Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-03-05
.n,,sony po,pn OF rARDoNs.

state of West virginia shall. on the iolh
day of March. I'm the year 1893. or as sun
| thereafter as convenient. and every lou.
Gears thereafter. appoint two coihpe'ens
persons having the qualifications OF
voters. not more than one OF whom shdii
belong TO the same political party as
a hoard 10 investigate applications Tor
ra~lons and make recommendations 10
him. A.
section 2 The term OF Office OF the
members Of this board shall be four years
beginning on the lst day or June heAI
.ffer thrv are appointed. and each MEM
her ~ said board shall receive, as coih-
ponsatIon for his services, tue Iedsoil
able expenses incurred IN me ulsch"i so
OF his duties. and 81 per day LOT euSh
dov he ehnil be actually employed IN the
dtscbaree thereof. and no mileage shall
be allowed or paid TO any member tlereol'
In case OF vacancy by resignation death,
or otherwise. the Governor shall appoint
. eucc.seor TO fill such vacancy for the
uleXg.red term a..
section 3. The board shall meet on the
first Tuesday IN July and OCTOBER los''
and on the first Tuesday In April july
and October of each subsequent year.
az Moundsvine. for the purpose OF trans
acting such business ss may come DeIoIo
IL nj such place as shall be selected Dy
board they shall elect one Of their NUMBER
president whose term of Office shall be lor
four wears. and the clerk OF the penlleh-
uarv shall act as clerk Of the bOaiu, anu
be The custodian Of its papers ana re-
cords. and shall preserve the same ul"ci
the direction Of said board Inc pIeslucH'
of said board may call special Sessions
thereof whenever. IN his judgment tHe
public interest requires H.
Section f. Every application ior pai
don communication Of sentence, or reprleVe'
| shall be made directly TO said board anu,
/ ten davs' notice in writing that s"iu
arplication will be made has been gwen
ia the Prosecuting Attorney OF the coul-
! Il, in which said person was cohNlclfu'
and such board shall. at It's next meeting
after the filing of said Application, care
fully consider the same and after nearing
the arguments and testimony OHered OH
behalf Of, or against, said pardon CON-
mutation. or reprieve, shall WIN cioseu
doors pass upon the same. ana snail III
writing. recommend 10 the Governor OF
inc state the advisabity Of granting or
refasing the pardon, Communication. or re-
,,rievc. They shall also transmit 10 the
Governor with their recommendation
ful and concise statement OF the ldctS III
each case. together with all papers ana
documents pertaining thereto
Section 3. The board shall make BIZ
ennial report TO the Governor on tho
LIST day of october next preceding each
session of the Legislature. setting ior'h
its actions for the two years last past.
together with an itemiZed statement %
the expenses incurred in tho maintenance
of said board but the amount or SAID
expenses snail not aggregate an amount
exceeding $500 in any one year, when
shall include the pay Of the board ana
all expenses by them made or incurred
In tronsacting their business. The re-
mort above referred to shall be laid be-
fore the Legislature by the Governor
who shall accompany it by a statement
showing his action in the premises.
Section 9. Before proceeding 10 act
hereunder each member Of the said board
shall take an oath to support the Con-
stitution o. the United States and the
Constitution of West Virginia, and TO
faithfully discharge the duties Of his
office to the best Of his skill and judg-
ment.
section :. No member Of said board
shall receive from any source whatever
any additional pay, gift. or considera
ton for his services in the discharge OF
his duties under this act
Section s. If any member Of said board
ebalI wilfullv violate any Of the provisions
of this act. ne sUdli bt hfNiliNN tNAiN@
a felony. and upon conviction thereof shall
he confined in the penitentiary not
less than one nor more than three years,
and moreover. the Governor may in his
discretion. remove any member OF said
| board.
| In dealing with this question, West
Virginia very properly created new ofii-
clals rather than saddle the duties Of
advisers on officers who were chosen to
nil other positions
| The pay allowed the advisers is small
vet we doubt not that excellent men
can be gotten for this service. There Is
a great craze for official place and title,
and some of the wisest and best men we
have are not unaffected by It.
While board of two may do very well
for West Virginia, We think this State
would need a board of three. The prison
population OF Virginia IS much greater
than that OF West Virginia. and, there
fore. we may presume that the work
Of the advisers would be proportionately
longer. And where there is a board
Of three. there is no chance OF having
the members equally divided in opinion
upon any question. Where there are only
two members the odds are that there will
often be an equal division. No doubt
the political situation in West Virginia
had a great deal to do with the creation
OF this small board. Just now parties
there are pretty evenly divided in the
LEGISLATURE. That, we suspect. also, ac-
counts for the requirement that one Of
the advisers shall be a Democrat and the
other a Republican.
| II strikes us that the West Virginia
act trenches upon the Executive power
when il provides that every application
for clemency shall first 20 to the Ad-
visory Board. What right has the Legs
lature to set that board up between a
convicted person and the Governor. None,
We believe. 1t would have been better
had the act provided that the Governor
might refer TO the Advisory Board any OF
an applications made to him for clemency.
But THAT amounts TO the same thing.
some will sayi BY no means, We answer.
In one case the powers Of the Executive
office are fully recognized; in the other
they are ignored, and that not upon an
altogether trivial point either 1t may be
well imagined that ii may sometimes oc-
cur that the Executive will have to act
upon cases without delaying 10 assemble
the Board of Advisors. The necessity foI
such imm ediate action often arises in the
case Of sickness and where unforeseen
contingencies necessitate the prisoner