Page:Address as the ABA president.pdf/6

 In despite of the voluminous mass of legislation of the present and past years there has been little of general note-worthy interest to the profession. It consists for the most part in amendments neither important or novel. Recurring first to a few acts of Congress, I will proceed to take up the states in their alphabetical order.

FEDERAL LEGISLATION.

Congress passed several acts at its last session which are worthy of notice:

One, to prevent the unlawful occupancy of the public lands; all inclosures [sic] heretofore placed thereon are to be removed, and all false or fictitious, illegal, claims of persons or corporations are to be investigated by the District Attorney where such disputed land lies.

Another, in the interest of an enlightened and an enlarged humanity looks to the better protection, care, and preservation of exposed and orphan children in the District of Columbia. The Washington Humane Society is intrusted [sic] with the execution of the act, and the courts in the District of Columbia having jurisdiction, and the police commissioners, are placed at the disposal of the society and under its control, in the effective execution of the said act.

No child under fourteen can be abused, abandoned, or beaten, or become subject to exposure in any mode; nor can such child be so disposed of with a view of its being employed as an acrobat, a gymnast, or a contortionist, or a circus rider, a rope walker, a beggar, mendicant, or a street singer, etc.

Another enactment, of novelty and importance, forbids, under heavy penalties, the importation, emigration, and employment of foreigners and aliens under an agreement or contract abroad to perform labor in the United States. All such contracts—express or implied—for the performance of such labor by foreigners or aliens in the United States are