The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-05-12
WILL keep WARDS
Counsel Griffin Advises Free
holders To Hold on To
Almshouse Children.
CONTEST GUARDIANS RIGHTS
Act Creating the State Board
Seems Invalid as Applied
To Hudson.

| been determined by the courts. The noti-
| fcation from the State Board that it had
| organized and was prepared to take
| charge of the children and asking for an
| appropriation for their support, was re-
| ferred at the last meeting to the Aims
| house Committee and Counsellor Griffin.
| The committee reported yesterday that 1t
| had been decided to test the validity of
| the law creating the State Board before
| turning the children over to its custody
| and recommended that the counsel of the
| Board be authorized to join with the
| State Board In instituting friendly suit
| to determine the question.
The following report on this same mat
| ter from Counsel Griffin was then read
1.-THE communication of Hugh F. Fox.
ESQ., President of the State Board OF
| Children's Guardians. dated May ., 1888,
was referred to the Almshouse Committee
in conjunction with counsel, and as coun-
| sci beg leave to report
THAT the County Of Hudson ACQUIRED
land and built a poorhouse at Snake Hill
| BY the act of 1864 (p. 622) the municipali,,
| ties in the county are authorized to send
paupers to the poorhouse farm, to be kept
| so long as chargeable on the municipali-
| ties, and said poorhouse farm is to be
maintained by a county tax BY the laws
| of 1874 ip. 3zz) the overseers of the poor
in municipa4.e.ss are authorized to commit
| the commitment, regular method OF pro-
cedure in court is outlined.
Under these acts and the general act
of the Legislature entitled An act for the
settlement and relief of the poor General
| Statutes 25OD. the Board of Chosen Free
| holders of the County, of Hudson is
port of such children as may be com
| mitted by the overseers Of the poor:
THE tax budget of the county Of Hud--
provision Pre-, Isl fl' is made therein by special
| item of appropriation for the support or
this institution, and the, funds become
available on Decembe. f9liowing, 70 fSa ao,,n3n ON
| of Hudson begins.
I'm obedience TO the duty imposed upon
your Board, provision was made mad IN the
| tax budget made up in July 1898, for the
support Of this institution, from Decem-
| ber, 1898, to November, 30, 1899, pursuant
to the statute, which sum cannot be ex-
ceeded according to law.
The duty being thus imposed upon
the Freeholders aforesaid, the Legisla>
ture on March "a, 1898, sp, S62) passed an
a State Board of Children's Guardians
and for defining their duties and powers.
with respect to the maintenance, care
less, dependent, abandoned, friendless and
poor children, now or hereafter to be-
come public charges. of this State. II
exempts from its operation children in
institutions or homes supported without
the assistance of the State or munich
palities: and it likewise exempts counties
where the Boards of Freeholders commit
children to Incorporated institutions. pur-
suant to the act of 1881 (p. 250).
1.-The only provision made for the sup-
port of these children after removal from
county institutions. is found in Sections
6 and of the act, which provide that
annually hereafter the Board Of Free
holders shall place in their tax budgetsa
sum sufficient to accomplish the objects
| of the act, not less than S150 per week
for each child.
Section s. makes it the duty Of the
overseers of the poor to report to the
State Board of Guardians the commit
| ment of children.
Section 3 makes it the duty of the
State Board of Guardians to remove such
children from the Almshouse and place
them in homes or Institutions within
| thirty days after the commitment, but
as to children in the institutions at the
| time of the passage of the act, or, possi-
bly, at the time of the organization of
the State Board of Children's Guardians,
said State Board of Children's Guard
ians may continue such children in the
Almshouse for period not exceeding six
months after the passage of the act.
The act seems to be Objectionable in
| at least three particulars.
81. 1t may be unconstitutional
80 It may not apply to Hudson County.
s3. 1t is so meagre in the details neces-
| sary to carry the act into effect that it
| may be imperative.
"Q.) Is it constitutional?
1.-THE title of the act robbed of its verb
| iage, is an Act to operate a State Board
| of Children's Guardians with respect to
| poor children now or hereafter to become
| a public charge of this State.
i "a reading of the title of this act does
| not disclose that 1t Is intended to affect
| any county or other municipality of the
| State of New Jersey, but is merely in
| tended to appoint State Board to at
| tend to that which is 2 State charge;
| 'sIn the case of Kreigh against the Hud-
SON Freeholders. the Supreme Court con-
strhed a veteran act, the title of which
| is as follows:-'An act respecting the en-
| ployment of honorably discharged Union
| Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the public
! service of the State of New Jersey, re-
| lative to removals. and it held it uncon-
| stitutional, in so far as It was attempted
| to be applied to veterans employed by the
"A comparison of the titles of these two
! acts seems to lead to the conclusion that
| if one act is unconstitutional when ap-
piled to cities and counties, the other must
II am therefore ofTopinion that in so
/ far as the act is attempted to be applied
! to the County of Hudson it is unconsti-
"(2.) Does not apply to Hudson County.
"Outside of the fact that the poor IN tne s
| by virtue of special acts OF the Legls!a-
| ture (which may not be repeated py this
| act by implication, because the act itself
| is not a general act affecting every county
| in the State), the act by its express terms
/ in fhe fourth paragraph provides as fol-
| ws.-sPut this act shall not Apply TO
/ counties where the Board of Freeholders
/ commit children who are county charges
i to Incorporated institutions, pursuant 70
/ the supplementary act approved Mafch
i Is. 1881 Oaws of 1881, p. 2o0
1.-The act of 1881 referred to is general
4 act. applicable to every county in this
/ state where the Board of Chosen Free
| holders has or shall have assumed the
i maintenance of the poor ana autnorlzes
the Boards of Freeholders IN such coun-
/ ties to commit children between tne ages
i of three and sixteen to non-seetarian m
.sThjs act Of 1881 therefore, does not
apnlv to counties which have assumed
the maintenance of the poor; and HUDSON
county being one of the counties which
| has assumed the maintenance OF the poor.
and having the power to commit cnlidren
4 under the act of 1881, 1t is expressly
exempt from the provisions OF the acl:
But it may be urged that the intention q
the act is to except only eountles Wnicn
4 have heretofore committed ch1ldren unqer
fha act of 1881 This construction can
i hardly prevail; it should be construed to
apply to counties within the purvieW Qf
flle act Of 1881 for If 1t is beneficial to the
children to permit counties who have COM
| nitted under the act of 1881 to continue Il
would be equally beneficial to permit
4 other counties within the purvieW OF the
i act to also commit .
ri this exception clause IN Section 4