New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1856-04-24
GOVERNORS duty
TO ORDER AN ELECTION FOR SHERIFF. IN; THIS
a Ell lT4ANIsTI. WHY DOES HI NOT DO IT9N

IL ri
PARIsH Why DOES HI NOT DO IT. Is 5
We had expected ere this to see the Governors
proclamation ordering an election for Sheriff u TINS
parish, consequence Of the removal O. Nrs
i but, as yet, the same has not made It's
has, therefore, occurred to US as proper That te
attention Of the public should be called to the matter
u It il true, Mr.. Bewas, on the, removal Of Mr..
II Hafty appointed to the office; but it was, neverthe
. less tie duty of the Governor to have ordered an
election, as heican only point until " successor
Il shall be elected and qtal Jiea. u
Article SO of the Const tuition, after fixing the ten
IRE Of The office Of Sheriff for two years, etc, ex
4 pressly provides as follows: Should vacancy oc-
cur in either Of these Offices Chat is Sheriff or Coro
Ener) subsequent to an election, it shall be filed by
the Governors; and the person sotappointsd shall
continue in office Until lis successor shall be elected
4 and quail fled
Now, as the vacancy occurred in the office on the
removal of Mr. Hufty by the Legislature it's OBJ,
vious that, under the above provision Of the Const
sutton the Governor could only appoint Mr.. Bell to
that Office until Mr. Huftys successor should be elect
1 ed and qualified.
This Of itself clearly shows that it was not jim the
contemplation of the trainers Of the Constitution that
the Governor should have the power of filling either
u
term Such being the case, isquite obvious that the
latter part Of Art. s0 providing that the person ap
pointed to the office Of Sherffby the Governor tsha
continue office anti successor shall be elected
and would be wholly nugatory and useless,
unless an election be ordered to fill the vacancy
For as the people have the constitutional right of
eecting their own officers of Sheriff and Coroner
every two years. even when there is no vacancy they
occurs. ,' $f, K an ri Ell Tsf2 n Fl Il:
1t would, then have been useless to have attached
the above qualification to the appointment by the
Governor Of a Sheriff. if it was notintended thereby
that an election was to be held for the purpose of fill
ing the vacancy, successor would be bound under
the Constitution to be elected at the end of two years
, from the preceding general election. ~
But we are not without other conclusive authority
on this point.
Article IS Of the Constitution provides as follows
~ Clerks of the Inferior Courts in this State shall be
elected for the term of four years, and should a
vacancy occur subsequent to an election it shall be
filed by the Judge Of the Court in which such
vacancy exists, and the person 50 appointed shall
hold his office until the neat general election'
From this provision it is seen that when the trainers
the Constitution designed one appointed to office
election, they have SO provided.
+ And as we find such provision in Article 49, in
relation to clerks. is quite Obvious that as the pro,
vision il Article 50 Is that the person appointed to
either Of the offices of Sheriff OR Coroner shall con-
tnue in office until his successor shall be elected and
qualified that there must be special election to fill
the vacancy @sS
But if there was any doubt on the foregoing view
of t,iS euhnct rnuSt at +o +la
other provisions of the Constitution and the law In
Article 81 it is thus provided THE Legislature may
determine the mode Of filling vacancies in the Offices
of the Inferior Judges, Attorney General, District
Attorneys and all other offices not otherwise provided
in this Constitution
And in pursuance of this provision we find in the
Acts Of 1856, p. Ala 81 that the Legislature has
enacted as follows: 'That the Governor is author
lied and empowered to issue his proclamation order
ing in a cases not otherwise provided for elections
to be held in the different parishes of this State to fill
any and all vacancies that may happen in any elective
Office" .. ~
1t is therefore, obvious from this statute, in CON
necton with the constitutional provision that the peo
pie have the right to elect their own officers to fill
vacancy in any elective Office for the mandate in
the above Act is to fill any and oil vacancies that
may happen u, any elective office"
Such being the law, it is to be presumed that the
same must have escaped the observation of the Gov
ernor as it is hardly to be supposed he would have in
tentionay violated such plain provisions and deprive
the people of their dearest constitutional rights
And in conclusion, we must be allowed to say that
we can hardly entertain doubt but that the Cover
nor will at once issue his proclamation ordering an
election for Sheriff of this parish. Lex.