The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1918-12-31
December Term of Courl

clSiOu III Tue suit 10 SET aSlue TIE Iecen
election on the subject of selling intoA
icating liquors. The election was Sc
aside on the ground that sufficien
publicity had not been given of tn
hearing to be held by the township
committee.
V. Claude Palmer, who represente'
the township in this suit, asked for
suspension of the order allowing th
hotel men to do Business, and he ais
gave notice that he desired to obtain
writ OF certiorari to carry the proceed
ings to a higher court. The request Il
suspend the order was refused and Mr.
Palmer then withdrew his application
for the writ. The opinion of justice
Kalisch is as follows:
At the general election held in No
vember, 1918, the question whethe
or not the sale of Intoxicating liquo
as beverage should be prchibite,
was submitted to the voters of North
smpton township to be voted on.
From a written stipulation betwee,
counsel and from the testimony takei
before me, / find the following facts
:. That at the time of the genera
election on November 5, 1918, and fol-
sixty days prior thereto, there were
1T least Two hundred qualified voters
of the Township of NORTHAMPTON, ir
the County of Burlington, in the mill
tary service of the United States, anc
absent from the aforesaid township.
and that of this number at least eighty
of them were during. such period OF
time in camps and military stations
in the United States; that the total
registered vote for the election held
was sixteen hundred and fifty-three
out of which number there were eleven
hundred and eighty-five votes cast;
and of these votes five hundred and
seventy Fix were cast in favor of pro-
hibiting the sale of Intoxicating LIQUOR
as beverage in said township, and
five hundred and eighteen against such
prohibition, leaving a majority in fa-
vor of prohibition of fifty-seven; that
of the two hundred electors of the
township in the military service,
twelve of them voted, their ballots be-
ing transmitted by the Secretary of
the State of New Jersey to the Coun-
| ty Board of Canvassers of Burlington
county, four of which ballots were
cast in favor of and three against the
prohibition of the sale of Intoxicating
liquor as a beverage in the township.
which increased the majority vote in
favor of prohibition from fifty-seven
to fifty-eight; that the clerk of the
township did not mail to any of the
qualified electors of the township in
the military service of the United
States at any time prior to the gener-
al election ballot for said election, or
copy of chapter one hundred and
fifty of the laws of 1918, or printed or
other directions for voting and trans
hitting ballot or envelopes as re-
quired by said act, and did nothing to
carry out its provisions; that the said
clerk did not receive from the Score
tary of the State of New JERSEY or
anyone else the names and addresses
of the qualified electors of the town
ship in the military service of the
United States; that the Secretary of
War of the United States did not oh
Ject to the forwarding by the Score
tary of the State of New JERSEY the
names of the persons in the active
military service of the United States,
as set out IN section five of chapter
loo of the laws of 1918; that the
Secretary of State sent agents to mill
tary camps in the United States to
distribute ballots among qualified
voters In this state, and mailed bal
lots to commanding officers of such
stations or camps, to be dis
trlbuted among qualified voters of
this state there stationed.
AS this was not special but gener-
al election, / think the irregularities !
IN endeavoring to procure the soldier
vote, ought not to vitiate the result
reached on the question submitted.
The date on which a general election
was to be held was a matter of com
mon knowledge
1t will be presumed that a voter,
whether in the military service of the
United States or not, had knowledge
of the day when the general election
was to take place. Under section
nine, of the act of 1918 the voter may
vote an unofficial ballot in lieu of an
official one, etc. 1t cannot, therefore.
be fairly said that he was not afforded
an opportunity to vote or that the
election was unfair. Even if it must
be assumed that the provisions of
Chapter one hundred and fifty, relat- |
ing to the method of obtaining the
soldiers votes, We're not complied
with, and that the soldiers to whom
ballots might have been sent would
have voted on the question submitted
against prohibiting the sale of intoxi-
eating liquor, etc., and thus have
changed the result of the election, as
declared, IN the view / take of the law,
it cannot affect the validity of such
election, for the reason already given.
But the facts of this case involve
a more fundamental question than
the one referred to and disposed OF.
The question is jurisdictional one
On this branch of the case l find the
facts to be as follows: A petition was
filed under chapter two of the laws of
1918, on June IL, 1918, with the clerk
of the Township of Northampton, for
an election to determine whether or
not the sale of intoxicating liquors as
a beverage in the Township of North
ampton, in the County of Burlington
shall be prohibited. The clerk there
upon fixed June 20, 1918, as the time
for the hearing, and posted six notices
on June IL. The only publication of
the notices was in the Mount Holly
News of June 10 which was issued and
circulated on that day, which was two
days before the day set for the hear
ing. In the case of Cooper, prosecu-
tor, V. Township of Frelinghuysen, a
case not yet reported, the Supreme
Court, in an opinion by Mr.. Justice
Parker, in constituting the section of
tho i L
newspapers, held, as follows: "In the
Frelnghuysen case the advertisement
was had, but not at least five days be-
fore the council meeting. On this
point the language of the act is a
tri1e obscure, but we think the plain
legislative intent was that there
should be five days notice by advertis-
ing as we'll as by posting"
And the learned Justice, after dis
cussing the nature of the proceedings
before the council upon the petition for
the submission of the question to the
votes of the electorate, says: "Hence,
it is obvious that the hearing is Judi
cial or, at least, quasi Judicial and.
according to a well-known rule, the
statutory procedure should be strictly
followed, especially as relates to the
giving to persons interested, proper
notice and am opportunity to be
heard"
The law, as laid down, in the case
referred to-. is controlling here. The
failure to give the statutory notice in
the newspaper at least five days be-
fore the council meeting deprived the
council of jurisdiction to submit the
question at the election held. For the
reason given, the election on the ques.
ton whether or not the sale of in.
toxicating liquor as a beverage should
be prohibited in the Township Of