The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-10-19
MARTHUR ACT GOOD
Justice Gilbert Collins Files
His Dissenting Opinion
in the Fall Election
Case,
WAS NOT SPECIAL LEGISLATION
There was Nothing in the Opinions
of the Higher Courts 10 War
rant the Stand Taken.
WAS NOT SPECIAL LEGISLATION

ark and Jersey City election act case. y
will be remembered that this act was heio
to be unconstitutional by the supreme
= Court. whose decision was sustained ny
the majority of the Court of Errors ana
Appeals, the majority opinion peing Ply
Justice Depue.
The dissenting opinion of Justce Cpl
Inns IS an exceedingly interesting oocu-
ment inasrnuch as it differs at almost
every point with the opinion OF Justlee
Depue. Justice Collins also calls atten-
tion to what would be the result If the
views expressed in the majority opinion
were carried out in every respect he
intimate that it might cause the char-
ter election in Newark to be held in DC
tober instead of April, and would LEAD 70
other startling results. <.
In his opinion Justice C0lhns says
base my dissent from the concluSloA
reached in this cause upon three Iulua-
mental rules evolved from the long oisee
cussion of the constitutions tol puSe when
regulating their internal af1alrs by ia"st
For legislation dealing only with me
structure of municipal goVernmehlLtnS
Formation of the. machinery by when
municipal affairs are to be eguiatso15hn s
municipalities of the State may pc Qisa
tributed into classes constituted on tue
This rifle was thus formulated in the
supreme Court in the case of MeLaugh-
lin ". Newark, and was approved pyslnis
Court, in its OF the Judgment
therein. ~ ;+s m
paicableness in this case IS questioned.
II. is doubted that a statute. the oniy
purpose or the chief purpose or when Is
to change the date of municipal eiec.
fions deals at all with the structure oT
machinery of municipal government
have no such doubt. II seems S,rseaiv
evident that such q statute oedis onOet'
and solely Herewith.
~Incumbency in Office has the same
place in the structure and macninery u
municipal government tina hearI ae.lon
has ia an animal mechanism. Wltnoat
il there can be no living organszation
Elections and appointments 70 onnc dots ase
ions leading to the establishments OF lne
rule above stated turn upon statutes pro-
Yiding for change from one 10 the vsa ps
of these methods of filling munlclpai
In Warner v. Hoagland, the law sus-
tanned transferred IRON DUaaas ccouneiI
.mnnrtant powers of government in all
Cities except those of the first class.
Me law sustained in the matter OF
HAYNES t25 VI. s. took from various
boards elected by the people ana placsa
in one board to be appointed by s II
MAYOR all the powers over pubic WORKS
n~cifies of. the first class. A. later law,
never questioned, made that board elec-
tive. osas de-
ciSsd az the same term, sustained, for
efher cities of a class based upon popula-
ton. laws transferring IRON erecS1s sT,o,s
9pyvernmentai powers. Surely, then, In
judicial opinion, elections to mlnngipdl
etfie sov enter into t Fse si fning Of a q date for
such elections is, of course, a necessary.
In Mortland ". Christian, this Court az
Judged that local elections are suplect 70
iesislatiye change on the basis OF populas
ton: and did so on the express grouna
that the act then under review eoncetne1
the machinery of administrator;
n Is now observed that the change OF
date there sustained was a mere lncldenI
in the scheme. of administration provloso
Nv the act, and the inference seems to be
that standing alone q change Woulo hot
have been upheld. I cannot think lnat
This court means to declare that had the
act left unchanged the date OF elec5lon,
a new date might not have peen m1e o, cg
a separate act. There are several uSn
separate laws extant. -
In 1895 it was enacted, in a statute deal
Ing n7.y.s With II me no. z esner c lnn3e the %sannual ar
charter election should be heia % 4aoe 4 II
second Tuesday Of April, and IN lSyo y
ter elections in cities Of the first class
should be held on the second Tuesday
OF April. It Is this last named a acI aidns
charter elections from autumn to spring,
the former act being plainly unconsiitu-
fionaL Can Il be that nnaer the ae 81 oc.
The third ground taken by the opinion
is that 1GRlSl6llOH dpplORtide(
class of municipalities is valid, though
not EXTENDED to other classes to which ~
may be equally appropriate IN support
of this contention a NUMBER OF cases are
The second point made by Justice Col
Inns is that when the drawing OF some
and smaller aggregation of people is JUS
tilted, It is for the Legislature to say
course" he says, .*fhe first class Of the
general act, has been too often sustained
by this Court to be now challenged as an
evasion of the Constitution 1 do not see
the force of the observations made upon
ing opinion in this cause,
The opinion concludeS:E
In this court. 1t is said that it has
always been the policy of this State to
city ofhcers separate from the election
of state and county officers. This is a
mistake. There have been previous an
general elections. They were combined
in Newark in 1851; in Atlantic City IN
1854, and in Elizabeth in 1851 In the
vailed until the act of 1889. The Legis-
lature Of 1889 did declare It's policy, put
the Legislature of 1897, as to citles soI
the frst class, adopted a different one
and the courts cannot review Its 5udg-
ment.
dom or unwisdom of combining munici-
pal with general elections, the subject is
one of Legislative policy and entireiy
within legislative controi. IHe people
have declared for no such policy in the
Constitution. ,
The doctrine that voters at. municipal
elections cannot constitutionally be subs
5ecfed to or protect from the influence
Of State or national politics unless all
municipalities, or at least all OF the same
type are included in every law that may
have such an effect. will, II carried Out,
lead to startling results. The Leg1sias
ture, If it change the GATE OF
the general election, must avoid the
date Of local elections In every munich
palty In the State. 1t cannot by .classi-
wing counties yield to the powerful ar
e11ment now current that In populous
-eammunities local should be separated
from general elections for counties as well
as towns within the constitutional pro-
hibition. When providing for local cleo
fions ia classes OF towns or counties
otherwise permissible, it must conform
to the will of the Federal Congress; Tor;
under the Constitution OF the unlted
States, the right TO fix the term OF :elec-
ton OF members of the House pr repre-
sentatives rests in the National Legisla-
lure, and has been exercised; 1 cannon
assent to a doctrine that OF necessity
leads to such results.
In conclusion, Justice Collins says
| find nothing in the opinions OF the
Supreme Court or of this Court to con-
vince me that the act of March Is, 1897, is
UNCONSTITUTIONAL 1t is Unnecessary to
discuss the other objections urged b.
counsel. I find them all untenable and
vote for reversal. There Is q suggestion