The leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1895-1905, 1903-05-06
UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
FULL TEXT OF SUPREME COURT
In THE HAZLEHURST
CASE.

Court decision in the Hazlehurst
Public School case, /. N. Ellis VS..
j. B. Greaves, District Attorney,
which declares unconstitutional
the acts of the Legislature Great
ing the Board of Trustees of the
Graded Public Schools of Halle
hurst and Brookhaven, and other
towns where the Boards were sim
ilarly organized.
The opinion was delivered by
Chief Justice Whitfield and is as
follows:
The act under consideration de-
wolves large powers upon its crea-
lures, the trustees, for a long pc
Rod OF time, so long that with the
average man the appointment
would be for life, which is inhib-
tied by the constitution; powers
which vitality affect the domestic
affairs of the people of the town
of Hazlehurst; powers which have
heretofore belonged exclusively
to the local municipal government.
1t gives to the trustees the excIu-
sive control of the public schools
of the town. To farm them out
and rent the school buildings &C
cording to their judgment, for a
period of ten years. To appoint
teachers who, under the law, stand
in loco PARENTS to the educable
children of the town. To assess
an annual tax upon all the prop
erty of the town, leaving to the
people no right to protest at the
ballot box or elsewhere, and only
the poor privilege of footing the
bills. With so large and import
ant part of local government de-
stroyed, the question might we'll
be asked could not the Legisla-
ture abolish all municipal Offices
and administer the municipal gov
eminent by agents of it's own APP
pointment? In other words, is
there such a thing as local self
government, which is inherent in
the people, and which exists in
dependent of constitutional guar
antees?
1t is true, as to one of his state
ments, that the executive board of
control of the HazIehurst High
School did not actually levy the
tax; but it is made the duty" of
the Board of Mayor and Alder
men to levy the tax to meet their
estimate. So that, practically,
it comes to about the same thing.
The enumeration by the circuit
judge of the extraordinary powers
conferred by this act is strictly
correct in all other particulars.
On the agreed state of facts,
which the reporter will set out in
full, it is enough for our purpose
to say that said section 6 of said
act of 1888 not only provides for
induction into Office of the trus-
tees, but confers upon them most
peculiar and extraordinary pow
ers, powers wholly different from
the powers conferred upon trus-
tees of the common schools by
the general law, in force at the
time, or now. The purpose of
the constitution of ''69, article 8,
section 1, declaring that it
should be the duty of the Legisla-
ture to establish a uniform system
of public schools, was to make the
system uniform in all that related
to the executive administration of
the common schools of the State.
The purpose was to secure a uni
form administration of the COM
mon schools. 1t was meant that
the "system'' should be admins
tered uniformly-on a uniform
plan, same throughout the
State. 1t is impossible to con-
ceive how there can be any such
uniform system where the trustees
of som of the common schools are
chosen in the mode provided for
in the general law, and vested only
with certain powers therein pre-
scribed, carefully limited and de-
fined, and the trustees of other
confessedly public schools, parts
of the common school System"
are not only chosen in a wholly
dieffrent way from that in which
other trustees are chosen, but also
given the power to perpetuate
themselves Indefinitely; practical
ly the power of taxation also and
other powers not conferred upon
trustees selected under the general
law. The object of the consti-
tuition was perfectly plain, and no
amount of statement can either
make it palmer, or obscure that
plainly declared purpose. The
case of Wynn VS.. State, 81 Miss,
OH, noldS only LhaG the provision
of the constitution of '69 under
consideration, was not infringed
by statute which related alone
to the method by which county
superintendent of education were
to be indicted into office. 1t was
there said: "The source, from
which he derives his right to his
Office, has no connection with or
relation to his duties in office.
They are prescribed by law, and
the uniform system of free public
schools is in no way dependent
on, or affected by, how the county
superintendent gets into Office. y
Nor does the case of Chrisman
VIC Gifv of Rrookhavan 10 Mics