The Kanzas news., 1858-03-06
legality of the Constitutionai Congo,.ss'@s
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L6SaIgY OF Tue ConSJltutlonai Convan
e g = & t1on Act s =
Gov. Denver Is endeayoring to create an
impression that the set ealing Oons,i,n.
tional Conversion failed for the want of n.
signature. He undoubtedly mistaken, 80
The simple question Is whether the act
Was sent to the Governor three DAYS before
the close Of the session, and It's solution 40.
pends upon the method by which time is
estimated = 49,. -
The LegisIatiYe Assembly is limited bv
the Organic Act to a session of forty davs
That session commenced on Monday, Jan
4, at 12 O'Clock, noon. Now. counting for
/ ty days of absolute time, "a hours each.
and the session did not close until 1q o.,
clock, noon, of Saturday, Feb. e3. The
act under consideration was placed in the
Governor 3 hands on the Wednesday morn
ing previous to the close of the session, and
had been. accordingly, in his possession for
three days on Saturday morning. As he
did not return it sOithis the three davs. If
became a law Without his signature
But, says the Governor, the law does not
know fractions of days, and therefore, al
though the session Of the Legislative As
sembly commenced ut noon on Monday.
Jan. 4, that fraction of Monday must be
called one whole Legislature day, terminating
at midnight: and so, according to this meth
cd of counting, the session closed on Fri
| day night, Feb. 12, at midnight, instead of
at noon, Saturday, the 18Th
Very well, apply the vsry same method of
estimating days to the time that the act was
in the Governors hands s. 's'fe
1t was given 20 him Wednesday morning,
II.
the Monday on which the session com
menced was called one whole legislative
day, although the session did not commence
till noon) so Wednesday mast Be cou,atcd as
one Of the three days, during which the act
remained in the possession of the Governor,
and the three days Terminated at midaight on
Friday night. 1t was not returned within
three days, and so became law without
the Governors signature. 80
Taking either method of estimating days,
either absolutely requiring "a hours to each
day, or by rejecting the fractions, and apply
the same method to both cases, viz: to the
forty days of the session, and to the three
days during which the Governor must re-
turn the act or it becomes law without his
signature, and you have perfectly clear
case that the act was not returned within
the specified time, and so is valid enact
ment without the executive signature.
The Governor has been led into this mis-
take by attempting to apply one method Of
estimating days to his own case, AMI the
other to that of the Legislative Assembly
But that will not do. If he discards frac-
tions of days in estimating the forty days
of the session, so also he must in estimating
the three days during which the executive
must return the act.
If, on the other hand, he reckons absolute
days of twenty -four hours each to his own
case of retention, so also must he to the
session of the Assembly. The rule must
be uniform, and by making it so, not a
shadow of doubt remains of the validity of
the law.
In addition to the above, it may be stated
that the act was really presented 70 the Gov
ernor on Tuesday night previous to the close
of the session, at FIVE minutes before elev-
en-, and while the Assembly was in session,
but the Governor refused to receive it, on
the ground that it was an unreasonable
hour. aas
1t is therefore perfectly clear case, and
all we have to do is 10 go ahead and carry
out the law by electing delegates, framing
Constitution and electing officers under it.
This the people viii do, and in case Le-
compton passes Congress, they viii have a
government on which all viii unite and put
it into immediate operation.
The attempt to cast suspicion upon the
formaiity of this measure is calculated to
leave US with nothing around which we can
all rally and resist the usurpation should it
get through Congress. laurence Repub