The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1899-12-15
AN IMPORTANT OPINION.

|
| peals in the case of the County School
Commissioners of Worcester county
against Philips Lee Goldsborough, Comp
troller
The question at the foundation of this
case is thus: Has the Governor the power
under Section Is Article the Constitu-
ton to remove School Commissioner
for misconduct or incompetency. The
| question arose in this way: In August,
| 1899, the Governor removed Quillin, one
| of the three School Commissioners of
| Worcester county, and appointed Dale in
| his place. When the board met the fol-
lowing day, Quillin was present, claim
| ing to be still Commissioner. McMaster
the president of the board, recognized
| Dublin as still member and refused to
| recognize Dale. Riley, the third member
recognized Dale and repudiated
Quillin. McMaster and Quiliin claim
ing to be majority of the
board, elected an examiner and treasurer.
Riley and Dale, claiming to be majority
of the board, elected the same examiner
and treasurer and selected Riley as presi-
dent. There were thus two boards, each
protesting to be the legal board, and both
McMaster and Riley claimed to be presi-
dent, Riley, claiming to be president,
drew a draft on the Comptroller of the
State Treasury for the school fnnd APP
portioned to Worcester county, but the
Comptroller refused to pay it on the
ground that Riley was not the president
of the board, and was, therefore, not
Governor had no power to remove Quill
lin, the appointment of Dale in his place
was nullity. If the appointment of Dale
was nullity then the election of Riley
as president by Dale and Riley was no
election at all, and Riley did not become
president, and if he did not become presi-
| dent the draft signed by him as president
was not draft which the Comptroller
was under any duty to pay. If the Comp
| troller was not legally bound to paw the
draft the court below was right in refusing
the mandamus which was applied for to
compel him to pay it.
Section Is Article of the Constitution
authorizes the Governor to arrest or sus-
pend any military officer, and then de-
clarcs that he may remove for incom-
potency, or misconduct, all civil officers
tive for 4 term of years Under this
section Quillin was removed If School
Commissioner is not civil officer with
in the scope of this section then there is
no power lodged in the Governor to re-
move him. Section 13 of the same article
of the Constitution declares that "all civil
officers appointed by the Governor and
Senate shall be nominated, etc, and their
provided for in this Constitution, shall
commence on the first Monday of May
next ensuing their appointment and con-
tinue for two years." etc. Now, it is ap-
parent that the term 'civil officer used
in these two closely connected sections of
the same article of the Constitution must
have the same meaning. If it means the
same thing in both, and School Com
missioner is civil officer, then the act
of 1892, which created term of six years
for School Commissioners and fixed the
beginning of the term in August, must be
unconstitutional, because such civil
the Constitution can only have Il term of
two years, which must begin in May. So
the alternative is presented Of holding
that a School Commissioner is not civil
officer within the meaning of Section 10
of Article of the Constitution, or of
striking down the article of 1892 and the
school system of the counties as now Or
ganized. In the face of that alternative a
strict construction should be placed on
the constitutional provisions.
In a lengthy opinion the Court goes over
the various sections of the school law and
points out that the duties imposed and the
powers conferred are not duties and pow
ers given to the School Commissioners
as individuals; but with the single excep-
ton of the right to administer oaths in
matters pertaining to the schools, every
duty and every power is vested in the
body corporate created by the school law
and called the Board Of County School
Commissioners. The commissioners are
not independent officers clothed with any
authority whatever. Every act which
they may do they can only do as member
Of the corporate entity created by the
Legislature expressly to carry Oh the
school system.
To the boards and not to the School
Commissioners as individuals is commit
ed the management and control of the
county schools. The history of the legis-
lation pertaining to the school system
beg inning in 1865 shows that it never was
the intention of the General Assembly in
establishing these local school boards to
make the members of the boards civil
officers within the meaning of that term
as it must have been understood by the
people who adopted the Constitution.
The result of an examination of the
whole school system and the various pro-
visions of the statutes in force respecting
it, is the conclusion that these members
of the county school boards are not civil
oticers-that they are not the officers
meant by Section Is and - of Article 3
of the Constitution, and therefore that,
as the Code now stands, the Governor
has no power to remove them. Should
the Legislature deem it advisable to con-
fer that power upon him it can easily
amend the existing section on that sub
! ject and give the Executive authority to
! displace School Commissioner. AS
| Dublin was not in fact removed, Dale
was not legally appointed; and, of course
| Dale and Riley could not elect Riley
| president of the Worcester county board.
The draft signed by Riley as president
was therefore, not draft which the
| Cop nj rol1nr was hound to nav and the