136 Ga. 158 | Ga. | 1911
(After stating the facts!) The title to the act ap^ proved August 10, 1909 (Acts 1909, p. 216), is as follows: “An act to repeal an act of the General Assembly of Georgia, approved December 28th, 1898, creating the city court of Dawson, and all amendments thereto, for the county of Terrell, and to provide for the transfer of all cases pending therein to the superior court of. said county. And further providing that the said act abolishing the said city court of Dawson shall not go into effect and become operative, when passed, until after an election shall have been held by the people of Terrell county, and a majority of the qualified voters of said county shall have voted to abolish the same. And to provide the time of calling said election and the manner of holding same.” The first section of the act is as follows: “Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the’ State of Georgia,.and it is hereby enacted by authority of the same, That an act approved December. 28th, 1898, entitled ‘An act creating .and establishing the city court of Dawson, in and for the county of Terrell, and all amendments thereto, are hereby repealed. Provided, however, that this act shall not go into .effect, and said court shall not be abolished until the provisions hereof shall have been approved by a majority of the qualified voters of said county of Terrell, in the manner hereinafter pointed out. At the general election to be held for the elec
In the statement of facts by the Court of Appeals preceding the questions propounded appears the following: “The question.proposed by this act was voted on by the voters of Terrell county at the general election held on the first Wednesday in October, 1910. On that date, there were 1307 qualified, registered voters on the voters’ list of Terrell county; of these 770 voted in the election just mentioned; of these so voting, 353 voted ‘against the city court of Dawson,’ and 353 voted ‘for the city court of Dawson,’ and the ordinary of Terrell county declared this result and that the city court of Dawson had been abolished in pursuance of the terms of the act of 1909, above mentioned.” The act did not go into effect and the court 'was not abolished merely because a majority of the votes cast with respect to the question submitted was “against the city court of Dawson.” The question as to whether or not the court should be abolished was submitted at a general election, at which the members of the General Assembly, the -Governor, and other State-house officers were elected and amendments to the State constitution were passed on. In 15 Cyc. 390, it is stated: “According to the weight of authority, when a question is referred to a vote of the people, to be decided by a majority of the legal voters at a general election, the requirement calls for the requisite majority
The act was to go into effect only on condition that a certain number of votes was cast against the city court at the general election to be held on the first Wednesday in October, 1910. No provision is made for a submission of the question to the voters at an election held subsequently to the October election in 1910. Under the terms of the act, the court could not be abolished and the act become operative by reason of a vote cast at any election held subsequently to the general election in October, 1910, or by reason of any event occurring subsequently to that election. The act could serve no practical purpose after the October election in 1910 (the result at the election being a refusal to make the act operative), and it is now without practical effect. The only purpose of the act was to have determined in a specified manner whether or not the city court of Dawson should be abolished; and as. the city court, under the terms of the act, has not been abolished and can not .hereafter He abolished by virtue of any of its provisions, the certified questions as to whether the act is unconstitutional, for any of the reasons referred to in such questions, become immaterial. We therefore deem it unnecessary to answer any of the questions propounded other than the last one, which has been answefed heroin in the negative.