155 Ga. 748 | Ga. | 1923
(After stating the foregoing facts.)
The defendants in the original proceedings having been served or acknowledged service and having filed answers to the petition, except A. B. McLean, all parties announced ready for trial on the issues raised by the pleadings on the hearing before the judge for injunction. At this stage of the proceedings there was presented to the trial judge an application by H. S. Harper and others, alleging that they are all taxpayers and citizens of the City of Albany and vitally interested jn the matters in controversy in -this case. It was averred that they adopted as their own all the answer and pleadings filed by the deféndants, G. G. Warde, C. W. Bawson, and "W. M. Legg; and then they answered specifically along substantially the same line as the other defendants. They prayed for leave to intervene and be macíe parties defendant. The plaintiffs objected to the granting of the application to intervene and to the allowance of the intervention, and especially each part of the application, following the second paragraph, upon the grounds that the intervention sets out no facts relevant to any relief sought by the plaintiffs; that the intervention sets out no facts relevant to any cause of action involved in the plaintiffs’ petition, or any defense involved in the defendants’ answer, and that the intervention shows no cause or right to intervene. Conceding, but not deciding, that all of the petition for intervention after the second paragraph sets out no facts relevant to any relief sought by the defendants,'" as contended by the plaintiffs, we are of the opinion that when the intervenors adopted as their own all the answer and the pleadings filed by the defendants, the substance of which is set out in the foregoing statement of facts, the answer of the defendants, which was adopted, did set out facts relevant to the relief sought by them; and therefore the trial court did not'
It is insisted that our own courts have recognized the rule that a person has no right to intervene with the defendant in equity against the complainant; and the case of Armour Car Lines v. Summerour, 5 Ga. App. 619 (63 S. E. 667), is cited in support of the proposition. In the Armour case the Court of Appeals said: “ In a suit in rem all persons who have interest in the res should be allowed to intervene and be heard in behalf of their interests in it. Every such person has a legal interest in the controversy, because of his interest in the res. In a suit in personam, however, a petition to intervene, presented by one who is not a party thereto and who has no interest, in a legal sense, in the subject-matter of the suit, should be refused, especially where the applicant, of his own motion, seeks to be made a party defendant, and the plain
The act of August 18, 1917 (Acts 1917, p. 454), created and established a new charter for the City of Albany, providing for a municipal government of the city under what is known as the mayor and council plan. The act of 1922 (Acts 1922, p. 457) was an act which undertook to amend the charter of the City of Albany and the acts amendatory thereof, and to provide another form of municipal government known as the commission city-manager form of government. The act of 1922, supra, has a caption covering almost two pages in the printed acts of the Georgia Laws for 1922. The caption in part is as follows: “ An act to amend the present charter of the City of Albany and acts amendatory thereof; to provide for the election of five commissioners from each of the five political wards of the City of Albany, in lieu of the present mayor and council; to provide for certain councilmen to become commissioners; to provide the manner of election of commissioners, to fix their qualifications, compensation, term of office, powers and duties; to provide for the choosing of a city manager by the said commissioners, and to fix his qualifications, compensation, powers, duties, and term of office; . . to provide for a referendum at the next election of city councilmen for the ratification of this act; to provide for qualifications and registration of voters for the next election of councilmen, and for other purposes.”
The purpose of the constitutional provision quoted above is to put the public on notice as to what legislation is sought to be enacted, in order that the public, if interested in the subject-matter of the legislation could be heard in proper wa}rs before the proposed legislation is enacted into law. Obviously, a caption can not contain as much of the subject-matter as is contained in the body of the act; else there would be no need of the caption at all, which is intended merely to put the public on notice and inquiry, as already indicated, as to the class or kind of legislation proposed
It is also insisted that under the provisions of the act, if no referendum election was had by a certain date, the act should become operative and of force, and that there is nothing in the caption of the act to put the plaintiffs and the public on notice of that fact. This court has held that it will not hold an act of the legislature unconstitutional on a question raised by one who has not been injured by reason of that fact, and it is not insisted here that the act did go into effect without a referendum vote. The legislature, of course, would have the right to pass a bill without having it submitted to a vote of the people; but that question is not involved in the present case, because there was a referendum vote.
It is insisted that the title shows an intention .to provide for the qualification and registration of voters, while the body of the act provides not only who might register under the act and should be eligible to vote, but also all those who had registered in a previous election, and not before, there being nothing in the title to show that those who had registered, and not before, would be made eligible to vote in the referendum. We are likewise of the opinion, on this ground of the assignment of error, that the caption of the act was sufficiently broad to call attention to the subject-matter of providing for qualification and registration of voters for
In Welborne v. State, 114 Ga. 793 (40 S. E. 857), this court held that “The title to an act need not contain a synopsis of all of its provisions. Any legislation which is germane to the general purpose of the act as indicated in the title can be properly embraced in the act, and, no matter what may be its details, the legislation embraced therein will not render the act subject to the objection- that it contains matter variant from the title, so long as such matter is legitimately within the general scope of the purpose of the act as indicated in the title.” And see, to the same effect, Brand v. Lawrenceville, 104 Ga. 486 (30 S. E. 954); Hope v. Gainesville, 72 Ga. 246; Carroll v. Wright, 131 Ga. 728 (63 S. E. 260); Mayor &c. of Savannah v. State, 4 Ga. 26; Smith v. Bohler, 72 Ga. 546; Brown v. State, 73 Ga. 38; Howell v. State, 71 Ga.
