The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1883-05-23
ID. B. AVERA.
y H. Andrews,
g. d. RAND.

of Raleigh that at the DemocI attic pri.
maries held in April to nominate caadi.
dates. the office holders generally were
combined to secure the nominal on al
Aldermen who would continue In ofice
the present incun,teuts praci cally ~ a
body. Believing that such "A cumtina-
ton among oihceholdeis 10 retain them
selves in office was subvereive ut the b Il
interest OF tree government. we dtnau
ded that of the twenty Ave t25y officials
to be chosen by the newly elected Board.
two Ofthem. the most Objectionable should
not be reelected. We gave up cheer
fully any preferences that we might have
for candidates to Fl those two positions
AMI only asked that unless the admin
istration' was a compact machine
to be run by the force Of '.Admini>tra
ton manipulation" rough shUd over the
wishes of a very large portion Of our PEG
pie that those two incum beGts should not
be re elected. This was a very moderate
concession to make to the expires, Ell wish
of three out of eleven Democratic Alder
men. Unless the administration" was
a solid combination virtually ~disquaiify-
ing any other citizen of Raleigh from
being eligible to any off, in the city
government, our request should have
been granted. Some regard should be,
and always is, paid to the wishes of a mi
nority except when the majority consti-
tutes itself a 'Machine.'
A motion was introduced by the
Administrations party to vacate the
seat of an Alderman who bad been du-
ly sworn in. The Board had no power
by any vote to unseat one of their mem
bers who holds his mandate from the
people, and whose office, as we are adj
vised and believe, can only be declared
instance eight (S) members OF an cleo
toral body of seventeen (lO assumed to
declare the seat vacant. The Mayor
secured a majority to put himself into
office by giving what he was pleased to
call his casting vote against allowing
one of its members to vote upon his
title to his place as Alderman. The
member whose title to office was with
out notice impeached. was refused per-
mission to be heard upon the question,
and when he attempted to speak was
peremptorily ruled down. In the con-
vention of 1875 Gov. Jarvis and other
prominent Democrats upheld the doc
trine that the sitting members from
Robson had a right to vote upon the
motion to unseat them. Holding that
to be correct, how could this member
have been refused Gas he was) the right
to vote in his case, which would have
given nine votes in his favor 9 INST
eight (S) for unseating him. Believing
that under our laws an office is proper
~, and that no nan can be deprived Of
it. as was here attempted to be done.
without investigation and without Civ
ing the Yarty whose right was question:
ed we the poor privilege of a hearing /;
believing that the Board of Aldermen
have no power to unseit one of their
W number; believing that eight (S)
members of an electoral body, consist
ing of seventeen I'D electors, have no
power to unseat II of their members
or to till a vacancy; and believing above
all that the whole proceeding was llle-
gal, and that it did not cOmport with
the fair play which would receive public
appreciation. we took our hats, and ac-
cOmpanied by six others, left the meet
ing.
Our constituents and a fair minded
public can say whether we did right.
We would not co%untenance the perpe-
tration of a wrong by seeing any mem
Der deprived OF his seal by illegal
means. nor a mem er refused the right
to speak upon a matter atfec,ilo his
title to his seat.
ID. B. AvERA.
+. III. ANDREWS.
e. ID RANT