The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-06-23

gate from Montgomeryf The CnalI hears none. fLaughter.) /. Mir. Oates-The Committee on Local Legislation makes it's report and moves to suspend the rules. All have 10 suggest is that the Committee on Leg islative Department make its report and where 1t has anything upon which we have any matter, we will oner IL by way of amendment to his, report when 1t is under consideration and in doing that we do not intend any dis respect to that Committee and are not trying to displace them MT. O'Neal-Under our report we ask that this Article on Local Legislation be made a separate Article In the Con- stitution and not incorporated as part of the Article on Legislative De- partment, A vote being taken, the motion to suspend was lost.
 The President-The next regular or der will be the consideration of the re- port of the Committee on Execu we Department and the pending question is the substitute offered by the. dele gate from Sumter for the Section re- ported by the Committee and the gen. tleman from Mobile had the floor when the Convention adjourned.
 MT. Pillans--I regret that the clock struck just when 1t did for l had about concluded all had to say and when a man is cut of by an adjournment and commences the next morning. he al- ways runs the risk of getting wound up again. However, I shall endeavor to be brief in what I have to say Tn opposition to the novelty proposed by the Committee in their substitute, and in favor of the substitute offered ny the gentleman from Sumter.
 Just at the close of yesterdays ses- sion was about to answer a question but by the honorable gentleman who Is the Chairman of the Committee the report from which l am antagonizing. as to what is to be done if we keep the provisions of the old Constitution or the provisions recomnmdeed by the gentleman from Sumter, which follows closely upon the old Constitution. l believe the question was if we adopted the substitute, offered by the delegate from Sumter what would be done by the Speaker and the Joint Convention and the two houses, acting ministerially, in the event a forgery had been con mitted in a return which had come to them.
 In the first place the whole theory and practice of republican governments are based on true official returns. We
 
 a republican government that there are no human beings to be trusted with the true performance of official duties. In the prima facie establishment of the result of an election we have to trust the sworn officials who have In charge the making of due returns and the counting of those returns as ministerial officers. But has any man ever yet heard it claimed that a forgery was anything whatever but a void thing l take it that forgery is like a void decree or a void law. 1t does not ex- ist. take it when you say d return Is Q forged return 1t Is no return, and, therefore, the dilemma the gentleman puts, is no dilema, that If forged re- turns are sent to the Secretary of State and when they go into the hands of a speaker of joint convention, that they are as much bound to disregard them as ministerial officers as a probate judge would be bound to disregard a forged bond of a tax collector. There Is a ministerial act performed by the judge, but suppose the tax collector of Montgomery County brings up 8 bond. not really signed by any sureties, but having on 1t the names of men of amply sufficient estate to make them good sureties on his bond, and suppose
 
 Mir. Jones ,(Montgomery)-Will the gentleman allow me to ask him a question?
 MT. PiHans-I will, but I would like to finish the sentence.
 MT. Jones (Montgomery)-Whe the joint convention refuses to receive re- turns because forged, what kind of power do they exercise. ministerial or Judicial?
 Mir. Pillans-The undoubtedly exer- else ministerial power. That is the proposition I am trying to get before tho house.
 MT. Jones Electromagnetic when tho probate judge refuses to receive a forged bond rendered to him as the bond of a tax collector, is he acting judicially or ministerially?
 MT. Pillans-I think he Is actinG ministerially.
 MT. Jones (Montgomery)--My friend runs counter to the decision of the Supreme Court Of Alabama when he makes that claim.
 MT. Pillans--I do not think am and If the gentleman will refer me to them I shah be glad to discuss them with him on brief and not detain the house.
 MT. Jones (Montgomery)-They are the cases of ex parte Harris and ex parte Thompson. If you will read those decisions you will find they hold exactly to the contrary of what you say.
 MT. Pillans-I was saying that in the very organization and creation of re- publican form of government you have to permit the prima facie decision of who is elected to an office else you have anarchy and discord invited into your State.
 What is the objection to the proposi- tion of the gentleman, He says he is only a little one, and therefore 1t is not a serious one and ought not to be pun ished severely. He says when 1t Is charged against lis report that it in- yites a contest on the threshold that it is not a contest because it is only a contest from Montgomery County back to the county seat, that If they have declared, as he by way of illustration suggested. that hey declared in Mont gomery or any other county the result and the result certified proved differ ent. that that would be fraud which was apparent and could be inquired into by sending a committee down to investigate. .ue, af TO-
 Now, the proposition of the gentle man is to make this returning board having Judicial power, Board of Con- test before whom must go the returns which reach the Secretary of State un- der forms of law and from the Secre- tary of State Is sent to the speaker of the jont houses and he says 1t can go behind those returns. It Is true he limits that question to what occurred between the action of. the canvassing board in the county and the action of the Board in Montgomery.