Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1865-02-28


naval service OF The United States. 10 vote a,
places outside Of this state at the October or
Presidential electlsns This bill presents for
our grave. careful and mature consideration, two
questions OF vas. IN portance The first H..
whether the General Assembly possesses the
power under our constitutions to pass this bill
and the second IL. that IL we possess the cOnsti
tutiOnsl power. will IL DO expedcnt and proper
10 exercise it in the manner proposed
shall conEne myself mainly 10 the consdera
ton of the fret question. have given this sub
ject very careful and thorough examination.
snd have arrived AZ the conclusion that We 10
not possess the constitutional power to pass this
bill. The provisions OF our constitution on this
subject are as follows: The second section OF
article 2. emitting what relates to foreigners.
provides that
In all elections not otherwise provided for
by this constitution. every white male citizen Of
the United States. OF the age of twenty-one
years and upwards, who shall have resided in the
state during the six months Immediately preeed-
ing such election, shall be entitled to vote in the
t0rnskip or precinct ,ohere he may reside
Section - " All elections by the people shall
be BY ballot; and all elections by the General As
sembly or by either branch thereof. shall be rira
roee
SEC. ID All general elections shall be held
on the second Tuesday in October"
utst ptONNtOu- IlA anu UtLernflt tue time,
when. the place where. and the manner in which
the right of suffrage shall be exercised. and
leaves to the general assembly no discretion on
any either of these points. The time IS the
second Tuesday in October The place is in the
township or precinct where the voter may re-
side. The manner of voting isby ballot. Sew
eral OF the states here passed laws authorizing
soldiers to vote in the field, and the supreme
courts OF such states have passed on the consti
tutionality OF such laws t.: aud | shally rely upon
these decisions TO demonstrate that We do not
possess the power TO enact the bill under con
sideration. | lay down the broad proposition
that where the time. place and manner of voting
are prescribed in the constitution, that it is not
competent for the legislature to interfere to
alter, extend or suspend them. or either of them
in the slightest particular"
The supreme court of Connecticut say:
The constitution established an elective gov
eminent. and under il there must Of necessity be
a hxed time. place and manner of holding cleo
tions. Ii these clearly and sufficiently fixed
and prescribed by the constitution, and nothing
is expressly delegated by implication left to
the legislature. that body cannot interfere to al
ter. extend or suspend them or either Of them,
in the slightest particular. Ii they not thus
fixed and prescribed by the constitution, il is by
implication incident to the general legislative
power to do it,, so that government NAV be per-
petuated aud sustained >
The supreme court OF Iowa say
I'VE suppose 1t 10 be proposition which will
not be denied. that where the time, place and
manner of holding elections are not prescribed
by the constitution. but committed TO the egisla-
ture the reception OF votes out of the precinct
county of the electors residence NAV be cOnstl-
tutionally authorized "
Where the prohibition is express. of course
there can be no exercise of power, so where it is
necessarily implied from some express provision,
the law making power cannot interpose."
take the further position that where the con
sttution fixes and provides the time, place and
manner of voting that the right cannot be exer-
csed at any other time OF place or in any other
manner The fixing of one place, excludes with
| out ally prohibition. the exercise of the right in
any other place; aud am fully sustained by the
authorities The supreme court of Connecticut
| say:
/ Nor eau il with truth or safety be said, that
| although the constitution prescribes certain
| place where votes NAV be cast, it does not pro
hibit their being cast in any other place. Meth
er in constitutions, nor statutes, nor contracts
nor Wills. nor in any oral directions OF superior
to an interiors; master to a servant. or
parent to a child, do men deem il necessary to ac
i company an express and full direction 10 do q
particular thing in particular way, by an ex
press direction not to do it in any other Off
GERS. civil and military, citizens, servants, anC
children. all understand that every such direction
of superior carries with il an implied prohibition
against doing the thing prescribed in any Other
way.
The supreme court OF Iowa say:
ain either event, the constitution is to be taker
as a clear and full mandate. and the legislator,
cannot change extend or control its meaning
Thus If the constitution declares that thin!
shall be done in particular manner or way.
il implied necessarily that II shall not be done il
any other. To illustrate, if il declsres that tn
votes of the electors shall be cast at particula
place. it is not necessary to-prohibit by expires
words their being cast st any other. But il Their
is no such express declaration and none fairly {,
be implied IL is within the power of the legsla
ture TO fix the place
The Hon. Isaac F Radield, of Boston. Mass
one of the editors of The American Law Regis
ter and universally acknowledged to be one o
the most profound lawyers in this country, use
the following language in the January number
1865 of that magazine:
lin regard TO the question of the right of sol
diers to vote while beyond the limits of the sew
2 eral states to which they belong there hav
beeh considerable number of decisions mad
in the different states, to which we have not be
fore alluded
The question was very extensively and learn
edly discussed by the supreme court OF Califor
MIA. Shaffer J delivering the leading opinion
which contains very creditable amount of re
search and learning upon the general question
of the propriety of the courts of last resort de
claring acts of the legislature demonstrations
4 on the ground of supposed conflict with eithe
the letter or constructive import of the organi
laws of the state government. and reaching tn
yery obvious conclusion that this NAV and mus
be done in all cases of obvious and satisfacto
established conflict The majority Of the cour
here held that where the constitution require
, the elector 10 be resident OF the county Ell
which he claims his vote this necessarily i'm
piled that he could only cast his vote in th
county of his residence: that the phrase Il
which he claims his vote. upon any fair. maui
and sensible construction, must mean the sam
as, in which be offers bis vote, or in which b
votes or any similar form of xpression.
IL seems 10 Us that the conclusion OF tn
court here is most unquestionable, and that tn
decisions of some of the other state courts
wherein different conclusion is reached. ar
not msintainsble upon any fair ground of al
gument. Is very clearly shown in the yer
learned and lswyeF-like exposition of the cues
ton in the elaborate opinion OF Mr. Just;c
Shsfer. 10 which We be- TO refer the profession
as containing large amount OF the most vau
able matter. presented in the most perspicuOu
and uneXceptionable form"
, The supreme court of Vermont. in yer
= carefully prepared and satisfactory opinion
held, that where the restriction OF the state con
sututon N regard 10 voting within the precinc
. of the residence Of the elector was in term:
: limited the casting Of votes state officer.