The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-04-13
Garber's Opinion Regarding
Change of Beat Lines
LOGS ARE HELD TAXABLE
Vendors Lien Is Not Mortgage Deed of,
Trust-Only One License Can
Be Required of Cotton
Mills-Other Decisions

beat lines have been changed in re-
arranging beats or abolishing them.
justices of the peace left out of their
old territory. or the beats to which
they were chosen, have their offices
abolished. The ruling is in the case
of Baldwin county, where the beats
have been increased from IL to Is, but
is applicable to all parts of the state.
The case cited is state ex rel Gar
rett VS.. Sawyer, the case being the
abolition of an entire beat.
In another opinion the attorney gen
eral has held that logs kept in the
ject to sale to whomsover will buy,
or stored in such waters, are liable
to state and county taxes.
A ruling for Judge Price Williams
of Mobile also is that vendors lien
is not a mortgage deed of trust, or
a contract of conditional sale, or an
instrument in the nature of mort
gage within the meaning of section
2082, requiring the recording of a
mortgage and taking a tax. therefor.
The record of such paper does not re-
quire the payment of the tax. The
opinion is old, the gist of it being
found in the last report of the at
torney general, page 217.
Justice Case Ruling
The opinion of the justices of the
peace case from Baldwin county, given
to the governor, is in full as follows:
con March you forwarded to me
a letter from Messrs. Frank S. Stone
and J. III. H. Smith, county attorney
and judge of probate respectively of
Baldwin county and requested me to
advise you upon the questions raised
In this letter.
at appears from your letter that
the county commissioners of Baldwin
county have changed the precincts by
increasing the number from 10 to Is,
and by reason of this increase several
justices of the peace who were elect
ed for and resided in the old precincts
now reside in entirely new precincts
with different number and the ques-
ton presented is whethe the justice
of, the peace must be reappointed for
the precincts as, thus ,rearranged and
whether the justices of the peace who
were formerly elected may continue
to exercise the duties. of the, offices
for the abolished precincts; and also
whether the registrars should enum-
crate the voters in the new precincts.
Section 4637 of the code provides that
within the limits of every election
precinct there, shall be two justices
lof the peace elected as provided in
the chapter on elections who shall hold
office for four years and until tn cir
successors are elected This section is
substantially the same as section 1858
of the code of 1895, and both. sec
tions are founded upon the provisions
of the constitution of 1901 and 1875,
authorizing the election in each pre-
cinct of two justices of the peace.
"Section $50 Of the code provides that
the counties in this state as now divided
into election precincts and the boundaries
of such precinct as now divided shall SO
remain until changed by an order of
the court of county commissioners and
section $40 of the code authorizes such
change by the court of county commits
sioners in this language: The courts of
county commissioners may in their re-
spectiye counties establish change or
abolish election precincts and places of
voting therein and may change the bound
airy lines thereof as the convenience of
judgment require
II presume the court of county COM
missioners of Baldwin county acted UNI
der the authority of said section $40 in
changing the boundary lines of the cleo
ton precincts Of Baldwin county. The
right of the court of county commission
ers and of the legislature to alter, change
or abolish the precincts or boundaries
OF counties at will was distinctly reeog-
nized by the supreme court in the case
of the state ex rel Garrett VS.. Sawyer, 139
Ala. 13S. In this case the legislature
abolished precinct q of Calhoun county;
for which precinct the respondent Saw
yer had been elected and commissioned,
and the supreme court held that the eff
feet and result of the legislature abolish
ing precinct Fl abolished the office of
justice in that precinct
Applying this principle to the facts
of this case when the court of county
commissioners so changed the boundary
lines of any given precinct so that the
Justice who were elected for the original
precinct was, upon the Encouragement,
placed in a different precinct, his office
was thereby abolished and he could no
longer exercise the duties of the office
for the precinct for which he was elected.
l do not think that a Encouragement of
the boundary lines of given precinct
which did not place the justice of the
peace in a precinct different from that to
which he was elected would abolish his
office and he may continue to exercise
the duties of his office in that particular
precinct.
THE registrars should, at the time APP
pointed by law, proceed to enumerate the
voters in the new precinct; that Is, to
make the proper record showing the vot-
ers of the precincts as rearranged by
the court of county commissioners.