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Three Dolls, per ann.~\ Volume VIII.] NOTIFICATION To TAX-COLLECTORS and SHERIFFS. ITHE Collectors for the year 1 #O7, and those for the year 1 806, v. ho are ftili in arrears, are NO rl IFIED, that until the 10th day of November next, will be allowed them to make final fetilements of their accounts. Such Colle&ors as had it not in their power to get their Insolvent lifts certified by the Grand Juries at the Spring circuit of the Superior courts, will do well to avail themselves of the opportu nity which will be afforded for do ing so at the ensuing Fall circuit; for executions will allured issue im mediately after the day above men tioned, against those whose ac counts are not then closed. The Sheriffs, to whom execu tions against Colle&ors have been aheady forwarded are required to report to me, without, delay, the proceedings which have been had thereon. Geo: R. Clayton, Treasurer, Treafury-Office, Georgia , 7 Milledgeville , 1 Ith July 1808.3 COLT’S FURSE. . SUBSCRIPTION is now taking up for a COLT’S PURSE, to be run for in the year eighteen hundred and eleven, near Wash ington, by colts dropped in the spring of this year —fifty dollars entrance, and half forfeit in the event of not starting. Also, a subscription for a colt’s purse to be run for the ensuing fall by any colt not exceeding three years old, foaled in Georgia—con dition of entrance the fame as a bove—both subscriptions will ciofe on the firft of October next. July 23, ] 808. ts. ...... ■ 11 Administrator’s sale. to an order of the honorable Inferior court of the county of Wilkes , granted the first day of August 1808, WILL BE SOLD, To the highest bidder, At the court house in Wilkes county, on the first Tuesday in October next , THE real estate of George Stew art dec. consisting of one hundred and fixty-five acres of land, in the county of Wilkes on the waters of Harden’s creek, adjoining Stone, Lewis & Thompson. Terms will be made known on the day of sale. John Stewart, adm’r. Mary Stewart, adm’x. August 6, 1808. 2w. AT THIS OFFICE Justice’s warrants and execu tions}’ Constable’s bail bonds —together with all kinds of blanks used in Courts of Ordinary, MONITOR. Washington, ( Georgia) Printed weekly for Sjfiuß Hlelhouss, • SHERIFF’S SALE. . Will be sold , At the court house in Clark county, on the first Tuesday in September next , between the hours of ten and three o'clock, the following proper ty, viz: SIXTY-EIGHT acre, of land, be the fame more or less, situate lying and being in the county of Clark on Barber’s creek, originally granted to Marbury, adjoining the lands of Kelley and others, it being the plantation whereon Peter Con ner now* lives; executed as the prop erty of Lane Reedy, to fatisfy an execution in favor of James Stroth er, —property pointed out by the plaintiff. Also Two hundred two and an half acres of land, situate lying and be ing in the county of Morgan, lot No. 227 and sth diftrift, on the waters of the Appalatchia, granted j to William Battles—also, two hun dred and four acres of land, in the county of Clark, on Wolf creek, I originally granted to Williamson, adjoining M‘Alpin.-—All executed as the property of William Battles to fatisfy an execution in favor of Matthew Jones, and pointed out bv the defendant. Conditions cash. John Silman, fliff. August 4, 18C8. To the Editor of the Monitor, AT a time when it has become so great a quetfion with a portion of the community whether the judges of our courts have the right of declaring a legislative :\d to be unconstitutional, any thing which can assist in correftly informing the public mind upon the fubjed, cannot but be acceptable. The following extract, from the essays of the moft profound and elegant writer, who ever attempted to dis cuss the fundamental principles of our confutation and government, I offer to the confederation of those who may entertain any doubts on this important fubjed. F. “ SOME perplexity, respecting the right of courts to pronounce legislative ads void, because con trary to the ccnftitution, has arisen from an imagination that the doc trine would imply a superiority of judiciary to the legislative power. It is urged that the authority that can declare the ads of another void, must necessarily be superior to the one, whose ads may be declared void. As this dodrine is of great importance in all the American conftitution*, a brief difeuflion of the ground on which it rests cannot be unacceptable. “ There is no position which de pends on clearer principles, than that every ad of a delegated author ity, contrary to the tenor of the commission under which it is cxer* eifed, is void. No legislative ad, therefore, contrary to the conftitiK SATURDAY, AUGUST IS, ISOS. tion can be valid. To deny this, r would be to affirm, that the deputy is greater than his principle ; that the servant is above his master; that the representatives of the people are superior to the people themselves; that men, ading by virtue of pow ers, may do not only what their powers do not authorife, but what they forbid. w lf it be said that the legislative body are themselves the Constituti onal judges of their own powers, and that the conftrudion they put Upon them is conclusive upon the other departments, it may be an— swered, that this cannot be the nat ural preemption, where it i$ not to j be coileded from any particular provision in the constitution. It is not otherwise to be supposed, that the constitution could intend to en able the representatives of the peo ple to substitute their will to that of their constituents. It is far more rational to suppose, that the courts j were designed to be an intermediate I body between the people and the ; legislature, in other I things, to keep the latter within the | limits assigned to their authority. ! 