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CIVIL GOVERNMENT FOR COMMON SCHOOLS.
PREPARED AS A MANUAL FOR PUBLIC INSTRUCTION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
To which are appended the Constitution of the State of New York as
amended at the election of 1880, the Constitution of the United
States, and the Declaration of Independence.
BY HENRY C. NORTHAM,
CONDUCTOR OF TEACHERS' INSTITUTES.
PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION.
Instruction in Civil Government should be both theoretical and
practical. Unfortunately the text-books in general use stop with
the theory.
They deal with the science of government, but, being intended for
use throughout the United States, they give no information as to
the ART of government as practiced in this State.
Our students learn what is the guaranty of Republican government,
but not how that government is exercised in their own town.
They are drilled in Incorporeal Hereditaments, but do not learn
what kind of causes can be tried before a Justice of the Peace.
To supply this deficiency, is the aim of the present manual.
Beginning with the school district, the names, manner of election,
duties, and salaries are given of all important officers from the
school trustee to the President of the United States.
The rapid sale of the First and Second Editions of this book
encourages the hope that, with the additions now made, this manual
may be considered indispensable in every PROGRESSIVE school in the
State of New York.
HENRY C. NORTHAM. LOWVILLE, April 22, 1878.
I.--INTRODUCTION.
Officers are elected to administer the government for
I. The United State
II. Each State
III. Counties.
IV. Cities
V. Towns
VI. Districts
The following are names given to some of the different kinds of
districts in the State of N. York
I. Road, School and Election Districts.
II. School Commissioner Districts.
III. Assembly districts
IV. Senatorial districts
V. Congressional districts
VI. Judicial districts
QUESTION. Which are the smallest districts named?
A. Road, School and Election districts.
Q. What is a road district?
A. A portion of a town placed under the charge of an officer,
whose duty it is to see that the roads are kept in good condition.
Q. What is a school district?
A. A portion of a town or city, placed under the care of officers,
whose duties are to maintain a public school in and for the
district
Q. What is an Election district?
A. A whole or part of a town, in which all the voting is done at
one poll.
Q. What is a School commissioner district?
A. A whole or a portion of a county, under the jurisdiction of a
school commissioner.
Q. What is an Assembly district?
A. A whole or a portion of a county set off for the purpose of
electing a "Member of the Assembly," except Fulton and Hamilton,
which together form one district, and elect one member.
Q. What is a Senatorial district?
A. A portion of a county, a whole county, or several counties
combined for the purpose of electing a Senator; the amount of
territory depending upon population.
Q. What is a Congressional district?
A. A portion of a county, a whole county, or several counties
combined for the purpose of electing a "Representative in
Congress;" the amount of territory depending upon population.
Q. What is a Judicial district?
A. One county (as in the case of New York), or several counties
united for the purpose of electing Supreme Court Judges.
Q. Name the civil divisions in regular order and tell what a
combination of each forms?
A. Road and school districts form towns; towns when united form
counties; counties when united form a State; and also in many
instances, Senatorial, Congressional and Judicial districts.
States when united form a Union.
Q. How many States are there?
A. Thirty-eight.
Q. How many counties in New York State?
A. Sixty.
Q. How many towns in New York State?
A. Nine hundred and forty; the number is changing from year to
year; the exact number can be found by consulting the almanacs
that give the election returns.
Q. How many cities in the State of New York?
A. Twenty.
Q. How many School Commissioner districts in New York State?
A One hundred and twelve.
Q. How many Assembly districts?
A. One hundred and twenty-eight.
Q. How many Senatorial districts?
A. Thirty two.
Q. How many Judicial districts?
A. Eight.
Q. How many Congressional districts?
A. Thirty-three.
Q. How many School districts in New York State?
A. About twelve thousand.
Q. By what authority are counties organized?
A. By the State Legislature.
Q. How are Towns formed?
A. By an act of the board of supervisors.
Q. By whom are School districts formed?
A. Generally by the school commissioners, sometimes assisted by
the supervisor and town clerk of the town; sometimes by special
legislation.
Q. What power defines the number of Assembly, Senatorial and
Judicial districts?
A. The State Constitution.
Q. What power decides upon the number of Congressional districts?
A. The Congress of the United States.
NOTE--The following table will be the guide for questioning
through all the succeeding pages:
I. Name of office
II. Number of Officials holding the same office at the same time.
III. Term of office.
IV. Eligibility. V. Duties.
VI. Salary or how paid.
II--THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
Q. What is a school district?
Q. How many school districts in your town?
Q. How many school districts in your county?
Q. How many school districts in New York State?
Q. What are the names of the officers in a school district?
A. I. Trustee or trustees; or a board of education.
II. Clerk.
III. Collector.
IV. Librarian
Q. What is the number of officials holding the same office at the
same time?
A. I. One or three trustees, as a district decides. If a board of
education, it may be not less than three nor more than nine.
II. One clerk
III. One collector.
IV. One librarian.
Q. What are the names of those districts in which there is a board
of education?
A. Union free school districts; and they are allowed to have an
additional officer, called a treasurer.
Q. What is the term of office of each?
A. I. If there be only one trustee, his term is one year.
II. If there be three trustees, the term is three years, one being
elected each year; if the board of education consists of six or
nine members, the term is three years; one third of the number
being elected each year.
III. Clerk, collector and librarian, each hold the office for one
year.
Q. Who are eligible to school offices in this state?
A. None but males; they must be twenty-one years of age; and
trustees can hold no other school office.
