Excerpt from The Princeton Review, Vol. 54: January-June, 1878

But the'country was not slow to discover the need of some other check upon representatives than that which was afforded in frequent elections. The Yazoo grant of 1795, in Georgia, brought about by fraud and deception, was so enormous in magnitude and interested so many persons, that it attracted the attention of the whole country, and presented in'clear light the possibility that fraud might infect the whole legislative body, and that corrupt inducements might incline the representative to con nive at or assist in the robbery of his constituents. From that time to the present, the number of constitutional restrictions imposed for the express purpose of keeping the law-making de partment in close restraint within prescribed limits and under prescribed forms of action, have been steadily increasing in num ber, until in some States the presumption that the legislature possesses a general power to make laws in its discretion has almost passed away. The general power has now so many limita tions, and must be exercised under such carefully prescribed con ditions, that the experienced legislator is excusable if be some times stumbles into difficulties, and finds to his surprise that something in his legislation'will not bear the test of all the rules that have been prescribed for his observance. To prove this, let the reader examine almost any of the new or recently re vised constitutions. An inspection will show the following state of things: First, That a number of subjects are removed altogether from legislative cognizance. Second, That upon 'a still larger number of subjects the legislature is forbidden to act, except by general law. That when acting upon any subject, certain set forms must be observed, which are imposed for the purpose of forcing upon the legislature a care, caution, and deliberation not otherwise likely to be secured. These forms are thus made a condition to valid legislation, and the necessity of observing them is imperative. The principal of these are, that each act shall embrace but a single object, which shall be expressed in its title; that the bill shall have several readings on different days, and shall be passed only on a re corded vote by yeas and nays. Peculiar provisions are made in some States which are even more stringent.

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