Meigs County telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy [Ohio]) 1848-1859, 1858-04-20

hI Two CLOCK, a. M, on last Tuesday
the Legislature of the State of Ohio closed
its lahors for time, having at that hour
taken recess until the first Monday in
january, 1850. Ofthe closing scene and
the supper, or, rather. breakfast, which fol.
lowed. we cannot speak from personal OBJ
servation, having left an hour before. in
order tolreach the cars. We have neither
time nor disposition. at present, ito review
the action Of that body. Perhaps this
may be done hereafter Among the MANY
acts passed tits to be hoped that some, at
least, will be useful and beneficient in their
operation-some, we, fear, will prove in
; convenient if not oppressive to the people
while others, such as the reorganization
sof the Penitentiary, State House Commis-
sioners. Board Of Public Works, Benevo-
lent Institutions, and others OF mere par
usana character. intended only to make
places for hungry politicians. will answer
that purpose at least, and thereby crafty
those whose principles of action are the
spoils of Office. These laws we shall prob
ably publish hereafter with such comments
as shall seem proper.
Some of the most ultra Of the party
measures introduced III the House, failed
for want of the requisite number of votes,
few members of the Democratic major
ity having the honest independence to dis
regard the edicts Of the caucus and refus-
ing absolutely TO vote. This, under our
present Constitution, which requires Fl fly
four votes in the House to pass q bill, is
as effectual to prevent the passage of an
Act, as to vote against it. This was the
case with the bill creating the Commits
sioners of the Appointing Power, which,
q in violation of the Constitution, under
took to create Board of three Democrats
who were to appoint all officers in the State,
now appointed by the Governor and Sen
ate, together with the trustees of all the
Benevolent Institutions, State House Com
missioners, &c. This scheme which was
avowedly intended for the sole purpose of
securing places for swarm of noisy dem
agogues, whom the people would not elect,
failed through the unexpec ted revolt of Mr..
Mott and two or three others, who could not
be forced into the measures. The project
failed by one vote only. But while the
TRAITORS" as they were called, defeated
this darling scheme of the leaders, they
saved to some extent the reputation Of the
party. For nothing in the whole history
of the Kansas swindle could well exceed
the enormity of this proposition. 1t pro-
posed, in positive violation of the Consti-
tuition, to turn out all the officers above
referred to, and fill their places with pa, IT,
sans. And to make the thing successful
the purity of the Supreme Court itself was
tampered with. Itwas foreseen, of course,
that the validity of the Act would be con-
tested. and TO forestall its opinion, the
Chief Justice of that same Court which
was to pass upon its constitutionality-he
being Democrat-was made the head of
this appointing Commission! Thus we
had the sickoning spectacle of the Chief
Justice descending from the dignity of his
position to deal out the petty Offices of the
State among the thousands of greedy ex-
pectants, and then re-ascend the sacred
Bench and grayely decide the constitu-
tionality of the Law, and the validity Of
the appointments he has just made under
it! But as if this indirect attempt upon
the integrity of the Court was not suffi-
cient to secure the end designed, the bill
further provided that if any person should
attempt to test the validity of the Act, by
bringing it before the Court, he should
forfeit not less than 81 900, 90 nor more
than $lo,000,oo, and this, even if the
Court, SO bribed, should decide in his IA
vor! We ask in ali seriousness, could Le-
compton beat that? Yet this scheme was
lost for the want of one vote only, and the
few Democrats who refused to be made
the instruments of its perpetration, were
out of the party!
In view of these and similar proceed !
ings, we were led 10 wonder whether the
Republicans, if they had been in the ma
jority, would have taken the same course.
We could not tell, not being in that posi-
ton, but we fear the tendency of party
discipline is to make men forgetful in their
associated party relations, of those prin-
ciples which control their actions in pri- |
vate life, and cause them to do as politi- |
clans, what they would utterly scorn to do
as men. We can account for the acts of
come gentlemen in the late session on TO
other theory. Members who in all social
intercourse were perfectly honorable-ap
parently sincere and candid on all subjects