14 Ga. 438 Page 1 14 Ga. 438, 1854 WL 1492 (Ga.)

(Cite as: 14 Ga. 438)

PADELFORD, FAY & Co. plaintiffs in error v. THE MAYOR AND ALDERMEN OF THE CITY OF SAVANNAH. Ga. 1854. Supreme Court of Georgia. PADELFORD, FAY & Co. plaintiffs in error v. THE MAYOR AND ALDERMEN OF THE CITY OF SAVANNAH.

No. 64.

January Term, 1854.

*1

[1.] The Ordinance of the City Council of Savannah, “That on the gross amount of sales of all negroes, goods, wares and merchandise or other commodity, article or thing sold within the corporate limits of the city of Savannah, by any person or persons whomsoever, upon or for a commission, premium, per centage or other profit charged or to be charged thereon, or on joint account, and when not included in the returns as stock in trade, and whether for cash or credit, between the twenty-fourth day of January, 1842, and the last of April, 1842, inclusive, and annually thereafter, between the first day of May in each and every year, and the last day of April in each succeeding year, inclusive, there shall be paid by the person so selling, whether commission merchant, broker or agent of any nature or kind whatsoever, fifty cents on every hundred dollars of the amount of such sales, respectively”, &c., is not unconstitutional, according to the decision of the Supreme Court of the U. S. in

Brown vs. Maryland

, 12

Wheat.

[2.] That case is overruled by the

License Cases, in

5

Howard's R.

[3.] And by the

Passenger Cases, in

7

Howard's R.

[4.] And partly by the case of

Groves et al. vs. Slaughter

, 15

Pet.

[5.] The Constitution is to be construed in the sense in which it was understood by the makers of it at the time when they made it. [6.] This sense is expressed by the four following propositions: 1. That the Constitution delegated to the General Government, or any department thereof, no power by

implication

, but only delegated such powers as it

expressly enumerated.

2. That it delegated no exclusive power, unless the delegation was

said

to be exclusive. 3. That it laid no prohibition upon the States, except such as it specified. 4. That the words used in it, if susceptible of more meanings than one, were used in the meaning which was least favorable to the delegation of power, and most favorable to its retention. [7.] The Supreme Court of Georgia is co-equal and co-ordinate with the Supreme Court of the U. S.; and therefore, the latter cannot give the former an order, or make for it a precedent. [8.] The four propositions are true, anything said or done by the Supreme Court of the U. S. to the contrary, notwithstanding. [9.] Tried by these, the decision in

Brown vs. Maryland

, is unconstitutional. [10.] Tried by these, the Ordinance in question is not unconstitutional, as against the commercial clause. [11.] Tried by these, it is not against the clause which prohibits the State to tax imports. © 2007 Thomson/West. No Claim to Orig. U.S. Govt. Works.