reform Direct primary nominating convention law. Passed 1904 Oregon DS 3 Alcohol Regulation Local option liquor law. Passed Gross earning tax on sleeping, refrigerator and 1906 Oregon DS 10 Taxes Passed oil car companies. Gross earning tax on express, telephone and 1906 Oregon DS 11 Taxes Passed telegraph companies. 1906 Oregon DA 2 Election Reform Equal suffrage amendment. Failed 1906 Oregon DS 3 Alcohol Regulation Amendment to local option liquor law. Failed Law to abolish tolls on the Mt. Hood and 1906 Oregon DS 4 Administration of Government Barlow road and providing for its ownership by Failed the state. Requiring referendum on any act calling a 1906 Oregon DA 5 Election Reform Passed constitutional convention. Giving cities sole powers to amend their 1906 Oregon DA 6 Administration of Government Passed charters. Authorizing state printers compensation to be 1906 Oregon DA 7 Business Regulation Passed regulated by law at any time. Initiative and referendum to apply to all local, 1906 Oregon DA 8 Initiative and Referendum Passed special and municipal laws. 1906 Oregon DS 9 Utility Regulation Prohibition of free passes on railroads. Passed The authorization of the sale of school and other public lands at auction giving the lessee 1908 Oklahoma DS 5 Administration of Government the right of acceptance of the land at the Failed highest bid, limiting the sales to 160 acres of land to the individual. Giving cities control of liquor selling, 1908 Oregon DA 11 Alcohol Regulation poolrooms, theaters, etc, subject to local Failed option law.
    [Show full text]
  • The •Œright to Farmâ•Š and Missouriâ•Žs Review of Constitutional Amendments
    CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by University of Missouri School of Law Missouri Law Review Volume 81 Issue 1 Winter 2016 Article 20 Winter 2016 Sustainable Constitutional Growth? The “Right to Farm” and Missouri’s Review of Constitutional Amendments Angela Kennedy Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.missouri.edu/mlr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Angela Kennedy, Sustainable Constitutional Growth? The “Right to Farm” and Missouri’s Review of Constitutional Amendments, 81 MO. L. REV. (2016) Available at: https://scholarship.law.missouri.edu/mlr/vol81/iss1/20 This Comment is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at University of Missouri School of Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Missouri Law Review by an authorized editor of University of Missouri School of Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Kennedy: Sustainable Constitutional Growth? COMMENT Sustainable Constitutional Growth? The “Right to Farm” and Missouri’s Review of Constitutional Amendments ANGELA KENNEDY* INTRODUCTION The Missouri River Basin is comprised of more than 100 million acres of cropland across nine states, including Missouri.1 It produces nearly half of U.S. wheat, nearly a quarter of its grain corn, and over a third of its cattle, and in 2008, the value of these crops and livestock exceeded $100 billion.2 Mis- souri’s share in this revenue, however, contributed to less than three percent of Missouri’s gross domestic product (“GDP”) in 2013:3 not what one would call the “foundation and stabilizing force of Missouri’s economy,” or even a “vital sector of Missouri’s economy.”4 Yet these assertions are memorialized * B.A., Brigham Young University, 2010; J.D.
    [Show full text]
  • Missouri Elections
    CHAPTER 7 MISSOURI ELECTIONS Weinhold St. Francois Photo courtesy of Missouri State Archives Publications Collection 588 OFFICIAL MANUAL The statutes require that all public elections be held on the general election day, the primary election day, the general municipal election day, the first Tuesday after the first Monday in Missouri Voting November, or on another day expressly provided by city or county charter and in nonprimary years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday and Elections in August. (115.123.1, RSMo) The general election day is the first Tuesday Who registers to vote in Missouri? after the first Monday in November in even- numbered years. The primary election day is the Citizens living in Missouri must register in first Tuesday after the first Monday in August in order to vote. Any U.S. citizen 17 years and 6 months of age or older, if a Missouri resident, even-numbered years. (115.121 (1 & 2), RSMo) may register and vote except: Elections for cities, towns, villages, school A person who is adjudged incapacitated. boards and special district officers are held the A person who is confined under sentence of first Tuesday after first Monday in April each imprisonment. year, known as “general municipal election day.” A person who is on probation or (115.121.3, RSMo) parole after conviction of a felony until A statewide presidential preference primary finally discharged. shall be held on the second Tuesday after the A person who has been convicted of a felony first Monday in March of each presidential or misdemeanor connected with the right of election year.
