Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 10.djvu/475

 DNITBD STATES V. JUSTICES OP LAUDERDALB COUNTT. 463 �amounts to an acceptance. Dill. Mun, Corp. § 163, and cases cited; McCrary, Elec. § 260, and cases cited ; Edwards v. U. S. supra; Thompson v. U. S. supra; Olmsted v. Dennis, 77 N. Y. 378; State V. Hauss, 43 Ind. 105; State ex rel. Boecker, 66 Mo. 17. �Under the influence of the common law, which was very strict as to the surrender of an office held by patent, requiring that document to be surrendered and cancelled, and the general principle of that System of laws which treated offices as property, whether held by grant from the crown or otherwise, it may be doubtful, particularly in view of its interpretation by the supreme court of the United States in the two cases last abore cited, if this rule would apply, and whether a more formai acceptance would not be necessary. Bot it is conceded by the court in those cases to be a question of local law in each state, and I have no doubt whatever that under our state law it must be held that reoeiving without dissent and filing the resigna- tion by the authority appointed to receive it constitute an acceptance and answer the common -law requirement of that eeremony. 2 Meigs, Dig. (2d Ed.) § 746; 3 King, Dig. (2d Ed.) §§ 3973, 3974; T. & S. Code, passim, tit. "Officers" and "Resignation." The authorities are too numerous for citation here. �A justice of the peace who wishes to resign shall make his resig- nation to the county court of the county of which he may be a justice. Act 1806, c. 54, § 1, (T. & S. Code, § 353.) Whenever a vacancy in the office of a justice of the peace ocours, it is filled by special election to be held for the purpose on ten days' notice. Act 1835, e. 1, § 15, (T. & S. Code, § 342.) AU special elections for county officers, authorized by law, shall be ordered by the sheriff of the county, or the coroner, in case the sheriff cannot act or in case there is no sheriff; and he may proceed without any formai notice of vacancy to hold the election. Code of 1868, (T. & S. Ed.) §§ 804, 827. From this it will be seen that the county court, in receiving the resignation, acts independently of the sheriff in holding the election, there being absolutely no connection befcween the two. Other provisions of the Code are cited by the learned counsel of respondents requiring thb justice on his resignation to turn over his dookets, books, and papers to the nearest justice of the peace who is authorized to issue execu- tions, etc., as showing his untrammelled right of resignation. T. & S. Code, §§ 4126, 4136, 4139, 4143, all taken from the Act of 1835, «. 17. �These provisions of the statutes, which show so conelusively the modification, if not the abrogation, of the common law governing the ��� �