Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1856-12-03

amendments to tie Free Suffrage Bill.
The Register objects to the decision Of Mr. Speak
er avery, declaring amendments to the Free Suf-5
frage bill out Of order. His decision, it seems to
us, Is not only reasonable and just in ITSELF but in
strict conformity with the constitution the SUBJ
ject.
The following remarks, delivered by sfr. Hill, Of
Caswe in the Senate, present this matter in most
lucid and satisfactory manner. Mr.. Hills state
mcnts arguments. Pending the question of ap.
peal from the decision of the Speaker, Mr. Hill said
Mr.. SPEAKER: The question is, shall the decision
of the chair stand as the decision of the House.
The chair has decided that amendment to the
proposed alteration to the constitution passed the
Legislature Of 1884, is not in order. This propo.
sition to amend does not come under the parliament
tary laws controlling amendments to bills in DELHI
erative bulies. 1t is controlled by the State con-
stitution. That instrument directs that the con-
stitution shall be amended unless bill to alter
the same shall have been read three times in each
House of the General Assembly, and agreed to by
threetftEs of the whole number of members of each
House respectively shall any alteration take
place until the bill agreed to shall have been
published six months previous to election of
members to the General Assembly This PROPOSE
ton amend the constitution has gone through the
forn 50 required and is now before U.S. to do what?
Why, either to agree or not to what the constitu
ton requires when it is proposed to amend it, to
Wit: If after such publication, the alteration pro-
posed by the preceding General Assembly shall be
agreed to in the first session thereafter by two
thirds of the whole representation in each House
concurrng after the shall have been read three
times OH three several days in each House," &C. 1t
is apparent the trainers of this article of the cons
tuition contemplated thar there should be no amend
to this instrument unless the proposed amend.
mcnt should first have been published and thereby
the attention of the people directed to it before the
election of ne,o members of the Legislature Now,
if you permit the alteration proposed by the last
Legislature to be amended at this session. a clause
may be inserted to elect the Governor by the Leg
islature, or any other radical amendment which has
never been published, and of which the people had
no notice previous to the new cecti n. They would
further be called upon next summer to vote for the
alteration, Gf this Legislature should direcD and
i: " a majority Of voters should approve of the pro-
posed alteration and amendment offered by the SEN
ator from Guilford, we would then have incorpora-
ted alteration i'll the constitution which never
had gone through two of the forms required by that
instrument, before this could ought to take place.
to wit: publication for six months and having pass
ed by thrcc-iifths of previous Legislature.
But, it is urged that the proposed alteration may
be amended, and it So that it would destroy it. or
in other words, would he equivalent to this Legis-
lature refusing to agree to alteration before it
passed by the last General Assembly.
The reply to that is, that clause 2. l, article
l. prescrbes what this Legislature shall d. and let
| me ask what is that duty? The portion of the ar
alteration proposed by the preceding General AS
sembly shall be agreed to- &c. and which leaves to US
only the question: shaU agree not to the alter
alton proposed by the preceding General assembly?
If agree to what has been previously done, then
We have passed the proposed alteration through the
third stage required by the constitution, and of
which publication has been made, and the people
informed. The constitution intended, as humbly
conceive, not that we should enact or re-enact an
alteration this stage of any proposed alteration,
but that simply we should resolve to agree by two
thirds OF the whole representation to the alteration
proposed by previous Legislature.
DO not senators embarrass themselves by suppo-
sing that the Free Suffrage alteration, as it now
stands, is bill? If the constitution is carefully
looked into, it will be that it intend.
ed by that instrument at this stage of any proposed
alteration to do any thing more than simply to read
to this Legislature what proposed by the pre-
vous one, and then determine by apt CORDS whether
we will agree to it; not whether will enact a
BILL since the constitution intended and so says, that
the blu shall be read and of course introduced at
| the Legislature first proposing to amend it. But
suppose you retain the idea that it is bill; even in
that view it is only proposition commenced in the
form of BILL submitted by the last Lessla ure to
this Legislature, whether we will amend the con-
sttution i'll the manner proposed If you amend
the proposition made, then it is not the SUBJ
mitted for our consent agreement by the prece-
ding General Assembly, but altogether new one
and Of which the proposcrs had no knowledge, and
from the nature of things we can never know wheth'
they would consent to the alteration by the con-
sttutional majority of three.iifths-
Believing as do, that the constitution prescrbes
and marks out the duty of this Legislature, l shall
cheerfully to sustain the ruling of the chair.
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