The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1863-03-21

things, Judge Ewing purposed resigning
his Office of Chief Justice in time for the
nomination of his successor by the Repub-
lican State Convention. Meantime, the Gov
ernor had publicly said that he would not
commission Judge Ewing as Colonel. In
the opinion of Judge Ewing. the Office OF
Chief Justice was not vacated by his mus
ter as Colonel. and this was the opinion of
the best legal talent of the State.
"This was the condition of the matter at
the time when the Republican State Con-
vention assembled at Topeka.
"When Judge Ewing wrote his letter to
the Republican State Convention, there was
general opinion that both Congressman
and Governor would be nominated from
.Leavenworth county, and determination,
in that event, not to nominate a Leaven-
worth man for Chief Justice, because Of the
local prejudices which would thereby be ex-
cited against the ticket. Yet, leaving out
of view the Justices and Judges of the Su-
preme and District Courts, who were re-
garded as ineligible under the State Consti-
tuition, no fit and available candidate could
be named outside of that county, at all &C
ceptable to the Convention. Judge Ewing's
letter was prepared at the solicitation of
many leading men in the Convention, who
expressed a strong desire to have the resig-
nation withheld, SO that no nomination need
be made. In that letter, he said that Gov
ernor Robinson had repeatedly declared that
under the State Constitution, he Judge
Ewing) was ineligible to the place of Colo
mel, and therefore his Excellency would not
commission him = and that if Governor
Robinson adhered to that determination, the
probabilities we're that he Colonel Ewing)
would not be commissioned until the next
Governor Of Kansas took his seat. He
said, further, that if the Convention wished
to nominate his successor, he would resign
at once-if not, he would withhold the res
ignation until ne was commissioned as Colo
mel. He regarded the issuance Of the commits
sion as the act of app ointment which would
NdCdIO ITO OlAlCC VI SHlSl uStiCOT anu blo
letter just as distinctly declares that he
| would resign as soon as commissioned, as
it does that he would not resign until then.
The censure, therefore, is unfounded and I'M
just. He acted precisely as he told the Con-
Vention he would. He regarded the issuance
of the commissions as Colonel, as vacating
the office of Chief Justice; and did not intend
to appear, or affect, to hold an office which
actually had become vacated. For that
reason, and in strict compliance with his
letter to the Convention, he sent his resig-
nation to friend in Kansas, to be trans
mitted to the Governor whenever the COM
mission issued.
81 know that Gov Robinson's change of
purpose was wholly unexpected and un-
thought-of by Col. Ewing, who did not ex-
pect to be commissioned until Gov Carney
should take his seat.
"'But Gov. Robinson did not wait fer the
resignation, to make tie Experimentation
did the resignation vacate the office, for it
was already vacated. So that the transmits
sion of it neither violated pledge to the
Convention, nor affected the rights of the
respective claimants to the vacant Office.
ION the 28th of November, Gov. Rob
inson issued commissions to Col. Ewing,
Lieut.. Col. Moonlight, and Major Plumb.
of the 18th Kansas. This at once va
Gated the Office of Chief Justice, and the
forwarding to the Governor of the resigna.
ton was a mere matter of form, and did no
in the least affect the rights of the contest
ants for the seat.''