Iowa capitol reporter. [volume] (Iowa City, Iowa) 1841-1855, 1848-02-02
IOWA CITY, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 1s4s.

| oucN GS - contemplated III Tie @AO SccllO
of the. 4th article Of the Consultation. An
/ ask, sir, how would this effect his CLAIM
to a seat in this body? Would it disqual
| ify him. as is argued in the minority re
port? Certainly not. This provision G
the Constitution is not applicable to hi
case. It reads as follows: mo person hold
ing any lucrative Office under the United
States, or this Slate, or any other power
shall be eligible to the General Assembly,
Now, sir, this refers only 10 the ineligi
Jiiity Of the gentleman. / ask has not tiii.
been settled? If not, how did he &c.
here? Ifhe was ineligible to the Gener
al Assembly, how did he become mem
Der Of it No member will deny that ht
vas justly entitled 10, and occupied seal
on this floor last winter. If so, the ques-
ton Of his eligibility is settled, and the
provision Of the Constitution just referred
to, is not applicable to the case. But gen.
tlemen are disposed to bubble about the
meaning Of the word eligible, and | a'n as
tonished, sir, that position SO weak and
untenable should have been assumed by
my friend from Desmoine (Mr. Brown
ing 1t is a plain word. 1t signifies fiji
to be chosen, and twist it as you may, it
means nothing more. And that il does
no, apply to the case now before us, is OBJ
vions from the language of the Conslitu-
ton itself. 1t says mo person holding any
lucrative Office, &c., - 'shall be eligible to
the General Assembly," while the Ian
guage Of the 2lst section is, that emo Sen
aior or Representative shall, Sc, clearly
showing that il only has reference to the
individual prior to his election, and not
subsequent to his admission to seat on
this floor. But gentlemen have been en-
dea,oring SO to distort the meaning Of the
term eligibility, as to make it synonymous
with qualification. The former, sir, so
far as the gentlemen whose RICH, to a seat
is questioned, as ] have already shown,
has been settled. The latter we are now
investigating. The question, then, is, has
he done any thing to disquolJy him as a
member of the General Assembly ? A
good deal has been said, Mr.. President,
about declaring C members seat uocQ,d. =
Now, sir, contend that it is not in our
power to vacate a members seat, either by
majority or two thirds vote. He mas
eomnit an act by which he himself va
Gates it; it is only for us to determine, in
the first place, whether he is guilty of the
charge alleged against him, and in the
second place, whether he vacatss his seat
by having committed The offence charged.
II SO, then The question as to his right TO
a seal here is settled.
M. Brouoing -"Suppose that the hon
orable gentleman Mr.. Davis) had been
convicted of stealing horse: would he
have seat in this body then 20
Mr.. Benioa-The case presented by the
Senator from Desmoines Mr.. BrowGing)
is not parallel to the one now before Us.
The gentleman is here claiming his seat
as a member. He is charged with an Of
fence which we conceive does not inter
fere with his rights as such. Bat will
answer the gentleman promptly. Ii the
Senator who is now arrsisned before us
had been convicted Of horse stealing, un
less the commission Of this crime would
Of itself vacate his seat, he would still be
a member, and we have bat one way point.
ed out in the Constitution 10 get rid OF
him, and that is by expulsion. 1t is true,
the Constitution gives US the power TO
judge of the qualifications of our own
members; but, judging Of their qualiica-
ton is one thing, and lniiicIing penalty
is another. The 10Th section gives us
the power TO punish members for disor-
derby behaviour" and this is the extent
of our power by majority vote. If we
go beyond this, it requires vote of i.go
thirds. It a member is convicted OF an Of
fence against The laws Of the country, we
are not to act from mere rumor in iuls-
ing him. The facts must be laid before
us, aud il the offence committed is such as
to render him unworthy Of seat here,
then We may expel him. And it is I'M
warranlahle for moment TO entertain The
belief that any Legislative body, selected
by an intelligent people, would hesitate
promptly to do SO. Blu. this must be done
in accordance with law and evidence
The evidence befpre us shows conclusive.
~ that the gentleman charged, has done
nothing since the adjournment last winter
TO impair his rights as a member of this
body. We may declare his seat vacant
and by brute force put him out of this
chamber, but unless he has done some
thing by virtue OF which his seat necessa.
rily becomes vac ant, or is expelled accor-
ding 10 law and evidence, he is neverthe-
less TO all intents and purposes member
of this body. .....
The 22d section Of the Constitution, hay
ing reference only to Offices ''under this
State, which shall have been created" &C.,
during the term for which a member has
been elected, has nothing to do with the
case before US, and therefore deem it
unnecessary to say any thing relative to
it. " e#s ..r.-...s.5- ..... ~.
But the last charge asaint the honorable
gentleman Or. Davis is, that he has re-
signed his seat. BY mos, OF the testimony
.befure Us, we trace a letter Of resignation
10 the Senator from Jackson (Mr. Brad
iey.) But that eentleman's own testimo-
ny settles the question. He informs US
tina. the Senator from Wappelio gave him
the letterFin June last, addressed TO His
81,