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have been enabled to go as far as they have gone by reason of the ingenuity of the lawyer; had it not been for his ingenuity the trusts would not be where they are to-day; and by the ingenuity of the lawyer and through his efforts they have become the enemies of the people, which they are, and by and through the efforts of the lawyer they must be held in check or suppressed.

So it is with the question of labor. From all our studies of civil government and all the books that have been written on political economy, it seems to me the great question of labor has been excepted. So we are here in our city to discuss these two great questions. You are here, also, to discuss the question of legislative encroachment upon private rights. I do not know what scope that will take and, of course, can say nothing about that feature of it; however, I think it would have been well, and it may be proper for this association to discuss the question that I am going to mention in its deliberations this year, notwithstanding it does not seem to be down on the program. I think the greatest constitutional question that we have faced at any time is the constitutional question of to-day: "What are we going to do with certain people that have come, by force of circumstances, beneath the power of our flag?" Here we have eight or ten millions of people in the Philippines that are to be governed some way. They are not sufficiently advanced in education or training to be able to govern themselves, and the mind of the Republic here is so averse to military government that we all revolt at the idea that we are to have, in any way, a military form of government. In fact it does not respond to the idea of our institutions. We know that we are to have a form of military government in Porto Rico until such time as we can replace it with civil government. And in Porto Rico we do not meet the question as we do in the Philippines, because the people there are of great intelligence; are able, I think, perhaps, better than in any Spanish-speaking country in the world, to govern themselves. So I do not think we will have any trouble there. But, as I say, you strike the Philippines and you strike a grave question. You go there with a civil government and you at once establish all rights given to any American citizen anywhere and everywhere, and we know at once that that will not do. I have not been in the Philippines, but I have been in countries where the Spanish law governed, and you will find that they are about the same everywhere. I know that in the countries that I have been in their civil form of government is simply a farce, and I think in the Philippines we would have a greater farce. On the other hand, we do not want a military government, and I hope that that contention is right; that we may carry there a civil government and place it there and then at the same time, not carry the right given to the state through Congress. Such a government as the people there require and such a government as they are fitted to use, and that, I think, is the greatest and gravest constitutional question that we have before us to-day, and it is a question that faces us at once, and I have no doubt you gentlemen will be much inter

ested in reading the essays, especially those two addresses, one by the professor of the law school of Yale, and the other by the professor of the law school of Cornell, taking the opposite sides of this question. So I say, gentlemen, I believe that it is a responsibility resting upon the lawyers of the State of Washington and everywhere to investigate and probe these great problems and give them to the people at large for their consideration. We do not meet on these occasions for pleasure only, but to discuss questions of great interest, and I think the best thing to-day is that you are discussing practical questions-questions that involve the welfare of the country in which we live, and I do hope that we have sufficient time that we may take up this other question. I dare say that this question that I have mentioned, when these questions were given out, did not face us. On behalf of the citizens of Tacoma I am happy to say that we are glad to have you here. The members of the local bar have made every endeavor to make your stay here profitable to yourselves and the Bar Association. You are at liberty to go over our town and take it in to the fullest extent that you may, and we will guarantee you that protection which the constitution does not give-protection from the police department.

The President then delivered to the Association his annual address. (See Appendix.)

On motion, the reading of the record of the previous session was dispensed with.

REPORTS OF OFFICERS.

The Secretary then presented his annual report and that of the Treasurer, which, on motion, were adopted:

SECRETARY'S ANNUAL REPORT.

OLYMPIA, Wash., July 5, 1899. To the President and Members of the Washington State Bar Association: GENTLEMEN-I have the honor to submit for your consideration this my annual report for the year ending June 30th, 1899.

And herein I desire to say that from observation and conversations had with members of the last Legislature of this State, I conclude that the labors of this Association are not in vain, and that year after year the sentiments expressed by it will have a marked influence in directing future legislation.

The papers read at our annual meetings are generally recognized as able documents and reflect credit upon their authors.

Total number of members at last report

Number joined since last report.

Total

221

29

250

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TREASURER'S ANNUAL REPORT.

To balance due as by last statement, August 15, 1898.......
August 15, 1898, To received of Secretary warrant No.

13, paid by him.....

August 16, 1898, To received from Secretary

April 4, 1899, received of Secretary cash

By warrant No. 13.

