The leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1895-1905, 1899-10-25
n Elective Judicisry-The Noel Amend
ment.

|
I'm view Of the constitutional amend
ment to be acted upon next month by the
people at the ballotbox, will you please
state by what majorities the concurrent
resolution passed the several readings IN
each branch OF the legislature, and who
voted for and against Also give, II you
can, Mr.. Noels reasons why the amend
ment should be adopted
Senate concurrent resolution No.
introduced by Mr.. NoeD, proposing
amendments to the constitution making
the offices of judges of the supreme and
circuit Judges and chaucellors elective,
passed the senate on its second reading
by so to 3; on its third reading by 30 to
stem being absent Following is the
vote:
Yeas-Messrs. Boyd, Bramlett, Brew
er. Brovles, Byars, Clark, Falkner,
Gray, Gregory, Hardy, heidelberg,
Hicks, Kiger, Lamb, Magruder, Melon
AID McIlhenny, Mckinney, McLaurin,
Mitchell, Nixon, Moore. of Fifteenth
District, Moore of Thirtieth District,
Nesbit, Noel, Price of Sixteenth Dis
trict, Rainwater. Rowan, SissOn-3O.
Nays-Messrs. Cook, Lewenthal
Smith. Trigg and Wells.
Absent and not voting-Messrs.
Adams, Borners, Causey, Clinton,
Greaves, Harrison. Kendrick, Mcintosh,
Miller and Weathersby-l0.
Mr.. Miller absent on third reading,
| voted yea on second reading.
In the house the vote on first reading
stood: Yeas lO3 nays Ii, absent "a. On
second reading: Yeas IS. nays IL, alb
sent 10. On third reading: Yeas 80,
| nays none, absent -.
The vote on first reading, being the
| fullest, it is here given:
Yeas-Messrs. Ainsworth, Allen, All
good, Anderson of Lee and ltawamba,
Arbo, Baird, Balinger, Bell. Black
| well, Blanchard of Bolivar, Blanchard
of Prentss, Blocker, Boatright, Bott,
| Brown. Bryant. buckley, Chapman.
| Collier, Coody, Cox, Critz, Crumpton,
| Dees. Denton of Landerdale, Dinsmore
| Doss. Eaton. Ehrman. Fox, Firth,
Gum, Garraway. Greene, Harrington,
Hathorn, Heath, liemphill, Herring
Holmes, House, Houston, johnson of
| Holmes, johnson of Lawrence, Jones
| of Claiborne, KERN, Keith, Kennedy,
| Killingsworth, Knox, Lamb of Pamela,
Langston, Land, Lewis, Lilly, Man
ship, Manuel. Martin, Macarthur, Med
ford, Mayes, Miller, Moore, Nelson,
d.
Reid, Revis, Richardson. Roberts, Roll
Inns, Ross, Sexton, Sharkey, Sheffield,
Shivers Smith o. Franklin and Lin
coin. Smith of Greene, Smith of Mon
roe, Stegall, Steele, Stennis, Stovall,
Showers, Suits, Taylor, Thigpen, Tor
rey, Tombstone, Trammill, Turner,
Underwood, Ventrees, Webb, Webster,
Weems, Milestone, Williams, Worthy,
Yerger and Mr. Speaker-l03.
Nays-Messrs. Abbay, Anderson of
Warren, Caruthers, Coleman, Denton of
Quitman, East. Glover, Mcmahon,
Montgomery, Pipes, Russell, Shankle,
Swetman, Talbot, Thomas and Wealth
ersbv-l6
Absent and not voting-Messrs. But
Ter Carroll, Cowart, Doty, Franklin,
Goodwin, Hicks, Jones of Union. Lamb
of Alcorn, Leach, Lipscomb, Sheppard,
Street and WALTZ.
OF those absent on third reading Mr..
Wall voted nay on second reading.
Constitutional amendments do not go
to the governor. hence Gov. McLaurin
4 a
AS we have already, in a previous
issue, published the elective judiciary
amendment in tull, we will now give
Mr.. Noels reasons for introducing and
supporting it.
In the legislature of 1896 Mr. Noel
introduced a constitutional amendment
proposing to make Judges elective. The
proposition was defeated. as in the con-
stitutional convention and previous
| legislatures, largely upon the ground
that while the white people could con-
| troll the State and the election of gov
ernor, who could appoint the judiciary
they could not always control every
| district, and the lawless elements
would combine with the negro vote and
often elect unfit judges. After con-
sulting nearly all the members of the
| legislature of 1898 Mr.. Noel prepared a
constitutional amendment meeting all
reasonable objections, according to the
| opinion of four-fifths of the legislature
| as expressed by votes. BY this compro-
mise plan Mr.. Noel believes that the
| h e ~, l.
their own judicial nomination, which
will go upon State ticket, to be
elected just as governors are. The
| lawless element, in combination with
the colored vote, are thus made power
| less unless strong enough to carry the
State, in which wholly improba BILE
event they would, even under the pres
ent system, get all the State officers
and judges.
Mr.. Noel makes the further point
that mississippi tried an elective
| judiciary system for over thirty years,
when there was no educational qualiti-
| cation an suffrage aud no free school
| facilities. During that period our
| judiciary took stand that has never
been surpassed. 1t was not altered
until 1869, when the Radicals did it in
order to shield their own crimes from
punishment by putting their confeder-
ates in control of all the courts. The
Judiciary was lowered by that change.
1t will be exalted when those who seek
the honors will have to pay no court to
any individual, even though he fills the
governors chair, and will need only to
gain and keep the confidence of those
upon whose lives and property they sit
in judgment"
Capital and Corporations in Mississippi
| A gentleman who has been very
active for many years in the industrial
development of the South. and who re-
sides in Kentucky, was invited to pre-
pare a paper for the Southern Indus.
trial Convention, Huntsville, Ala, Oct.
| lO-l #on s.Ie0iSlation Of tho So,.L -