National Republican., 1884-05-10
Bourbonism Blocked.

Bourbonism Blocked,
In its comprehensive scheme Of revolution
the Virginia legislature last winter over
hauled tho election machinery Of tho state
and eliminated everything which might pos
sibly stand in tho way of complete bourbon
ascendancy. The appointment of registers of
voters and judges and clerks of election was
vested in electoral boards, and these boards
were chosen, not by the people of.the respect
i've counties, but by tho legislature. Before
It's adjournment it furnished each county
with ON electoral board, which, accordin to
the terms of the act, was composed entirely
of "freeholders." The members were to serve
four years.
test case under tho new law was msdo
up at Norfolk. Tho register of voters ap-
pointed by tho CORPORATION court under the
old law claimed the Office hold by the register
appointed by the electoral board, and applied
for writ of mandamus. The case was taken
to the supreme court of appeals, where the
new law was set aside because the
legislature, in defining the qualifca-
tions Of the members Of the electoral
boards, had declared that only freeholders
were eligible. 1t 10 said that the insertion
of this clause was accidental, the phraseology
having been copied from the old code of 1860.
Judge Lewis in delivering tho opinion of
the court quoted the provision of the state
constitution which declares "that all citi-
zens of the state shall possess equal civil and
political rights and public privileges" and
said that this language expresses principle
which lies at the very foundation of the
government itself The constitution in an
other place declares that the rights and priv-
leges thus guaranteed "shall not be violated
on any pretense whatever" An analogous
case was decided by tho New York court of
errors in 1924, and o language of the court
seems to ft the Virginia case with remark
able exactness:
The legislature cannot establish arbitrary ex.
clusions from office, or any general regulation re-
curing qualifications which the constitution has
not required II, for example, 1t should be enacted
by law that all physicians, or all persons Of par
tcular religious Sect should be ineligible to pub
lie trusts, that all persons not possessing GER
| tain amount of property, should be excluded, any
| such regulation would be an Infringement of the
constitution; aud 1t would be 80 because, should
IL prevail IL would be in effect an alteration of the
constitution ITSELF
The constitution of Virginia goes further
and declares that all persons entitled to vote
shall be eligible to any Office within the gift
Of the people, except as restricted in this con-
stitution." A freehold qualification is not
required of voters, and, therefore, it cannot be
imposed on members of the electoral boards
Judge Hinton dissented from the majority
Of the court, holding that this clause of the con-
stitution only applies to offices that are filled
by popular vote, and that an office which is
filled by the legislature is not IAN office
within the gift of the people" The reason
ing of Judge Lewis upon this point seems to
be entirely conclusive, and it is not reason
able to suppose that the trainers of the consti-
tuition intended to give the legislature au-
thority to set up arbitrary qualifications for
office. The exceptions, as, for instance, in the
cases of judges who must be lawyers, are
| provided for in the constitution itself.
There seems to be some doubt as to the
effect of this decision upon the registration
now in progress. The registers appointed by
the electoral boards are de fdctO officers and
their work must stand until set aside by some
competent tribunal. Whether the registers
appointed by the courts under the old law
can step in and take up the work where the
present incumbents leave off, or whether they
must begin anew. is a mooted question.