The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-06-04
twelve days later. the pardon was


| by wicked coalition between them
and certain leaders of the dominant
political party I and continued 3e by er5meg
/ worse year by year, eliminated in the
election of 1885, when notorious and far
( reaching frauds were committed in the
cities.
The Senate made laborious and ex-
pensive investigation of these crimes in
founding conspiracy in which more than
100 election officers besides city and
county officials were involved. Sixty
eight of these We're indicted and fifty
eight convicted of conspiracy to thWaft
| the election laws. After two years of
! strenuous litigation these convictions
! the conspirators sentenced to terms
| from nine to eighteen months in prison.
Thirty1two We're, actually placed. IN the
State Prison and twelve, in the Hudson
County Penitentiary in the fall. of 1892.
! This was doubtless the most important
and numerous series of convictions ever
| to it can be found in the record of Grim
inal jurisprudence anywhere.
OF the justice of these convictions and
their Thorough approval by the people
| of the State there is no doubt.
| The great guilt of the prisoners had
twice been made manifest to the public,
| by the Senate investigation and by their
| own trials, and their punishment was
deemed lenient. And yet without any pc
| ial cases) without any record before the
Board of Pardons. without even the usual
without aipiiH the ntervenfion of Of the ptsS Counsel
for either prosecution or defense, the
Iaaaaed HGara Of al fbeaa e5 R own en mqon 9tb
prison in one day, a few months after
their imprisonment began. Nay more, so
eager Were, they for the release, that
| and recorded together with paroles of
/ the twelve conspirators in the Hudson
/ County Penitentiary. two days before the
| Board met
When they met. for some unknown rea-
not released. and the record of their pa
roles stands today in the book of pa
roles. with the names of the. Governor
crossed ont and made void
| The only, person who appeared to urge
see was Of he fbsf GhaFan of the
in whose interests the election frauds had
| been committed.
| the Chancellor of New Jersey and one of
| the Judges of the Court of Errors and
Appeals recorded their votes in the ne
This extraordinary action of the Board
was a stupendous. miscarriage of jus
orderly that offenders against the suf-
| frage would be forgiven and protected;
| that the party in whose interest the
| ballot boxes were stuffed would take care
| of the suffers and that even the Board
| of Pardons could be relied on to do the
| party's bidding.
| Nothing more discouraging to. law abid-
! ing citizens can be conceived. The bafi-
ing at the place of final resort of long
| dangerous and runous crimes against
| the ballot vas most disheartening to all
Meantime the race track gamblers
and other gamblers secured control of
! legislative action. They persisted in break
fance of the courts. An aroused public
sentiment protested. but protests were
sa5s JYa wa Sean fo ndnf nd and
| to convict these persistent offenders. OF
| course they appealed. but their convie-
to the Court of Pardons In July, 1893.
the four convicts who had kept a dis
| Prison, We're finally brought to the Court
| of Errors and Appeals They applied to
| the Board of Pardons and were instantly
| freed without serving day in prison
| An overwhelming public sentiment had
| become aroused and in the. November fol-
| the State. In 1894 this sentiment was
manifested with tremendously augmented
force. Good citizens of all parties united
| by a majority absolutely unprecedented to
| hurl from office every man within their
reach who was tainted with the gambling
| track gambler at Monmouth murdered an
other To save himself from the gallows
was sentenced to serve in prison So NO for Ten ten
! years. The Board of Pardons released
him Or, on March Soth, 1895, after sixteen
tenb,eTrg, race track, and who defiantly-
gnea 'hsTf sain f25 ySsrs ySs adea akin of
| repeated warnings, from the
| Court. were condemned by the Court of
| last resort. and their Just punishment
in the prison was about to begin. The
Board of Pardons was hastily Convened
and their imprisonment was RENTED on
| the eighteenth day of May last. within
| forty-eight hours after the Court of Err
rors had condemned them Again the
Chancellor. and another Judge dissented
| and placed on record a scathing protest
| against the action of the Board.
| This Board in the face OF an aroused
| and indignant public sentiment. in the
| face of the evidence and the verdicts of
| juries, continues to nullify the judg-
ments5 of the Courts by the release of
| the States most prominent and defiant
The pardoning power rests with the
Executive. and not with the Legislative
Department. but SO far as these abuses
| should act. We recommend, first, that
| the resolutions lately passed proposing q
| Constitutional amendment, for the, re-
organization of the Board of Pardons
| be again passed at the next session. to
| the end that they may be adopted by
the people. Second, that an act be passed
/ dons or paroles, or the remission of fines
and forfeitures be filed with the Clerk
| of the Court at least thirty days before
| case in which pardon shall be granted,
| or fine or forfeiture remitted, the rea-
| sons therefOr Sflall be puDHcly assigned
and entered upon the minutes of the
Court.
| ANNUAL APPROPRIATIONS.
| The Constitution of New Jersey Cart.
| 4, Sec. 6, p. p, provides that mo money
| shall be drawn from the treasury but
| for appropriations made by law This
provision follows that in the Constitu-
ton of the, United States, and. is sub
stantially the same provision found in
| the Constitutions of all the States. Mr..
| Justice Story, in his commentaries upon
| the Constitution (Book 8, p. 21S), says:-
| "It is highly. proper that Congress
| should possess the power to decide how
and when any money should be, applied
the Executive would possess an unss
bounded power. over the PUBLIC purse of
| the nation; and might apply all its mon
| eyed resources at his pleasure. The
| power to control and direct the appro-
| priations constitute most useful and
| salutary check upon profusion and ex-
| travagance, as well as upon corrupt in
| huence and public peculation.''
| Professor Pomeroy, in his work upon
| Constitutional Law, section 536, says
This restriction is the very
keystone which holds together the arch
of constitutional powers and limitations.
| Withdraw this, and all others would be-
| come mere words. with no force or eff
| cheney. So There could be no safety
| without it, and the security Of the whole
| governmental fabric depends upon its
| GERS and departments of the administra-
| tion.'
| The practice in New Jersey has fer
! many years been contrary to the spirit
| of this vital principle of the Constitu-
| ton. Acts have been passed involving