Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1881-06-23

HcoduttOH Oh MS inlllu. MOI only -
there no express prohibition, but there
is none by implication, whether clear
or otherwise. There is, however, one
mandate, clearly, palpably and plain.
ly expressed, and that is, that the leg.
islature must make separate district
of every county which contains forty
thousand inhabitants, without regard
to the judgment of the legislature as
to the necessity or propriety Of such
district. As to all other counties the
judgment and discretion of the legis.
lature are left as uncontrolled a. they
were before the adoption of the new
constitution The General Assembly
may and must exercise its judgment as
to whether county having less than
forty thousand inhabitants should be
made a separate district. If, in the
judgment of the legislature, such a
county contains "a population less
than is sufficient to constitute sepa-
rate district" it, with other similar
counties, shall be formed into conve.
nient single districts" This is the
clear, pdlpabLe and plain meaning of
the constitution, and the legislature in
no wise violated either its letter or
spirit in the particulars alleged by the
Governor.
The apportionment bill of 1874
made fire separate districts of coun-
ties containing less than forty thou
sand inhabitants each, to wit: Adams.
Beaver, Delaware, Indiana, and Sus.
quehanna. And no one for these
seven years has questioned their con-
stitutionality. But the Governor saws
that apportionment was made under
the 18th and not under the l4th sec.
ton of the schedule to the constitu.
ton, and therefore the legislature was
authorized to guess at the population
of the counties and was not bound by
the census of 1870, taken three years
and half before the apportionment.
This is shere nonsense. The 18th
clause of the schedules does not say a
word about the legislature guessing or
estimating the population of the coun.
ties, aud neither it nor the following
clause says one word as TO the size of
the districts. They simply fix the
time when the apportionments should
be made; and in all cases they were
to be made according to the Cons,i-
tution-that is under the 9th Section
Of Article ). If the bill Just vetoed
was unconstitutional because it made
Green, Jefferson and Lebanon sepa.
rate districts, the act of 1874 was GER
tainly unconstitutional for making
Adams, Beaver, Delaware, Indiana
and Susquehanna separate districts,
and for seven years the judges of
these five counties have been illegally
and unconstitutionally usurping the
power and jurisdiction Of judges, and
their official acts have all been null
and void, including their sentences of
prisoners TO the pcnitentiary and the
gallows. But this is not all. by the
census of 1880 two of these counties,
Adams and Beaver, are each still un.
der forty thousand. If Coy. Hoyt
honestly believes they cannot consti.
tutionally be separate districts he
should direct his Attorney General at
once to commence proceedings by quo
,carranto against the judges of these
counties and have them ousted from
their offices, as was done by the asso.
ciate judges of Fayette county.
1t seems strange TO an ordinary per-
son that the conscience of our Cover.
nor should be troubled on this ques.
tion, when be seems so Indifferent to
the plain and unmistakable commands
Of the constitution. Section ii Of
the schedule provides "The General
Assembly shall at the next succeeding
session after each decennial census,
and not ofener, designate the several
judicial districts Is required by this
constitution"
This is plain, simple and impera-
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