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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 August 2014
New Jersey's new constitution will become effective January 1, 1948. By the overwhelming vote of 653,096 to 184,632 (official figures), the people signified their approval, November 4, of the work of the constitutional convention held at Rutgers University, June 12 to September 10, 1947.
Revision became a live issue when Governor Alfred E. Driscoll, in his inaugural address, emphasized the need for modernizing the state's outmoded 1844 constitution. Quickly a bill was passed calling for popular endorsement of a limited convention—limited in that the question of legislative representation was barred from discussion. At the regular election for county officials on June 3, the voters were given an additional ballot to express their preference for or against the proposed convention. On this ballot they voted also for delegates.
Each county was entitled to as many delegates as it had senators and representatives. In 13 of the 21 counties, delegates were selected by the party organizations on a bipartisan basis, and the final party distribution was: Republicans 54, Democrats 23, and Independents 4. Of the 81 delegates, 50 were lawyers, and of these 21 were either active or retired judges. Twenty-five delegates were serving or had served in the legislature. Sixteen had teaching experience. Eight were women.
1 On previous efforts to revise the constitution, see Bebout, John E., “New Task for a Legislature,” National Municipal Review, Vol. 33 (Jan, 1944), pp. 17–21 CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Miller, William, “The Report of New Jersey's Constitutional Commission,” in this Review, Vol. 36 (Oct, 1942), pp. 900–906 Google Scholar.
2 By this means the small counties were assured of their continued domination of the senate, where all counties, large and small, have but one seat. The first step provided in the bill for tying the hands of the delegates was the ballot statement: “for or against such a constitutional convention, instructed to retain the present territorial limits of the respective counties and the present basis of representation in the legislature.” The bill further required each delegate to swear that he would abide by the instructions of the people. Finally, before the convention could submit the constitution to popular referendum, the bill required the secretary of state to certify that the convention had complied with “its instructions as voted by the people.” Senate No. 100, State of New Jersey; introduced Feb. 3, 1947.
3 On the opening day, each delegate was presented with certain research material. The Governor's Committee on Preparatory Research for the New Jersey Constitutional Convention coordinated the preparation by individual authors of over 30 monographs. For a list of these, see “Constitution Revision Stirs Researchers,” National Municipal Review, Vol. 36 (Sept, 1947), p. 475 Google Scholar.
4 Rights, Privileges, Amendments and Miscellaneous Provisions; Judiciary; Legislative; Taxation and Finance; Executive; Militia and Civil Officers; Submission and Address to the People; Arrangement and Form; Rules, Organization, and Business Affairs; Credentials, Printing, and Authentication of Documents. Later a Committee on Public Relations was appointed.
5 The fraction in the above sentence and elsewhere, is of all the members, not of a quorum.
6 Two of the four occasions since 1844 when New Jersey's constitution was changed concerned gambling.
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