86 Pa. 335 | Pa. | 1878
delivered the opinion of the court,
The question in this case is a very plain and simple one. What is the interpretation to be given to the penultimate clause of the seventh section of the fifth article of the constitution of 1873, relating to the pay of the prothonotaries ? The whole section reads thus: “ For Philadelphia, there shall be one prothonotary’s office, and one prothonotary for all said courts, to' be appointed by the judges of said courts, and to hold office for three years, subject to removal by a majority of the said judges; the said prothonotary shall appoint such assistants as may be necessary and authorized by said courts; and he and his assistants shall receive fixed salaries, to be determined by law and paid by said county; all fees collected in said office, except -such as may be by law due to the Commonwealth, shall be paid by the prothonotary into the county treasury. Each court shall have its separate dqckets, except the judgment docket, which shall contain the judgments and liens of all the said courts, as is or may be directed by law.” The punctuation I have compared with three copies of the constitution, the most accurate known to me, and it will be seen that the penultimate clause as to fees is a part of the preceding sentence, and closes with a period. The question is, is this clause to be viewed as a distinct, separate and independent provision, standing alone in its operation, and not affected by the preceding part of the same sentence? To state the proposition is to discover its fallacy. Clearly its interpretation is to be gathered from its place, its preceding context, its intent, and its relation to other parts of the constitution. It follows immediately in close connection, and dislocated by no period, the clause that “ he (the prothonotary) and his assistants shall receive fixed salaries, to be determined by law and paid by the said county.” Thus the constitution itself refers the matter of the fixed salary to the legislature. As a consequence, the second section of the schedule is operative, for until the legislature fix the salary, the law of compensation, to wit, his right to the legal fees, continues; for, until that event, neither the law nor his right is' inconsistent with the terms of the constitution. This second section reads thus: “All laws in force in this Commonwealth at the time of the adoption of this constitution, not inconsistent therewith, and all rights, actions, prosecutions and contracts shall continue, as if this constitution had not been adopted.” This section has been considered heretofore. See Lehigh Iron Co. Lower Macungie Township, 31 P. F. Smith 482, and Watson v. C. & D. River Railroad Co., 2 Norris 254. Thus both the law and the right to the fees remain. Another significant fact is found in the context and the clause itself. The salary, when fixed, must be paid by the county; so the fees are to be paid t& the county. The intent is manifest. The schedule, which is the transition way from
But it is argued that the legislature may fail to pass a law fixing the salaries, and thus suffer the evil to continue, which the provision for payment of fees into the county treasury was intended to remedy. True, the time may be delayed, but this was a fact which was in view when the convention committed the subject to the legislature ; and the argument supposes that the members of that body are void of conscience and willing to violate their oaths of office. The constitution cannot be administered on any such supposition. We are bound to concede honesty of purpose to them, as we would ask it to be awarded to ourselves. But the supposition is contradicted by the fact, for we find that the Assembly passed the requisite law on the 31st day of March 1876, Pamph. L. 13. Now, when we remember the immense number of legislative acts necessary to adjust the affairs of the state to the terms of the new con
It is also said the 18th section is unconstitutional. But this is answered by our interpretation of the clause as to fees; for if they are not to go into the county treasury until the salary is fixed, the law and the constitution are in harmony. They would be in disorder only, if we give the clause an immediate, independent and absolute interpretation.
The 29th section of the schedule, as to the compensation of county officers in office at the adoption of the constitution, has no relation to the case before us. Mr. Mann has been since appointed, and his ease is necessarily governed by the section under which he was appointed — 7th section, 5th article.
So the 5th section of the 14th article, relating to county officers, does not touch this case. It is the general provision for the compensation of county officers, while the case before us comes specially under the 7th section of the 5th article, already noticed. But the 5th section of the 14th article is in pari materia, and confirms conclusively the interpretation we have given to the 7th section of the 5th article. Thus it says: “ The compensation of county officers shall he regulated hy law, and all county officers who are, or may be salaried, shall pay all fees, which they may be authorized to receive, into the treasury of the county or state, as may be directed by law. In counties containing over 150,000 inhabitants, all county officers shall be paid by salary, and the salary of any such officer and his clerks, heretofore paid by fees, shall not exceed the aggregate amount of fees earned during his term and collected by or for him.” Thus the former part of the section so connects the salary arid the fees, as to show that the regulation of the salary must precede the payment of the fees into the toeasury. The latter part makes payment by salary compulsory' in counties having a population over 150,000. Upon the census of 1870, this would.
Thus, a full consideration of section 7th, article 5th of the new constitution, leads to a clear result. The place of the clause as to fees, its context and connection, and the reason, intent and spirit of the provision, all unite in condemning, as illogical and unreasonable, the view that this clause must be dislocated from its place and connection, and treated as an independent and absolute provision for the immediate payment of the fees of the office into the county treasury; and this conclusion derives force from its relation to other parts of the constitution and the schedule.
Decree affirmed, with costs to be paid by the - appellants, and the bill of the plaintiffs finally dismissed.