Show CITY OFFICER 0 the recorder of moroni city sends bends the following inquiry under date ot of De oember omber 23 A question has baa arisen in my mind as to whether the term of municipal officers now in office expires by limitation or do the they y hold over until the first state legislature shall mike make provision ov is ion for the election of new offer e ariale ar ide 24 sections 10 15 and 16 of the sate constitution seems cje ms to infer that the present officers hold over until such huoh provision is made plea te answer ar ard and d oblige many inquiring minds tuo tue sections 8 of the constitution referred to provi lo je that all officers civil anti and military now holding their offices ani and appointments iu in this torn tory lory by auth authority rity of law shall continue to do so BO until superseded under the constitution that bat the legislature at its first session shall provide for tbt election or of officers whose election Is if i not provided tor for in I 1 n the constitution and shall fix the time for the commencement men cement anti and duration of their terms and that the be provisions of the constitution shall be in foroi from the day on which the he president of the united states shall issue his big tion declaring the state of utah admitted into the union section 2 of the same article which our c respondent seems to beve overlooked con bains the provision that all laws of the territory vow row in force not repugnant to tte ibe constitution shall remain in effect until changed in due course under the declaration of the constitution on ution abo word 11 1 as it refers to office holders cannot be applied on any date prior to that on which the president issues his admission proclamation for or the plain reason that the constitution does not go into effect until that date this principle was clearly set forth in the recent decision of the supreme court upon the question as to whether or not women had bad a right to vote and was not affected by any doubt which arose ansome minds on the suffrage question through the language of the enabling act Ift It ben theD the municipal officers referred to are in 46 regular possession of their offelo on the date named there is in basis for a claim to remain in possession until ousted by operation of state law or by the laws of atie territory continued Is in force by section 2 referred to As it Is definitely settled that the presidents proclamation will not issue till january then municipal of officers ficere whose whom terms expire on january I 1 retire on bunt that date to in regular order As A a to the terms of municipal elective 1111 cers the law now lu iu force on the and continued in operation by the constitution provides pr ovidea that on the tuesday next after the first monday in november 1898 1893 and biennially thereafter there shall ball be held the elections for such euch officers officer who will assume the duties of their position po on 00 the first day of january next suo geedin ce edin edini their election and continue in office two years As these theme municipal elections were held to in 1896 we be officers elect will take up official duties Jat uary 1 1896 and all officers whose terms expire on that date will retire I 1 bare is no deg to in we the for them to hold over on As to the th holdover hold over talk which has been indulged in we surmise there nag baa never been any thought by those well informed ini ormea that such retention of office waso wai authorized by the be constitution or laws it has been mere bluff mg ing but has bad the effect of dec decela elv tax some people who bad not the opportunity port unity of giving careful study to it if the presidents proc pro la matTon bad been issued say december 16 15 very municipal officer elected at the november general election would have been entitled to his office on oil the he first oi of january 1896 by virtue of laws jaws n effect under the Cone constitution titu section 16 referred to does not prolong any office hol jers jer s term that section directs the legislature at its first sors evasion sion to do certain things suppose the legislature fails must it be said that a subsequent legislature cannot do the he work without an amend ment to the constitution suppose the legislature acts can it is be said that no subsequent sube quent legislature esa create a new state slate office or chatine atie tb e term of one previously created by law lair except abr ugh constitutional amendment certainly not yet that section says ays wat that at the first dint of the legislature provi slen shall ball be made for all officers officer not arrs arranged aged for in the coot but bui courts will not dot give to the constitution an interpretation in 10 character ebar acter or subversive of the national constitution if section 16 were alone there might be berouka room tor for contro veny but it la 18 not DOI section 2 continues all laws lawa of the territory until changed and these two sections aeo tlona must be construed com trued tr together gether that would woud leave certain state or nonexistent officers only to be added under I 1 16 the election of c bounty anty pre adnot sul and municipal officers cert being elearly provided for elsewhere in the constitution itself and by the express language so of section 10 16 from the me ma batory sentence ente oce regarding the first siti selon of the legislature the some ame rule way may be applied to section 10 where all persons now 1 9 holding are regularly superseded under the at the expiration of definite terms b by y the provisions ot sect lot 8 2 imitative siad and appointive officers cerp would giuld come and po go as ai now dow it if tio no law oo an the should be made by the th state legislature there bee bai been much said of a muddle being the tag result of the tb labors labore or of the constitutional convention la in official matters mattero close examination however shows that the hnud died cobalt on to elsewhere and that ther the framers of the constitution produced what in the mat main a la iii a clear an comprehensive document pro bielon the a urr may apply without fear of serious complication |