The plaintiffs cite the following cases in support of their contention that the act of 1922 is unconstitutional and void, because the body of the act contains matter different from that contained in the caption thereof. The first case cited is that of Blair v. State, 90 Ga. 326, 329, 330 (17 S. E. 96, 35 Am. St. R. 206). The last sentence of the quotation from that case is as follows: “ The constitution intended to protect people against covert or suprise legislation;” and that we take it is the true rule, but we fail to see in this case how there could be, under the caption of the act in this ease, a failure to put the public on notice of the general scope of the legislation proposed. The following cases are also cited: National Bank of Augusta v. Southern Co., 55 Ga. 36, 38, near bottom; Tolbert v. Long, 134 Ga. 298 (1), 300 (67 S. E. 828); Bass v. Lawrence, 124 Ga. 75 (2) (52 S. E. 296); Board of Education v. Barlow, 49 Ga. 232 (4), 241; Conley v. State, 85 Ga. 348 (11) (11 S. E. 659); Crabb v. State, 88 Ga. 584 (15 S. E. 455); N. E. R. Co. v. Morris, 59 Ga. 364 (1, 2), 368; City Council of Augusta v. P. R. & A. Ry. Co., 74 Ga. 658 (2), 661; Johnson v. Jones, 87 Ga. 85 (13 S. E. 261); McDuffie v. State, 87 Ga. 687 (13 S. E. 596); Harris v. State, 101 Ga. 887; Dempsey v. State, 94 Ga. 766, 768 (22 S. E. 57); Ayeridge v. Social Circle, 60 Ga. 404; Arrington v. State, 148 Ga. 115 (95 S. E. 980); Sister Felicitas v. Hartridge, 148 Ga. 832 (1, 2), 838 (98 S. E. 538); Brown v. State, 79 Ga. 324 (4 S. E. 861).
But these cases are distinguishable from the case at bar; and we feel constrained to hold that the 34th section of the act of 1922, supra, and other portions of it attacked, are not in violation of art. 3, sec. 7, par. 8, of the constitution of Georgia (Civil Code of 1910, § 6437), for any reason assigned.
The act of 1922 (Acts 1922, pp. 457, 473, sec. 34) provides that before the provisions of the act shall go into effect the same
In 20 C. J. 204, § 263, it is said that “When a board of canvassers has fully performed its duty, proclaimed the result of the count according to law, and adjourned sin.e die, it is functus officio; the persons who compose it have no power voluntarily to reassemble and recanvass the returns. Neither have their successors in office power to reeanvass returns already canvassed by the old board. Where a canvass has been concluded under the
In State ex rel. King v. Trimbell, 12 Wash. 440 (41 Pac. 183), it was held: “The canvassing board can not go behind the returns of the election officers to determine the results of an election.” And see Stearns v. State ex rel. Biggers, 23 Okla. 462 (100 Pac. 909). And in Kunkle v. Coleman, 174 Ind. 315 (92 N. E. 61), it was held that “ The duties of canvassers are purely ministerial; they perform the mathematical act of tabulating the votes of the different precincts as the returns come to them.” See People ex rel. Del Valle v. Butler, 20 Cal. App. 379 (129 Pac. 600); State ex rel. Fletcher v. Osburn, 24 Nev. 187 (51 Pac. 837), where it was held that' “ The determination as to the result of an
In Mechem on Public Officers, § 211, it is said that “ Board can act but once. But having once met and fully completed their duty, their powers are exhausted, and they can not again meet and re-canvass the votes or reverse their prior decision and announce a different result.” And this rule seems to be the logical result of our elective system. If canvassing boards can meet and change the results which they have once declared, they can also meet and change the results any number of times. Serious .and injurious results might follow if such powers' were held to exist in canvassing
What has been said above, with reference to the adoption of the " commission city-manager form of government ” act, applies also to the 'creation of a new school board for the City of Albany, which was submitted at the same time to a vote of the qualified voters of Albany.
After all of the evidence in the present case was before the court the trial judge announced his rulings on the issues in the case, as appears from the bill of exceptions, as follows: 1. The court holds that the registration lists for the several wards as prepared by the registrars and delivered by them to the clerk of council of the City of Albany, and later delivered to the managers of the election and used in the election held December 4, 1922, were conclusive upon both the mayor and council in declaring the result of the election, and upon the court in the decision of this case, and neither of the tribunals could go behind the registration list to ascertain whether or not any of the voters named thereon, who did not vote in the election, should be counted and considered as qualified voters, in estimating whether a majority of the registered qualified voters of the City of Albany voted’ against the ratification of the acts mentioned in plaintiffs’ petition. 2. The court holds that the declaration of the result of the election by the mayor and council of Albany as a canvassing board, as shown by the resolution in evidence adopted December 12, 1922, is conclusive upon both the mayor and council as such board, and upon the court, and that the resolution was duly adopted and of force notwithstanding the fact that it was not signed by the mayor or entered on the minutes of the mayor and council, and that when the resolution was passed the power of the mayor and council as a
Of the 314 names appearing on the registration list for 1921 it is contended that 257 of the names were those of women who had not paid their poll-tax for the years 1921 and 1922/ and it is therefore insisted that these women whose names appear on the registration list were disqualified to register in 1921 and to vote in the election of December 4, 1922, and that therefore their names should not have appeared upon the registration list of 1921 as legally qualified voters in 1922.
The 19th amendment to the constitution of the United States became operative on August 26, 1920. The terms of that amendment are as follows: “ The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by . . any State on account of sex.” The plaintiffs insist that upon the 19th amendment becoming effective women were subject to the payment of poll-tax the same as men, from that date, and that they were liable for the payment of such tax from the date on which such amendment became effective; and it is argued that from that date
Judgment affirmed.