Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1848-03-01


courtesy they sent us,a request by mes.
sage for the return of the bill. What would
have been the indignationsof this Seha,e,iE,
on Saturday the House had attempted 10
legislate by resolution upon this bill, while
in our possession? They dared not then
have SO far forgotten the constitution and
our joint standing rules, as to have been
guilty Of this outrage. The members Of the
other branch had not then been made des-
pnrate by the edicts Of the tii,pan- The,
. q some regard for censil;util nal rigl t.,
ond 6dff4afasntafy usnges. .as- A nd had they
then attempted this parliamentary robbery,
they would have been signally rebuked by
this Senate. One week ago Ohio had a
Senate; The people had constitution, and
legislators felt the sanctity of legislative
oaths; but now, by jugglery and trickery,
from which one week ago you would have
shrunk back as from the deadly Upas, in
violation Of the constitution you had sword
to support, and our standing rules which
you were in honor bound to regard A deed
has been done that ought to consign the
actors to eternal inlamy and disgrace.
shall not stop here. / pity from the IL.
most recesses Of my heart, pity you, Mr..
Speaker. Hard, indeed, must have been
the struggle in your mind, before you could
have consented 10 become the infamous
tool Of designing knaves. The great ms
gician of wliggery must have had you
cloislered in his incantated cell, for hours
on yesterday, before he could have thrown
his spells and charms around you.
But when your friends saw you vending
arm in arm with Kelley himself, your ST.
lent way to the haunts ofthe magician, they
predicted you would return an altered man;
that you would, under his magic Influence,
become his slave, bound 10 do his bidding,
even at the loss Of honor, reputation, self;
respect, as certainly us he who had sold
by himself league with the devil. Alas!
how are the mighty fallen! One week ago
you we're the impersonation of all that was
honorable and high minded; but now you
have sunk TO be thing Of scorn and con.
tempt; your name has now become hiss
! ing and a by-word
| Return we now to the evidence Of your
infamy and disgrace ~
| When this Senate adjourned on Monday y
last, this bill was by that adjournment lait
upon the table. You know iull weil, sir
that this act placed this bill out of our pos
session and control. You had no NOR
right TO remove that bill from The Jerk
table than the midnight thief had to stea
il. The bill was rs much under my contro
Or the control of any other Senator, as
was under yours. Ii either ono OF US ha
purloined or stolen that bill, we shoul
richly have merited expulsion from thi
Senate. Wi,cre, then, is that bill now?-
Your own answer has informed US; yo,
wave stolen this bill from the Clerk, Of
else by his connivance you have stolen j
from this Senate, and in violation of tn,
rules, in violation Of all parliamentary US
age, and in violation of your oath and you
honor, you have affixed your name to it
and caused it TO be deposited with the Sec
retary Of State.
Why did you not pass the bill on Men
day? Because the Constitution says tha
two-thirds shall be required to constitute
quorum for business; and you had no quo
rum, and could only adjourn from day te
day, and compel the attendance Of absen
tees. Acting under this constitutional re
quirement, you did adjourn from day to day
You did not for several days even attemp
to do any other business. Your Journal e
ven now remains unread; and when you
Journal shall next be read, the last sen
tence will be in these words: 'sThe ques
ton being, shall the Senate recede from it
amendments, Mr.. - demanded call 0
the Senate, and quorum not being pres
ent, Mr. - moved that the Senate I'D
iourn; which motion vas agreed to. There
upon the Senate adjourned until to. morrow
morning at O'Clock" There, sir, is tn,
end Of your Journal; no other entry could
under the Costitution, be made: only tina
each day, there being no quorum present
the Senate adjourned. When we last sa,
an undecided question was pending No,
we are told by the Speaker that he has sign
ed the bill, and that it is.a law. Who ha
made it law? This Senate? No sir.
had not even decided the pending question
in receding from its amendments! Did tn
} House make it law? The bill was nc
pending in the House. 1t was not unde
} their control, not even in their possession
Who, then, has made it a law? The Rep
resentatives Of the people? No, sir, tn
constitution debars them from action. Ha
our Speaker been clothed with any sucl
power? Hear what the constitution says: =
} "Art. l, sec II. "And every bill having
passed both Houses, shall be signed by tn
Speakers of their respective Houses" Ar
you Speaker ofthis Senate, when not i
session: Is this body a constitutional Sen
ate without quorum? You have yoursel
decided that you could not sign bill, ex
} cept when the Senate was in session. Th
, constitution says that there shall be no ses
sion for business except two-thirds be pres
ent. No Speaker ever dared before sign
bill when constitutionally passed, except il
open session of the Senate, much less t
purloin bill from the Clerks desk, an
sign it, and declare it law, before it ha
been passed.-In most parliamentary bod
} les, and especially SO in our Congress, the
are so jealous the Speakers power, tha
they require him to announce to the bod
over which he presides, that he is now q
bout to sign such bill. This is done
] prevent Just such fraud as you have ju'
, perpetraied. You yourself, sir. took pr'
, cisely similar course, when you were abo,
f to sig the bill raising the per diem con