Q. What are some of the duties of school district officers?
TRUSTEES.
A. I. To hold and keep district property for the use of the
school.
II. To hire and pay a qualified teacher or teachers, and maintain
a school for at least twenty-eight weeks during the school year.
III. To make to the school commissions an annual report between
the first and second Tuesdays of August in each year.
IV. To make out all district taxes and issue a warrant for their
collection, etc., etc.
CLERK.
I. To record the proceedings of the district.
II. To give notice according to law of annual and special
meetings.
III. To notify each person elected or appointed to office, and
also to report their names and post-office address to the town
clerk.
IV. To notify the trustees of every resignation accepted by the
supervisor.
V. To keep and preserve all books, records and papers belonging to
his office, and to deliver the same to his successor, etc, etc,
COLLECTOR.
I. To collect all district taxes made out by trustees and placed
in his hands.
II To pay out the money as directed by their order.
LIBRARIAN.
To have charge and supervision of the school district library.
Q. What is the salary of these officers and how paid?
A. The collector only is entitled to pay; he receives one per
cent. on all moneys collected during the first fourteen days after
advertising; after that time five per cent.
Q. How shall we find hereafter that officers are paid?
A. Some are paid a salary; some by the day; some by a fee; some by
a per cent.
Q. What is meant by a salary? a fee? a per cent?
Q. How can a school district having three trustees change to one
trustee?
Q. Can a district having a sole trustee change back and legally
elect three?
[NOTE--All questions unanswered here, should be studied by
teachers very carefully, and the correct answers obtained. they
should also introduce many others that will be suggested by the
lesson.]
III.--THE TOWN.
Q. What is a town?
Q. How many towns in your county?
Q. How many towns in New York State?
Q. What are the names of the officers in a town, the number of
officials in each, and their terms of office?
A. I. One supervisor, elected for one year.
II. One town clerk, elected for one year.
III. Four justices of the peace, elected for four years.
IV. Three assessors, elected for three years.
V. One or three highway commissioners, as the electors may
determine; if one be elected, the term is one year; if three, the
term is three years.
VI. One or two overseers of the poor, as the electors may
determine; term one year.
VII. One collector, elected for one year.
VIII. Constables, not to exceed five; term one year.
IX. One game constable; term one year.
X. Three town-auditors; term one year.
XI. Three excise commissioners; term three years.
XII. Three inspectors of election; term one year; and in some
villages and cities a sealer of weights and measures.
Q. What are some of their duties?
I. SUPERVISORS.
I. To receive the school money belonging to the town, and pay it
out by order of the trustees.
II. To receive other money belonging to the town, and disburse the
same according to law.
III. To meet with the other supervisors of the county as a "board
of county canvassers."
IV. To meet with the other supervisors of the county as a "board
of supervisors"; to audit all lawful accounts against the county,
make out the tax lists and cause them to be collected; and perform
such other acts of legislation as the constitution and statute
laws have conferred upon them.
II. TOWN CLERK.
I. To keep the records of the town.
II. To keep in his custody such books and papers as belong to the
town.
III. To act as clerk of the town meetings,
IV. To file such papers as properly belong to his office; and to
perform the general clerical duties for the town.
III. JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.
I. To be the judicial officers for the town.
II. To issue warrants for the arrest of persons accused of
committing crimes, and also summonses for the purpose of bringing
before them persons for trial in civil actions.
III. To take acknowledgment of conveyances, administer oaths, act
as inspectors at the town meeting, etc.
IV. ASSESSORS.
I. To make an inventory of the real estate in the town, naming the
number of acres owned by each person, and fixing upon the same a
valuation in proportion to its worth.
II. To make an inventory of the personal property held by the
several persons in town, such as notes, mortgages, &c., which with
the real estate forms the basis for taxes.
V. HIGHWAY COMMISSIONERS.
I. To have the care and general supervision of the highways and
bridges.
II. To lay out new roads, when directed by a jury legally called
for that purpose and discontinue others when directed by the same
authority.
III. To divide the town into districts, and appoint overseers for
the same.
VI. OVERSEERS OF THE POOR.
To look after and provide for, either at home or in the county
house, such as are in indigent circumstances.
VII. COLLECTOR.
I. To give a bond to the supervisor for double the amount to be
collected, with one or more sureties for the faithful performance
of his duties.
II. To receive the tax list and warrant, and collect the tax and
pay it over as directed.
VIII. CONSTABLES.
I. To serve summonses issued by the justices.
II. To arrest and bring prisoners before a justice, and to have
the custody of them.
III. To collect moneys upon executions, and if necessary to sell
property to satisfy the same.
IV. To see that order is preserved in the community.
V. To attend the higher courts in their official capacity when
directed by the sheriff.
IX. GAME CONSTABLE.
To look after and prosecute for the violation of the game laws.
X. TOWN AUDITORS.
To examine the accounts of the town officers and pass upon the
same.
XI. EXCISE COMMISSIONERS.
To meet and act upon petitions asking for the privilege of selling
spirituous liquors.
XII. INSPECTORS OF ELECTION.
I. To preside at the annual election, receive the votes legally
presented, and deposit them in boxes prepared for that purpose.
II. To count the ballots at the close of the election, make a true
statement thereof and transmit it to the "board of canvassers."
Q. How are these officers paid?
A. I. Supervisors receive three dollars per day for county
services, and two dollars per day for town services, and are
entitled to extras for copying assessment roll and paying out
school money.
