St. Landry Democrat

THE THIRTEENTH DISTRICT JUDGESHIP.

Baton Rouge Truth.

Governor McEnery, by his proclamation ordering an election to be held on the 27th of December next, to fill the vacancy on the bench of the Thirteenth Judicial District, caused by the death of Judge Hudspeth, is being justly censured by the indignant people of St. Landry. This singular tardiness in referring the election to the people is held up in strong contrast with the Gubernatorial haste in appointing a successor ad interim by the time Judge Hudspeth's body was barely chilled in death.

There was about one year of the vacant term unexpired, to fill which falls peculiarly within the province of the people, for the office is elective and not appointive and the power given the Governor to judge ad interim is intended merely to avoid inconveniences that might result from a brief delay in filling vacancies. But how has the Governor interpreted the law? By postponing the election to December 27th, he has appropriated to himself about nine months of the vacant term, magnanimously ordering the people to elect for the remaining three months. How well does he guard and protect the rights of the people! How sound is the Democracy of our Democratic Governor!

An attempt is made to explain this extraordinary delay by claiming that owing to the creation of Acadia out of St. Landry territory, a delay is necessary in order that the Police Juries of the two parishes may select new polling places, since several of the wards having been lopped by the dividing line those voters living in wards left destitute of a polling place would be disfranchised should an election be ordered to take place before the juries could act. This explanation seems to us ridiculous. Under the act creating Acadia the police jury was directed to establish precincts and polling places throughout the parish, as a matter of fact this has been done and a parish election held under the law. So much for Acadia.

As for St. Landry. Sec. 5 of Act 101 of 1882, amending Act 58 of 1877, directs the Governor to "appoint a returning officer for each parish, who shall appoint the commissioners of election, and designate the polling places in each election precinct." If there is any subsequent enactment on this subject we would like to see it. It is manifest from the above that the intervention of the St. Landry police jury is not required by law, but that the returning officer has all the power necessary to see that every citizen of St. Landry parish has a polling place at which to cast his ballot. The only way in which the Governor can repair the injury he has done the voters of the Thirteenth District will be to withdraw his proclamation and issue another ordering an election within the ordinary delay. It is eminently proper for him to do this or show some law subsequent to 1882 that sustains his action.