Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1859-11-03

as maay cases of change Of county lines as Of the
formation OF new couuties And do you suppose
they would hare made provision for the one and |
left cut the other? Then if they intended such I
cases 10 be embraced, where are they provided for
but 10 the 9TH section Of Article X But you say
that presidents in references to change Of county
lines establish the practice Of the Legisis-
ture as well as the construction Of the
Constitution upon the subject. That Heretofore
changes Of lines between counties, have besn made
and that the fractions thus transferred have voted
with the counties to which they were annexed, and
the committee exempfes the practice by reference
to the case Of the change between Coffee and Ruth
srford counties where thu fraction stricken from
Coffse to Rutherford IS held properly 70 vote with
Rutherford. Does the committee suppose that they
could impose such illogical ressOuings upon tais
Senate The rule as well as the principle is very
different in change between two old counties, and
between two new, between even old
aud new county If fraction Of one old county
is takea off by change OF lines or othersise, and
added TO another old county which has been provi-
ded for in representative political point Of vIew
by fJrmer spportiOnmeGt that fraction thus trans
ferred, does loose its voice sovereignty, Ell
ther in Congress in the Legislature Of the State:
| for wills 1t is taken off from county which bal
voice in those things it is added on to q county
which has status also in the representative de-
partment, and therefore the fraction is not asfran
chisel: in other words, it is not male worse tn IN
| it fonnd and We might very reasonably sup
pose that to be the Why provision fof the
suffrage Of such fra stioHs made in the Consti
tuition But when We come TO the 9th Section OF
Article X the lr1visions of which relate to new
counties mainly We find The provIso which IS under
consideration aud which presume was Intended to
embrace every possible acciiency which could gros
out Of the form ltiOn of counties In any manner
calculated to efestthe deeennsal appNtlooments
But the majority committee admit thatfhat part OF
Seaaatohe which was taken from Hamilton, should
al sfeBse Inns eh III have
! y,ted with II amiton. Well then if that fracttnn
had voted with Hamilton under the Sheriff Of Ham
Hon, where would the little fraction from Grundy
have voted except back With its mother county
Woald you have it vote TO itsselfY But you say
that ii should have voted slsB with Hamilton. Why
should it have voted thus? It never was part Of
Hamilton 1t was not akin to HamiIton-ueyer had
any political relation whatever 60 Hamilton. TIE
county Of Grundy was certainly considered OF and
provided tor in the last appointment, AMI this
fraction belonging then to GIundy was taken into
consideration and the same disposition that was
then made Of Grunly in that spportionment, was
ofcourse made for this fraction Of it. together with
the balance Of the county Taen Wheredid they IN
that apportionment put Grundy? la other words,
where was the sovereignty Of Grundy county thrown
or assigned for the ten years thereafter! Most
assurediyn the 14h Senatorial District and not in
the 8th Ana if the last session Of the Legislature
intended to add that fraction to the oih senatorial
District aud thereby diminish the l4th District it
being unconstitutional TO have done so, any such
an Ecs is simply Ruility. -
7 eau see PLAINLY thai some Senators, and even
the majority of the committee. disposed to seek
refuge behind the inadverteney of the last legiss
tpre which, in recspiusliug the political divisions
of Inc State, mentioned Sequstehie as one Of the
oouuties composing the Sth Senatorial District.
| Does any Senator in.ead to be understood as tax
ing the position tha she lsss legislature redsrcted
the STATE? Most certainly they had no power na-
der the constitution to have done so at that time
Nor is any such energy upon the part Of that body
manifest in any Of their arts or proceedings Ia
setting forth the different Senatorial Districts as
thew found them in the statutes, they inadvertently
mentioned Sequatchie as being in the Sth Disrie.;
not that tney Intended 70 make any change in the
, | said district They made similar mistake in the
, reorganization Of the Congressional DISTRICTS for
instance the county Of Putnam is mentioned as con
s,itdtng par. CT the 3D. and then also in the 4th
District It is r5eSJned. This ineonss-
tepev of course was uninten'ionsl and matter Of
acedeney and shows that the mind OF the last leg
islature was never engaged either IN redistricting
E the State or in any manor altering or changing
: the sams But lei as see Whelher that Legislature
: could have m lde such change The 4th section Of
article of the constitution says: That an enumer
alton Of the qualified votes sni an apportionmeni
of ,he General Assembly shall be made IN the year
{ lS4l and within every subsequent term OF ten
years; aHd then the 9th section Of the same article
avs. 1.-THE number Of Senators shall, at the several
%
aan the several counties or districts according q
= III number Of qualified electors in each" Thul
e We see from the foregoing section that the appor
onments which are to regulate Senatorial Districts
It are fixed by the constitution to De every ten years
The last spportianment vas made in 1851, and tb'
legislature then passed from its Jurisdiction of suci
dniies and powers until the next ten years thereaf
o ter which will be in 1861, when uudsr the const
: ution hey may resume their jurisdiction over sucl
a subjects of legislation.