II. Town clerks are paid by the day for services; also a fee for
recording and filing papers.
III. Justices, mostly paid by fees; as officers of the town
meeting they are paid by the day.
IV. Collectors receive a percentage for collecting the money.
V. Constables receive a fee, a percentage, and for some services
are paid by the day.
VI. Game constables receive a portion of the fine money collected
by reason of their prosecutions.
VII. All the remaining officers are paid for their services by the
day.
Q. What must all these officers do before entering upon their
duties?
A. They must qualify; that is, take the oath of office.
Q. What is the oath of office?
A. See state constitution, art. XII, sec. I.
Q. Who can administer the oath of office?
A. I. The county clerk administers the oath to the justices of the
peace.
II. A justice of the peace administers the oath to all other town
officers, except inspectors of election.
III. The chairman of the inspectors of election administers the
oath to the other inspectors, and one of the others in turn
administers it to the chairman.
Q. How many supervisors in the towns of the state?
Q. How many supervisors in the cities of the state?
Q. How many justices of the peace in the state?
IV.--THE COUNTY.
Q. What is a county?
Q. By what authority organized?
Q. How many counties in the state?
Q. When was the colony of New York first divided into counties?
A. In 1683.
Q. How many counties were established in 1683 and their names?
A. Ten: viz, Kings, Queens, Suffolk, New York, Richmond,
Westchester, Dutchess, Albany, Ulster and Orange.
Q. What are these counties called?
A. Original counties.
Q. What are the names of the county offices, the number of
officials in the same office, and their term?
A. I. One sheriff, term is three years.
II. One county judge, term is six years: in a few counties there
are special judges; same length of term.
III. In counties containing more than forty thousand inhabitants a
surrogate may be elected; in counties containing less than forty
thousand inhabitants, the county judge performs the duties of
judge and surrogate; the term of surrogate is six years; in a few
counties there are special surrogates.
IV. One county clerk; term is three years.
V. One treasurer; term is three years.
VI. One district attorney; term is three years.
VII. Four coroners; term is three years.
VIII. One or three superintendents of the poor; term is three
years.
IX. Two justices of sessions; term is one year.
X. One school commissioner for each commissioner district; term is
three years.
Q. What about the eligibility of these officers?
A. I. The sheriff is prohibited from holding the same office for a
succeeding term, neither can he hold any other office at the same
time. Const., Art. X, Sec. I.
II. No county judge can hold the office longer than the last day
of December succeeding his seventieth birthday. Art VI, Sec. 13.
III. No person, except a counselor at law in the supreme court,
can hold the office of district attorney, if there be such an one
in the county; if there be none, then an attorney may be elected.
IV. Supervisors and county treasurers cannot hold the office of
County superintendent of the poor.
V. No sheriff, under sheriff, deputy, sheriffs clerk or coroner
can practice as counselor at law during his term of office.
VI. Justices of the sessions must be acting justices of the peace
in their respective towns.
VII. There are no other prohibitions in regard to age or re-
election of county officers.
Q. What are some of their duties?
I. SHERIFF.
A. I. He is the executive officer of the county.
II. By himself or by his deputies, executes civil and criminal
processes throughout the county.
III. Has charge of the jail and prisoners.
IV. Attends courts, and keeps the peace.
V. Must be present by himself or under-sheriff, at the drawing of
jurors, and cause them to be legally summoned.
II. JUDGE.
I. He is the presiding officer in the county court.
II. He may with two justices of sessions, hold Courts of Sessions,
with such criminal jurisdiction as the Legislature may prescribe,
III. The county judge of any county may preside at Courts of
Sessions, or hold County Courts, in any other county except New
York and Kings, when requested by the judge of such other county.
Art. VI, Sec. 15.
III. SURROGATE.
I. Takes proof of wills of real or personal property.
II. Grants letters testamentary of administrative.
III. Attends generally to the settlement of the estates of
deceased persons.
IV. COUNTY CLERK
I. He is the clerk of the courts held in and for the county,
namely: Circuit, Oyer and Terminer, County Court and Court of
Sessions, and the Special Term.
II. Administers the oath to jurors and witnesses.
III. Records the judgments of the courts.
IV. Draws the grand and petit juries and makes a return of the
same.
V. Records mortgages, deeds, satisfaction papers, &c.
V. TREASURER.
I. Receives the moneys collected by the several town collectors
for county and state taxes.
II. Pays over to the comptroller the amount going to the state.
III. Pays out the amount due the county, as directed by law.
IV. Receives from the comptroller the school money due the county,
and pays the same over to the several supervisors, as directed by
the school commissioner's certificate.
V. Makes a general statement of the financial affairs of his
office to the board of supervisors, annually.
VI. DISTRICT ATTORNEY.
I. He is the attorney for the county.
II. Presents complaints made to him accusing parties of crime, to
the grand jury.
III. Draws "bills of indictment" when found by the grand jury.
IV. Tries indicted parties in the Oyer and Terminer, and Court of
Sessions.
VII. CORONERS.
I. Look after and inquire into all matters concerning persons
slain, or who have died mysteriously.
II. Summon a jury, subpoena witnesses, and ascertain as far as
possible all the facts in regard to the death.
III. In case of a vacancy in the office of sheriff, and there
being no under sheriff, one of the coroners designated by the
county judge, performs the duties of sheriff until said vacancy be
filled by election or appointment.
IV. Have power to arrest the sheriff upon criminal processes.
VIII. SUPERINTENDENTS OF THE POOR.
Have the general care of the county poor house; appoint persons to
take charge of the same; and render an account annually to the
"board of supervisors" of their doings.
