Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1858-06-11

publican form OF government. No one
will have the hardihood to deny this, for
lit would be to assert that the whole ori.
gin and political history Of the Govern
ment was living lie. Sir, 1 need not
animadver. upon the odious features of
the Rhode Island government; they are
well known, A minority governed, and
the majority had no representation in
the government. And now, sir, if this
was. nevertheless. a republican form of
government, which none deny. can il be
urged. with shadow of plausibility, that
a constitution is not republican. simply
because it elects the members of its Leg
islature for life? But. sir. can afford
to waive this conclusive of the
issue, as think it to be. Yes, sir, un-
dertake to assert, and to substantiate the
position, that there is not to be found in
the constitution of Minnesota anything
upon which plausible argument can be
based to show that the representatives in
her Legislature are elected for life.
The only ground upon which such an
assertion could for moment rest, is the
absence of specific clause intended to
regulate the same. But there are other
sections in the constitution which cover
the point by fair and logical deduction
will read from section Esd, article 4:
"SEo. 23. The Legislature shall pro-
vide by law for an enumeration of the in.
habitants of this state in the year 1865,
and every tenth year thereafter. AT their
first session after each enumeration SO
made, and also at their first session after
each enumeration made by the authority
| Of ho TTnifod SfafaS ho Slofr SINoll
have the power to prescribe the bounds
of congressional, senatorial, and represen-
tatiye districts. and to apportion anew the
Senators and Representatives among the
several districts. according to the proyis.
ions of section second OF this article.'
Then in 1860, the period for taking the
next United States census, at the farthest,
it becomes the duty of the Legislature of
Minnesota to make different apportion-
ment Of Senators and Representatives Of
their Legislature, and to make their cleo
ton accordingly.
But the next section is still more to the
point, and will not leave the gentleman
an inch of ground TO stand upon.
"SEo. "a. The Senators shall also be
chosen by single districts of convenient
contiguous territory, at the same time
that the members Of the House of Repre-
sentatives are required to be chosen, and
in the same manner, and no Representa-
tive district shall be divided in the forma
ton Of Senate district. The Senate
districts shall be numbered in regular Sc
ries, and the Senators chosen by the dis.
tricts designated by odd numbers shall 60
out of Office at the expiration Of the first
year, and the Senators chosen by the dis
tricts designated by even numbers shall
go out OF Office at the expiration of the
second year; and thereafter the Senators
except there shall be an entire new elec>
ton Of all the Senators at the election
next succeeding each new apportionment
provided for in this article"
Now. sir, inasmuch as by this arrange-
ment Of the election Of Senators, half Of
them are elected every year, and mas
much as the same section provides that
the Representatives shall be elected at
the same time with the Senators, it fol~
lows, as a matter Of course, that the reps
resentatives are elected annually. do
not think it necessary to elaborate this
point any further. will only add. that
the journal of the Minnesota Convention
shows conclusively, that paragraph ex-
pressIy prescribing the term of service of
the members of the lower branch of the
Legislature, and limiting the same to one
year, was inadvertently omitted when the
constitution was transcribed. Yet. sir. it
was so we'll understood from other Sec
tions of the constitution which l have
read to you that the term Of Representa-
tives in the Legislature was limited to one
year, that it has never been made Sc.
rious question by the people of Minneso-
ia, though it was well known that the
specific paragraph intended to regulate
the matter as omitted in the transcript.
And, indeed. Of SO little importance was
this omission considered, that when at a
subsequent period various amendments
were made to the constitution, nobody
deemed it Of sufficient importance to rec>
tify it by restoring the paragraph referred
to. Yet, sir, in the face of these facts.
the gentleman from Ohio seeks to base
an argument upon this. as authorizing
him to reject the application of Minneso-
ia for admission into the Union.
But another objection which the hono>
rable gentleman from Ohio urges against
the admission of Minnesota under this
constitution is, that that constitution ais
lows unuaturalized foreigners to vote.
which, he alleges, conflicts with the Con-
stitution of the United States. if it does
not conflict with the Constitution itself
Now. sir. am very much astonished that
the gentleman should have brought this
forward as an objection to the admission
T Of Minnesota into the Union as State
Will the gentleman from Ohio rise in his
I place and tell me that the sovereign State
OF Ohio cannot. if she pleases. permit un-