New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1861-01-04

provides : that the powers and utIt OF Recorders
and Aldermen shall be the same within fne limits
Of their respective municipalities aa they were be-
fore in the City of New 0rIeana;p and the nine
teenth section Of said act declares that the Re-
recorder of each Of the municipalities shall p0s-
cess within the limits Of his municipality all the
powers and perform all the duties now fixed by
law. and shall, besides, exercise within the Hmts
of his municipality all the duties as magistrate and
conseTYator Of the peace conc,areattf acd3s ne
Mayor Vt TIE city Of Feo Orleans, ETC., etc.
Thus the powers and duties Of the Recorder
acting as magistrate and consefvator Of the peace
are the same as those exercised by the Mayor
their duties when acting as magistrate are the
same: and Che Recorder, when so acting, was to
act concurrently with the Mayor Each had other
duties to perform other than those Of magistrate
and eonaervat0T, and when SO acting they acted
independently Of one another. The Mayor had
his special duties to perform and so had the Re-
c0TGer, but when they came 10 act az magistrate
their duties were equai-neither was superior.
In 1852, the Legislature passed act eonsolf-
dating the municipalities in one city, and the 25th
section Of said act defines the qualifications dnties
powers and privileges of the Mayor Of the city.
He is required to "see that the laws and ordinances
within the limits Of the city be properly execated.
He shail be ex-offiCio justice and consefEatoF Of
the peace, shall appoint police officers, policemen
and watchmen, and discharge the at pleasuFes
but the appointment Of the police officers shall be
by and w,tn tise eosent Of the Board of Aldermen.
he shall alone control and make regulations for
the police officers, ETC. subject to the approval OF
the Common Council, etc,s Section n Of said act
defines the duties, powers and privileges Of the
offices open from O'Clock a. M. to O'Clock p. III.
of each day, Sunday excepted. They shall be ex-
Oieio justices and conservators of the peace, and
shall exercise all the duties now invested in and
imposed by law upon the Recorders Of the several
municipalities not incompatible with the provisions
of this act. They shall keep record book, IN
which they shall fairly nscfibe in their order OF
date the different criminal cases that may be
brought before them, by setting down the title Of
the cause, the nature of the complaint, the names
and gurnames of the witnesses, the date Of the
opf nd of Tho aprTea n
the decision, as well as all other proceedings had
in the cause.
Under the act of 1886, the Recorder constituted
part of the Council, and was the presiding officer
thereof but under the act of 1852, he has nothing
to do with the Council His duties are solely those
of an examining and committing magistrate. HE
is officer of the corporation, and By the 4th sec
ton of said act is part of the executive power Of
the city.
After the city of Lafayette had become ineoFpo-
rated within the city Of New Orleans the IsegisIa-
ture in order to provide for the governments Of the
whole city, composed Of the four districts, by an
act approved March 20, 1856, amended the conaoli
dation act Of 1652 and section 26 OF said act de-
fines the duties of the Mayor in the same manner
as section 2j of the act of 1882 except that the last
act gives the right to the Mayor to appoint and
discharge at pleasure, all police officers, police
| men, watchnen, without the consent of the Board
| of Aldermen. And section % of said act is the
same section II Of the act of 1852, with the ex
ception that the act of 1856 gives each Recorder
/ the right to appoint one more clerks, with the
| advice and consent Of the Board Of Aldermen.
| Such are the various provisions of the different
laws passed in relation to the rights and duties Of
the Mayor and Recorder. The relator claims that
he has the exclusive right 70 examine, bail or dis
| charge oil persons arrested and confined in the
| First District lookup, for having violated any OF
the penal laws of the State or ordinances Of The
city. He has not the etctHsiBe right but he has
concurrent right, with the Mayor, to examine, bail
and discharge, or commit for trial, any person
thus offending. Nor has the Mayor the exclusive
right: his right is concurrent with that OF the Re
corder. But it is claimed in argument that, be-
cause the Mayor has the exclusive control over
the police, and that his police have control over
the lockups, that, therefore, he has the control
over the prisoners arrested by his police This ~
@ non sequNur. 1t does not necessarily follow
that because he controls the police, therefore
he controls the prisoners, to the exclusion ,,o of
every one else. The prisoners and the public
have rights as well as the Mayor and Recorders.