IX. JUSTICES OF SESSIONS.
I. Sit upon the bench with the county judge in the Court of
Sessions and with the Supreme Court judge in the Oyer and
Terminer, for the trial of such criminals as have been indicted by
a grand jury.
II. The law gives them just as much power in the decision of
questions as the judge.
X. SCHOOL COMMISSIONERS.
I. Apportion the school moneys among the several districts in the
county.
II. Make an annual report to the superintendent of public
instruction, containing all the statistics embraced in the several
reports from the trustees of his district.
III. Visit and examine all the schools and school districts within
their districts as often in each year as shall be practicable;
inquire into all matters relating to the management, the course of
study and mode of instruction, the text books used and the
discipline of such schools.
IV. Examine in regard to the "moral character," "learning" "and
ability to teach," persons proposing to teach public schools in
their districts; and if they find them, qualified, grant them
certificates in the form prescribed by the superintendent.
V. Form new districts, or change the boundary lines of old ones.
VI. Organize at least once each year, or in concert with one or
more commissioners in the same county, a "teachers' institute,"
and induce if possible all the teachers in their districts to be
present and take part in its exercises.
Q. What are the salaries of each of these officers, or how paid?
I. SHERIFF.
A. I. Receives a fee on all papers served
II. Receives a per cent on money collected on executions.
II. JUDGE.
Receives a salary established by the legislature, varying in
different counties according to population and business.
III. SURROGATE.
I. Receives a salary, varying in different counties, according to
business.
II. When the judge performs the duties of surrogate the one salary
suffices for all the duties performed.
III. The surrogate is entitled to a clerk.
IV. COUNTY CLERK.
I. Receives a fee for all papers recorded.
II. Receives a fee for administering oaths in court.
III. Is paid extra for copying or re-indexing old records.
V. TREASURER.
I. The county treasurer shall receive an annual salary fixed by
the "board of supervisors."
II. The salary shall be established by the "board," at least six
months before his election.
III. The salary shall not be increased nor diminished during his
term of office.
VI. DISTRICT ATTORNEY.
I. A salary fixed by the board of supervisors, when they resolve
so to do.
II. Can try civil causes, when not engaged officially, receiving
as his own the fees for the same.
VII. CORONERS.
I. For holding inquests they are entitled to a reasonable
compensation to be audited and allowed by the board of
supervisors.
II. For performing sheriff's duties, they are entitled to same
fees as sheriff.
VIII. SUPERINTENDENT OF THE POOR.
Paid by the day.
IX. JUSTICES OF SESSIONS.
Three dollars a day.
X. SCHOOL COMMISSIONERS.
I. A salary of eight hundred dollars a year, established by law.
II. Supervisors are required to audit and allow two hundred
dollars extra for expenses.
III. A majority of the supervisors of any school commissioner
district may increase the salary of said school commissioner; the
increased salary must be levied upon the towns composing such
commissioner district.
Q What must county officers do, before entering upon the duties of
their office?
A. Take the oath prescribed by State Constitution in Art. XII,
Sec. I.
Q. What county officers are required in addition to the oath
prescribed to execute a bond for the faithful performance of their
duties?
A. Sheriff, county treasurer, surrogate and county superintendents
of the poor.
Q. Who administers the "oath of office" to the county officers?
A. The county clerk.
Q. In case of the re-election of the county clerk, before whom can
he qualify?
A. The county judge.
Q. Where are these oaths of office and bonds recorded?
A. In the county clerk's office.
Q. Who is the sheriff of this county?
Q. Who is the present judge and what is his salary?
Q. Is there a separate officer as surrogate, and why?
Q. Who is the county clerk?
Q. Who is the county treasurer?
Q. Who is the district attorney?
Q. Who are the coroners?
Q. Who are the superintendents of the poor?
Q: Who are the justices of sessions?
Q. Who are the school commissioners?
TOWN AUDITORS.
By laws of 1878, 1879 and 1880, the following-named counties are
exempt from electing "town auditors," as prescribed on page 13:
Wayne, Delaware, Allegany, Oneida, Cayuga, Erie, St. Lawrence,
Schuyler, Rockland, Orange, Sullivan, Columbia, Broome, Lewis,
Madison, Wyoming, Queens, Jefferson, Fulton, Oswego, Suffolk,
Onondaga, Saratoga, Ontario, Yates, Rensselaer, Genesee,
Schenectady, Monroe, Livingston, Otsego, Schoharie, Niagara and
Orleans.
A TABLE
Showing the salaries of the several county judges and surrogates
of the State of New York at the present time, as established by
the statutes of 1877 and 1880:
COUNTIES. JUDGE. SURROGATE.
