Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1828-1831, 1830-03-26

xculoty shd oy death. or amy oher cause, trhaferc
zoe unable 70 attend and conduct the eicefios according
10 The prorssions act, the recorder,
be no recorder, or he be unable 10 attend the Senior
ALDERMAN capable e attending shall attend and
duct such election according 10 iaio."
The next Senior Magistrate TO the Sheriff in u
county is the eldest Justice of tho Peace, and the
next Senior Magistrate to the Mayor in corpora
ton Is the recorder, or where there rs recorder
the Senior Alderman.
According to the doctrine of my colleague, there
was no necessity in 1919 to make the above add
ton to tho 10th section. According to him, the
words cor Mayor" could have been supplied by in
depreciation and that supplied the terms "Senior Ma
gistratc" would apply to country and city.
stronger reason would have existed for this lib
eral construction in this than IN that provided
Tor IN the 18th section. As TO that, have said al
ready that the Legislature had no where ntimated
a wish that an election in city or town corporate
should be adjourned but that should be holden
was their main object. 20 this purpose their whole
legislation directed; and the death of a Mayor
was Just as possible as the death of Sheriff. FL
Their would prevent an election. and thus defeat the
main design yet the reviscrs, and the whole Assem-
oily OF 1879, were OF opinion that the words cor May
or" could not be supplied by interpretation and con-
struction, to the election itself, much less
the adjournment Of and therefore they added to
the sixteenth section an express provision to provide
for what they Vowed omssion-a easus on,issus
The revsors of 1910, and the whole General Assem-
bly, OF that year. either right wrong IN their
Interpretation OF the sixteenth section they found
it, II they were right, the sitting member is entitled
to his scat; but If they wrong, my honora bic
colleague is wiser than the revisers and the whole
Assembly of 1910, put together.
With the construction put by the rcvsors and al
so by the General Assembly on the sixteenth Sec
ton, that the words 'or Mayor could not be added
by implication to the word "Sheriil" to prevent an
election from being lost by the death or inability OF
tho Mayor, no one can Imagine that they supposed
the same words ''or Mayor" could be added to the
words "Sncrif or Under Sheriff. in the fifteenth
section, merely to authorize the coniinudarc e an
election. We may rest perfectly assured, that had
the revisers and assembly of 1910 found our cities
so vastly increased in population, as TO require
the continuance of the polls at their elections they
| would have supplied the necessary words and we
would have found them as we find all their additions
to the general laws of the land printed between in
veItcd commas
If more proof of the truth of our Interpretation
were wanting, the nth ost 22d and Odd furnish il.
Phe 7h section, it stood before the revision OF
1919, enacted penalty on Magistrates" refusing to
perform their duties under the 10th section. Here
again the revisers, not supposing the "Rccordtr
| Alderman could be embraced by in,crDretnti )n
inserted those words embrace them crpressly
which they also did in the provisions for certifying
the elections, beginning with the Q list and ED sec
tions and all that follows, in the general election
| law, Is subject TO the same remark.
! Mr. Speaker, having understood from every quar-
ter that the sitting memberis entitled TO his seat un-
less the Mayor had power al ourn the polls; and
having made up my mind against the petitioner on
that question, have not examined the testimony Ia
see whether eli her of the contingencies happened or
which the Sheriff OF county is authorized to CON
| time an election.