NORTH CAROLINA. 



payer, and of tho Attorney -General, an applica- 

 tion for a writ of inn m I, nn us was made, and tho 

 fiction thus instituted. The case was called 

 before Judge Earl of tho Circuit Court. Both 

 plaintiffs and defendants were ably and fully 

 represented. This being the first time that 

 defendants had been called to answer, they 

 moved for leave to withdraw their answer and 

 substitute a demurrer. Objected to by plain- 

 tiffs, but afterward admitted by the Judge. 

 The demurrer objected that the complaint did 

 not state that the signing by the defendants 

 was essential to the validity of. the act. The 

 Judge ruled that expressions in the complaint, 

 such as "required by law to authenticate," 

 etc., were sufficient to express the same or a 

 sufficiently equivalent answer, and overruled 

 the demurrer. Exception by defendants. The 

 answer was then filed. In the settlement of 

 the issues the Judge ruled that he could not 

 take the admissions of defendants as conclu- 

 sively settling the facts on which a public 

 statute might depend, and ruled that the plain- 

 tiffs must produce proof. It was agreed that 

 the Judge should try all questions of fact, a 

 jury being waived. The plaintiffs disclaimed 

 charging any intentional wrong-doing by the 

 President of the Senate or the Speaker of the 

 House, and the testimony established the fact 

 that the announcement that the presiding offi- 

 cers had signed the bill was made during the 

 absence of those officers while engaged in the 

 library signing the various bills handed to them 

 by the Committee on Enrolled Bills in the last 

 hours of the session ; and the defendants stated 

 that the absence of their signatures to the bill 

 was not called to their attention until after the 

 adjournment of the Legislature, and based their 

 refusal to sign afterward upon the ground that 

 the Legislature had adjourned ; that they could 

 not sign except in the presence of the two 

 Houses; that it was a legislative act, and their 

 signing would be a departure from the uniform 

 custom of the General Assembly. The Judge 

 decided that the mandamus issue to compel 

 the President of the Senate and the Speaker of 

 the House to sign the bill known as the school 

 bill. An appeal was taken to the Supreme 

 Court. A similar mandamus was demanded 

 by the Superintendent against the Secretary of 

 State commanding him to receive tho bill. But 

 the Court decided that the Secretary could not 

 bo compelled to receive the bill until it was 

 signed. 



In September the Supreme Court rendered 

 its decision in the case, holding: 1. That tho 

 presiding officers of the General Assembly 

 should sign a bill before it becomes a law, and 

 should do so during the session of the General 

 Assembly; and, 2. That affixing their signa- 

 ture by the Speakers to a bill is the finishing 

 act of legislation, and is not under the control 

 of the Court. This decision was based on two 

 general principles: first, that the executive, 

 judicial, and legislative departments are ever to 

 be kept separate ; and, secondly, that the sign- 

 VOL. xix. 44 A 



ing by tho Speakers is a legislative act. Until 

 tliis legislative act is complete, tho legislation 

 remains unfinished ; and if the legislation be 

 unfinished, the bill is not finally passed so aa 

 to be a law. The bill not having been passed 

 into a law, neither the Speakers nor the Court, 

 nor any other person or power, can make it a 

 law after the adjournment of the Assembly. 

 The decision is a complete vindication of the 

 conduct of the Speakers in withholding their, 

 signatures when the fact was made known to 

 them that the bill remained unsigned after the 

 Legislature had adjourned. Had they, subse- 

 quent to tho adjournment of the Assembly, 

 gone on and set their names to the unpassed 

 bill, it would not have helped matters ; the bill 

 would still have been in its old category of an 

 incomplete legislative enactment. 



Tho number of public schools taught during 

 the school year of 1878 was 3,354 for white 

 and 1,707 for colored people. Number of 

 white pupils in attendance, 145,155 ; colored, 

 81,290. The average length of school terms 

 was nine weeks, and the average monthly sal- 

 ary of teachers amounted to $23.24. During 

 the year, among the whites, 745 certificates 

 of the first grade, 1,295 of the second, and 446 

 of the third were issued. With the colored 

 people it stood 169 of the first, 415 of the sec- 

 ond, and 652 of the third. The following were 

 the receipts of the school fund for the year : 

 From State Treasurer, $808.94; poll-tax, $168,- 

 566.92; property-tax, $122,990.89; fines, for- 

 feitures, and penalties, $13,189.65 ; liquor li- 

 censes, $21,159.34; auctioneers' tax, $102.52; 

 other sources, $15,945.35. Balance on hand at 

 the close of last school year, $108,050.06. To- 

 tal, including balance on hand, $450,818.61. 

 The following shows the disbursements for the 

 same year: Paid for white schools, $187,390.- 

 81; colored, $104,026.21; for school - houses 

 and sites, for whites, $8,887.57; colored, $3,- 

 976.47; to county examiners, $1,200.80; trea- 

 surers' commissions, $9,994.26 ; clerks of county 

 boards of education, $2,260.78 ; insolvent taxes 

 refunded, $1,242.49 ; other purposes, $3,760.- 

 57. Total disbursements, $322,711.96. Bal- 

 ance on hand September 1, 1878, $129,362.82. 

 The University Normal School was opened on 

 June 18th for a session of about six weeks, 

 with 12 instructors and 500 students. 



In an amendment to an act relating to rail- 

 roads, it was enacted that it shall be unlawful 

 for railroad companies operating in the State 

 to pool freights, or to allow rebates on freights ; 

 and all persons, whether railroad officials or 

 others, who shall be concerned in the pooling 

 of freights, or who shall directly or indirectly 

 allow or accept rebates on freights, shall be 

 guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction 

 shall be fined not less than one thousand dollars 

 and imprisoned not less than twelve months. 



On January 21st an election of a Senator in 

 Congress was made by the Legislature. In 

 the Senate, Governor Vance received 33 votes 

 to 12 for R. P. Buxton and 1 for A. G. Merri- 