New York, ------- $12,000
Kings, $10,000 10,000
Erie, 5,000 4,000
Albany, 4,500 4,000
Westchester, 4,500 4,000
Onondaga, 4,000 4,000
Oneida, 4,000 4,000
Monroe, 4,000 4,000
Rensselaer, 3,500 3,500
Saratoga, 3,000 2,500
Ulster, 3,000 3,000
Dutchess, 3,000 3,000
Queens, 2,500 3,000
Chautauqua, 2,000 1,600
Cayuga, 2,000 2,000
Columbia, 2,000 2,500
Ontario, 2,000 1,500
Cattaraugus, 1,500 1,500
Oswego, 1,500 1,500
Jefferson, 1,500 1,500
Niagara, 1,500 1,500
Orange, 1,500 2,500
Otsego, 1,800 1,500
St. Lawrence, 1,750 1,750
Washington, 1,200 1,500
Suffolk, 1,000 1,500
The following are counties in which county judges act as
surrogates, receiving the one salary for both offices;
$2,000 Salary
Franklin,
Greene,
Rockland,
Schenectady,
Warren,
Wayne,
Delaware
Orleans,
$3,000 Salary
Broome,
Chemung,
Chenango,
Herkimer,
Livingston,
Madison,
Clinton,
$3,500 Salary
Richmond,
Steuben,
$2,500 Salary
Cortland,
Essex,
Genesee,
Schoharie,
$2,500 Salary
Tioga,
Tompkins,
Wyoming,
Montgomery,
$1,500 Salary
Putnam,
Schuyler,
Yates,
$1,750 Salary
Allegany,
$2,250 Salary
Fulton,
$1,200 Salary
Sullivan,
Lewis,
$1,000 Salary
Seneca,
$800 Salary
Hamilton,
V.--THE CITY.
Q. What is a city?
Q. By what authority organized?
A. By an act of the legislative.
Q. What instrument defines its powers?
A. A charter.
Q. What are the divisions of a city called?
A. Wards.
Q. Name the cities in New York State, when incorporated, and the
number of wards in each?
Answer:
Pop. in 1800
New York, 1680, has 24 wards, 1,206,590
Brooklyn, 1834, has 25 wards, 566,689
Buffalo, 1832, has 13 wards, 155,137
Albany, 1832, has 16 wards, 90,903
Rochester, 1686, has 16 wards, 89,363
Troy, 1816, has 13 wards, 56,747
Syracuse, 1847, has 8 wards, 51,791
Utica, 1832, has 12 wards, 33,913
Auburn, 1848, has 7 wards, 21,924
Oswego, 1848, has 8 wards, 21,117
Elmira, 1864, has 7 wards, 20,541
Poughkeepsie 1854, has 6 wards, 20,207
Cohoes, 1869, has 4 wards, 19,417
Yonkers, 1872, has 4 wards, 18,892
Kingston, 1872, has 9 wards, 18,342
Newburg, 1865, has 4 wards, 18,050
Binghamton, 1867, has 5 wards, 17,315
L. I. City, 1870, has 5 wards, 17,117
Schenectady, 1798, has 5 wards, 13,675
Lockport, 1865, has 4 wards, 13,522
Rome, 1870, has 5 wards, 12,045
Watertown, 1869, has 4 wards, 10,697
Ogdensburg, 1868, has 4 wards, 10,340
Hudson, 1785, has 4 wards, 8,828
The census for 1880 is not fully completed, but gives
substantially the above figures.
Q. How populous must a village be, before it can be incorporated
as a city?
A. No definite number is required; whenever a large proportion of
the inhabitant desire it, the legislature will grant a city
charter.
Q. What is the executive officer of a city called?
A. The Mayor. His term of office is one year, unless otherwise
ordered by the, charter, as in New York and Albany where it is two
years.
Q. What other important officers are elected?
A. Aldermen and Supervisors; one each in every ward unless
otherwise ordered by their charter.
Q. What officers form the common council?
A. Mayor and aldermen; and they are the legislative body of the
city; they have authority to appoint police officers.
Q. What courts exist in cities in addition to those established
for the State at large?
A I. The Superior Court of the city of New York.
II. The Court of Common Pleas for the city and county of New York.
III. The Superior Court of Buffalo.
IV. The City Court of Brooklyn. Const, Art. VI., Sec. 12.
JURIES.
Q. What is a jury?
A. A body of men elected according to law, and sworn to inquire
into and try any matter of fact, and declare the truth of it on
the evidence given in the case.
Q. Name some juries?
A. I. One of six persons for the trial of causes in a Justice
Court
II. One of twelve persons, summoned for the purpose of laying out
new roads or discontinuing old ones.
III. One of not less than six nor more than fifteen persons,
summoned by the coroner, to inquire into the cause of any violent
death.
IV. One of twelve men, called a petit jury, whose duty it is to
try causes, civil or criminal, in the county court and sessions,
or circuit and oyer and terminer.
V. One called a grand jury of not less than sixteen nor more than
twenty-three, whose duty it is to examine into accusations
against persons charged with crime, and if they find sufficient
testimony to warrant it, to find a bill of indictment against them
to be presented to the court.
Q. Name some qualifications requisite for jurors?
A. They must be freeholders, twenty-one years old.
Q. Who are exempt from sitting on a jury?
A. Persons over sixty years of age, postmasters and many others.
Q. How many are summoned for a justice court and by whom?
A. Twelve, and by a constable; and from these twelve six are
drawn.
Q. Who selects and notifies the jury for laying out roads,
A. By the coroner.
Q. How is the petit jury list obtained?
A. The supervisors, town clerk, and assessors of the several towns
of the county make out a list of the names of those persons
qualified, and the names in the several lists are written upon
slips of paper of the same size and deposited in a box in the
county clerk's office.
Q. How is the grand jury list obtained?
A. The supervisors apportion the number (three hundred,) among the
several towns in the county in proportion to population. Each
supervisor selects from his town the number to which it is
entitled; and these several lists are written upon slips of paper
as before and deposited in a box in the county clerk's office.
Q. How frequently are the lists changed?
A. The petit jury list is changed once in three years; the grand
jury list every year.
