The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1876-09-20

Governor and Attorney General, GoFF
and HUTCHINSON, charge that Attorney
General MATHEWS, who is now the
Democratic candidate for Governor, gave
20 Auditor BENNETT legal opinion IN
reference to his title to certain fees of his
office, which opinion they charge he
ought to have refused to give when
requested to do so by the Audi.
tor, for the reason. rs they say,
that he knew that he Legislature was
about to investigate the question whether
such fees belonged to the Auditor or
should be paid by him into the state
treasury. The law prescribing the du'
ties of the Attorney General (see code
chap. 100, page SCI, section y which
says:.'The Attorney General shall give his
opinion and advice in writing Chenecer
required an aoritimg 10 do so by the Cor
ernor or OTHER officers at the seat Of Coz
ernp,ent." The Auditor was one Of
the executive officers at the seat Of
government and required the Attorney
Generals opinion in writing, which was
given, as 1t was his duty to do, and which
opinion was sustained by the Senate OF
the State, in the investigation referred
to. The cheek of these two distinguished
Republican orators is amazing. They
cannot have forgotten several OF the most
remarkable opinions given by the Re-
publican Attorney Generals during their
radical rule.
Listen to the opinion of Attorney Gen
eral f. b. HALL in answer to a ques.
ton propounded by the delectable
Judge NAT. HARRISON, of the
ninth judicial circuit, as follows: "ls
an attorney at law an officer within the
meaning of the act of November IL,
1868, prescribing the oath to be taken
by officers, &c"
Even NAT. HARRISON WAS not willing
to take the responsibility of so con-
strung the law as to exclude lawyers
from the right to practice in the courts,
but appealed to the judgment of Gov.
BoREMANs Acknowledgement. The
opinion OF Attorney General HALL is
too long to insert in full, but it is in
substance rs follows:
The authorities are not uniform
as to whether attorneys are officers.
The court of appeals OF Virginia IN
Lelgh's case Il Muntord, page 46S) de-
cided that lawyers were not officers as
contemplated by the anti duelling act,
Judge RoANE delivering the opinion of
the Court. But says Attorney-General
HALL, "the provision of the act in
question is different, its provision is gen.
eral. Every person elected or sp-
pointed TO any office of trust, civil or
military shall, &c. Take the oath pre-.
scribed." He then decided agains5 the
authority of the case above quoted, that
an attorney is on officer, and that each
court is authorized to exclude rebel at
torney on the ground that he is felon-
This decision Of Acknowledgement
HALL was, AS will be remem bered, fol.
lowed by decision of the Supreme
Court of the United States, that State
Court could not exclude an attorney
from the practice of his profession in the
courts by the imposition of expurgatory
oaths.
Then came the celebrated decision of
Judges BROWN and LOOMS, of the SUI
preme Court of Appeals of West Vir'
giuia, in which they reversed the judg
ment OF the Supreme Court of the
United States, and sustained
the law providing for the
lawyers test oath-thus excluding
attorneys from the practice of th'i" call
ing for about six years after the end OF
the war, in defiance of all constitutional
authority and the decision of the SUI
premc Court of the United States, SOL
EMMY pronounced in u decision of the
precise question.
Acknowledgement A. B. CALDWELL
gained some notoriety, also, on account
of decision rendered by him
on the right to vote under
the act of Congress known as the
civil rights bill. That decision
was that il two men offered TO be register
ed, one white man and one black man,
and they were both refused wrongiully,
that the black man might apply to the
officers OF election and by taking Ger.
tain oath be permitted to have his vote
polled, but that the simple fact that the
white mans name was not found on the
register, excluded him from voting I'M
SO much for the opinions
of our Attorney Generals. Voters, how do
you like the comparison of the one party
with the other?
THE Mallie Rsgon can carry 500 or
cnn ,>oo,>lo lo,,p - +ba c,raa. ,,aot,pr OF