St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1909-03-27
TAKING OF The NlJUNC
ton IS JUS
Ample Law Quoted % ShoW that Anti-DlylsloR-
Isis RssoFted 10 only HethOd Available.
FORCED TO TAKE ACTION
By Decision Of Supreme C6urt and Arbitrary
and RuIR0us LRles Embodied ID the En-.
abKIng AGi-A Comprehensive Brief.
Opelousas, La., March 22. 1909.

have Id the reportorial columns oil
1your issue of this date, after giving
Attorney General Guion's statement
Of his connection with the injunction
proceedings recently taken out il
this parish against the special cleo
tion. made the statement that the
general impression in this city is that
the antidivisionists in st. Landry have
made blunder in political tactics in
attempting 70 stop the election, fol
the courts have decreed Id other
leases that where the Legislature has
ordered all election that the electors
can go ahead and hold it, choosing
their commissioners, and erecting
ballot boxes of their own, and that it
would be d legal proceeding" and IN
asmuch as you have quoted the At
| torney Generals opinion that the
Legislature has plenary power to ere
ate new parishes, and therefore could
legally refer the question to 4 ma
| jority vote Of the parish affected, ]
beg that you will do the antidivision-
lists the justice to give their view OF
this important question.
The suit attacking the constitu-
tionality Of the act of the Legislature
which provided for the special cleo
tion, and the writ Of injunction en-
joining the election were only de-
termined upon after full deliberation
by myself and nv associates, Judge
G. L. Dupre and Hon. b. B. Dubuis-
son, % that If an error in law or d
blunder ii political tactics has been
committed, we are willing to be. held
responsible in the premises. We to-
tally dissent, not only from the state
ment made BY your reporter that a
voluntary election held by the voters
of st. Landry, in defiance of the IN
junction issued BY the court, would
be legal, but We also dissent with
equal emphasis from the soundness
of the opinion accredited to the At
torney General. Indeed, we regret
much that the Attorney General
should have gone out of bis way to-
lend the great influence which he
Justly exerts throughout the State in
favor Of one Of the contending fac
lions upon q question which 80 deeply
concerns and which has 50 widely di-
vided the people of ST. Landry The
erroneous statement that he had adj
yised the Clerk Of Court, Andrepont,
To issue the Injunction might we'll
have been corrected without taking
sides in this purely local contest.
Disposing, then, first Of the less
important of the questions ID be con-
sidered, ! will say that ] know Of no
law or decision which would legalize
ian election held voluntarily by the
people, ii disregard Of d writ Of IN
junction directed against all election
officers, and staying the entire ma
.chinery, as has been done in this in
stance. a. e d. Enc. oil Law, End.
Ed, Vol. 10, page 562, has this to
say on that subject:
In ain organized state of society,
the power Of the majority TO bind
the minority by a popular vote de-
pends upon the fact that the cleo
tions are held BY some legal author
liby. An election held without af-
frmatiye constitutional Of statutory
authority will be invalid, notWith-
standing q unanimous vote may be
cast in favor Of the particular ques-s
tion submitted, Or in favor of 3 par
ticular officer
There is no inherent reserved
power in the people to hold elections.
They are therefore Of no effect, I'M
less held BIZ virtue Of some law IN
force at the time they are held; and
if there is no authority to hold an
election Id majority Of precincts,
Bft will be wholly void.
II mere naked authority to hold
an election, is without effect. il there
Is no affirmative legislation providing
the necessary machinery for holding
the same.
IN q case quoted from Pennsylya-
MA on the same page in the foot
notes. the following statement of the
doctrine i given:
Majorities 90 for nothing at an
irregular election; they are not even
regarded as majorities, for orderly
citizens have right to stay away
from such elections. 35 Pa. st. 2633.
An election. therefore, on the qnes