Delaware gazette and state journal., 1899-10-26
WILMING TON, THURsDAf. OCT. 20.
Levy oonr. ooInm,s.,oner. ANA the ,.aw. Y

On May 2sth, 1897, the Legislature
enacted law authorizing the Levy
Court Of New Castle county to fund
the floating debt of the county Chap
ter 3s7, Volume XX, Part III, Laws of
Delaware-the third section of which
reads as follows: From and after the
passage Of this act no porson elected
Levy Court Commissioner in and Tor
any of the districts of New Castle
county shall be eligible for second
term"
Now, the general object of this enact
ment was to prohibit the recollection of
members of the Levy Court; its specific
object was to prevent the recollection of
the members comprising the present
Levy Court of New Castle county. OF
this there is not the slightest doubt.
But the members of the present Levy
Court, having natural desire to hold
on as long as possible to "a good
thing" have carefully studied this
section, and have reached the con.
clusion, it is said, that the law does
not apply to them; that the language
of the section is ambiguous at best,
and that there is room for the con-
struction that it prohibits the re-
election OF members of the Levy Court
elected after the passage of the act
The present Levy Court was elected in
1896, prior to the passage of tho above
law.
Thore is some room for this CON
struction, and it is unfortunate, there
fore, that the section was not so worded
as to make it convey in plain language
its undlsputed intention-to TO prevent
the possibility of the recollection of any
of the members of the present unsavory
Levy Court. That it may fail to ac-
complish its intertion is matter for
regret.
But the rules of the Democratic
party Of New Castle county supplement
the intention Of tho law, so far as two
of the members of the present Levy
Court are concerned. These two men,
bers are Commissioner White of the
Fourth district and Commissioner Scott
of the Fifth. Each of these districts
comprises more than one hundred, and
the party rule referring to rotation in
the nominations for offices in the Sena.
torial and Levy Court districts says
Rule B. The candidates for Stale
Senator shall be taken from tho diff
ferent hundreds, or parts of hundreds,
comprising tho respective Senatorial
districts outside OF Wilmington, in
rotation, and the order of rotation shall
he that the bundled chat last had
Senator shall be the last hundred in
that district to again have a Senator,
The candidates for Levy Court Com
missioner shall be taken from the
different hundreds OF parts of hundreds
comprising the respective Levy Court
districts outside of Wilmington, in
rotation, and tho order OF rotation shall
be that the hundred that last had a
Levy Court Commissioner shall be the
last hundred in that district to again
have Levy Court Commissioner.
This rule prohibits the denomination
of Commissioners White and Scott.
Commissioners Mealey of the Third dis
trict, comprising all that portion of
the city OF Wilmington south Of Sixth
street, can be candidate for renomina-
tion, but it is almost certain that he
will have Opposition, and he may be
defeated. The Republicans have no
rules governing the Levy Court nomina.
tions, but they have it in their power
to defeat the denomination of Com
missioner Lynn of the First district
and Commissioner Gallagher Of the
Second. II they do this, and Commits
sioner Mealey fails to secure renoml-
nation in the Third district, then the
object and intent of the law will he
fully carried out, despite the ambiguity
of its expression.