The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-12-13

crecy. This system was arranged with
a special view to its penetrability and
was, therefore. not secret. The number
was put or the ballots in order that
! they could be traced. and after that
there wcs no secrecy.
So far as the question of estoppel is
! concerned it is hard to suppose thar
this election would be void as to every
body else and valid as TO Richie. The
truth is there can be no estoppel in
public matters One citizen stands
with all the rest. The whole public
are not estopped because the public
are interested in demanding constitu
tional rights. The voters and candi
dates and officials who prepared the
/ votes were equally and all to blame in
voting upon these ballots which were
/ not secret. True here was the out
ward seeming-the shell-of an act of
! the legislature authorizing this partic-
/ ular ballot but the act was void and
the officials had no right to prepare
+ ballot which was not secret. But the
I voters knew that the act was void;
+ they We're bound TO know the law and
/ they were bound to know that the act
was a nullity without taking any step
of appealing to the courts to prevent
the use Of this numbered ballot, they
Joined and each and all under that
system voted on this numbered ballot.
The blame is mutual with everybody
and II is not as an estoppel upon any
body. The election is void because in
every respect it is a violation of the
constitution of the state.
HON. ]. L. RAWLINS.
Hon. ]. L. Rawlins, for the defend
ants. closed the case in an able and
logical argument of about three-quar-
tiers of an hours duration.
Nobody had any desire or any intent
10 violate the constitution. II had not
been disputed that in England bill
passed by the two houses of parlia
f"snt. signed and enrolled. was the
highest evidence that the bill had been
passed. 1t had not been denied that
the supreme court of the United States
had decided similarly in this country.
The supreme courts of 10 states had
also held that the enrolled act was
conclusive ard in the states where an
other and different ruling was made 1t
was because The constitutions of those
states had made special provision that
the ayes and noes on the vote on the
final passage of the acts of the legis-
lature be recorded. On this express re
quirement these other decisions were
granted. but no such provisions are
found in the constitution of the state /
of Utah. Attention was called to a
vast number of authorities on the |
point.
MI 1ldWllHS lNen discussed pdflld-
mentary law to show that the senate /
had ADOPTED the amendments and the !
house concurred therein just as they do /
at Westminster and Capital avenue, (
and that the journals of the Legislature
of Utah We're kept similarly to those ,
of the United States senate and con-
gress. and that nothing appeared from /
the journals of the Utah legislature to |
indicate that the bills had not been /
passed by yea and nay vote.
In regard to the objection to the title. |
counsei argued that even if the titles |
were detective, such would not in
validate the whole acts, but simply /
those portions of the acts which did /
not appear in the title.
Counsel then went on to discuss the
objection raised by the petitioner. that
the ballot was not secret, and held thai
il was a secret ballot. The canvassing
board had no jurisdiction over the
judges of election and had no juris-
diction over the voters, and if the for
mer misconducted themselves and the
latter failed to demand that they be
allowed to cast unnumbered secret bal
lots. it was something the board of can
vassers had nothing to do with, and il
both of those conditions existed. it
would be no argument that the court
should restrain the board of canvassers
from counting the ballots and issuing
the election certificates.
Mr.. Rawlins in conclusion referred
to the claim of Judge Richie that his
term did not expire until January 1901.
and said that the constitution and the
legislature expressly limited the term
of appointees by the governor until the
neXL general election.
Judge Richie was a candidate and
his chances failed, and now he comes
TO try to tear down the laws he has
sworn to uphold.
The last legislature was not guilty of
laws repugnant to the con-
stitution, and until the result of this
election became known it was never
even limited that the legislature had
done otherwise than live up to the
highest standard of constitutional rec
titude.
Counsel asked their honors to decide
this case at an early date and put an
end to this unrest.
Court then adjourned sine die. and it
IS expected that an opinion deciding the
ease viii be handed down the latter
part of this week.