Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1862-03-03
THE NEW CONSTITUTIONS.


q sermons, % cents each. nopy1l-'6s
THE NEW CONSTRUCTOR.
A different YIsWifrom any that has
yet been Taken s5t,.i
~ LFrOm the olarksbprg TslegraplpI ~ 3
70 We very muchiregret that the Wheeling
Convention after all its labors; did mot.
succeed in giving tue people Coustitu.
.tion that would have better answered the
ends for which it was designed than that
adopted. We are not acquainted with any
of the rmembersfofthe Convention, but we
have no doubt they were oil intelligent
gentlemen, and labored to produce a Con!
stitution that would neet the wants of the
people, but it is evident that majority of
them niisconceived tiett mission, and
failed to discriminate between forming an
organic law UPON which to base future
Legislation, and legislating for present
emergencies, for NE end the Constitution
6qEdeqed With q considerable amount of
legislation, .t5.s5sj.. q /,
THIS instrument lacks concisepess and
point and everything is obscured With
yerbiage. This is pecgliarly objectionable
IN Stale Constitution, in which every,
sentence should be as shOrt as possible
and encumGered with but few words and
they directly TO theipofnt.
The article providing for the election for
Senators and Delegates to the State Leg
islature, cohthins Thirty yltiihe hesGCtiofswhile
~ half dozen would have answered every
purpose. But all these errors are OF mi
nor Importance when we.take into'cohsid-
Grafton the grlver errors ofslhe, Cdnstitu-
lion, becauseathe verbiage and OF lscniity
IN which many things iu 1t are enVeloped
can be overcome with a littleinvestigation.
We shall now proceed to show W hat we
consider some of the most Objectionable.
features in it. 80, 9{s.i.E
ltpnovides that for the present, the State
shall be divided into .nine Senatorial. dis
tricts, and each district elective Senator'S.
1twopld have been much better to have
divided tue State into eighteen districts,
and let each district be!represented by one
Senator. The people would then have n
better opportunity of becoming acquainted
with those who offer themselves rs. eandt-
dates, and be better enablel to judge Of
their merits, and tho Senator would also
have better opportunity of Judging of the
wants of his constituents. According to
the provisions of the Constitution, some
Delegate Districts are composed of two
counties, and these two counties elect one
delegate but it is provided that this dele
gate shall not be chosen from the e6same
counties for two successive years. compel
ling them to alternate. This is wrong poll
ICY II should have been left to the pso-
pie In such districts to choose their dele
gates from which county they chooses
This provisionto the Constitution would
frequently deprive the people,oftl the services
of afaithful and tried delegate whom they
might desire to return, but who would be
constitqtionallyp prohibited, = IA -,n
In regard to the Judiciary, We think the
ConstitutiOn-is-cons considerably-at FAULT 1t
provides for too many Circuit Courts in
the year, four, while three would be am-
pie. The salaries allowed the Judges are
ample without mileage, and We think the
Constitution in allowing Judges mileage,
allows, them just whatever that mileage
amounts to over and above what it should.
This owing to the frequency of the courts
and the largeEterritory overzwhieh many
of the Judges Wiltitravel on their circuits,
make,ta considerable item of expense
d1ringt the iyearsdi - - r il ost SIRE
II But the GROWING obiectionito this Con-
stitutionis the township system for which
,ftpEovides, and by=wlIi6h means the3num-
ber loft salaried officers is multiplied in a
large degreei and consequently taxes will
be immeuselyiincre Each county is
to be divided into as mauyHas three aud
not morelthahate ten townships, each to haye
one supervisor, clerk, and one or more
oVerseers of the poor and surveyors OF
roads, and such otheEs officers as may be
provided by law. There will be at least
sig officers in each township, aud these
officers will peesssafiiI bestQ pays In a
county of tles popnlelion of Harrison it
would require the full number Q: ten town
ships to meet the wants OF the psople.r-
This woul create sixty township officers,
who at m. average OF three hundred doll
lars each, which is very loW estimate,
would cost tho county eighteen thousand
dollars, Rene r. bet this COS IS 5oSe,Y hat
|. rs now .req1tfedstn keepsup fhei ie6itn45 pr-
l:RaniSations. THE G6ustfti tor. 4jlly
fastens three ffh1es tEie etaon9t I
upon sthe eipeopletW lliclfsis nece 36S The
purpose of keeping lgI, the 8 tat aud eopnF
" orgahizatt6hs. Z - .i9 ~; +
sIMeigives our opinion, for whatsit is
IWorth,.sWe have after thorongh b exatninf
alton 6t lie Con q Il utt on come 20 the tpp-
lsc1usfon that thesspeople eiot Nest Virginia
had better do theif work over than 10
adopt this Copstitut Jon II, would be q
bad setting out for a State Goyetnment,
aud We doubt not but Il would lis9g SSef
the State like iniucnhus forever clogging
its prosperity, sS.i q; Z. .iis3 ~ q +
s;Nel said ut the outset of this aftjcle,
the members of the Convention that
frahe ID tlHis CoRstIt tItnti6h eFgtih III mis-
conceived their miss ion L, heEe appears
to have beer. great 1acle, of the prnetieal
n that body. TheysEnA de ls Con stitatiou
which may be sail % 5e hs6sive ID
poiutof matter, but incomprehenslblein 40 q
practical sense There ore many objec1
,tipnAbls teAtpres in ibis Oonstitution
Witch We have not time and space % no.
tiee at this time, but shall notice them
as opp bftdnitY mt We send It 70 our
readers to-day ip sppplemsp fosT, q
order that each ma5y eaf and Judge tPF
hfmsslh @
We have not made these remarks TO iore-