The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1857-01-16
FROM INDIANAPOLIS
ce ofthe Journal.

The factious spirit of party has so deranged Is
all our political affairs, that there is serious q
doubts felt bv rejecting men whether we have
any regularly constituted government at all {
Bv the ncglect Of the last Legislature to pass
an apportionment bill, it left the State with
out any election law, and there was no proper
legal authority for the election of the present
House of Representatives and new Senators. -
Gov. Wright's proclamation gave no more va
lidity to the election, than the rescript of a
town constable. There is much doubt wheth-
er there is any legal right for Mr.. DENLY to
represent the city Of Evansville, any more
than there would have been if citizens had as
sembled together at any irregular time and
place and in any informal manner appointed |
a man to 90 to indianapolis and frame laws to
bind the whole State The acquiescence of
the people in this election may give the Legis-
lature moral weight but cannot confer any con-
sttutonal authority upon their acts And II
! the question is ever seriously brought be
fore the Supreme Court Of the U. S., our whole
! State Government may be upset, and the pres
ent Legislature decreed only to be an organic
ed mob, which their present conduct and acts
would appear very strongly to confirm. And
if we have no Legislature, we have no constitu-
tional executive. Even if all the requisite
forms of Induction into office had been obSerV
ed the House being unconshtutionally elected.
would have had no right to confer the robes OF
Office For if there be no Legislature there is
no mode of endowing the Governor with the
functions ofhis office. But the matter has been
still further complicated by the conduct Of the
two Houses.
The speaker OF the House assumes the right
to prescribe the hour and minute IN which the
votes for Governor and Lieut.. Governor shall
1 +o1 dc he IN hn San-
ate, inviting them to Join the Honse, adding
that if they do not attend, he shall proceed
linstanter to count the votes. The Senate on
their part consume the time in debate upon
the question to go into joint meeting, and
finally adopt a vote that they JON the
House at ). T. NJ. In the meantime and be-
f fore this vote is passed. the House has proceed
ed alone to count the vote and have Inaugural
ted the Governor. While the Senate was de-
batting the question: and while that body was
legally and coustitutonally in session in its
e own chamber Gov. Willard and a few of his
5 adherents marches into the House, and is
there received and recognised as the Senate
. and this crowd Of followers, who, out Of their
own chamber had no more official rights than
a body Of men picked up out Of the street. &c
into the House and there preside as Senators
at the ugulaiion Of the Governor and Lieut.
-
of classifying their own record, and collude with
the conspritors to nullify positive reQuisi-
e ton of the Constitution. l. is evident that Gov
n Wizards train had no more right to a seat il
the House to preside over his Inauguration
than any crowd he might have collected, anC
the Senate was properly not present at all a
the Inauguration. II the requisition Of The
c Constitution, that the votes for Governor shall
q be counted and published in the presence o
r the two Houses, be ofany binding force, Gov
4 Willard has not yet been regularly inducteC
n into office, and there is great doubt if he ha'
s any right to act as Governor. We are there
II fore in the midst ola revolution probably will
q no legally constituted government; and the
= regular succession Of delegated authority hav
i ing been broken up, all the powers of govern
! ment, have returned to the people; and the
!. only way to recover from the chaos and con
!. fusion into which the demagogues ,hav
p brought US, is for the people to take new
n stand; throw the authors of all these evil
= overheard with mill stone around each o
n their neckS; call a new convention, frame
" new Constitution, and start upon new ca
% reer.
y The opposition members in the Senate ad
II here together Ikea sworn band. Their vote
If upon every question regularly twenty sew
en- in number. They are always present
= closely watching every movement of the De
% mocracy. To catch them asleep, they mus
: get up earlier in the morning than Willard diC
~ on the morning Of the first assembling Of til
"a Legislature, when, tits said, he was found i
-, the Senate chamber before daylight. The Re
: puulcans have retaliated too much in the spin
"a it in which the aggressions were first made b
N the Democracy. One wrong does not justif
~ another The House had no right to dictat
Internationally, the hour at which 1T woul
~ proceed to count the votes for Governor Til
I. Senate had the legitimate right to consult it
~ convenience, sense of duty, and name its hou
81 q, as well as the House; and the House had n
a more right to inaugurate the Governor alon
i than the Senate had to perform the same foI
g mality. But the vote Of the Senate was
sham-passel after they knew the Governo
no had been inau 5nrated and after the matter va
:. all overland when they knew their vote
10 Join the House would be nullity; and, If the
- had suppos cd it could have been accepted b
20 the House, they would not have passed it; be
ar cause they had 10 intention then, hav
r. they now, ofbeing caught in joint conventio
co with the House under any circumstances
=, The vote to Join the House was merely
a+ cover their retreat, and to deprive the House
or every plea Of justification for their exclusiy
no and domineering action; and they have az
parently succeeded; for it will be difficult fc
fl the Democratic House to make out plausibl
r. case for themselves. Their own record
contradicted by that Of the Senate, which
Of the better authority.
50 The records of the Senate say they wei
nd in session in their chamber, receiving motion
ng and hearing amendments, while the records
the House declare that the House was, at th
same instant in joint convention with II
", House But the records of each tody
IT. regard to its own acts, are of paramoul
-, authority, and any court of law, when cal