Q. When are these juries drawn?
A. Not more than twenty, nor less than fourteen days before the
sitting of the court for which they are drawn.
Q. How many are drawn?
A. Thirty-six petit and twenty-four grand jurors.
Q. How is the jury for each individual case obtained?
A. The thirty-six petit jurors' names are put into a box and the
names are drawn out until twelve satisfactory persons are
obtained.
Q How many of this jury must agree in a verdict?
A. The twelve must agree.
Q. Who is the officer authorized to report the verdict?
A The person they have elected foreman.
Q. In case the twelve jurymen do not agree, what will be done?
A. When the judge is satisfied that the jury will not agree he
will discharge them.
Q. What will be done with the case then?
A. Another trial will take place with a different jury, unless the
suit be discontinued.
Q. Who is the presiding officer of the grand jury?
A. The foreman, and he is appointed by the judge who presides at
that court.
Q. What other officer does this jury have?
A. A clerk, one of their number, who writes out the testimony as
it is given.
Q. Who can be present with this jury? A. Only the witness who is
being examined, and the district attorney, if desired by the jury;
but none except jurors can be present when they ballot in regard
to a bill.
Q. What is done with a bill of indictment when found?
A. It is handed over to the court, and the sheriff will cause the
arrest of the person unless he be already in custody.
STRUCK JURY.
Q. What courts may order a struck jury?
A. The Supreme Court and superior city courts.
Q. When may the above-named courts order a struck jury?
A. When it shall appear that an impartial trial cannot be had, or
that the intricacy of the case requires such a jury.
Q. What time is required in the notice for striking a jury?
A. The party obtaining the order shall give notice eight days
before the time for striking, that he will attend before the clerk
of the county in which the venue is laid, for the purpose of
having such jury struck.
I. The clerk shall select from the jury lists of the several towns
the names of forty-eight persons, whom he shall deem most
indifferent between the parties, and best qualified to try the
cause.
II. The party or his attorney, on whose application the order was
granted, shall first strike one from the list, and then the
opposing party or agent, alternating until twelve shall have been
stricken from the list by each party.
III. The clerk shall certify the names of the twenty-four persons
whose names have not been stricken off, who shall be summoned, and
from which number a jury shall be impaneled as in other juries.
VII.--STATE.
Q. Upon what is the state government based?
A. Upon a constitution adopted by the people.
Q. How many departments are provided for by the constitution?
A, Three; the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial.
Q. What are the divisions of the Legislative department?
A. The Assembly and the Senate.
Q. What is the number of members in each body, and their term of
office?
A. One hundred and twenty-eight members of the Assembly, elected
for one year. Thirty-two senators elected for two years. Art.
Ill., Const.
Q When, and how is the number of members of the Assembly
apportioned among the several counties?
A. Once in ten years by the Legislature immediately after taking
the state census, and as nearly as can be, according to
population, excluding aliens, but giving to every county except
Hamilton at least one member.
Q. When and how is the number of members of the Senate apportioned
in the State?
A. At the same time, by the Legislature; and as nearly as possible
according to population. A Senatorial district sometimes embraces
a portion of a county, sometimes a whole county; at other times
two or more counties; but no county can be divided, unless it can
be equitably entitled to two or more members.
The following apportionment was made in 1879:
SENATE DISTRICTS.
I. Queens and Suffolk.
II. The First, Second, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth,
Twelfth, and Twenty-second wards of Brooklyn, and the towns of
Flatbush, Gravesend, and New Utrecht.
III. The Third, Fourth, Seventh, Eleventh, Thirteenth, Nineteenth,
Twentieth, Twenty-first, and Twenty-third wards of Brooklyn.
IV. The Fourteenth, Fifteenth, Sixteenth, Seventeenth, Twenty-
fourth, and Twenty-fifth wards of Brooklyn, and New Lots and
Flatlands.
V. Richmond, First, Second, Third, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth,
Fourteenth, and parts of the Fourth and Ninth wards of New York,
and Governor's, Bedloes, and Ellis Islands.
VI. The Seventh, Eleventh, Thirteenth, and a part of the Fourth
wards of New York.
VII. The Tenth, Seventeenth, and portions of the Fifteenth,
Eighteenth, and Twenty-first wards of New York.
VIII. The Sixteenth, and parts of the Ninth, Fifteenth,
Eighteenth, and Twentieth wards of New York.
IX. The Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twenty-first wards, lying east
of Third Avenue, New York, and Blackwell's Island.
X. Portions of Twentieth, Twenty-first, Nineteenth, Twelfth, and
Twenty-second wards, New York, and Ward's and Randall's Islands.
XI. The Twenty-third, Twenty-fourth, and portions of the Twelfth,
Twentieth, and Twenty-second wards of New York.
XII. Westchester and Rockland.
XIII. Orange and Sullivan.
XIV. Ulster, Schoharie, and Greene.
XV. Dutchess, Columbia, and Putnam.
XVI. Rensselaer and Washington.
XVII. Albany.
XVIII. Saratoga, Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery, and Schenectady.
XIX. Clinton, Essex, and Warren.
XX. St. Lawrence, Franklin, and Lewis.
XXI. Oswego and Jefferson.
XXII. Oneida.
XXIII. Madison, Otsego, and Herkimer.
XXIV. Delaware, Chenango, and Broome.
XXV. Onondaga and Cortland.
XXVI. Cayuga, Tompkins, Seneca, and Tioga.
XXVII. Chemung, Steuben, Allegany.
XXVIII. Wayne, Ontario, Schuyler, and Yates.
XXIX. Monroe and Orleans.
XXX. Wyoming, Genesee, Livingston, and Niagara.
XXXI. Erie.
XXXII. Cattaraugus and Chautauqua.
THE ASSEMBLY.
