Administration.—The state is governed under the constitution
of 1844, with subsequent amendments of 1875 and of 1897.
The only other constitution under which the state has been
governed was that of 1776 (see History below). The right of
suffrage is conferred upon all males, twenty-one years of age and
over, who have resided in the state for one year and in the county
for five months preceding the election.[1] Paupers, idiots, insane
persons and persons who are convicted of crimes which exclude
them from being witnesses and who have not been pardoned
and restored to civil rights are disfranchised. The executive
power is vested in a governor, who is elected for a term of three
years and may not serve two successive terms, though he may
be re-elected after he has been out of office for a full term. He
must be at least thirty years of age, and must have been a citizen
of the United States for a least twenty years, and a resident of
the state seven years next preceding his election. He may not
be elected by the legislature, during the term for which he is
elected as governor, to any office under the state or the United
States governments. He receives a salary of $10,000 a year.
If the governor die, resign or be removed from office, or if his
office be otherwise vacant, he is succeeded by the president of the
Senate, who serves until another governor is elected and qualified.
The governor’s powers under the constitution of 1776 were
greatly limited by the constitution of 1844. His appointive
power is unusually large. With the advice and consent of the
state Senate he selects the secretary of state, attorney-general,
superintendent of public instruction, chancellor, chief justice,
judges of the supreme, circuit, inferior and district courts, and
the so-called “lay” judges of the court of errors and appeals,
in addition to the minor administrative officers who are usually
appointive in all American states. The governor may make no
appointments in the last week of his term. The state treasurer,
comptroller and the commissioners of deeds are appointed
by the two houses of the legislature in joint session. The
governor is ex officio a member of the court of pardons, and his
affirmative vote is necessary in all cases of pardon or commutation
of sentence (see below).
The legislative department consists of a Senate and a General Assembly. In the Senate each of the 21 counties has one representative, chosen for a term of three years, and about one-third of the membership is chosen each year. The members of the General Assembly are elected annually, are limited to sixty (the actual number in 1909), and are apportioned among the counties according to population, with the important proviso, however, that every county shall have at least one member.
The arrangement of senatorial representation is very unequal; and the densely populated counties are under-represented. A senator must at the time of his election be at least thirty years old, and must have been a citizen and inhabitant of the state for four years and of his county for one year immediately preceding his election; and an assemblyman must at the time of his election be at least twenty-one years old, and must have been a citizen and inhabitant of the state for two years, and of his county for one year, immediately preceding his election. The annual salary of each senator and of each member of the General Assembly is $500. Money bills originate in the lower house, but the Senate may propose amendments. The legislature may not create any debt or liability “which shall, single or in the aggregate with any previous debts or liabilities, at any time exceed $100,000,” except for purposes of war, to repel invasion or to suppress insurrection, without specifying distinctly the purpose or object, providing for the payment of interest, and limiting the liability to thirty-five years; and the measure as thus passed must be ratified by popular vote. The constitution as amended in 1875 forbids the legislature to pass any private or special laws regulating the affairs of towns or counties, or to vote state grants to any municipal or industrial corporations or societies, and prescribes that in imposing taxes the assessment of taxable property shall be according to general laws and by uniform rules; and anti-race-track agitation in 1891–1897 led to a further amendment prohibiting the legalizing of lotteries, of pool-selling[1] or of other forms of gambling. The governor may (since 1875) veto any item in any appropriation bill, but any bill (or item) may be passed over his veto by bare majorities (of all members elected) in both houses. Bills not returned to the legislature in five days become law, unless the legislature adjourns in the meantime. Amendments to the constitution must first be passed by the legislature at two consecutive sessions (receiving a majority vote of all members elected to each house), and then be ratified by the voters at a special election, and no amendment or amendments may be submitted by the legislature to the people oftener than once in five years.
The judicial system is complex and is an interesting development from the English system of the 18th century. At its head is a court of errors and appeals composed of the chancellor, the justices of the supreme court and six additional “lay” judges. The supreme court consists of a chief justice and eight associate justices, but it may be held by the chief justice alone or by any one of the associate justices. The state is divided into nine judicial districts, and each supreme court justice holds circuit courts within each county of a judicial district, besides being associated with the “president” judge of the court of common pleas of each county in holding the court of common pleas, the court of quarter sessions, the court of oyer and terminer and the orphans’ court. One of five additional judges may hold a circuit court in the absence of a justice of the supreme court, or the “president” judge of a court of common pleas may do so if the supreme court justice requests it. In each township there are from two to five justices of the peace, any one of whom may preside over the “small cause court,” which has jurisdiction of cases in which the matter in dispute does not exceed $200 and is not an action of replevin, one in which the charge is slander, trespass or assault, battery or imprisonment, or in which the title to real estate is in question.
The court of common pleas, which may be held either by the “president” judge or by a justice of the supreme court, may hear appeals from the “small cause court,” and has original jurisdiction in all civil matters except those in which the title to real estate is in question. The court of quarter sessions, which may likewise be held by either the judge of the court of common pleas or by a justice of the supreme court, has jurisdiction over all criminal cases except those of treason or murder. The court of oyer and terminer is a higher criminal court, and has cognizance of all crimes and offences whatever. Except in counties having a population of 300,000 or more, a justice of the supreme court must preside over it, and the judge of the court of common pleas may or may not sit with him; in a county having a population of 300,000 or more the judge of the court of common pleas may sit alone. Writs of error in cases punishable with death are returnable only to the court of errors and appeals. No appeals are permitted in criminal cases. The orphans’ court may be held either by the judge of the court of common pleas or by a justice of the supreme court; and it has jurisdiction over controversies respecting the existence of wills, the fairness of inventories, the right of administration and guardianship, the allowance of accounts to executors, administrators, guardians or trustees, and over suits for the recovery of legacies and distributive shares, but it may refer any matter coming before it to a master in chancery. The prerogative court, which is presided over by the chancellor as ordinary and surrogate-general, or by a vice-ordinary and vice-surrogate-general, may hear appeals from the orphans court, and has the authority to grant probate of wills and letters of administration and guardianship, and to hear and determine disputes arising therein. The court of chancery is administered by a chancellor, seven vice-chancellors and numerous masters in chancery. Besides the ordinary chancery jurisdiction it hears all applications for divorce or nullity of marriage. Appeals from the court of chancery as well as writs of error from the supreme court are heard by the court of errors and appeals. New Jersey has a court of pardons composed of the governor, chancellor and the six “lay” judges of the court of errors and appeals, and the concurrence of a majority of its members, of whom the governor shall be one, is necessary to grant a pardon, commute a sentence or remit a fine. This court has, also, the authority to grant to a convict a licence to be at large upon such security, terms, conditions and limitations as it may require. The judges of the several New Jersey courts are appointed by the governor with the consent of the Senate for a term of years, usually five to seven.
For the purposes of local government the state is divided into counties, cities, townships, towns and boroughs. The government of the towns is administered through a council, clerk, collector, assessor, treasurer, &c., chosen by popular vote; that of the townships is vested in the annual town meeting, at which administrative officers are elected. Any township with more
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The constitution of 1844 limited the suffrage to white males, and although this limitation was annulled by the fifteenth amendment to the Federal Constitution, it was not until 1875 that the state by an amendment (adopted on the 7th of September) struck the word “white” from its suffrage clause. At the same time another amendment was adopted providing that sailors and soldiers in the service of the United States in time of war might vote although absent from their election districts.
