CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
Continued. and other acts of discrimination or competition not prohibited to justify such prohibition as a valid exercise of the police power.
Such proposed act, therefore, if passed, would be unconstitutional and void.
Amendment to Constitution Taxation-Wild or Forest Lands -Standing Wood and Timber . 531 A proposed constitutional amendment, giv- ing to the General Court full power and au- thority "to prescribe for wild or forest lands such methods of taxation as will develop and conserve the forest resources of the Common- wealth," if adopted would permit the enact- ment by the Legislature of taxation laws with reference to woodlands and wood lots without regard to their size so long as said wood lots or woodlands were wild and forest lands; that is, in a state of nature and uncultivated except for the purpose of producing wood and timber.
The term 'wild or forest lands" does not include a tract of woodland located within fence premises of which the principal use is for pasturage.
The technical signification of the term "wild or forest lands" has never been established or defined by the courts of this Commonwealth. The term "standing wood and timber" has not received, either in the statutes of this Com- monwealth or in the decisions of the court, a fixed or technical definition of universal or even of general application.
The proposed amendment to the Constitu- tion, which would confer upon the General Court full power and authority to prescribe for wild or forest lands "such methods of taxa- tion as will develop and conserve the forest resources of the Commonwealth," would au- thorize the enactment of laws to provide that wild or forest lands should be taxed without reference to the element of value contributed by the growth thereon, and that the tax upon the value of such growth might be reduced or altogether omitted in the determination of the tax to be assessed upon said lands.
Appropriation of Money raised by Taxation - Public Purpose- Reclamation and Sale of Wet Lands Eminent Domain Gratuity
A proposed act providing, in substance, for the taking by eminent domain, at the assessed valuation thereof, of tracts of wet lands for the purpose of reclamation, which, after such taking and reclamation, are to be cultivated for two years by the State Board of Agriculture and then sold at a price not less than the cost of such land plus the cost of reclamation, one- half of any sums received in excess of such total cost to be awarded to the original owner or owners of the land sold, and appropriating therefor the sum of $10,000, might be held to contemplate the accomplishment of a public purpose which would warrant the exercise of the power of eminent domain and the appro-
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW- priation of money raised by taxation, if, as matter of fact, the development and distribu- tion for occupation of the land affected gave relief to a considerable and thickly settled agricultural region, and affected beneficially the community as a whole, throughout such region, as well as individuals who acquired the land itself.
So much of such proposed act as provides that one-half of any sum received by the Com- monwealth upon disposing of reclaimed land, in excess of the cost of the land plus the cost of reclamation, shall be awarded to the original owner or owners thereof authorizes a payment which is in the nature of a gratuity, and would therefore be unconstitutional.
Flowage of Land in this Com- monwealth by Erection of Dam in Connecticut - Proceedings at Law Suits between the States 596 The Attorney-General has no authority to prosecute claims for the benefit of private individuals except in the single instance of the unascertained individuals who may benefit by a public charitable trust. The lawful erection of a dam in the State of Connecticut by a Connecticut corporation which results in the flowage of certain lands and highways within the Commonwealth at certain times and seasons does not cause damage of such serious magnitude as would justify the Commonwealth in bringing legal proceedings in courts of the United States.
- Plea of Nolo - Case placed on File Surrender of Certificate of Registration as a Hunter
See GAME LAWS.
Judgment of Guilty placed on File Revocation of License to operate Automobile
CO-OPERATIVE BANK Unincorpo-
Manner of transacting Business
An unincorporated association formed for the purpose of accumulating a fund for the purchase of real estate and for building thereon, for making loans and for accumulating a fund to be returned to the stockholders, the prop- erty of which is vested in trustees and the shares of which mature when they reach the value of $500, with provision for assignment or withdrawal, and which does not offer to its members who are persons having one or more shares of stock who have signed the articles of association - the money so accu- mulated according to the premium or rate of interest paid by them for priority, but invests such money as the funds of a savings bank are invested, does not transact "the business of accumulating the savings of its members and loaning to them such accumulation in the manner of a co-operative bank" in violation of the prohibition of R. L., c. 114, § 1.
Quare, whether the way or manner in which such association transacts its business might not lead the public to believe that such business was that of a savings bank.
of State Board of Health in Cities and Towns
See STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 1.
Agreement of Asso- Parties Husband
A husband and wife may legally enter into the contract represented by an agreement of association for the purpose of forming a cor- poration under the general laws.
See COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. 1.
Purpose of Organization -
The Commissioner of Corporations has no authority to approve the incorporation of cer- tain persons for the purchase of waste, unde- veloped or partially developed lands with a view to their development and sale, such pur- pose being forbidden by St. 1903, c. 437, § 7, as amended by St. 1906, c. 286, § 1, that "three or more persons may associate themselves with the intention of forming a corporation under the general laws for any lawful purpose except to buy and sell real estate.'
Name or Title containing the Words "Bank" or "Banking" The provisions of St. 1909, c. 491, § 4, amending St. 1908, c. 590, § 16, that no person, partnership, corporation or association, except co-operative banks, savings banks and trust companies incorporated under the laws of this Commonwealth, and such foreign banking corporations as were doing business therein and were subject to the examination or super- vision of the Bank Commissioner on June 1, 1906, should thereafter "transact business under any name or title which contains the word 'bank' or 'banking,' as descriptive of said business," are applicable to a corporation organized prior to the passage of such act.
