The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1877-04-28
HAVE WI A MUNICIPAL JUDGE,

huu rum C'dytOu " OdIlduu VIII nOI
cause many tears to flow.
HAVE WE A MUNICIPAL JUDGEl
BY an act of the legislature of 1872, q
municipal court was established for the
village of Rutland, subject to the approval
of the legal voters of the village at a legal
meeting thereof. The act was approved at
the annual meeting in 1878, the law took
effect, the court was established, and a mu-
nicipal judge elected. The first section of
the law reads as follows "a municipal
court is hereby established in and for the
" village of Rutland, and a judge thereof
g shall be annually elected by ballot from
the freemen of said village, at the annual
L" meeting thereof" At the annual village
meeting for the current year, an election
for municipal judge was held under this
provision-it being the only provision for
such an election-and the ballot resulted as
followse
Whole number of votes cast ........-..42
George Il. Lawrence. ..........--.. 20S
80 !"
p. Redfield Kendall. ...."."....... 81
Martin g. Everts. ................ 2
Was there any election ? Or is the Office
of municipal judge now vacant, only to be
filled at a special election called for that
purpose?
If a majority of all the votes polled was
required for an election, there is a vacancy
in the office of municipal judge; otherwise
not. 1t will be noticed that the provision
for the election of this officer differs from
those in reference to all other village Off
GERS. The village Of Rutland was incorporat-
ed in 1S47, and provision was made for the
election of certain officers, ''by ballot, If
called for" Under this provision, the off,
GERS we're, as a general rule, elected by piva
Voce vote, and no one will claim that less
than a majority of all the votes could elect.
This was found not to work well in prac-
tice and so application was made to the leg
islature to amend the charter, and 1t was
amended so that the moderator, clerk, treas.
urer, collector and trustees were required to
be elected by ballot, and it was declared
that 1.-THE persons having the greatest num-
" Der of votes for said offices respectively
" shall be deemed elected thereto" If there
was nc necessity for this provision why was
it inserted?
Again, in 1s72-the SAINT year that the
municipal court was established--the char
ter was further amended by requiring each
of the wards to elect q trustee by ballot
instead of all of the trustees being elected
on a general ticket-and the legislature was
particular TO insert the clause that ''the
"person in each ward having the greatest
I" number of votes of such ward for trus-
" tee shall be deemed to be elected to such
d" office" Why was this express declara-
ton incorporated in the amendment to the
charter, and omitted from the act establish
ing a municipal court, if the language in
the latter act meant exactly the SAINT as the
express provision in the former Is it not
reasonable to conclude that the legislature
intended in the one case that a majority of
all the votes given should be required to
elect, while in the other only a plurality
vote should be necessary? VIII the Ian
guage of the two acts bear a different in
depreciation 2
1t is, so to speak, the common law of
American institutions that majorities gov
rn-no pluralities, but majorilies-and
this rule, we take it, would prevail in the
absence of any express provision TO the
contrary. And so we see our state consti-
tuition declaring that state senators and
county officers may be elected by a plural
ity Of votes, while the state constitution
shall not be amended without a concur
renee of two-thirds of the senators in pro-
posing articles of amendment. Indeed,
we have a practical construction of the
meaning of such a clause as that directing
the election of a municipal judge in Rut-
land. The constitution provides that rep
resentatives shall be "chssen by ballot by
L" the freeman of every town in the state"
This provision, Of course, governs, and the
legislature can neither add to or take from
II. II it means that a plurality of votes
shall elect, then a plurality will elect any
law to the contrary Notwithstanding. Yet
under this clause, the statute declares that
no person can be elected a representative
unless he receives a majority of all the
votes cast. And, indeed, before the pass
age of this law, the same practical con-
struction prevailed and representatives
were net deemed elected unless they re-
celved such a majority.
Again. The constitution provides that
the Legislature may select judges of the
supreme court" but is silent az to the
number of votes required-whether a ma
jority or plurality. Neither is there any
law or legislative rule On the subject. And
yet a majority of all the votes given has
always been required to elect, and many
are the instances where repeated ballohngs
have taken place in order to effect an cleo.