The weekly North-Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 186?-1869, 1867-06-05

as officers of cities, villages and subordinate
municipal divisions, whether their functions
are executive or judicial or, as IS some.
times the case, where the same officers act
in both capacities. Outside of these two
representative classes, the first of which is
clearly without the purvieu OF these clauses,
we find in these States q host OF ofncers
whose status is in some way to be determln-
ed.
It is impossible here to proceed by way OF
enumeration and to distinguish ny name all
those who are included and all those who
are excluded. All that can be done is to
establish some fixed rules / feel the neces-
sity of circumspection here, in saying who
are included within disfranchisement rather
than in saying who are not included, for
where there is doubt according to the rule
of construction which has been referred to,
that doubt must be solved in favor OF, Iath-
er than against the right of the voter. The
exclusion is all comprehensive as to tlme
and applies not only to those who were IN
Office when the rebellion commenced, but to
those who held the prohibited offices at any
previous time, although they may have
ceased to hold such Office an indefinite num-
Der of years prior to the rebellion. It is
founded on the idea of a breach of official
trust due to the State as the author or donor
OF the trust. It is founded on the idea of q
breach of trust, not arising merely from al
legiance as citizen, but duty to that State,
in direct official relation to that State, and
through that to the federal government
So far as this act designates by name the
persons, who violated such trust it is that
class to whose keeping trust is especially
conided, that is to say, the persons who
were clothed with the legislative power,
where, as in this instance, there is a purpose
on q common ground, and one class is de-
signated as coming within the purpose, and
other classes are left indefinite and only to
be ascertained by construction; it is allow
able to find the indefinite class by the rule
of assimilation. E-
We see then in this law purpose of ex-
clusion as to the three great departments of
State-legislative, judicial and executive.
We see further that as to the legislative de-
partment, made up ola legislative body CON-
posed of members and the various officers APP
pertaining to such body as Legislature,
the exclusion is only of the higher functions
of that body, the members, and it is not car
ried to its subordinate officers. The terms
of exclusion are not the members and officers
of the State Legislature as therefore the ex-
clusion in the Legislative department has
effect only upon the highest class in that de-
partment, it is safe to say that the same pol
icy of exclusion attaches rather to such of
fcers as exercised the functions of important
trust in the executive and judicial depart
ments than to those whose functions and
| duties are merely limited and subordinate.
| T 81 Ixyo lalo fboo
| prehensiveness 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 in any
sense 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 inevitable result that in the forma-
ton of the constitution for State by the
agency Gifts own people, a large proportion,
perhaps majority, of the most intelligent
and capable of the people would be ex-
Guided
There is no part of my duty, in attempting
to give construction to those laws, in which
1 find myself involved in suci painful uncer-
tanty, as in determining what officers out
side of the classes already designated, come
within Just range Of exclusion. l have said
| IL
clearly come within the terms of the act as
judicial and executive officers of the State
and to those classes which comprehend
militia officers and municipal officers, who
clearly are not within the terms of the act
there remain vast number of officers whose
status is in the same way defined. These
are known in popular language by such terms
of description as county, township and pre-
hosr ., H.
functions and duties are tor the most par
strictly local. Some of them, such as sheriff:
and justices of the county courts, have juris
diction over the entire county, and other
are restricted to the smallest subdivisions
have directed abstracts to be prepared fo
each of these States which will exhibit al
these offices and the dnties which appertair
to them, and the form of oath required
must reserve for further consideration
after the abstracts are made, the question
whether all ofthem, or if not all what classe
of the officers come within the disqualified
ton. As to all other executive or judicia
officers who are not in popular Language
characterized as county officers, incline tt
consider them as coming under the descrip
ton of executive and judicial officers of ,
State within the meaning of these laws.
|
of officers, judicial or executive who are b.
the rule l have laid down brought within
the operation of disfranchisement, to distin
guish class whose duties are not localized
and who stand in direct relation to the State
and who in my opinion cannot properly b
designated as executive or judicial officers O
State. I mean that class of persons VIII
exercise special public duties, rather in tn
nature of employment than general and con
tinual official duty.
This distinction between Office and EN-
ployment, and between an officer of Stat
and an agent of State, is well established
Chief Justice Tilghman, in Serg and Rawl
149, recognizes it in the case of commission
ers appointed to lay out roads and canals AM
other ways of public Improvement. Tn
question arose upon section in the, cpnsti
tuition of Pennsylvania which provide
THAT the Governor shall appoint all OF hi
officers whose offices are established by thi
constitution, or shall be established by law
!; and whose appointment are not herein there
with provided for" The Chief Justice says
at has never been ascertained, nor is it cas-
to ascertain to what offices this power of az
pointment extends.s speak of Offices crt
ated by law since the making of the const
ton. The word office is of very vague an
indefinite import. Everything concernin
the administration of justice or the geners
interests of society, may be supposed to b
within the meaning of the constitution, esp,
| cially if fees or emoluments are annexed t
i the Office
! But there are matters of temporary an
local concern which although comprehende