1166 JOURNAL OF PROCEEDINGS [Mar. 22

from Charles county and the second question is up for
determination—to wit: "Are either of the minority
candidates entitled to the seat when declared vacant?"
in other words, if Mr. Smoot, who received the greatest
number of votes is ineligible is the election entirely
null and void, or is Mr. Edelen, who received the most
votes of the monority candidates elected ?

This has been a difficult point to determine.

The English rule is that where the majority candi-
date is ineligible and sufficient notice of his ineligi-
bility has been given, or if the fact was notorious,
then the person receiving the next highest number of
voles being eligible must be declared elected.

The reason for the rule being founded upon the
ground that "it is willful obstinacy and misconduct
for a voter to give his vote for a person known to be
ineligible and in doing so, he intentionally throws his
vote away, and it should therefore be declared null
and void." Great stress is therefore laid upon the
fact of notice being given. The House of Representa-
tives of the United States has refused to adopt it.

In the case of Smith vs. Brown, Mr. Dawes, Chair-
man of the Committee, in an able opinion, says that
the law of the British Parliament has never been
adopted in this country and is wholly inapplicable in
our system of Government—in Commonwealth vs.
Cluney, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that
where an election or Sheriff, the majority voted for a
disqualified person, the next returned is not to be
elected—in California in Saunders vs. Haynes, the
same rule has been adopted and the same in Wis-
consin. Thus it will be seen that the weight of auth-
orities in this country is against it, and says McCrary
on elections—we think that sound policy as well as
reason and authority forbids the adoption of that
doctrine in this country—It is a fundamental principle
with us that the majority shall rule and that a ma-
jority or at least, a plurality, shall be required to elect
a person to office by popular vote, any doctorine which
opens the way for minority rule in any case is anti-
republican and anti-American. The English rule, if
adhered to, would in many cases, result in compelling