Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1867-06-07


members, and is not carried to it's subor-
dinate officers. The terms of exclusion are,
not "the members and officers Of State leg
islature," but simply 'sthe members Of a
State legislature" AS, therefore, the ex-
clusion in the Legislative department has eff
feet only on the highest class in that depart
ment, it is safe to say that the same policy
of exclusion attaches rather to such officers
that exercise functions of important trust in
the executive and judicial departments than
to those whose functions and duties are
merely limited and subordinate. | have al
ready called attention to the comprehensive
ness of these exclusions as to time. Now,
to declare them equally comprehensive as to
persons, and to say that they embrace all
officers, large and small, coming within the
description of executive or judicial officers,
who have at any time during their lives held
any one Of these offices, would have this in
evita5le result that in the formation Of a
constitution for a State by the agency Of its
own people a large proportion, perhaps a
majority, Of the most intelligent and capable
Of the people would be excluded. There is
no part Of my duty in attempting to give
construction to these laws in which / find
myself involved in such painful uncertainty
as in determining what officers outside of the
classes already designated come within the
just range Of exclusion. / have said that,
in addition to the class of officers who clear
ly come within the terms of the act as judi
cial and executive officers. and to those
classes which comprehend militia officers and
municipal officers, who clearly do not come
within the terms of the act, there remains a
vast body Of officers whose status is in some
way to be defined These are known in
popular language by such terms Of descrip-
ton as county, township, and precinct Off
GERS" There name is legion. Their func-
tons and duties are for the most part strict
" local. Some of them, such as sheriffs
and justices Of the county courts, have juris-
diction over the entire county others are
restricted tothe smallest civil subdivisions. =
I have directed abstracts to be prepared for
each of these States, which will exhibit all
those Offices. and the duties which appertain
to them, and the form Of cath required. |
must. reserve for further consideration, after
the abstracts are made, the question, Wheth-
er all Of them, or, if not at all, what classes
Of these officers, come within the disquali6-
cation? AS to all other executive or judicial
officers who were not, in popular language,
characterized as county officers, decline to
consider them as coming under the descrip-
ton. of executive and judicial officers Of a
State, within the meaning Of these laws. I
deem it. proper here, in reference to that
class of officers, judicial or executive, who
are blythe rule have laid down, brought
Within the. operations of disfranchisement, to
distinguish a class, whose duties are not 10
called, who stand in direct relation to the
State, and who, in my opinion, cannot prop
erly be designated as executive or judicial
officers Of the State. [ Mean that class of
persons who exercise special public duties
rather in the nature of. occasional employ
ments than general and continuing official
duty. This distinction between Office and
employment, and between an officer of a
State and an agent Of State, is well estab-
Eslred Chief Justice Tlghman, in Serge
and Rawle 149, recognizes it in the case of
commissioners appointed to lay out roads and
canals and other works of public improve
ment. The question arose upon section in
the Constitution of Pennsylvania which pro-
vided that the Governor shall appoint all Of
fcers whose offices are established by this
constitution or shall be established by law,
and whose appointments are not herein 9TH
erwise provided for :" The Chief Justice
said "It has never been ascertained, nor is
easy to ascertain, to what offices this power
extends. [ speak Of Offices created by law
since the making of the Constitution. The
word Office is Of very vague and indefinite
import. Everything concerning the admin
istration of Justice in the general interest of
of society may be supposed to be within the
meaning Of the Constitution, especially if
fees or emoluments are annexed to the office;
but there are matters Of temporary and local
concern which, although comprehended in
the term office have nos been thought to
be embraced by the Constitution and when
offices of that kind have been created, the
Legislature has sometimes made the appoint
ment in the law which created them, some
times giving the appointment to others than
the Governor, and sometimes giving the
power of removal to others, although the
appointment was left to the Governor. p
The officers Of whom am speaking are often
described in Acts Of Assembly by the name
of commissloners-suc for instance, as arc
employed in the laying out of roads and
canals and other works Of public nature
Yet all these perform a duty or, in other
words, exercise their office I cannot emu
merate all of the employments under State
authority which, in my opinion, work nc
disfranchisement. I will name some, by
way of illustration-viz. Boards of commits
sioners Of public works, directors Of State
asylums, visitors Of State universities, direc-
tors Of State penitentiaries, State directors Of
banks and other corporations, special com
missioners or agents appointed by the Gov
ernor or other State authority to perform spe-
cial duties as examiners of banks, notaries
public, and commissioners to take acknowl-
edgment Of deeds. The rule laid down and
these illustrations will perhaps be sufficient
to determine who come under its operations
The next disqualifyhg clause is founded
on the oath Of Office. The oath, as incidental
to the office, is not mentioned in the first dis
qualifying clause, but the Office alone But
in the second clause the oath is made to en-
a ,oocacco,,ry o1n,aaA4 o,Io,, ~ ,,,orf,