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| CHAPTER XVII. HONORARY MEMBERSHIP. THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF THE LAW EXEMPTING HONORARY MEMBERS FROM JURY DUTY.—MR. WALLIS' OPINION. The message of Governor John Lee Carroll to the Legislature in 1878 was written shortly after the great strike of 1877, and the lawlessness and strife which accompanied it. The Sixth Regiment had been disbanded and the governor said that "the Fifth Regiment, thoroughly organized, and numbering 500 men, with a few companies of cavalry and infantry scattered through the State, comprise the whole military organization to which we must look for the maintenance of order in case the public peace should again be disturbed." The governor recommended an increase in the force and a larger appropriation for its support. He also recommended the repeal of the law exempting honorary members of the regiment from jury duty. The fee of the honorary members of Fifth Regiment was fixed at $10 a year, so that citizens by the payment of that sum to the regiment avoided liability to serve as jurors. This honorary membership was the source of a considerable revenue to the regiment. The number of honorary members is limited by law to the number of active members. "Many of the most capable citizens," the governor declared, "escape jury service by this annual payment of $10, and that the State cannot afford to deprive the public of the services of efficient jurymen in order that the militia may be better sustained." The Legislature, however, did not act upon the governor's suggestion. The constitutionality of the law giving this exemption had been questioned as far back as 1870. The question was submitted to S. Teackle Wallis, who gave the following opinion on April 30, 1870 : |