Allegany, Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Clinton, Columbia, Cortland,
Delaware, Essex, Franklin, Fulton and Hamilton, Genesee, Greene,
Herkimer, Lewis, Livingston, Madison, Montgomery, Ontario,
Orleans, Putnam, Richmond, Rockland, Schenectady, Schoharie,
Schuyler, Seneca, Suffolk, Sullivan, Tioga, Tompkins, Warren,
Wyoming, Yates, have each one district, except Fulton and Hamilton
which are united in one district.
Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Dutchess, Jefferson, Niagara,
Orange, Oswego, Otsego, Queens, Saratoga, Steuben, Wayne,
Washington have each two districts.
Monroe, Oneida, Onondaga, Rensselaer, St. Lawrence, Ulster, and
Westchester have each three districts.
Albany has four districts.
Erie has five districts.
Kings has twelve districts.
New York has twenty-four districts, or nearly one-fifth of the
entire Assembly.
In all, there are one hundred and twenty-eight assembly
districts, each electing one member of the assembly.
Q. What must be done in those counties that are entitled to two or
more members?
A. The "boards of supervisors" of such counties, except the city
and county of New York, must divide their respective counties into
Assembly districts; the number of districts being equal to the
number of members heretofore apportioned by the Legislature to
these several counties; the territory must be contiguous, and no
town can be divided in the formation of districts.
Q. By whom is the city and county of New York divided into
districts?
A. By the "board of aldermen"; they meet for that purpose at such
time as the Legislature shall designate.
ELIGIBILITY.
Q. Who are eligible to the Legislature?
A. The requirements are these.
I. The candidate must be twenty-one years of age.
II. He must not at the time of election, nor within one-hundred
days previous thereto, have been a member of congress, a civil or
military officer under the United States, or any officer under any
city government.
III. Should any person after his election to the Legislature be
elected or appointed to any of the offices just named, his
acceptance thereof will vacate his seat in the Legislature.
DUTIES.
Q. What are some of the duties of the members of the assembly?
I. To take the oath of office. Art. XII., Sec. I Const.
II. To organize by electing their presiding officer, who is called
the speaker; and who must be one of their number.
III. To elect also the other officers, viz: a Clerk, Sergeant-at-
Arms, Door-Keeper, and two assistant Door-Keepers; persons not
members of their body.
IV. To have co-ordinate jurisdiction with the Senate in the
enactment of laws.
V. To prefer charges against officers for misconduct in office;
which is called impeachment.
ORGANIZATION.
Q. Who calls the Assembly to order for the purpose of
organization?
A. The Clerk of the last Assembly.
Q. Who furnishes the Clerk with an official list of the members
elect?
A. The Secretary of State
Q. By whom is the oath of office administered?
A Usually by the Secretary of State. The oath may, however, be
taken previously, before any Justice of the Supreme Court,
Attorney-General, the Lieutenant Governor, any Judge of a County
Court, the Mayor or Recorder of any city, or the Clerk of any
county or Court of Record. The oath whenever taken must be duly
subscribed, certified, and filed in the office of the Secretary of
State. Members who are absent at the organization, may be sworn by
the Speaker, if they have not previously taken the oath.
Q. By whom are the other officers appointed?
A. By the Speaker, except those in the department of the Clerk; he
having power to appoint his own deputies.
THE SENATE.
Q. Who is the presiding officer in the Senate?
A. The Lieutenant-Governor, and he is called the President of the
Senate.
DUTIES.
Q. What are some of the duties of the State Senate?
I. To elect the remaining officers, whose names and duties are
about the same as in the Assembly.
II. To have co-ordinate jurisdiction with the Assembly in enacting
laws
III. To act as a court for the trial of impeachments, associated
with the judges of the Court of Appeals, and the President of the
Senate.
IV. To confirm or reject appointments made by the Governor.
V. To elect a temporary president when the Lieutenant-Governor
shall not attend as president, or shall be called to act as
Governor.
Q. How many members must be present in each house to do business?
A. A majority, which is called a quorum.
BILLS.
Q. Where may bills originate?
A. Any bill may originate in either house of the Legislature.
Q. What is the difference between the Legislature of this state
and Congress in this respect?
A. In Congress all bills for raising revenues MUST originate in
the House of Representatives.
Q. What may either house do with bills originating in the other
house?
A. Amend them; but both houses must agree to the amendment or
amendments, before they can become a law.
Q. What is required in order that a bill may become a law?
I. The assent of a majority of all the members elected to each
branch of the Legislature, together with the approval of the
Governor;
II. Or if he disapproves of it, that it be returned to the house
in which it originated, with his objections; and, after
reconsideration, if two-thirds of all the members elected to that
house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent to the other
house by which it shall likewise be re-considered, and if two-
thirds of all its members approve of it, it shall become a law
notwithstanding the objections of the Governor.
III. If any bill shall not be returned by the Governor within ten
days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him,
it shall become a law in like manner as if he had signed it,
unless the Legislature, by adjourning, shall prevent its
returning; in which case it shall not become a law without the
signature of the Governor.
IV. No bill shall become a law after the final adjournment of the
Legislature, unless approved by the Governor within thirty days
after such adjournment.
IMPEACHMENT.
