Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-02-05

civil service law as a whole, blu
merely to the excision of those pro
visions h a are conditioned upon thu
adoption OF the act by municipalities
Tells of Provisions.
THE iwo classes of provisions are in
dependent and clearly severable under
the rule stated in Attorney Genera
versus Anglesea (29 Vroom, page 372)
The statute itself in it's thirty-thirt
section expressly provides, in case fol
any reason any section or any provision
of this act shall be questioned in any
court and held to be demonstrations
or invalid +he same shall not be held
to affect any other section or provision
of this act
with the force and effect of thi.
section, and also with the %severabilit,
by judicial rule of the two method
contained in the act for its adoption
by municipalities, we are not called
upon to deal or to express any opinion
The statute in the present instance
having been adopted by the governing
body and being on that accoun held
to be invalid as a protection to the
plaintiff. further questions that might
arise on some other statement of facts
w NH
The construction placed on the acl
by Justice Swayze in the Supreme
Court, in SO far as the office in dispute
Is concerned, meets with our approval
but with regard to the views sug
gested as to the office of ~vice-chancel-
lor in Mckenzie versus Elliott (72 At
lantic Reporter, page Az we wish to
be understood as expressing no opin-
i'm Tn nnaArla-n- -f@l. II r~.ow-t.n
views the judgment of the Supreme
Court is affirmed"
In sustaining the constitutionality OF
the law as a whole, Judge Garrison dis
cusses the constitution as follows:
THE broad question is whether in
our system the right of local self-gov-
eminent is guaranteed to the people of
the several political divisions of the
State, 81 that the Legislature has no
power to provide for the government of
those divisions by commissions unless
such commission is chosen by the
people themselves.
For, upon consideration. we must
reject the suggestion thet the mere
appointment of the members of a COM
mission from among the citizens or in
habitants of a municipality affected Is
any guarantee of local self-govern-
ment. In order that self-government
may amount to more than q name it
is essential that the officials to whose
discretion the powers Of government
are confided should be representative
OF the will of the governed: that they
should be chosen by the electors of the
locality affected. aud thus impressed
with 81 sense of direct responsibility to
the people.
Dwell ON Seif-GOvernment.
Nor does the circumstance thai the
acceptance of the system is made to
depend upon the previous consent of
the electors of the municipality
make the system a system of
local self-government. For the prin-
ciple of local self-government does
not contemplate nor permit that the
voters by a single election shall take
from themselves and those who come
after them the control over their af-
fairs for an indefinite time
Accepting, therefore, the phrase gov
eminent by commission as sufficiently
describing a method of local govern
ment by a governing body not period
ically chosen by the local electors, the
question is whether it Is prohibited by
our fundamental law.
Now, the government of this State
was established by the people upon the