484
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
