Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1884-05-09


TIE ELECroRAL-BoARD Law UNCoNsTI-
TUTIoNAL.--In the case of Black VS.. Trower
and others, involving the title to the Office
OF registrar of the first precinct at the First
ward of the city of Norfolk, and at the same
time the consttutionaity of the act of the
last Legislature entitled san act to provide
for the manner Of choosing registrars, judges
and clerks Of election" &C., which went
into operation on the 14th day of February,
1854, Judge Lewis, of the Court of Appeals,
Yesterday delivered the opinion of the court,
and, in concluding, said:
mo reason can be urged in support Of IN
act which requires that members Of electoral
boards shall be composed of freehOlders only
Such qualification is not essential to the
discharge of the duties imposed by the act
al authority. We are therefore Of opinion
that SO much of the act of February IA,
1854, rs prescribes freehold qualification
for members of electoral boards is repugnant
10 the Constitution and void; that the re-
,pondents, Cook, Smith and Dalton, being
chosen under it are not lawfully chosen
officers, and that their appointment of the
respondent, TroWer, as registrar was with
fore be made absolute, and writ of man
damus awarded as prayed for in the petit
ton"
Judge Hinton dissented.
Judge Hinton, in dissenting from the
opinion of the court in the electoral cases
said he regarded the law in question as con-
sttutional. The provision which declared
who are persons who could vote for any of.
With ho ,rif IF ba
only to such officers as were chosen by the
people a! popular elections. 1t had no ref
erence to officers chosen by the general as
sembly. Such Offices were not within the
gift ofthe people, but within the gift Of the
legislature, and as to such Offices the leeis-
lature had the right to prescribe the qualfi-
cations for the same; that the legislature
had the power to create the Office and the
power to prescribe the qualifications Cor it !;
that many iorcible illustrations might be
drawn from their past unquestioned actions.
They had the power to prescribe that
Judge Of election should he able to read and
write; that the legislature had the power
TO prescribe that if new judges did not act
within due prescribed time, that then free
holders might act; that certain officers
should be physicians, &C., aud that this
was admitted. Now, then, why not2 He
could not see why the Legislature might not
have the power to prescribe that the cleo
rural boards should be composed of free
holders; that such provision was altogeth-
er immsteria, and he believed the Leg;s-
ature might just AS soon have passed
tho act without the provision as with it.
II did not vitiate theact it did not efTectuate any
of It's provisions, and the insertion of the new
word "frcehoider" had not been made it would
have been the act aud lie was therefore of
opinion that for this. II be Was wrong, and the
word frecholdcr WAS forbidden by the conStitu.
ton should be stricken out for that CAUSE the act
ought still to be allowed 10 stand without it, that
this view was supported by TIE authorities and if
an Objectionable word could be stricken out and
the act be then inteligible that that should be
done and that in this case it tho word freebooter
WIS stricken out it would still leave the act COM
pietc in all its points, and he therefore dsscntcd
entirely from the opinion of the court"