Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1864-12-09
| Attorney General Meredith's Opinion in the
Matter of Granting Commission to Judge

King.
The election of Judges is provided for BY the Act
Of 15thsApril, 1851. The 9th section Of that Act
provides that in ease of the election of President
Judge of any Judicial District composed Of two or
more counties, the Clerks of the Return Judges of
each county shall make out fair statement Of all
the votes that shall have been given at such election
within the county for every person voted for which
shall be signed by said Judges and attested by the
Clerks. This statement is required to be produced
at meeting of the Return Judges Of the District.
The duty of the Return Judges Of the District is set
forth IN the 9th section, which provides that they
shall cast up the several county returns and make
sufficient number of copies of general return Of all
the votes given for such officer in said District all of
which they shall certify, and one of which they shall
transmit to the Secretary of the Commonwealth in
the manner provided in the Act The 10th sdction
of the Act requires the Governor to grant Conlmis
sions to the persons elected.
| The District return Judges of the 10th Judicial
District composed of the counties of Franklin Bed
ford Somerset and Fulton, have transmitted 10 the
Secretary of the Commonwealth return in which
they state that they have not included the Bedford
county return of soldiers votes, a copy Of which
they annex, and they assign as reason for not in
Guiding it, that said return was not certified to by
nine of the return Judges Of Bedford county. The
return in question IS signed by thirteen Of the Coun
ty return Judges, forming therefore majority Of
the whole number The reason assigned for not IN
cluding this return is palpably insufficient As the
authority of the return Judges concerns matters of
public nature, majority may act at meeting law
fully assembled, and their meeting is presumed to be
lawful in the absence of proofto the contrary.
! The clause in the 10Th section Of the Act Of 1899
providing that the returns shall be signed by all the
Judges present, does not govern the present case,
and if it did it would be construed as directory mere
y and second it would be presumed thar the return
was signed BY all the Judges then present, in the
absence of proof to the contrary.
Ifthe said soldiers vote of Bedford countybe in
cluded, Alexander King has majority of all the
votes in the District and is elected President Judge
The question on which the Governor requests my
opinion is whether is the duty Of the Governor to
to include the said soldiers VOTE in asceranng to
whom the Commission should be granted.
The District return Judges have stated in their re-
turn that Francis NJ. Kimmen having received the
| highest number Of votes is duly eee.ed.
This statement is of no effect whateye- The law
gives them no authority to declare who is elected
Their duty is simply to cast up the county returns
and make general return of all the votes given for
the Office In this respect the Act of 1851 requlat-
ing the election of Judges, differs from the Act of
1889, the SD section Of which, relating to the cleo
ton Of Members Of Congress, and Of the State SEN
ate and the Houses provides that the District return
Judges shall also return the name of the person or
persons elected, and the SD section provides that
the return Judges shall in every case transmit to
each of the persons elected to serve in Congress or
the State Legislature certificate Of his election 1t
would not be difficult to suggest reasons for this diff
ference, but is enough to say that the Legislature
has thought fit to make it, and that the present case
must be governed by the Act Of 1851.
| The Governor then has before him the return of
the District return Judges, from which he is to as
certain who is the person entitled to receive the
Commission. This is to be doGe by counting the
votes given for the several candidates. and of course
the candidate having majority of the votes is legal
| y elected and should be commissioned.
In counting the votes, am Of the opinion that the
Governor has no more right to throw out the sol
diers' vote of Bedford county than he would have
to throw out the whole vote of any one Of the coun
ties in the District 1t is true that the District re-
turn Judges state that they have not included 1t, but
they return copy of the county return of it, and the
Governor, by refusing under such circumstances to
count it, would be acting illegally the District
return Judges themselves.
In fact the paper transmitted by the District re-
turn Judges to the Secretary Of the Commonwealth
as their return taking the whole of it together does
clearly show that Alexander King had majority of
the votes in the District for President Judge and is
duly elected to that Office, and in my opinion the
Governor is bouud to grant him a commission.
(signed) W. H. MEREDITH,
Atty Gen.
ATTORNEY GENERALS OFFICE,
Harrisburg, Nov. 80, 1864
| PRYoR.-The great ong-haired warrior, who
was promoted from Brigadier General to Captain,
has gone North, under special escort of mud
/ silsn---=as In fnmar times he would have sfnlnd