Southern telegraph. (Rodney, Miss.) 1834-1838, 1838-03-20

take and tt1lt Atl1-<41 iNe69 - Ootssrs ~ I
view i,.n All colirtr, both OF law md cq"'-
-. eeyiew their derisionD = hen they apfear
TO .hkvc bren basel upsta pslpa liz mist1ko:
courts of law, Ivy new trials and 'rrits o. sr-
ror cordm noLis; nlrts ofA equity oy D.''s
of review. And It woult Va strange, IN
deed, when wn,ng is done through n'staSe,
If there exaied.n" power to rcct'iy II. nc
mistak6 HK1cr Which the House Iaoo,cd a.
the spccial sossiou l'sc' freM the bcnet
That the people of Mississippi voted Tor
Messrs. ClAib.sas~ and Gholsons as repre- /
sentatives toihe 18th Congress, AM intend
ed toselect them Er the whole term. In
pro fof this, I refer 10 the speech 81 an
honorable gentletnan from Maryland, lMf
Howard, J in which he bases large portion
of his arg,,ucilt and opinion in favor OF me
sitting members upon this supposed inten-
ltinn Of the people; in prof OF the existence
| of which he expressly says, 'that they mao
the positive testimony of the sitting mem
| hers in the sillpe of statements mrde IN
their places, while on the other hand, the
only evidence produced 10 rct,'e such state
nents was The Proclamation Of the Cover
nor, which it was con,cndctl, constituted no
evidence 0f the intention with which the
| People acted in the election held under It's
mandate Il have been told, also, 10y many
honorable gentlemen, TINT they iaborcd I'M
fder The same apprehension, derived from
1.-The sarne source Now, was tho term tor
which the people in,endedto elect, and DID
/ in reality, elect in July, material fact,
and, if SO, did the House labor under mis-
lfakc in relation TO this fact? and was the
decision in nny sort based upon such mis-
|,nkes Ii seems to me fron,th very nature
of representation, that the intention OF the
people constitutes he most matcfial subject
Of inq ,iry in the investigation. Election IS
choice, and chuice cannot exist without in-
tention, WHICH is the very soul and life OF
the whole matter. An election 8, in fact,
no:hin. more, in all its forms, than mode
Of ascertaining the intention Of the electors.
When, therefore, that intention is fully and
!egitimately ascertained, the election can
not be construed az extending beyond the
intent and Object of the electors; in other
words, the act should not be construed be-
fyond the will Of the actors. II then, the
people of Mississippi did, in July last, IN
, tend to elect Representative for only three
: months, and did in point of fact, vote fol
, the purpose Of filing that period Of time a
lone, ia il not an a5surdi;y and ia!sehoot
/ TO assert that such election was Er two years
! |, does not affect the matte: at all to say
! that they had m right to elect Tor three
$ months, bat had right TO elect Tor twt
e years. The cn!y result of such preposl
ton would be, tina, the election is void, in
e Iasmuch as the people had attempted to d.
e what the CONSTITUTIONAL not authorize then
q to do. It seems 10 me that no proposition
r can be clearer than this-;hat an unconsti
: tntional election for three months cannot h'
|. considered constitutional election for tw
s wears. Tothose members, then, who be
i. licycd that the people of Mississippi had
Il right in July to elect Representatives to In
Is whole Of the 25ih Congress, the questio
IS certainly must he a material one, whethe
; they did in point Of fact, do it. The Hous
: was made to believe that this was the inter
it ton of the People, and maay eloquent or
!. peals were made upon this floor, and wit
s. great effect, am told, against too strict n
= technical construction Of the Constitt
10 ton; which, it was asserted, would violat
: the acknowledged will and mention of tn
people. | trust, sir, that the same tende
at regard for the will Of the People of Missi.
s. sippi which pervaded che House at the la.
- session will continue 10 Influence it at tn
e present.
" But was the House mistaken in the vie
sr taken of the intent and ohjec, of the Peopl
m of Mississippi at the july election? 9th
n there cannot exist the slightest doubt upo
lie the mind of any condid man. have ira,
:e ersed the almost entire state since the ele,
,e ton in July, and mingled freely with me
Mt Of all political parties; and l assert as
a matter of fact, without hesitation or fear
s. contradiction, TINT the electors who voted
July did not vote or intend to elect for a lo1
IS ger period than what interviewed betwee
E. that time and the regular election in No
a embcr. No, sir, if the gentlemen and a
ID their party could be saved, like the wicke
he cities Of Sotlom and Gomorrah, by tho pr
n ductiou of ten righteous men, Of any poIit
of cal creed in the State Of Mississippi, WI
- would certify that the election in July W;
m intended, or holden for a longer period, sti
lis they would not be able to avert the de
" truction, which is ready 10 fall, like col
to Stunning fire, upon their heads. But / wis
le not to rest upon my assertion only, notwitl
" standing opportunity has afforded me II
IN means Of deriving my information in Il
he matter from the best possible source-ti
of people themselves.
as What is the evidence before the Hous
pi ofthe extent and object Of the July lection
RS First is the proclamation Of the Governr
a ordering the election for Representativ es
,nI fill the vacancy ssnnfil sunpraodod -. -.