The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-03-09
WILL NOT RESIGN
WELLS SEES NO REASON TO GIVE
UP SEAT IN THE HOUSE.
CONVINCED HE IS RIGHT.
HE WILL HOLD OFFICE OF REP
REsENTATIVE UNTIL ELECTION.

Plans May BE Changed, but at Pres
ent He Does Not Intend to Resign.
Advice of His Friends Convinced
Him He is Not Disqualified for
Election to Office ar Tax Collector.
Attorney General Adopts This
View of the Law-Friends of MIR.
Wells Believe the Question an
Academic One Anyhow and Don't
Anticipate a Contest.
Mr.. David Wells said yesterday that his
present intention is not to resign the Of
flee of representative in the Legislature
in order to become a candidate for tax
collector of Chatham county.
In this matter" said Mr.. Wells, 81
have acted and shall continue to act
upon the advice of my legal friends, in
the correctness of whose opinions on the
subject 1 have every confidence. They
advise me that the fact that I at pres
ent hold the Office of representative in
the Legislature does not disqualify me
for election to the Office of tax collector
of the county, and as I feel about the
matter now / shall not resign until after
the election. Then, probably, in case L
am elected tax collector, I shall resign
my seat in the General Assembly.
THE law requires that the commission
ers, in calling an election to fill a va
cant seat in the Legislature, shall give
twenty days notice of the time at which
it will be held. This would render it inn
possible for an election for representa-
tive to be held legally on next Friday,
and can see. therefore, no good pur
pose that would be served by my resig-
nation at this time.
GAS L have said. l shall be governed in
this matter largely by the advice of my
friends, personal. legal and political but
their advice at present is that I do not
resign before the election, and unless my
plans suffer a material change L shall
not"
friend of Mr.. Wells has received from
Attorney General Terrell his opinion of
the law governing the matter at issue.
| The attorney general says:
Il am not aware of any provision of
| our law which renders Hon. David Wells
Ineligible to be elected tax collector of
| Chatham county. Should he be elected
| and qualify as tax collector, his act in
/
| his office as member of the general as
| sembly, for the reason that the House of
! Representatives, of which he is a mem
! Der, is, under the constitution, the sole
| judge of his qualifications.
Were it not for this provision of the
! constitution the acceptance of the office
| of tax collector by Mr. Wells would ipso
| facto vacate his office as a member of the
| general assembly; for instance, if Mr..
| Wells We're now holding the office of clerk
| of the Superior Court of Chatham county,
| and was elected tax collector and quail
| fled as such, his act in qualifying would
! ipso facto Vacate the office of clerk OF
| the Superior Court Under my view of
the law think Mr.. Wells, if he is elect
| ed tax collector at the special election,
| should resign as a member of the general
assembly, for if he did not he might sub.
| ject himself to removal by the house
| when it again conVenes."
| 1t will be noticed that the Attorney
General takes the view of the law diamet-
| really opposed to that held by Mr. Pope
| Barrow and outlined in an interview with
| him, that was published recently in the
! Morning News. Mr.. Barrow contended
| that if a man were ineligible to hold two
| offices, 1t was the second office to which
| he was elected which he could not fill
! The Attorney General Sc IS that the act
of qualifying for the second office would
| ipso facto vacate the first. This, how
ever, does not apply to the office of repre-
sentative in the General Assembly, which.
by the provision of the constitution, is
the sole and exclusive judge of the quail
| ifcations of it's members.
Mr.. Barrow's position is that if a man
| is ineligible to hold two offices, he can
not, legally, be elected 40 the second Of
flee, and that the second election is all
solutely void.
In the ODiniOD of tho friards &c A.
Wells the question is purely academic
ana they are not troubling their minds
| about it. One of them, lawyer stated
| yesterday that the Supreme Court had
| decided that when an election is contest
ed and 1t is determined by the courts that
the successful candidate was not eligj-
bic TO election, that this did not give the
ONCE to the man receiving the next high
est number of votes. The effect of such
a decision is that another election would
have to be called and held.
! Therefore" said the lawyer quoted.
III case Mr.. Wells is elected it would
| not profit Mr.. Thomson or anv other can
didate for tax collector to make a con-
test. 1t would have been shown. ALWAYS
assuming that MIR. Wells had been elect
| ed, that he was the strongest man at the
polls and second election would NOT he
| likely to change the result The citizens
| would nave no interest In the matter as
| whether MI WelIS were tax collector de
Jure or de facto. his official acts would
pc equally legal. dont anticipate that
there would be contest, in any event If
there We're contest, l don't think the
courts would decide that the two offices
could not be held al the same time. &"
1t appears that there is another MAJ, in
Georgia who is in position somewbat
similar TO that occupied by Mr.. Wells
rms Is Hon. w. f. Symons of Bruins
WICK VINO Is at present one of the rep
lesentatives of Glynn county in the Leg
islature and at the same time clerk NJ
| Councn and treasurer of the CITY Of
Brunswick. Mr.. Symons did not resign
his seat in the House to accept these DIN
er offices and he has not resigned anv Of
them yet VI