The prisoner has the constitutional right Of Q
speedy trial or examination, and the public nave
the right that person accused shall not be dis
charged without such trial and examination. Both
the Mayor and Recorder have the power to- release
prisoners before they are formally arragaed before
either the Mayor Recorder for trial. but it il 9
power that should be used with great caution and
circumspection, and any abuse of it would be q
: good cause of impeachment 1t must be renlem-
bered that the office of Recorder created for
the purpose Of relieving the Mayor of the duty of
examining violations of the penal laws of the State
and violations of the ordinances OF the city, and u
peculiarly the province of the Recorder to make
e such examinations, bail or release prisoners al
:, though it may not be his exclusive right 80 to do.
Q The duties of the Mayor are sufficiently onerous
d and numerous to occupy the whole OF his time ID
attending to the municipal affairs Of the City, with
out burthening himself with the duties OF an ex-
r amning and committing magistrate, and II ne
: believes the Recorder is abusing or exceeding the
powers vested in him by law, it Is no part OF hla
+ duty to attempt to correct the same by having
posted up instructions to his officers that no per-
e son shall be released, under any pretense, exceps
f upon the order of the Mayor or Chief of Police,
: unless the person has been arrested by warrant
signed by the Recorder but by the Goth section
Of the act of 1856, is made the duty of the Mayor
" to report to the Common Council all officers and
persons employed by the city, who fail to perform
s their duty or commit any act for which they should
4 be mpeached or removed from office"
t The relator further complains that the Mayor
g and Chief of Police have refased to permit the
: officers appointed to attend on and execute the
J. judgments and DEGREES made by him in his official
G character. 1t appears from the evidence that
/ there arc certain officers appointed by the Mayor
d to attend on the Recorder in order to serve war
rants subpunas, etc., but these officers are ap-
@ pointed by the Mayor, and under the law he can
3 remove them at pleasure. The Recorder can only
; appoint his Clerks and unless the Mayor does
G make such appointments (and there is law COM
it pelug him to do SOY the Recorder is without any
executive officer to serve his processes Here is q
very serious omission the part Of the Legislature
Il which should be remedied, and it is to be hoped
that the composition of the Recorders Court viii
be made more perfect by further legislation as soon
= us possible.
In this case the evidence shows that relator had
II issued an order to the officers III charge OF the
" prisons or lookup similar to the one issued by
the Mayor. Both the relator and Mayor claim
e exclusive rights which they are not entitled
it to exercise, and the language Of the Supreme
o Court in case based upon similar apphca-
e ton is not inappcabie to the case at bar
st They say, 'While ii is the duty OF our Courts
10 to grant the extraordinary remedy Of quo ao.s-
If rdnto to all those who entitled to it under
of the liberal provisions of code, it is equally
y their duty to administer the remedy with refer
ID ence to the principles recognized in that juris
il prudence from which tho writ was derived, so fal
1t as those principles consistent with the spirit
our Institutions and with sound reason and equity
Dissensons and lawsuits between the members O
n a corporation, like quarrels in family or partner
lt ship, are dangerous to its welbeing, and thost
ht who bring matters pertaining to its administra
y ton before the tribunals ought not only to provs
id that Irregularities have been committed, bu
III should also be free from the objection Of having
at participated or acquesced in them A court o
q justice, in such cases, cannot hear q party who's
r, complaints are inconsistent with his own con
ID duct"-[ See Witz vs. Peters, An, p. 3A2.
le 1t is therefore ordered, adjudged and decreed
that the rule taken herein by re,ator be dismissed
of and the writ refused, with costs.
~ FIRST DISTRICT ScuooL BoARD.-The MONTH,
s. meeting of this Board was held last evening, DE
u Lindsay in the chair.
ne Mr. Campbell and Mr.. Mcconnell presented thi