The weekly Placer herald., 1854-03-18
The Senatorial Ouestion

Will the present Legislature of oar
fornia elect U. S. Senator? and "a" "' :,
legally do So? Surely not without a rra,t
upon the people, and Il usurpation of
right belonging to the next Lesslatn.a"
1t would also be a palpabe violation g.
the lea non Scripta, or umwrtten ia VI
which it is well known is the stronnos,,
and most Interchangeable portion of ~"
Common Law, the same that prevails in
our State. 1t is created and estahl;sbai
by the operation of time, and is defined
by Jursts to be custom or usage that
has existed for time whereof the memorv
of man runneth not to the contrary.
Now, it is a well known fact that all ,bo
States, acting under a provision of tho
| Federal Constitution, elect a Senator ~.
the session previous to the r1eeting oe
Congress in December. 1t is also 7o,
known that the States have TINS oc,oI
over sixty years, and have thus establsboJ
the law above alluded to; and hold that
law as binding, until changed by con'
stitutional provision.
If Senator is elected this session :,
would be nearly two years before he conld
take his seat. Now, in the States of
Mississippi and Louisiana, where their
Constitutions provide that the Legislatura
shall only meet biennialy, it will do,-
But here, where our Legislature mee,s
annually, no Just reason or apology can
be offered in its defence. If Senator il.
elected at the legal and proper time. n
year from now, it will afford the party
elected ample time, say ten months. 10
arrange his business here and be at Wash.
ington in due season.
California being the last State that en-.
tered our glorious Union, should certain
" not be the first to disregard the cherish
ed customs and usages of the older States
matured by time into law both strong and
binding.
What would we think of President
who having served two, became a candi-
date for the bird term' Why, no man.
not even Gen. jackson in his time, with
all his well earned fame and popularity.
in such case, could stand up against the
moral force of public opinion. And vet
there is no written law forbldding such
step; but custom has made it law.
Then the law, as | have shown, plainly
indicates that the session after this is the
one TO elect Y. $. Senator have not
yet heard a cogent reason against the cor.
rectness of this position. Our public men
should drop everything like selfish motive
or sectional teeing, and unite in carry
ing out our political institutions in their
original purity, unencumbered with either
sordld or interested innovation.
Ours is new and frontier State. Siran-
gers from all parts of the globe arrive
here, and many of them from countries
where the hereditary principle in govern
ment prevails they therefore G osey OBJ
serve the workings of our Institutions,
and of course are ready TO condemn errors
as soon as they appear. Our position,
then, affords AN additional and stronger
reason why our executive and legislators
should strictly con>true the Constitution
and Laws in accordance with their letter
and spirit; and our civil officers should
administer and carry them out as ctiecs
tuaily as possible. | think the generally
of our citizens are now more than ever
disposed to scrutiniZe the acts OF Their
legal agents, and Judge them accordingly.
The man, of political aspirations, with
promising future before him, should pause
and recoIect well before he llts against
public opinion. And that very potent
element, public opinion, is arrayed against
the election of Senator this winter. -
Woe to the politician that dI>regardS Ii;
1t will cast a shade over his future political
hopes and prospects that time cannot re-
move. 1t will cling to him like the shlr1
of Nessus until he falls under It's po!son-
ing influence. S. f. Herald.