North Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1850-1852, 1851-04-02
NOW WORK SENATOR.

There seems to be consderable doubt of the Legal
ify of Mr.. Fish's election as Senator from New
York His seat il stated, is TO be contested, and
the Senate Of the United States will be called upon
to decide the matter. The following, from the New
York Journal Of Commerce, will put readers in
possession of the facts
&c NEW YoRK UNITED STATES SENATOR. From
cursory examination of the subject, are led be-
lieve that Hamilton Fish is NOT elected the u.
Senate. The Constitution of the State Art. 3, Sec.
15,) declares that g No bill shall be passed except
by The assent of majority Of Gc members ELECTED
to each branch Of Lhe Legislature vi course no law
can be repealed without similar assent. The law
declaring that the q. s. Senators shall be elected
the first Tuesday in February, and making provi-
sion for these elections at any other tlme is
quentIy in force until majority of all the members
elected - to each House has prononncedfor its repeal
in favor of enactment which implies and in
wolves its repeal. As yet, this has not been done.
After the failure of the attempts to elect the day
fixed by law, some gentleman moved the passage of
bill to elect in convention of the two Houses in
stead of the two Houses separately; but this could
not be carried in the Senate,-Mr Beekman voting
against it, which left only l6 members in favor of
the bill-not majority of all the members elected
The whole number of the Senators is 32,~and of
course II is the lowe constitutional majority, wheth-
er all the members are present or not.
Finding that their object could not be accomplish
ed in this way, Senators began to conrive ways and
means by which the law could be circumuented. The
result is in the transactions of Tuesday. Seiz
ing upon an occasion when two Democratic Senators
out of town, the Wings repealed the rule which
requires concurrent resolutions to lie day,
and then adopted concurrent resolution yeas ICY to
proceed the election of United States Senator
o'clock. P. M. on the same day. 1t was done ac-
cordingly. Sixteen Senators voted for Hamilton
! Fish, who thereupon declared duly elected on
! the part of the Senate, and he actually elected
on the part of the House, he had been previously
on the day fixed by law for that purpose.
Now, what is the case! Just this: The Senate,
finding that they repeal law by bill, for want
of constitutional majority, (l7,) repeal it in effect
By joint resolution. They thus give 16 the
power which the Constitution gave to II, I.
jority of all the Senators elected. Now, the Cons
tuition says expressly, that law shall be enacted
Tor repealed except by bill" This joint resolution
is, therefore, unconstitutional and all the pro-
ceedings which depend upon it. In other words
Hamilton Fish is not elected to the United States Sem
ate, but there is still vancancy. This is the opn-
ion of every lawyer in this city, so far know.
who has examined the subject. Hence conclude
that if Democratic Legislature should be elected
next November, as is probable, they will proceed
exactly as if the above farce had been enacted
That is, they will first repeal so much of said law
limits the election of United States Senator par
ticuar day, and then proceed choice in a
prescribed by law The Senator chosen, it is be-
lieved, will successfully claim the of Mr.. Fish,
should the latter take!he trouble to occupy it during
the 80 days or so which will intervene between the
meeting of Congress and the organization of own
Legislature"