Washington telegraph. [volume] (Washington, Ark.) 1839-1871, 1862-07-23

confess ourselves thoroughly disguised. w
have now one all absorbing thought. It is t
stop the bleeding wounds Of our beloved South
so savagely and obstinately assailed, and t
promote by all efforts, the speedy and honor
able acquisition of that independence, which
sooner or later, will be achieved. Every da.
costs us blood andtreasure. Everything which
oy creating discord amongst ourselves rctard
the end day, is grievous injury.
We hoped, BY patiently waiting the actor
OF the present Governor, to be relieved o
speaking, to this, at all. Conceding thu
he would pursue the safest 1--WE will not sa,
the most modest) course, and order an eiec
| ton. II reelected the matter would be at rest
| If defeated the people would DC satisfied. anc
| no question would ever be made of the power
| of his successor. W. hoped too much. A
contest ls unhappily inevitable, at time whcr
harmony is all important. Blame will an
should attach somewhere. Our fortunes ar,
too pcrilous to admit of trifing. 1t is small
matter to the masses who may hold this or thai
those who direct our home affairs, should man
ifest a consentaneous an / self-sacrificiLg dcvo
ton to our cause, far above all selfish interest.
or private ambition.
This is public matter, and our readvr.
have right to require our opinion We will
give 1t as briefly As We can, modestly reinem.
bering that We are liable to err, and .hopinn
that what we intend for conciseness, may not
be mistaken for a tone of dogmatism
Findex is right No legal point, before lu-
dicial decision, was ever clearer to our mind
than that the election for Governor, under the
present Constitution, SHOULD be held on the
lst Monday in October next. The terms q,
the Constitution are too express to allow of -
respectable bubble. No one can now hold or
exerc sc any office, except under the authority
OF the ne'0 Constitution. 1t supercede immc
dlately the old, and all offices, powers. and
emoluments existing under the old were imme-
dlately annulled and rem l.rt | v0il. TIe;, is
no such question rs ''vested rights t. terms
of office in cases Of constitutions. Til. new
constitution comes as 4 sovcreig:, superior t.
all vested rights. The day after it,. adoption
tribunal, which did not derive is force and
validity from the new Constitution.
To avoid the Inconvenience which would
manifestly attend such 4 con ition. the new
constitution Incorporated schedule The LIST
section provides that all judicial process shall
remain in force and proceed in the courts
The I'd section adopts the statute laws of the
State, not repugnant to the action Of the Con-
vention. The Sd makes temporary ordinances
of the Convention, superior 10 the Constitution,
read as follows:
Sec. 4. All officers. civil ami military. now
holding commissions under the authority OF
this State, shall continue to hold their rcspec-
tive Offices until they shall be suspended under
the authority of this State, in pursuance %
the provisions Of this Constitution, the Or
nances Of this convention.
Sec. 5. The next general election for officer
Of this State, under this constitution. not 9th
erw;se herein provided for, shall be held on
the 1st Monday in October, 4. D. 1862. in the
manner now prescribed By law.
These are all the provisions ale by the
new constitution for continuing any life oil
force, in proceedings held or Offices constitu-
ted, under the old. Except as here provided,
Offices, emoluments. honors, everything held
under the old, vanished with the parent. Peo-
pie may have elected officers for any term of
authoritative and higher voice of the same
people. They gave and can take away.
The next general election for Governor
is to take place on the LIST Monday in October,
1862, by virtue of section 5, unless the Office of
Governor be somewhc re else in the new con-
stitution provided for. 1t is not there proyi-
ded fol. TAc most astute criticism cannot
find semblsnce Of provision for it. Many of
fees are. Tho Supreme Judges, for instance,
are expressly allowed to hold during the terms
for which they were originally elected. Not
so with tho Governor. The conclusion is as
inevitable as fate.
Still, We candidly believe, that it was not
the intention Of the members Of the C"nven-
ton to GUST the present incumbent. Gov.
Rector is doubtless right in supposing that
they had no design to contract his term of Office
1t relieves his failure to issue his proclamation
from anything like moral turpitude, or gross
usurpation. Still the law is so. IT. g~tmati-
cal construction, its plain and obvious reading
is there, and cannot be controyerted. Ii by
design, or carelessncss in framing the constl-
tuition, Gov. Rector has been allowed to fall
from his position, whether int .nded or not, it
is poor way to remedy the wrong by the per-
petration of one still grcater-the violation of
the Constitution itself
Since the Governor his acted upon this
supposed intention of the convention, and de-
cided to retain his Office for the full term of
his original election, (by refusing to provide
in his proclamation for the election of Cover
nor next October it leaves the people Of the
State in position very much embarrassed
with difficulty. What is il best to do?
For our part, speaking individually, we
would prefer submitting to his decision 1t is
no time now to sickle for abstract cousttu
tional rights, the immediate exercise of uhic h
is not important to the main object of our de-
sires-the vigorous and unembarrassed prose