The Jersey City news., 1901-07-06
BOULEVARD LAW.
Mr.. Griffen Talks of Excise
Board Decisions
Effect.
MUST BE AMENDED.
Points Out How Court of
Errors Might Uphold
the Acts.

County Counsel John Griffin in speaking
this morning of the effect upon the act
creating the Boulevard Commissioners of
the recent decision of the Court of Errors
and Appeals declaring the Excise Board
act unconstitutional, said
Il have not seen the opinion of the
Court of Errors in the Excise Commission
case, and therefore do not know upon
what precise ground the court declared it
unconstitutional 1t would seem, however,
on the face of it. that the act prohibited
the people from voting for at least two
of the officers to be elected. The act pro-
vides for the election of four and calls
for the nomination of two from each po-
litical party or petitioning body of citi-
zens.
practically speaking, the law amounts
to this:-That each political party names
two of the excise commissioners; and sub
mitting the matter to the people al the.
election, to be voted for, is a mere for
mality that might be dispensed with. The
section requiring the nomination of two
by each political party and prohibiting
the voting for more than two on any
ticket is so interviewer with the whole
act that to eliminate this feature of the
law from the act would nullify the inten-
ton of the Legislature, and it would ap-
pear that the Legislature would not pass
the act with this part eliminated.
1.-The apparent defect in the Boulevard
act was not unforeseen after the election
of the Commissioners, and the legality or
the act has been considered to some ex-
tent, and possibly it may be unconstitu-
tional, but there is a wide difference be-
tween the Excise Commissioners act and
the Boulevard Commissioners act, in this:
That the plan, scope and purpose OF the
Boulevard Commissioners act was to
elect a commission of three to take charge
of the roads built under the various boule-
ward acts.
..Jn Section it says: But in order to
secure minority representation on sad
board no voter shall at any election vote
upon his ballot for more than two COM
missioners of such board and then the
three persons receiving the highest num-
Der of votes shall be declared elected
..This provision unlike that in the excise
act IS not so interviewer with the act as
to make it appear that the Legislature
considered this an essential feature; the
aetsAisAcanpsst te itself without this
clause, ard can stand without It.
at is not the fact that every act which
has unconstitutional provisions is held
unconstitutional in toto; sometimes the
Court holds the offending section uncon-
stitutional and the balance of the act
good where it appears that it will not do
violence to the intention of the Legisla-
ture.
Applying this rule to the Boulevard
Act. the way the clause providing TOT
minority representation is inserted 1t
would appear as if it was an AFTER
thought to insert this; and it further ap-
nears that the legislation in it's Judgment
would have passed this act without this
provision Inserted
II am. therefore, inclined to the view
that he Court might say that the clause
prohibiting a voter from voting for more
than two of the candidates, in order to
secure minority representation, would be
bad as being in violation of the constitu-
tion. which provides that EVERY voter
| shall be entitled to vote for all officers
that are elected by the people, and
leave the residue of the act stand in full
force. in which event, and by striking out
this provision the act is complete in itself
and would authorize every voter to vote
for all three officers.