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The Green Bag

to the extreme folly of "last day" legislation. But this fact has been in dicated in like manner, many times

before, and has not been heeded. More than once important enactments

municipal authorities could not hurry the Mexican courts, however, and years

and centuries dragged along without any settlement being reached, first one side and then the other making some

legal move. In the meantime the citizens of the two villages were in the

have been nulliﬁed by the indifferent manner in which they have been con structed during the closing hours of a legislative session. The Ettleston school text-book bill is a striking example of

habit of engaging in armed contests and in these small battles, from first

what hasty examination will do for a law.

have perished.

The measure in question was held back until late in the session, and, just before adjournment, was taken up for

to last, several thousand persons must The father of Porﬁrio Diaz W853 native of Yodocome,

and all his life

of the hour, its friends failed to note a

endeavored to arrange a settlement of the dispute, but unavailingly. At 185! President Diaz found time to give the

provision which was impossible of en

matter his personal attention, and caused

forcement; as a consequence, of course,

the huge mass of documents, dating

the law became a dead letter. Two-thirds of the confusion and liti gation which results from hastily written

back three and a half centuries, to be examined and directed that the matter be laid before a council of men from the

consideration and passage. In the hurry

laws and indiﬂ'erently considered legis

two towns.

lation, could be prevented by placing a limit upon last-day legislation; no bill should be permitted to reach the order of third reading in the House

length effected and the suit was formally dismissed by the court after hawng been upon the docket longer than any other suit in the world's history.

A compromise was at

until its form has been passed upon by

some one competent to do that sort of work.

CLINCHING CONVICTION

N THE early '90s T. was a quick spoken, A LINGERING SUIT MONG the last ofﬁcial acts of Porﬁrio Diaz of Mexico previous

stirring and

intellig‘ant

member of the Ohio bar, located and

practising in the capital city. At the arraignment of accused persons upon

to the breaking out of the revolution

the report of the grand jury, certainly

which ended his perennial Presidency,

without solicitation, on his part, he was

was to cause a settlement of a suit which had been pending in the courts of his country for no less than three hundred

assigned by the court to defend 3"

and forty years.

The dispute arose between the local authorities of the towns of Yodocome and Munu over the question of the boundary between the villages, con ﬂicting titles having been granted by

the Spanish colonial government. Many private titles were also involved. Even

impecunious prisoner under indictment for the misappropriation of a neighbor's porker. The defense was skillfully conducted’

considering the facts, and, at the close of the evidence, there was, at least, one

chance in ten that the jury might acquit the defendant. The rebuttal had closed and the accused was leaving the witness stand when T. bethought him