Hamilton v. Carroll

Citations

• 82 Md. 326
• 33 A. 648
• 1896 Md. LEXIS 11

Syllabus

<p>Constitutional Law — Title of Statute — Special Law — Delegation of Legislative Power — Contested Election — Jurisdiction of Equity— Removal of County Seat.</p> <p>The Act of 1894, c. 546, was entitled ‘‘ An Act to provide for the removal of the county seat of Charles County from Port Tobacco to La Plata or Chapel Point, if the legal and qualified voters of said county shall so determine, and to provide for the erection of a courthouse andjail at such place as shall be so determined on, ’ ’ etc. By the Act itself the question submitted to the voters was whether the county seat should be located at La Plata or Chapel Point, and did not in terms submit the direct question whether the county seat should be removed from Port Tobacco, its then location. Held, that the Act provided for the removal and that the subject was sufficiently described in the title, as required by Art. 3, sec. 29 of the Constitution.</p> <p>Held, also, that the above mentioned Act was not within the prohibition of Constitution, Art. 3, sec. 33, providing that no special law shall be passed in a case for which provision is made by general law, since there is no general law concerning the location of county seats.</p> <p>Held, also, that said Act is not invalid as being a delegation of legislative power to the people, since the location of a county seat is a matter of merely local concern which the Legislature has a right to submit to the determination of the people directly interested.</p> <p>A Court of Equity has no jurisdiction to determine an election contest of any kind.</p> <p>The bill in this case alleging irregularities in the conduct of the election provided for by the above-mentioned Act, and asking that the same be declared null and void, was dismissed.</p>