d Till Senator's stick to the position that the Leg
n slature of 1878 nesting between the periods o
. | aDnoytiouneut had the power to re-distr;ct th,
;, slate? And if they had not the power to re-dis
/ | triet it they certainly had not the authority T.
f change or alter those districts, and thereby virtu
alIv re.district it For what they cannot do direct
lv they Cannot do indirectly. That principle of Law
il so well settled as not to admit of comment TheI
# the question reeurs upon the true construction o
ssction of article 10 of the constitution and mor
upon the meaning of the phrase striek
A | on IF" Whether '.stricken Oft" means snythin,
- moro than sqaken off" For it will not be denied
r that the fraction under consideration was 'tskeI
: off from Grundy by changing the lines between
G,updv and Seauatchie SO to include that terri
r forv and hose citizens, take off that much o
o Grundy and a Id it to Sequstchie. In the proper
/ construction of the present constitution much ale
n nav he derived from occasional reference to thu
: oId constitution for the new is nothing more thar
revision of the old and in the greater part Of thu
na the "a ne spirit aud intent is embodied that act
e mated the trainers Of the old; aud in fact SOM
t mars are alike usrbdt;n ct eratiR'- For instance
il the bill OF righs in the one, IS section By sector
| md wori BY word with now and then 2 Sigh
n change of phraseology the same as the old consti
= init IN Aud when we come to compare section 4 o
: ! lille of the old constitution with section o
# article 10 Of the new, that the only ehsng'
that vas made of the old was in references to The
: requisite arel Of county, the extent to Whiet
an old county might be reduced in the formation o.
d new one, and inc length Of time that such new
n connty should vote back with the county or eoun
/ lies fcom which they might betaken. The old con
h s,ituti3n requiring six hundred and twenty-five
: SQUARE miles for a new county and retention o.
{? that much to the surrounding new counties, anc
then recurring the fractious TO vote with the coun
ties from which they were respectively taken. unit
entitled by numbers member. While the new con
s.itution reduced the requsition Of area 70 thre
. hundred aud ifty square miles, aud require foul
hundred and fifty u1li6ed voters upon this part o
= tbe new and forbid its approximation toward The
n county site of the old county nearer than twelve
miles and only required the fractions to vote bach
# with their mother counties until the next eppor-
# tioment at which time if their numbers should no
be sufficient entille them to member PEoVisior
might &c made for them by hosterial districts. Ii
r. all other particulars and especially in refer
ence TO their sovereignty aud representation, wa
It not intended be changed Let's read the OLD con
: stitution upon that point. The section above re
# frred to of the old constitution, after going on Il
d | STATE the size, &c, OF Lew "
i counties as tolthe right Of suffrage aud rePsesen
taton shall be considered as part Of the comfy
or counties from which thay we're taken until emil
n by members TO the right Of representation.
Is Nov YOU see the word taken used in the old consd
e tuition precisely where stricken on is used tn th'
# new or present constitution and hence your mar
10 row and limited construction Of the phrase strick
b en- goes to the ground. But when We Will
:. you on those points you taetly seknoTledg'
i the error and Weakness Of yaur position, By gOinC
off upon the inYslidity Of the whole election il Sc
3 ouat hie and propose to throw away the votes this
f were cast in the Hamilton fraction which would sui
ii elect Mar MINIS. You seem to be willing to bt
driven from every position you have taken provided
, the Alternative Of your resort will still favor MI
q Minniss election But let US examine this Last re
sort under which you take refuge While tits tru'
that it was irregular for Sequatckie TO have holder
the election under her own officers, sill ell that par
of Ssquatehie except this little Grundy FRACTION il
!, dispute voted when and where 1t would have voted
aud for the same officers if it had voted with and
: under the Officers Of Hamilton, its mother county
q aud therefore is very easily counted in the returns
of the Sth Sena orisl dstrics. And besides that
: SUCH su irregulsrity as would not eome in conflict
with the Constiialion-the particular officer unde
: whom you vote or the particular manner Of conduct
ing these elections NOT being drectedby the cOnstu
~, Taft ~ The Iegislatura They MIGHT hQv,