The Arkansas advocate., 1830-07-21

longer to be filed by the favorites of the Executive, at his will and pleasure, but wifoinsoever the sovereign people shall fix their choice upon, he shall fill the office for which they intend him; and to save the trouble and expense of special elections, to supply vacancies, Congress has given pow | . e Executive, ;c make appoint
 Haeists " i4ich siaii hold until the next gen eral election. This latter law can only be correctly exercised, in obedience to the spirit of the former law, and as hy that. the will of the people was the governing prin- clple, so under the late law, that will, when expressed to the Executive, should inliu- ence hlm Tn making appointments. The law of the last session of Congress, was made for the benefit of the people, and not for the advancement of executive kindred.
 :" Jaw.bones' improvidently and unhap- pily fer MT. Field, draws him before the public. No one casts a eensure on Mir. Field, for receiving the oflice--as hus- band and father, he is. bound to use all hon est means for their support, who can only look to him therefor; and as one who feels his privileges outraged by the act of the late Acting Governor, feel pleasure in saying that from my little acquaintance with Mr. Field, I consider him a gentle man, Ill every way calculated to be q citi- zen of active influence and ofmoraI worth.
 Whatever may be the merits of MT. l Field, and however competent he may be to discharge the duties of the office. to which he has been appointed. | still insist that the act of the Acting Governor. was an arbitrary trampIing upon the r;rhts and privileges of the citizens, and directly in opposition to the spirit of the law of Con gress, under which the elective franchise of the people was enlarged.
 | have stated that the introduction af MT
 Field into the controversy, between ss.Eaw- ..sone0 and the public, Is improvidaent.-it IS so, especially, from the manner in which he Is introduced. :" Jaw -Bone'' pronoun- ces an euiogy on his character, character hitherto unassailed. Now, if do not err. It IS rule Of evidence, that when party undertakes to support the character of a witness, by proof of its correctness, the ] opposite party have then the right to intro- duce proof to show any points in which said witness has strayed from the path of moral rectltude, or III any way forfeited conf. denee. 1t IS not my intention to touch upon the subject, only mean to express my regret, that Jaw-Bone'' should have been so inprovident, as to place his profo- gee In situation to invite an investigation oi those qualifications, on account ofwhich he received the appointment of Clerk.
 would now inquire If the office of Clerk
 of the Superior Court IS not still vacant 1t certainly is-the act of the last session of Congress authorises the Goueraor to fill yaeaneies. Has the Geyerncr appointed aCierk! he has not-and the Secretary has no authority to make appointments, hence the office IS still vacant, and it's duties are now discharged by an incumbent illegally and internationally put in possession ot the office. The Organic Law ,wlich is the constitution of the Territory, vests in the Secretary the authority of making appoint ments, oRiy when the office of the Govern CT Is uaeGnt by death, resignation, or remo- val from office. None will have the hardi. hood to affirm, that at the time Mir. Field was appointed to the clerkship, the Guber4 material Chair was vacant in either of the ways pointed out by the Organic Law, and consequently, no power was vested in the Secretary, to fill that or any othervacancy, and as the Governor has made no appoint ment for that office, 1t therefore follows that the office is still vacant, and that the acts Of the present incumbent are illegat. 1t will no doubt be urged, that the late Secretary, during the absence of the Gov ernor, discharged similar duties-this is admitted-but his illegal acts will not le. gallse similar acts done by his successor
 Two wrongs cannot make right-and nc honest man will attempt to screen his own illegal conduct under anothers illegal acts It might be made subject of farther in- quiry, whether the appointment of MT. Field would be legal, even if made by the T Governor himself myself think it would not---and ] found this opinion on the ground that Mr. Field would not have been competent to have been elected to the of. fee by the people themselves. He was not acitizen of the Territory---he was an alien to the previleges of citizenship-and he could not have voted for militia officer
 nor could he legally have been elected an officer Tn a company of militia--mlch less was he legally competent to be elected tc so important an office as that which he now holds. If, then, the people could not le- l gally have given the office to Mr. Field 1 l wonld like to know under what authority he can be forced upon the people by Mr. l Secretary, or by the Governor limsclf
 In my remarks on Jaw -Bone'' No. |, l intimated ny opinion as to the writers of l the production--filrther observation has confirmed me in my first opinion, and I now feel confident, that 'sJaw- -Bone,o No. 7, is the production of the Hon. Secretary or at least of Counsellor Fulton, with lit- tie extraneous aid from the Editor of the 1 Gazette oro one of his co-adjutols Viewed as his production, how fully does it prove the correctness of remark made by you that the Acting Governor, feels bound to