Company Acquisition of Stock of Domestic Street Railway, Gas and Electric Light Corporations 417 Under the provisions of St. 1903, c. 437, § 7, as amended by St. 1906, c. 286, § 7, that "three or more persons may associate themselves by a written agreement of association with the intention of forming a corporation under gen- eral laws for any lawful purpose which is not excluded by the provisions of section one except to buy and sell real estate," a corpora- tion may be organized for the purpose "to buy and hold a majority of the shares of the capital stock of any street railway, gas and electric light companies organized under the laws of this commonwealth to do business within this commonwealth."
The words construction of public works," as used in R. L., c. 20, § 27, providing in part that all contracts made by the county commis- sioners for the construction of public works, if exceeding $800 in amount, shall be made in writing and after posting and publication of notice as therein prescribed, do not require that notice of proposals for the employment of architects to prepare plans shall be posted and published.
2. - Of Bristol County Compensa- tion for Services as Members of Joint Board
91 The Governor and Council may not provide compensation for the county commissioners of the county of Bristol for services as members of the joint board created by St. 1903, c. 462, to locate and construct a new drawbridge over Great Taunton River, and consisting of the Board of Railroad Commissioners, the Board of Harbor and Land Commissioners, and the county commissioners of the county of Bristol. Salaries
· Charitable or Benevolent -
Readjustment of creased Population See SALARIES.
Approval of Bill or Order Duty to ascertain Legality of Expenditures
Under the provisions of R. L., c. 21, § 8. that "each county treasurer shall collect, receive and safely keep all money belonging to the county, and pay out the same in ac- cordance with law," it is the duty of a county treasurer to ascertain whether or not a pay-
St. 1904, c. 453, which established the salaries of the justices, clerks and assistant clerks of certain district, police and municipal courts upon a basis of population, expressly excepted from such classification the justices and clerks of the district courts of Franklin County, and such exception was not affected by St. 1905, c. 339, providing for a readjust- ment of such salaries by the county treasurers of the several counties, after the taking of the decennial census of the year 1905.
It follows, therefore, that the treasurer of the county of Franklin is not authorized to readjust the salaries of the officers of the district courts of such county upon any basis of population.
DEPARTMENTS — Investigation of Ex- penditures of
See GOVERNOR AND COUNCIL. 1.
DIRECTOR OF BUREAU OF STA- TISTICS-Note- Certifica-
tion - Vote to authorize Select-
See CONSTITUTIONAL LAW. 26.
See CONSTITUTIONAL LAW. 7.
of Candidate on Morning of Elec- tion Day Failure to elect Special Election - Governor Where a candidate for the office of clerk of the courts died on the morning of the day of the election, but as the fact of his death was not generally known and his name was upon the official ballot the highest number of votes was cast for him, there was a failure to elect, and the Governor should cause a precept to be issued for the election of such officer in accordance with the provisions of St. 1907, c. 560, 306.
Police Power - Regulation of Conduct of Elections
497 The qualifications which shall entitle any person to vote or to be voted for and the right to elect and to be elected to public office are defined in Article IX. of the Declaration of Rights and Articles III., XX. and XXI. of the Articles of Amendment to the Constitution of the Commonwealth.
The conduct of elections may be regulated by the Legislature under the police power for the purpose of providing an easy and reason- able mode of exercising the constitutional right preventing error and fraud and securing order and regularity; but all such regulation must be subordinate to the provisions of the Con- stitution and cannot add to or diminish the qualifications of a voter as therein prescribed.
Whether or not the provisions of a proposed act which restrict the expenditure of money or the contribution of any other valuable thing in connection with an election by any person, whether or not such person is a candidate for public office, to traveling expenses incurred by himself and to expenses for preparing, circu- lating and filing nomination papers; which for- bid, except in cases of age or physical disability, the conveyance of any voter to the polls other- wise than at his own expense, and require that if any person elected to office, or any member or agent, or his campaign committee, or any other person acting in his or their interest or behalf, is convicted of any viola- tion of the law relating to corrupt practices at the primary at which such candidate was named, or at the election at which he was
ELECTION LAWS Continued. elected, such office shall be vacated and a new election shall be held to fill it, are reasonable and necessary precautions against bribery, fraud and other improper conduct in con- nection with elections and, therefore, a pro- tection to the constitutional right to elect and to be elected to office, is primarily a question of fact and, therefore, a proper subject for the determination of the Legislature.
It would seem, however, that the enforce- ment of such stringent regulations as those above described could hardly be held to be a reasonable regulation of the exercise of the right to take part in elections.
A provision in the proposed act requiring that persons who, by reason of age or physical infirmity, are unable to reach the polls without assistance and are, therefore, transported to and from the polls shall, before voting, make a statement under oath of such disability, is clearly unconstitutional as imposing a quali- fication upon such persons additional to those prescribed by the Constitution.
ELECTIONS- Voting Machines, Ballot Boxes and Counting Apparatus Examination by State Ballot Law Commission Constitu- tional Law Delegation of Leg- islative Authority
A provision in a proposed act relating to the use of voting machines, that "the State Ballot Law Commission shall also constitute the State Board of Voting Machine Exam- iners, and shall at such times, under such conditions and after such public notice as they shall determine, examine voting machines, ballot boxes and counting apparatus, and they shall make and file with the Secretary of the Commonwealth their report on such machines, ballot boxes and counting apparatus as in their judgment conform to the requirements of law, together with such written or printed descrip- tions and such drawings, specifications and photographs as shall clearly identify such ma- chines," does not vest in or impose upon the State Ballot Law Commission any powers and duties which involve a delegation of legislative authority which would be objectionable upon constitutional grounds.
The provision above quoted does not directly require the State Ballot Law Commission to approve only such machines as fulfill the re- quirements of the primary law, but indirectly requires such approval, since they are required to make and file their report only on such machines, ballot boxes and counting apparatus as in their judgment conform to such require-
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