The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-01-28

A Public Meeting OF Citizens Protest
Against the Vaccination Ordinance and
Petition for its Repeal-Another Meet
ing Tonight

span ~ q NNAA ~ "a P4oA4@
meeting of al white and colored cii-
zens opposed TO compulsory VAGINA
ton four or five hundred men, an
Guiding about fifty cotored men. as
sembled ait the city hall last night to
enter a public protest against the ordi-
nance adopted by the board of alder
men Monday night, providing for COM
pulsory vaccination.
The meeting was called to order at
s O'Clock by Mr.. John c.. Marshall,
who stated that he did SO by request.
He explained the object of the meet
ing, and on motion OF Mr.. John r.
Marshall, Mr.. J. w. Mills was made
chairman. Mr.. Mills took his seat
amid applause.
On motion of Mr.. S. W. Holden, Mr..
E. F. Johnson was made secretary.
Chairman Mills stated that he had
just come in without knowing the pur-
pose of the meeting, and called upon
Geo. L. Peschau, Esq, WHO went for
ward to the rostrum, and was received
with great applause. He said:
Mr.. Chairman:
I came here out of curiosity entirely.
1t was not my purpose on entering
this hall to associate myself with this
meeting in anyway. AIT the urgent
request of your chairman and your
selves, however, and being assured by
your committee that the object of this
meeting is solely a p~eaceable one, with
the wish to oppose by all lawful means
an ordinance that yOu believe under
existing circumstances to be unneceS-
sary and harsh, 1 have consented to
Civ my opinion as to the validity of
the objectionable law. That the board
of aldermen have a right to pass an
ordinance making vaccination compul-
sorry, and making it a misdemeanor to
refuse ITO be vaccinated. / believe that
the board of aldermen have passed a
law, in the present instance, mmen
surate with their power. 1 doubt, how
ever, under the present ordinance, the
refusal to be ~vaccinated after a notice
of so many hours in mad a INSIDE
meanOr, and the punishment prescrib-
ed, is a fine OF S., or ten days impriSOn-
ment, or both, at the discretion OF the
mayor.
The Code of this state provides that
the criminal jurisdiction of the mayor
in all criminal cases shall be hat of a
justice of the peace, whether such
criminal matters arise unde the laws
of the state or under the ordinances
OF his city. Our supreme court has
held that the provision of the law as
to criminal matters arising under the
ordinances of a city" was intended to
give to mayors final jurisdiction to
hear and determine as nisdemeanOrs
all violations of town ordinances where
the offence and its puniSn1nentS are
: cOgnizable by a justice of the peace.
! The jurisdiction of a Justice of the
peace in this state is limited by our
constitution, in criminal matters, to
cases where the punishment cannot ex-
coed a fine of fifty ($5O) dollars, or i'm
p~risonnIent for over thirty days. Where
the punishment may include both fine
and imprisonment, the supreme court
has decided that the justice has no
final jurisdiction but only that Of a
committing magistrate."
The present ordinance provides for
both fine and imprisonment at the dis
erection of the mayor and so In my
opinion puts it cut of the power of the
mayor to'finally dispose of the matter;
gives him, if anything, only the power
Of a committing magistrate. In one of
the cases in our reports it has been de-
cided that municipal laws must be
executed by the municipality itself,
unless some statute provides express
ly otherwise" The same case lays
down the rule that the superior court
in such cases has no original jurisdic-
tiOn. If the superior court in the pres
emit case ha no original jurisdiction,
and the mayors court, owing to the
cumulative nature of the punishment.
has nothing but the powers of a COM
hitting magistrate, 1 am unable to see
how the punishment prescribed In this
ordinance is ever to be executed.
There is another objection in ordi-
nance, too, i'm the fact that 1T is no
uniform in its operation.
Before concluding, 1 wish to say this
Bear in mind that the mere fact that
this ordinance, as ait present framed
my prove legally unenforcible, is no
excuse for violence. The talk Of using
firearms, etc, which is reported az
general on the streets, is childish and
anarchistic. If you wish to fight this
ordinance fight it in the proper tri.
men, not by the display of force but
rather by argument and reason; thai
such a law is at present unnecessary.
After Mr.. Peschau's remarks. the
meeting was open for discussion o.
THE matter.
Mr. A. S. King was called for and he
ais took the rostrum amid applause
He stated that on Tuesday evening, &
number Of citizens met informally a
Mt. Smiths store, en- Front and Castle
streets, and drew UP a protest against
the ordinance passed by the h board
ola qdermen. He denounced this &C
tion as scandalous n outrageous OF
the rights of the people and said i
was a scheme ito help the doctors. II
!. said we were not living in "a free land
and he advised the me1ting to staIe
!, up for their rights and petition tn
bloard of aldermen to repeal the oh
jectionabla ordinance. He requisites
, Secretary Johnson to read the protes
, ard me did so. It is as follows:
: T. I~-,o1- - yo-,y--Tx-aS CE1