Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1863-10-15

than two months later, although their
terma were to commence on the days nam
ed nert after their election. This would
have left the State without law making
body, without Judges and magistrates ana
without county organization, for more than
half a year. and without an executive Ior
still longer period; in short, there have
been no State, UOr the word implies OF
until the first OF January next
il then. The time NJ which II could Dc
organized was unknown to the Convention
but it is manifest that they intended 70
provide for its organization ut the earliest
day practicable. The section Feterteu u. 70
the committee is part of IAN Ordinance u
provide for the organization OF the State OF
West Virginia" which directs the Legts.
Iature, elected on the tweuty-eighth OF
Nav, to assemble aud organize ON the
sixty.first day after the issue Of the Rresi-
dents proclamation.
The committee again ask what would
have been the proper Interpretation OF the
provisions OF the Constitution relating to
the terms Of officers, had the ordinance been
silent On the subject Certainly, not that
the terms of the members of the Legisla-
ture who were TO assemble on the goth day
OF June, and withiR ten days TO count the
votes for Governor and declare his cleo
tim. were not to commence until SIX
months afterwards; and just as certainly
not, that they we're to commence nearly
six months previous, and nearly hVe
months before their own election. the
terms for which they were to be elected
having partly expired at the time the cleo
ton was held, the only rational conclusion
would be. that they were elected for the
uuexpired term; ROt for Que or two years,
AS the case might be, but for fractions of
those periods They were in fact elected
10 fill vacancies, for a vacancy existed pre-
vious TO their election as much as It now
exists in cases where elections tailed to be
held on the day appointed, and by the
Constitution, as already quoted, objections
TO fill vacancies shall be for the unexpired
term" In this view of the case, their terms
would have commenced On the day Of their
election.
But to remove all doubt upon the sub
iect. the section referred to the committee
was inserted in the ordnance. The Con-
stitutiOu had provided that the terms Of
all, except the executive officers named
above, whether for one, two, four or more
years, we're to begin aud end on the same
day, although in different years, and those
elected for terms Of the same length, in
the same year; while those OF the exscu-
tive officers named, except the Attorney
General, were to begin and end on another
day, but all in the same year. The Con-
vention must have had an object in insist
ing upon this uniformity, and the second
section of the ordinance was inserted for
the purpose of preserving it. Had the
Constitution fixed no time for the begin
ming and ending OF the terms, each officer
would have held tor the term assigned
him, from the day of his election, and cleo
tsons to ill vacancies would, in the course
of a few years, have made such diversi-
" of terms as must have led to great in-
convenience. II is therefore fair 10 infer,
indeed any other inference is hardly pos
sibIe, that, while providing against any
such diversity, and positively directing
that the uniformity above spoken of should
be preserved, the Convention, by prescrib-
ing in the second scCtiOh of the ordinance
when the terms Of all officers elected at
first election should end, tor this is ObVi-
ously the purpose of the section intended
to exclude the conclusion that the terms
OF these officers should commence one, two
or more years, AS the case might be, before
tue period fixed for their termination.
Had the Convention intended to pre-
scribe that the terms of officers under the
Constitution TO be submitted to the people
for final ratification on the twenty sixth OF
March following, and which could not go
into operation until moro than sixty days
afterwards, should commence on the pre-
yious first OF January and fourth of March,
aud the iuCumhent5 he compensated from
their dates, they could have said so in very
few words. They did not say SO, but, on
the contrary, AS has been shown above,
said explicitly that tue terms of Office of
the persons elected in May last, should
commences on the twentieth day of June
following, and include that day. There is
no Foundation for even bubble about the
meaning of this language; but even II the
word commence" had been omitted from
the section, there is enough lett to sustain
the Interpretation of the committee. Had
the language of that section been, simply,
1.-The terms of Office OF the persons then to
be elected shall be computed as it the
same had begun on the first day of
January, &c" it would not have author
lied the conclusion that the terms of the
officers first elected began on that day
If such was intended to be its
meaning, why insert the words ''Gs
If the same had begun 2" Why not
saw at once that the terms should be COM
puted from the first day of January, &c?
The use of the words "as it' in the phrase
just quoted, mauifestly implies that the
terms we're not intended TO begin on the
first of January and the fourth of March.
There is, however, another word in the
connection which destroys any weight the
direction that the terms should be eonpU-
ted, &C., might otherwise give to the infer
ence that the salaries were also to be COM
puted from the first day of January and
fourth of March. After fixing a day on
which the terms were to commence, the
section prescribes that they "shall continue
aud be computed as it." &c. There can be
no continuance until there is q commence
ment. The word continue" therefore,
refers directly to the "sixty- first day." or
gard the future and not the past, and that
the computation as we'll as the continuance