    [Show full text]
  • The New Constitution of Missouri
    Washington University Law Review Volume 9 Issue 2 January 1924 The New Constitution of Missouri William W. Hollingsworth Washington University in St. Louis Follow this and additional works at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_lawreview Part of the Constitutional Law Commons Recommended Citation William W. Hollingsworth, The New Constitution of Missouri, 9 ST. LOUIS L. REV. 071 (1924). Available at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_lawreview/vol9/iss2/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law School at Washington University Open Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Washington University Law Review by an authorized administrator of Washington University Open Scholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ST. LOUIS LAW REVIEW Published by the Undergraduates of the Vol IX Washington University School of Law No. 2 THE NEW CONSTITUTION OF MISSOURI.* In 1820 a constitutional convention met and within the phenomenally short space of five weeks drew up Missouri's first constitution. So complete did the members of this con- vention regard their work that this document was never submitted to the people for approval or rejection, but was put immediately into effect. Another constitution drafted in 1845 was rejected by the people of the State the following year. A third convention met in 1861, but owing to war conditions, no constitution resulted. Again in 1865, a new convention drafted and submitted a constitution which was to last only ten years. In 1875 a convention drew up and promulgated the constitution under which Missouri is now governed. Since the adoption of the present constitution, there have been proposed approximately one hundred amendments, about twenty of which have been adopted.
    [Show full text]
  • Missouri Constitutions: History, Theory and Practice (Continued) William F
    College of William & Mary Law School William & Mary Law School Scholarship Repository Faculty Publications Faculty and Deans 1958 Missouri Constitutions: History, Theory and Practice (continued) William F. Swindler William & Mary Law School Repository Citation Swindler, William F., "Missouri Constitutions: History, Theory and Practice (continued)" (1958). Faculty Publications. 1617. https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/facpubs/1617 Copyright c 1958 by the authors. This article is brought to you by the William & Mary Law School Scholarship Repository. https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/facpubs MISSOURI CONSTITUTIONS: HISTORY, THEORY AND PRACTICE (Continued-from the Januray issue) WILIAm F. SWINDLER I. BASIC THEORIEs OF MIssouRI CONSTITUTIONAL LAw The fourth and latest constitution of Missouri, taken with its predecessors, exemplifies not only the main currents of social and economic development in the state but the fundamental differences in character in the state and federal organic law.136 This difference in part, of course, is attributed to the traditional definition of the Federal Constitution as a grant of power while the state instrument is held by many established authorities to be a limitation of power-although this latter assumption is not always easy to reconcile with the assertion which typically appears in state bills of rights, that the ultimate source of power is in the people themselves.18 7 Whether this distinction in any case justifies the elaborate detail in which state constitutions are wont to 38 express themselves on sundry matters, is a matter for extended debate.' In any event, the Missouri constitutional convention of 1943-44 did attempt to avoid devising an overly-intricate and exhaustive catalog of provisions and prohibitions, and rather sought to simplify and consolidate many concepts which had been introduced heterogeneously into the 1875 constitution.' 8 9 Analysis of the 1945 document, and comparison with its antecedents, makes possible the classification of its subject-matter under seven major headings, as outlined in Table II.
    [Show full text]
  • City Charter Webster Groves Missouri
    CITY CHARTER WEBSTER GROVES MISSOURI ADOPTED - MARCH 23, 1954 REVISED PRINTING: APRIL 2, 2002, JUNE 2, 2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Article 1 Incorporation—Form of Government—Powers…… 1 Article 2 The Council………………………………………... 2 Article 3 The City Manager………………………………….. 11 Article 4 Administrative Service…………………………….. 12 Article 5 Department of Finance…………………………….. 13 Article 6 Department of Public Works………………………. 24 Article 7 Department of Personnel…………………………… 24 Article 8 Department of Law…………………………………. 29 Article 9 The Municipal Court………………………………... 29 Article 10 Boards and Commissions…………………………... 30 Article 11 Planning and Zoning……………………………….. 32 Article 12 Public Improvements……………………………….. 34 Article 13 Nominations and Elections…………………………. 38 Article 14 Initiative, Referendum and Recall………………….. 41 Article 15 Miscellaneous Provisions…………………………… 46 Index………………………………………………………………… 51 CHARTER for Webster Groves, Missouri PREAMBLE In order to secure the benefits and advantages of the Constitution of the State of Missouri, adopted in the year 1945, and to establish Home Rule for the City under the pro- visions thereof, the people of Webster Groves hereby adopt the following Charter. ARTICLE I INCORPORATION - FORM OF GOVERNMENT - POWERS Section 1.1 INCORPORATION. The inhabitants of the City of Webster Groves within the corporate limits as now established or as hereafter established in the manner provided by law, shall continue to be a municipal body politic and corporate in perpetuity, under the name of the “City of Webster Groves”. Section 1.2 FORM OF GOVERNMENT. The municipal government provided by this Charter shall be known as a “council- manager government” Pursuant to the provisions of this Charter and subject only to the limitations imposed hereby and by the Constitution of Missouri, all powers of the City shall be vested in an elective Council which shall enact local legislation, adopt budgets, determine policies, and appoint the City Manager, who shall execute the laws and administer the government of the City.
    [Show full text]