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1876- OF HOUSE OF THE DELEGATES. 385
The Speaker laid before the House the following commo-
nication from Hon. R. H. Alvey, of the Court of Appeals :
Annapolis, Feb. 10th, 1876.
To the Honorable,
The General Assembly of Maryland:
Gentlemen : — As you are aware, by the existing law, Act
1872, chap. 377, the Judges of the Circuit Courts of the
State, are required to appoint the County School Commis-
sioners for the several counties, and this requirement, so far
as I am informed has been observed without objection by the
Judges. This power of appointment, however, is not a ju-
dicial function, nor does it in any manner pertain to the ju-
dicial office, but rather belongs properly to the Executive
Branch of the Government. I venture to suggest, therefore,
that by imposing such duty upon the Judges, some of the
wisest and most fundamental provisions of the Constitution
have been overlooked by your predecessors.
By Article 8 of the Declaration of Rights, it is declared,
"That the legislative, executive and judicial powers of gov-
ernment ought to be forever separate and disfinct from each
other; and no person txercisiog the functions of one of said
departments, shall assume or discharge the duties of any
other " And again, in Article 33 of the same instrument,
it is declared that "no Judge shall hold any of her office,
civil or military, or political trust, or employment of any
kind whatsoever, under the Constitution or Laws of this
State."
These are very plain words, about which there can be no
misunderstanding; and it certainly requires no argument to
prove that the holding and exercising the power of appoint-
ment of the School Commissioners, under our State system,
is a political trust of a must delicate ail i important character;
and being such, of course, it should not be reposed in the
Judges, who are forbidden to exercise it.
Indeed, apart fiom this constitutional prohibition, there are
many other considerations which render it altogether improper
that the Courts should hold such power, or be in any man-
ner involved with its exercise. From the very nature of the
judicial office, the exercise of other functions than those
properly pertaining to it, especially of a political nature,
cannot be otherwise than prejudicial. Moreover, send us
questions may arise in reference to the appointment of these
Commissioners, which would not only be exceedingly embar-
rassing to the Courts making the appointments, but might
affect and embarrass the operation of the School system
itself.
I hope therefore, that the Legislature will, at its present
Session, make some other provision for the appointment of
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