The Shasta courier., 1862-11-15
The Constitutional Amendments.

nected with the amendments to the Constitu-
ton adopted, or attempted to be adopted, at
the last election, by the people of this State.
In as many as four particulars, there is de-
parture, in the published copy of the amend
ments, from that passed by the Legislature
of 1861. These variations are not specially
important in themselves, only when consider.
ed as changes in the amendments passed by
a Legislature Gov. Stanford certifes that
the amendments published are copies of the
ones which had received the legislative sane
ton. The question then comes up, lst Does
this variation invalidate the amendments p
As far as we know, the question is entirely
new, and is uuinfuenced by any decision
heretofore made. In its settlement, then, the
people, Legislature. and Courts are at liberty
to give the commonwealth the benefit Of any
and all honest and reasonable doubts arising
from It's discussion. There are several things
to be done under the law, to amend the State
Constitution Thus: the amendments must
pass one Legislature, and the ayes and noes
must be recorded-thS amendments must
- published-ta u1Duzl1 ~.
other Legislature, and the ayes and noes
again recorded-and finally they must receive
the sanction of majority of the voters. Ap-
parently the doing of any one of these things
is as obligatory as another. There is, from
the declarations of the Constitution it the
clause providing for its amendment, no diff
fernce, in point of Importance and dignity,
between calling the ayes and noes on the
question, when lefore the Legislature, and
the later necessity that the amendments are
to secure majority of the votes Of the peo-
pie We repeat, that the Constitution in the
clause alluded to, demands the one thing as
peremptorily as it does the other. Yet it
would be rather straining point to say that
the amendments were defeated because the
ayes and noes had not been recorded at all
and if recorded, that it was incorrectly done.
Constitutions can cnly enamate from the
people. Forming or amending Constitu-
ton is beyond the control of any Legislature,
and so we conclude that the only way in
which any original or amended Constitution
possesses any vitality whatever, is by the
vote and voice of the people As the power
of the people over this question is absolute
" unlimited, the exercise thereof not to be
disturbed by any cause, but remains per-
feet and supreme in every event, it would
seem that all the other specialties above
enumerated, such as calling the ayes and
noes and the publication, were only matters
of form, ami were merely directory, The
exercise of perfect, supreme and imprescrip
tible right is not to be defeated, embarrassed,
hindered or delayed, because of any matter
purely technical and of form. The people
have adopted these amendments by soyer-
eign and efficacious vote, what body or
tribunal is to say that their will is to be de-
feated? If Courts are to be groping about
to find some pretext for upturning the adop-
ted amendments to the Constitution, they are
at perfect liberty to say that the original
Constitution itself, being framed in disre-
gard of some form--the want of an enabling
act by Congress for instances altogether
invalid, and never had an existence, the ra-
ther singular result of which decision would
be. that it never would have established any
Courts, and consequently, the decision which
upturned the Constitution and Courts was no
decision at all, thus like Davy Crockett
. coming out of the same hole Invent in at. y
The true way to get out of this difficulty is,
to take the amendments as they are adopted,
and let all tribunals recognize them as parts
of the Constitution. and be done with it.