The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1894-04-14
TWO APPOINTEES
To The Office of County Treas
EIrar.

county, which the Court Will have to d
called upon to decide-the bill for wheel
l will be presented to thetax payers of thi
county Tor payment. Tie recent sessio!
. of the Legislature passed an act, intro
duced by Senator Crothers' abo!ish'ng
the office of Clerk to tho County Com
missioners, and making tie Treasurer al
elective Office, aud inpg Sing upon hin
theduties of the clerkship. The act nance
Mr., John Banks. OF Chesapeake City, az
Treasurer for the period from May list &c
November 1895, and provided that IN the
last mentioned month a Treasurer should
be elected by the people.
The present Board of County Com.
mssioners acting under the advice OF Its
couusel-as will be seen By the subj joined
letter-deuied the constitutioGality OF
this last act Of the Assembly and pro
ceeded to mako appointments under the
law as it formerly STOOD. We give the
opinion of Mr.. Evans, in full, and the
people will have an opportunity TO See
what Democratic management is bring
ing Them to.
ELKToN, Mp, April II, 1894.
To tie County Commissioners Of Cecil
County:
Gentiemen: Tho Act OF the General
Assembly OF 1894 Chapter %, amending
| Arllcle :, title "Gecil C0uu!y," sub title
"Couuty Treasurer" of ahs Code OF Pub
| lie Local Laws, referred 10 me for my
opinion, has been considered by me.
By Article 3, Section IS, % he CoL-
stitu-iou OF tho 5 ate Cf Maryland, Il IS
! prov lded chat every law auHe5ed by mo
General Assembly Of hIai lauJ sbaH
embrace but one subjscF, aud tnaJ shall
| be described i'll its title"
IL appears to me that ths ac5 in 9ues-
ton is obnoxious to this provision, other
| wise this provision Of the constitution Can
have no force or effect in any case. The
title to the act is as follows: An act 30
repeal Sections l19, 122 aud 1913, of Arti
Gle s, OF the Code OF Public l. ca Laws,
title, Cecil County," sub-tILio County
Treasurer and TO re-anact the same
with amendments providing or She elcc-
ton of "a Treasurer OF said county III The
year eighteen hundred and ulnety-hye
and his appointment in the meantime"
II the SUBJECT en- bracsd in the act "
merely the elac5ion OF Il Tre.su; er of he
county IL 1895, and the appoiul ment of
one t. serve III the meantime, thea tne
act would clearly be constitutional But
upon reference to the act we fad other
subjects embraced therein and which are
not set out in the title, as follows:
LIST. The abolition of the office OF
Clerk OF the Commissioners.
2nd. The imposition Of the duties Of
Clerk upon the Treasurer, who shall be
called a Secretary.
3rd. The custody Of the records OF the
County Commissioners is taken from .
Commissioners and given to the rrea
surer.
Here are three distinct subjects em
braced in the act, none OF which are
described in the title of the act as the
constitution requires
Then the geaeral powers aud duties of
the office Of County Commissioners are
disturbed, the custody and control of
their own records are taken from them
and placed in the possession and control
of the Treasurer. The act provides an
officer and the manner OF collecting and
disbursing public money but it also
deals with other subjects in no way ger
maue to the gubject described III its
title.
1t abolishss the offioe of Clerk and
imposes new duties Oh the Treasurer and
those duties in no manner connected
with the proper duties OF the office as
described in the titling. And while it
was evidently not intended to destroy
the office OF its duties, or to reduce the
expenses of the administration of the
two offices, it is a covert attempt under
the forms OF legislation, GROSSLY, per-
haps purposely, misleading in is title)
to abolish merely IN name an important
existing office, its evident purpose is 10
get rid Of the present incumbent of the
office By pretended change is the law
In Meekins case so Md As. The
Court speaking of the act then under
consideration, said: TIE act dealt with
but one subject which was system OF
levyiDg, collecting aud disbursing the
public money" But this act of 1894
Chapter %, deals not only with the SUB
ject OF collecting aud disbursiuG public
money, but it provides for the custody
of the records OF the Commissioners
Office and also with the perform 4nco OF
the duties of Clerk, which are distinct
and independent subjects. Yet thare is
not one word i'll the tting OF this act 10
show that these dstiue5 subjects are
embraced in the act.
There is nothing in tho titliBg OF the
act to direct as the constitution requires
either the Legislature or the puohc (who
are interested IL the subjects OF legIs
lation) TO the fact OF the several subjects
embraced in tho act.
Davis VS. State 9TH Md 100
State VS.. Norris 10fh Md. 80
The practical and etfectual execution
of the duties OF the Office of Treasurer
which is to collect and disburse the
public money, does not require that the
Treasurer shall execute the Office OF
clerk, or that he shall have the custody
of the minutes, resolutions, records of
the public roads aud bridges, or the con
tracts, ETC., of the county. On the cou-
trary there are many powerful rcasous
why he should not have any control
whatever over them.
UnleSs the office of Clerk, which has
been abolished bg implicarion-for ax-
ample where the public service required
the discharge of the same duties BY the
; two offices, treasurer aud clerk. IL @oul
be necessary, in order 70 alb DNSh Che
office OF clerk, to set forth AID describe
shat object of the act III the titling, o:
Use this constitutional provision is mean
ingless.
The Court of Appeals, i'll Davis VS..
the State, giving the reason why Section
30 was incorporated as part of the organic
law, says; "a good or bad provision might
slumb Der in the body of a Law OF winch
the title gave no intimation. and hence
members OF the Legislature might sup
pose from the title of the Law, they we're
fNr ~ in
were uuwittiugly voting for another,
directly the opposite" Again on page 100
| The object OF this constitutional pro-
vision is obvious aud highly commend
| able. A practice has crepJ into our
system OF legislation of ENGRAVING upon
subjects Of great public benefit and
Importance, for local and selfish purposes
foreign and often peruIcious matter, Sc.
In this way the people OF our Safe have
been frequently inflicted with evil aud
| injurious legislation
This is the language of the Court Of
| Appeals, and no better illustration could
be found than this very act of 1894,
Chapter %, to show the wisdom and
necessity for such constitutional
| prohibition.
The county Treasurer act, like ali
other acts of a local nature, is never
actually read in the Legislature as a
condition precedent to its becoming a
law. The bill under the rules, is referred
to the committee in this case to a COM
| mittee of which Senator Crothers Otis
| originator) was chairmau--reported
favorably, and then without being
printed, put upon its passage by reading
the title only. This legislative manner
of dealing with bills purely local in their
nature, is matter of public notoriety.