Q. What class of persons can be tried in the court of impeachment?
A. Public officers that have had charges preferred against them by
the Assembly.
Q. Of whom is the court of impeachment composed?
A. Of the Senators, or a majority of them, the Judges of the Court
of Appeals, or a majority of them, and the Lieutenant-Governor;
and two-thirds of all present must concur in order to convict.
Q. When shall the Lieutenant-Governor not act as a member of this
court?
A. When the Governor is being tried. He may be presumed to be an
interested party, for if the Governor should be found guilty and
be removed, the Lieutenant-Governor becomes Governor.
Q. What penalty can be inflicted by this court?
A. Removal from office, or removal from office and
disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or
profit, under this state.
Q. Can such parties be further punished?
A. Yes; they may be indicted, tried and punished according to law,
by fine or imprisonment, or both, according to the nature of the
crime.
VOTING.
Q Who are entitled to vote upon all questions in the Legislature?
A. All the members in the Assembly and Senate; and this includes
the Speaker of the Assembly.
Q, When is the President of the Senate entitled to vote?
A. Upon questions on which the Senate is equally divided or tied.
Q. Why should not the President of the Senate have a vote upon all
questions?
A. Because he has not been elected a member of that body; but
becomes its presiding officer by virtue of the constitutional
provision which makes the Lieutenant-Governor its president.
KINDS OF VOTING.
Q. Name some of the kinds of voting practiced. I. By showing
hands.
II. By Acclamation.
III. By dividing or separating the persons voting into two bodies.
IV. By Ballot.
V. By Ayes and Noes.
VI. By Viva Voce.
Q. Where are the first three kinds of voting usually practiced?
A. In conventions of different kinds, primary meetings,
Q. When and how is the sixth kind of voting used?
A. In the election of United States Senators, usually the Speaker
of the Assembly and a few other officers, and in this way: as the
names of those entitled to vote are called, they respond by naming
their candidate.
SALARY.
Q. How are Assemblymen and Senators paid?
I. By a salary fixed by the constitution, of one thousand five
hundred dollars.
II. And one dollar for every ten miles travelled in going to and
returning from the place of meeting, once in each session on the
most usual route.
III. Senators when convened in extraordinary session, or when
serving as members of the Court of Impeachment, and such members
of the Assembly, not exceeding nine in number, as shall be
appointed managers of an impeachment, shall receive ten dollars a
day additional allowance.
STATE.
A tabular view of officers, showing the source from whence they
derive their authority:
Elected by the People of the State
Executive
Governor.
Presiding Officer
Lieut. Governor.
Administrative
Secretary of State.
Comptroller.
Treasurer.
Attorney General.
State Engineer and Surveyor.
Judicial
Judges of the Court of Appeals.
Appointed by Governor and Senate.
Superintendent of Banking.
Superintendent of Insurance.
Canal Auditor.
Superintendent of Prisons.
Superintendent of Public Works.
Notaries Public.
State Assessors.
Loan Commissioners.
Canal Appraisers.
Quarantine Commissioners.
Trustees of State Institutions, and some others.
Elected by joint bal.
Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Regents of the University.
United States Senators.
Q. What are the first seven offices called?
A. They are called elective offices.
Q. Why elective?
A. Because the officers are voted for directly by the people.
Q. Why are the Sec of State, Comp., Treasurer,
Supt. of Prisons and Public Works. A large number of Notaries, two
Loan Commissioners for each County, three Canal Appraisers, one
Superintendent of Public Instruction, nineteen Regents, and two
United States Senators.
TERM OF OFFICE.
Q For how long a term are the Governor and Lieutenant Governor
elected?
A. For three years each.
Q For how long a term are the Sec of State, Comp, Treas, Atty.
Gen. and State Eng. and Surveyor elected?
A. For two years each.
Q For how long a term are the Superintendents of Banking,
Insurance and Canal Auditor appointed?
A. For three years.
Q. For how long a term is the Supt. of Prisons appointed?
A. For five years.
Q. For how long a term is the Superintendent of Public Works
appointed?
A. As long as the term of the Governor appointing him lasts.
Q. For how long a term is the Superintendent of Public Instruction
elected?
A. For three years.
Q. For how long a term the Regents of the University?
A. For life.
ELIGIBILITY.
Q. What about the eligibility of these officers?
A. The Governor and Lieutenant Governor must be thirty years of
age, and shall have been for the five years next preceding their
election residents of the State.
Q. What are some of the duties of the Governor?
A. He is commander-in-chief of all the military and naval forces
of the State, has power to convene the Legislature (or Senate
only) on extraordinary occasions, communicates by message to the
Legislature at every session the condition of the State, and
recommends such measures as he deems expedient, transacts all
necessary business with the officers of the government, civil and
military, expedites all measures resolved upon by the Legislature,
takes care that the laws are faithfully executed, and has the
power of granting reprieves, commutations and pardons for crimes.
Q. What are some of the duties of the Lieutenant Governor?
A. He is President of the Senate and has the casting vote therein,
is a member of the canal board, is one of the commissioners of the
Land Office, is one of the commissioners of the Canal Fund, is one
of the trustees of the Capitol, is one of the trustees of the
Idiot Asylum, and, ex-officio, one of the Regents of the
University and member of the State Board of Charities. If the
Governor dies, resigns, is impeached, or otherwise becomes unable
to discharge the powers and duties of his office, they devolve
upon the Lieutenant Governor for the residue of the term.
Q. What are some of the duties of the Secretary of State?