By paid warrant No. 14

To balance on hand

Totals

Respectfully submitted,

$6 42

43 19

197 81

10 00

$43 19

185 70

28 53

$257 42 $257 42

W. A. PETERS, Treasurer.

The Secretary then read the report of the Executive Committee, which was, on motion, adopted.

REPORT OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.

SEATTLE, November 19, 1898.

Executive Committee met pursuant to call of the President, notice thereof having been given by the Secretary, at the office of First Vice President Don worth in the City of Seattle, at 11 A. M.

There were present Hon. T. L. Stiles, President; George Donworth,

First Vice President; Austin Miers, Third Vice President; N. S. Porter, Secretary, and William A. Peters, Treasurer.

The application of C. S. Rienhart, of Olympia, who was recommended by N. S. Porter, came up for consideration, and upon vote being taken upon the application, he was unanimously elected to become a member of the Association.

The bill of the Secretary for printing proceedings and expenses connected there with was audited and warrant drawn on the Treasurer for the amount, viz: $185.70.

It was moved by Mr. Donworth and carried that the selection of topics for papers to be read at the next annual meeting of the Association be postponed until the next meeting of the committee.

On motion of Mr. Miers the committee adjourned to meet at the office of the President in the City of Tacoma, on the 18th of March, 1899.

TACOMA, March 18, 1899.

Executive Committee met at the office of the President in the City of Tacoma, pursuant to adjournment.

Present: the President, Secretary and a quorum of members.

The business being the selection of topics for papers to be prepared and read at the next session of the Association and selection of writers, the following subjects were selected:

1. Decennial of Our State Constitution.

2. Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. 3. What Shall Be Done About the Trusts?

4. Reform In Criminal Practice.

5. The Law and the Laborer.

Those selected to write upon the above topics were:

1. E. F. Blaine, of Seattle.

2. Byron Millett, of Olympia.

3. George H. Walker, of Tacoma.

4. James G. McClinton, of Port Townsend.

5. Samuel R. Stern, of Spokane.

It was discussed by the committee and the conclusion unanimously arrived at, that comprehensive reports by the several standing committees form a very important feature of our annual sessions and will aid materially in shaping legislative action relative to the much-needed reforms in our state laws.

The business having been concluded, on motion, the committee adjourned.

Attest: N. S. PORTER, Secretary.

T. L. STILES, President.

THE PRESIDENT-The next order of business is reports of committees. The members of the Committee on Jurisprudence and Law Reform live in Spokane and none are present.

The following communication from R. A. Ballinger, chairman of the Committee on Judicial Administration and Remedial Procedure was read:

SEATTLE, WASH., July 5, 1899.

Hon. T. L. Stiles, President State Bar Association, Tacoma, Wash.:

MY DEAR SIR - I regret my inability to be present at the annual meeting of the Association at Tacoma on July 6th, and also desire to state that the committee of which I am chairman, Judicial Administration and Remedial Procedure, has been unable to get together and formulate a report. I have spoken to some of the members, but pressure of business has prevented any action being taken.

I regret very much my inability to be with you on this occasion.
Yours very truly,

R. A. BALLINGER.

Committee on Commercial Law then submitted the following report:

REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON COMMERCIAL LAW.

Mr. President and Members of the Association:

The term "Commercial Law" is a very broad one, and in all of its bearings and ramifications reaches all parts and peoples of the civilized world, and, indeed, some that are not yet civilized. It is said to be less local and more international than any other branch of the law, except the law of nations, and is defined as "that branch of the law which relates to the rights of property and the relations of persons engaged in commerce," or "it is a phrase used to designate the whole body of substantive jurisprudence applicable to the rights, intercourse and relations of persons engaged in commerce, trade or mercantile pursuits."

It was doubtless not intended that this committee should consider the subject in its broad and international sense, but more with reference to local interests and needs, hence we confine our observations to this phase of the subject.

This branch of the law has received a fair amount of attention from the legislative department of our state government. The Legislature of 1899 enacted a most important law known as the "Negotiable Instrument Bill," recommended by the National Bar Association, which has already become a law in a dozen or more of the states. The act is a very elaborate and particular declaration of the law on negotiable paper, and while it might be said that there is too much of it for any but the most marvelous memory to remember, we do not think that anything pertinent to the subject has been omitted. It is largely an itemized and well stated resume of the law of negotiable paper as established by usage and the decisions of our appellate courts. We know of no further needs for legislation on this particular subject.

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