The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-06-22

be found therein: third, to procure | proper returns wheneffor any cause. | returns from any county have failed to reach the Speaker. The joint con | yention shall have no power to ques- | tion the returns as to any other ma. teis. or in any other respect. The per- | ton found to have the highest number | of votes for either of said offices shali | be declared duly elected; but if two or | more persons shall have an equal and I the highest number of votes for the i same office. the General Assembly by joint vote. without delay, shall choose | one of said persons for said office. Con- | tests of elections for Governor. Lieuten- ant Govern1r. Secretary Of State. Sta,e Auditor. state Tressnrsr, Alto ney Gen | sral. Superintendent of Education and Commissioner. of Agriculture and In- | dustries, shall be determined by both | Houses of, the General Assembly in ! such manner as may he prescribed by | law. .,
 | The Committee recommends the adop l tion of the substitutc. +
 | .-. Chairman.
 | Mir. Rogers (sttmtsr)-The origin al | Section was recommitted to the Ex- l ecutive Committees with the hope that l they would return q Section which would at least remove the objections | that exists to the Section as first re- | ported. Instead of removing the ob- | jections, they have intensified them. by 1 that part of the Committees report l which begins and reads as follows: | The joint convention shall supervise l and control the Speaker in the dls- | charge of this duty, and has power to l determine whether the returns are in | legal form, made by the proper officeri anu truly give the results as ascertaine5
 and declared by the Board of Super visors in the several counties: second, | to correct such errors as may be found l therein; third, to procure prcpef re- | turns, when for any cause the returns | the Speaker; the joint convention shall | have no power to question the returns
 as to any other matters or in any other
 respect.
 | Now, MT. President. submit in what | other matters would the joint conven- | tion have the right to question the re- | turns? The laws of this State provide | that the ballots shall be counted in
 the counties where they are cast, by
 the Probate Judge, the Clerk and the
 Sheriff, and if they are all of one party
 that they shall summon three other | persons of a different party to be pres | ent. to hear the returns; that these | officers shall certify the result, and
 send 1t sealed to the proper officers at | the State Capitol. It further provides
 that if any one wants to contest any election, he shall give a bond and shall make his case before the joint conven- | ton of the General Assembly, the | Senate and House. but the functions
 of the Speaker of the House, in the | joint convention, and those of the joint
 convention. when this body is first as- | seurbled. should sbe purely ministerial. That is to say. they should perform
 their duties, which are set out for them
 by law, and they should not 90 behind
 any returns, without there be sufficient | evidence brought before them, by 8 1 proper person contesting the returns. It SO happened, several years ago,
 when the lamented and distinguished | Francis h.. Pettus was Speaker of the
 House of Representatives, that this very question, which these gentlemen
 wish to open up, came before him. He
 then wisely and justly decided that the
 power of the Speaker was purely min
 isterial, and that he had no right to go
 behind the returns. but that his duty
 was to declare the result of the election
 as it appeared, upon the face of the re- turns. Now, Mir. President, this seem
 ing not important matter is one that
 Is far-reaching. The intent or the rs- l suit of it will be to destroy the au- | tonomy of the several counties of the State of Alabama or will do away with
 local self-government; because if it
 Lever happened that the Speaker elect-
 ed and that a majority of the General | Assembly of Alabama should come here
 and wish to destroy the, will of the
 people, all they have to do Is to say
 that these returns are not proper; all they have to do is to say that the rec
 turns. are not in accordance with the
 will of the people, and throw them out,
 and put anybody in oflce they may
 wish to.
 Why, Mir. President. there is no Ques-
 tion but what. this last report is in-
 tinitely worse than the hrst. They did
 have the grace to say in that, that the
 duties of the Speaker shall be purely
 ministerial, but that did not go far
 enough, and say that the duties of the
 convention shal: be purely ministerial.
 but in this latter report, they have
 left out the word ministerial" en-
 tirely. They have given the right to
 the Speaker and the Joint Convention
 to say whether the returns are proper
 or not. Why Mir. President, 1t Is one
 of the greatest innovations that has
 ever been made in the mode of can | tdSStnS Lne TcluTuD Ol SiSCtAOiA6 III ShIS | State. Now in that Section, if you will
 notice my amendment. is the whole
 Section given in the last code, with
 this exception, that 1t clearly sets out | the power of the Speaker and of the Joint Convention. In my amendment
 1t is true that 1 wrote the whole ordi- 1 nance because it was to be substituted
 for the one offered by the Committee.
 but the only change that made was to
 clearly define the point passed upon
 by Speaker Pettus, so as to put 1t clear
 ly out of inc power of any one here | after to overthrow that decision, name
 iy. "but the Speaker s,1duty and that | of the Joint Convention shall be pure | ly ministerial;" and that the Speaker
 shall ascertain the result of the elec- | tion from the face of the returns, and
 publish the same without delay. Now, | Mir. President if any one then wishes
 to contest an election, the law pro
 yides in Section 1867 for a contest, and
 all he has to do then Is to come With l inc nroper evidence before the proper
 tribunal and have the case tried, and
 not come where there will be no eTi- dence submitted because 1t Is not con
 templated in this Section that any evil
 dence shall b. submitted to the Joint Convention and the Speaker. It simply
 says that the result of the election shall
 be trans emitted in sealed envelopes to the proper Cftielals.
 MT. Jones (Montgomery)-I shall
 very briefly state the reasons of the Committee for not adopting the sug-
 gestion made by my friend from Sum-
 ter. The present Constitution, as we all know. left open to discussion wide ! na to