The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1901-03-15

COHttHueu Prom TIE 4tH pane.
prevent the expenditure of money
at each recurring election. yet we
confidently believe it will reduce
the opportunities for bribery to
such all extent that men of mod
crate means may hereafter aspire
to official positions, which they
are prohibited from doing under
the present system.
POWER OF THE LEGISLATURE.
In proposing a measure of so
much moment we have. of course,
considered the question of its
constitutionality. and of this we
have no doubt.
From the best consideration
which we have been able to give
to the subject it seems to us that
the amendments proposed by this
bill are clearly those which the
Legislature has power to pass.
They are in substance and effect
nothing more than statutory reg.
ulations of the manner of hold
ing elections, which Section 40
of Article 3, of the Constitution
expressly declares the Legisla-
ture shall have power to make.
and there is nothing in any
of these regulations which is in
consistent with the Constitution.
The only part of the bill which
its opponents question the power
of the General Assembly to en-,
act is Section g.. This section
repeats the provisions in Section
90 of the present law authorizing
the election clerks to mark the
ballots of voters who can neither
read or write, and withholds
such assistance in the future.
The complete answer to the con-
tentions raised is that the Gen.
eral Assembly of Maryland has
supreme and unlimited legislative
authority, except III the in.
stances where the Cons j.
tuition of the State, or of the
United States, has placed def
mite restriction upon it. In this
fundamental and important par.
ticular the General Assembly
differs from the Congress of the
United States because the latter
can only exercise such legislative
powers as have been expressly
delegated to it by the Federal
Constitution or as may be neces.
sarily involved in, or essential
TO, the use of those which have
been conferred. In dealing.
therefore, with question which
concerns the power of the Gen
eral Assembly to enact a partic-
ular law we need only inquire
whether the Legislature is pro-
hibited by the Constitution from
passing it. If there is no prohi-
bltion, the power is inherently
in the Legislature. 1t may, con
Sequently, adopt any law which
it is not forbidden to adopt. This
principle of constitutional law is
undeniable. Now, the question
is not whether the Constitution
authorizes the adoption of the
proposed ballot law, but whether
the Constitution prohibits its
adoption. If the Constitution
prohibits the adoption of the
measure the prohibition must be
definite, because the General As.
Sembly is the depository of all
legislative power; conjectural
or inferential inhibition is not
to be tolerated as sufficient to de
strOy or abridge an inherent aus
thority. There is not only no
prohibition to be found in the
Constitution against the adop.
ton of the law, and therefore no
limita ton on the Legislatures
authority to pass it, but there is
a positive provision in the oppo-
site direction, equivalent to an
affirmative declaration that the
power may be validity exercised.
PROVISIONS OF THE CoNsTITU.
TION.
Section 1, Article 1, of the
Constitution declares that "all
elections shall be by ballot"
There is no definition of the kind,
the size, the shape, or the char.
acter of the ballot. The trainers
of the Constitution did not I'M
dertake to say how the ballot
should be prepared, by whom it
should be made or in what man.