1 he interpretation of the laws is the j proper and peculiar province of the ; courts. A constitution is, in fad, j and must be, regarded by the judg ) u asa fundamental law. It must, therefore, belong to them to afeer tnin its meaning, as well as the meaning of any particular ad pro ceeding from the legislative body. If there should happen to be an ir reconcilable variance between the two, that which has the superior ob ligation and validity ought, of course, to be preferred to the ftat ute —the intention people, to the intention of their agents. “Nor cloes the conclusion by a ry means suppose a superiority of the judicial to the legislative power. It only supposes that the power of 1 the people is superior to both ; and ■ that where the will of the legislature declared in the statutes, hands in opposition to that of the people de clared in the constitution, the judg es ought to be governed by the lat ter, rather than the former. They ought to regulate their decisions by fundamental laws, rather than by those which are not fundamental. te This exercise of judicial discre tion, in determining between two contradidory laws, is exemplified in a familiar instance. It not un- ] commonly happens, that there are | two statutes existing at one time, clashing in whole or in part with each other, and neither of them containing any repealing chufe or expreflion.. In such a case, it is the province of the courts to liquidate and fix their meaning and opera tion. So far as they can by any fair conftrudion, be reconciled to each other, reason and law conspire to didate that this should be done.. Where this is impracticable, it be comes a matter of necessity to give effed-to one in exclusion of the o ther. The rule that has obtained in the courts for determining their relative validity is, that the last in [Payable half yearly . f order of time shall be preferred to ; the firfK But this is a mere rule ] of conftrudion, not derived from any pofmve law, but from the na. j ture and reason of the thing. It is a rule not injoined upon the courts by legislative provision, but adopted by themselves, as consonant to truth and propriety, for the dire&ion of their conduct as interpreters of the law. They thought it reasonable that bejtwya, tfce interfering ads of an that which was th&pftWcjicatioii of its will should have the preference. gmto regard to the interfering.* ads Gf-ifafeperior and fubordinare authority, of in original and deriv ative power, the nature and reatyn of the thing indicate the converter of that rule as proper to be follow ed. They that tht? prior ad of a > be pre ferred to thefdPSprrnt td of ah in r ferior and iu&tfdinate authority j, and that, accordingly, whenever a. particular stature contravenes the’ constitution, it will be the duty of: the judicial tribunals to adhere to* the latter, and disregard the former,. “ It can be of no weight to fay,, that the courts, on the pretence of a. repugnancy, may substitute their* own pleafufe to the conftitiitional; intentions of the legiflatute, This* might as well happen in the case of two contradidory statutes ; or ifc might as well happen in every adju dication upon any fwgle statute,. The courts must declare the fenfe of the law; and if they should be difpofed to exercise will instead of:’ judgment , the consequence would* equally be the fubftirution of their* pkafure to that of the legislative bo dy. The obfervati.>n, if ir proved*’ anything, would prove that there ought to be no judges diftind fromi that body. “If then, the courts of justice are to be considered as the bulwarks: of a. limited constitution, against fe~ giflativ? encroachments, this consid eration will afford a strong argu ment for the permanent tenure of judicial offices, since nothing will contribute so much as this to that, independent spirit in the judges,, which must be essential to the faith-- ful performance of so arduous a duty.” . •-*—*< H* - *^—*^ NOTICE. persons.indebted for* the Monitor, or advertising in the same, are requested to liquidate their accpunts as soon, as possible, if payment is in convenient — otherwise inter est will be agreeable to the late act of Assembly. In any future or past trans action of business in this Of-, fice, the receipts of Dlavii} P.. Hillhouse, will be good. Sarah Hillhousk. June 25th, 1808. “COIIN-MLAL WANli^ 39T.