Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1901-04-20

upon the members assembled In the
Council rooms directed the chic; of
police as city sergeant to arrest ald
bring in the absent members. The
police only succeeded in doing this
after an all night effort. Some stress
is laid upon the manner in which the
door of the room In which certain
councilmen were staying was forced
and the arrests made, but This court
has nothing to do with that in this
case. II arrests were improperly or
unlawfully made it is Il matter which
must be settled between the persons
arrested and the officers, but it is not a
matterein which the parties litigant are
concerned. The only question with
which we are here concerned is the
effect of the arrest and forcl5le bring
ing into meeting of these members
upon the action of Council. This pre-
sents the question whether a Council
meeting is regularly constituted when
the members are forced to attend by
arrest.
Compulsory Attendance.
Section 7 of Act Of 1853 provides:
at shall require the presence OF a
majority of the whole number OF each
branch as fixed by law to constitute a
quorum for the transaction of business,
but a smaller number may ADJOURN
from time to time and compel the at
tendance of absent members In such
way as Council may have provided.
1t will be noticed that this section
does not authorize the minority who
may be present at the place of meet
ing to compel the attendance OF alb
sent members by such means as they
shall adopt but in the way Council
may have provided-that is in accord
ance with a plan that Council had
heretofore adopted. In pursuance OF
the authority given by this section
the Council adopted an ordinance pro-
viding, among other rules, for its
government, that, if at the time ap-
pointed for a meeting of either
branches there is no quorum present,
the members of such branch who may
be in attendance may order the ser
geant or his deputies to arrest the alb
sent members, or any of them, and
cause them TO appear forthwith at
the place of meeting, and there to re-
main until the meeting adjGurns Or
leave of absence be given.
1t seems to me that the adoption
of this rule was a lawful exercise of
the power conferred by the statute.
The Legislature has given to Council
the power to compel the attendance
of its members and, left the means
for the accomplishment of this end
in the hands of Council, and the rule
adopted is within the power conferred
and adopted to the end in view. This
being true the arrest and compulsory
attendance of members OF Council can
not avoid the proceedings of that
body however irregular may have
been the acts Of the officers making the
arrests-if any such Irregularities Oc-
CURED.
This Return Denies
the averments of the writ to that eff
feet that, after the Second Branch
of Council had met it was regularly
adjourned, and AYERS that the presi-
dent Of the Second Branch put the
motion to adjourn and declared it
carried without giving the members
there present an opportunity to vote
the motion. If the statements made
in the returns are true there was no
adjournment of the Second Branch.
1t is not within the power Of the presi-
ding officer to adjourn a meeting
over which he presides without the
of the majority of those pres
ent. 1t is unnecessary to cite author
ity in support of such a clear PROPOSE
ton but | find it decided in BurgWall
VS.. Common Council, 81 Mich. 56S.
The Second Branch, not having adj
journed, continued its organization by
electing j. II. Shafer as its presiding
officer in place of r. F. Hill. Here
again it is unnecessary for me to pass
the regularity or validity of this
action, by which one presiding officer
was removed and another chosen. The
Second Branch may have been wrong
in making this change and yet it can
not affect the question of the election
the respondents as a board of
public works.
The ayerments of the alternative
writ do not show an adjournment of
the First Branch of Council. They
show that a motion to adjourn was
made and that the Mayor refused to
put it; but it nowhere appears that
the First Branch actually adjourned.
1t appearing from the return that
the two branches were regularly in
session, does it also appear that the
joint session was properly constituted
so that it might so into an election
of officers?
The Jeint Session.
Sec. l of Act of February q, 1882,
provides, in substance, that there
shall be elected by the Council Of the
city of Wheeling in joint session, a
quorum of each branch being present,
at the first meeting after every charter
election. or as soon thereafter as
practicable, three members Of the
Board of Public Works, &c.
This law does not provide any mode
by which this joint session shall be
.convoked. 1t requires that a quorum
each branch shall be present. 1t
appears from the return that after the
g hCenfiOQ namhorc had heaD orroStad