Southern telegraph. (Rodney, Miss.) 1834-1838, 1838-03-20
Constitution Itself, the true rule II conssGuc-


The power Of his House over thesuhjcc(s
Of representation il derived from the toIlow-
Ing cianse of ehe 9Th section, 1st rrticlos of
4 the Constitution: "Each House shall DC
tho lnlye Of the elections, Feturns ana quail
iifcs,ions OF its own members ]" Now,wlnt
is the extent Of tho isdiction conferred
by this c.ause9 Does it give to the House
J, full and. complete jurisdiction over the
: whole subject matter Of representation
Or does it confer only limited and sPe
cill jurisdiction over particular pprtlons Of
I the subject? humslv conceive Tint the
latter question alone can be answered in the
affirmative. aa a a 10 E asGtsa Y ysa = assf
TIE designation and specification OF par-
ticuar portions Of the subject matter ncces-
sarily prcciudss the idea Of o general IRIS
diction over the whole; moro especially
when other portions are expressly placed
under the Jurisdiction of other departments
OF government. harfa s-8vf 81 al .lftw assfe
Now. the subject matter Of representation
! is parcelle.l ont by the Constitution among
divers departments fine State and Fedcnu
Governments, aad conceive the pr'.p Isi-
! lion too plain to adm: OF contradiction, that
each oethcso departments or dcpos to.ics II
!
! signed to it.. without infringing ups.n or in-
tcrering vi,h the constitutional bowers Of
the other agents or deposits.rie >, and that
any such Infringement oriU*erf ,rence would
he p,Ipatle violation oe the Constitution !.
! The Constitution DIRECTS ihat representa-
ton Shall be apporti'ned, among the States
in proportion TO = .ml.ers, &c. and directs
that an enumcr .,ion shall be made at stated
periods rs III, ba SIS OF such appointment.
Now, after an superintendent has been CON
siituiioD'.Ilv made by law, will any one con-
tend '.ai this House, under the power OF
jaS si..g of the elections, returns aad quail
} f atoms of its members, could change or
latter such apportionmenlg For instance
the State of Virginia is entitled, by the pre-
sent apportcnmentt to twenty-one members:
: suppose, upon the presentation of her dele
CATION. the Honse had decided that she was
entitled to ten only, and had adopted reso-
luton to that effect; would such resolu
ton have been binding upon the House o,
upon the Stateq Clearly not. 1t would
have been a palpable usurpa,ion on the par'
of the House, and, If persisted in, would
have constituted virtual dissolution Of the
Government. Here is one portion Of she
$ sui.;cct matter of representation, no, falling
within the scope of The judicial power Of the
J., House.
Again, the Constitution provides, in the
c I'd section Of the lst article, that "the House
:: Of Representatives shall be composed o.
e members chosen every second year by the
e people Of the several States" Can thi:
: House, by virtue Of its judicial power Owe
III -, Ia
J. and binding decision, extending their tern
e IF service beyond two years? Clearly mo-
e Otherwise Congress- might declare itscl
e perpetual, and we should soon have a rumI
y parliament. No one will contend, f,r on
: instant, that such "a power resides IN tn
! House. But, why not :? Because, tn
ts7onsss~.Ss~ss=a ~~--;s--lf decided that matter
u and thereby placed it beyond tie ja.isa;s
n ton Of the House. Here, then, is anothe
portion of the subject matter Of representa-
sc ito, and portion also, the subject Of cleo
N ton, to wit, the term of service, upon whic
a. a resolution or adjudication of this Hous
{ would be powerIess or nugatory.
I'd Again, the Constitution, after dcinin
H. the basis of representation. and prcscrbin
" the term IF service, as before mentione.
it, provides that .'the times, places and mar
IS. ner of holding elections for Senators an
cs Representatives shall be prescribed in eac
err State by the Legislature thereof; but tn
er Congress may at any. time By lau make {
" alter such regulations. except as to the place
C. of choosing Senator's" The State Legisl
ON lures have then the power Of fixing I'll
nv time Of holding elections for Represet
tivcs, subjcc. to no constitutional limitatit
IL Al
ia, the lst article, which directs that the tin
:. shall be in every second year. Now
:" take It, that legislative act, authoized al
10 co.omeEded by the Constitution has
" the sab, ton and validity Of the cons
~ tu.ional prov sion itself, from whence
~ ~ is derived; ano th,t the constitution
, =, action of the Legislature OF State Fl
d. ing the time of holding c!ccti,:s Tor lie
~ rescntatives, can no more be a,.1u;!ed
;s' disregarded by this House, whether ac..'
nfI in judicial or legislative capacity, than Il
ri. same provision or designation incorporate
ch in the Constitution ITSELF Now, will a,
hv one conte I'D for one instant, that if the Co
ia stitntion had itself provided that the ele
,ar ii n of Representative from the state
ian Mississippi to the 25'h Congress shou
;tv take place on the first Monday and day f
'oif loving Of November, this House could ha
ho annulled such constitutional provision
&c. advance, so as to have rendered the elect
!, held under its authority voids Would :
/ rather such, adjudication Of the House ha
- been void, SO far as ii violated the copsti,