, 1864-01-26
QI)i1ago qrtbnue.
TUESDAY, JANUARY Is, 1864.
WABASH RAIL WAY CassS.
OPINIONS OF JUDGE WALKER
OF THE SUPREME COURT.
THE GOVERNORS PKORoGATION
OF THE LEGISLATURE
SUSTAINED.

| n
SUSTAINED.
We pres ent below an abstract Of the opinions O.
Judge Walker in the celebrated Maudamus cases
which had their origin in the attempt 10 give ~
order of validity 10 the Wabash Railway Act. The
abstract, while it IL much more brief Than the
opinions, shows crcry topic considered o1 tne
! Judge In forming his conclusions In the matter,
and clearly indicates the grottds upon which ILLS
decision IL based We trust that In proportion to
its b.cyity 1t will he aatiaAatqfK to The gen
eral reader than the opinion Al fhn lbne1h.
| Tho first opinion is that In the case Of :. The
People, cx rc Hairless, ys The Secretary Of State
| This case as our readers will remember, was an
application by, the relator for Mandauus com
manding tho Secretary Of s.ate to deliver to him
copy Of the Wabash Railway Act, as "a Law OF
the land" r.. -.
The questions raised on the return made by the
Secretary, and which were discussed in ti5 ;..ost
thorough mennc. by The able couusel, employed
in the c.sc, have, by the publication Of those ar
erments, nlrcady become familiar to our readers
in this case. Judge Walker au1ns up the facts
presented for the decision Of the Court, and the
facts upon which the fate Of that question must
depend, in the two following paragraphs.
The sston IL psentf;d IT, r. t1s
bash 1sa.lwaY Company. under tho requirements
Of the Constitution. lecamc faw- It Ias passed
s9h e ee sfas5 5ay Il nns
has not returned the bill to the Senate, where 1t
tioaa. The twenty first section Of The fourth arli-
Gle Of the Constitution declares that Every bill
which shnll be passed by the Senate and House OF
prcecntctl to the Governor II he approve, he shall
Sign; but II not, he ehal1 return it with bis ohec-
tions 70 the house " which It enai! have 2rig1aaa
Governor within ten days tSundays e1cepted) aiter
IL sla! haya been presented him, the same shall
ess Assamb sha Il 81 @
nent. prevent Its return; in which case the said
Iii ahil be returned on tic asst day OF the meet
ing Of the General Assembly after the expiration
OF the eaid ten days, or be aw."
It appears from the Journals Of both houses that
the General Assembly was In session on the tenth
day OF June, but the journal Of the House contains
no entry sfter that date Until the twenty-thiri Of
ttat month. The fast entry on the Journal Of the
Senate was on tho eleventh. until the twentythird,
Day, amongst ot6sr entries on eacl, Is one Of I'D.
jouInment until the next day. 1t appears from
both Journals. under date Of the twenty fourth,
that resolution entered declaring the General
Tuesday after the first Monday In january. 1861,
TIE opinion then gocs[on to State, In substance,
that Under the organic law the Governor has the
s1ho'e q the days, exclusive Of SUNDAYS, within
which "to determine upon his course Of a.tlon -
with respect to any bill tia. has been sent him BY
II, at ihe end Of that tne, tho General Assembly
General Afsembl!," TIC bill does not, nnder the
reason Of his failure to return 1t. II the members
have dispersed, and the officers arc not In attend
ancc he would not be cble return Tho bIll to the
neither 1egai1es nor Authorizes him to return tho
bill to the Clerk, to the Speaker Of the HOUSE or to
any other Office. but declares that t shall be re-
body. The Executive Is not required to seek the
members as individuals hut 10 make his commu-
etens t9 e9fss oay cor III the
dispersed there is no fnch body With whom he cau
communicate. Otherwise the General Assembly
could etecl9ally defeat the object Of this provis-
It is to prevent the evils Of basty, i-cousidered
Legislation, that the Constitution confers upon the
bil, until lis objections could be heard and the
ILL be again considered and adopted. For this
purpose ii gi!ee the Governor ten days, exclusive
Of updayE, In which to bcttow that careful exam
tnatton and consideration necessary to determine
the consequences likely to follow from the adop-
ton Of new measure. And the time allowed for
thwsrted hy either accident Or des!gn. The use Of
the whole time given to the Governor must be al
TEese ten days must be held to be complete full
daye, not parts Of days. According to both the
popular nud legal definition Of dag, tits natural
@s aeegan q ss Of
must have had The fa period Of len days, Of twsa-
ty.:onE honIs eaeh. within which to perform his
Il y. However, urged that the trainers Of the
Constitution intended legislative and not natural
days. That II on the LIST day Of this period, tie
period it was designed to be included IN the COM
putat1on. But the language 1s 50 platn and e1-
md sntho1it rs Is
Term to shorter q Idsseat period q tiae, ihaa
The Judge then refers to and quotes tho de-
cialun Of Chief Justice Marshall IN Gibbons rs.
Ogden, 9th Wheaton, 1856; and adds Nor does
eass u IN asssnt ss,asastss sa pehdiag,
until the period has elapsed. can therefore per
ceive no argument arising from inconTeniencs or
great injuy warrant dierent eoDeusion
Court has held that the correct mode where an .ct
is to be performed within particular time after,
ipclnGe list Upon which tie act Is 70 be performed
According to this decision: hy excluding the 1sth
day Of dune, which was Friday, and the two in
was The s:th: and we have seen that The Leeisla-
rurr, even II eoust,tut1onaly in session, only re-
e aS ar hs ds q Rai a xae 70
Of The aext constitutional meeting Of that body to
oi tie twgn.y-third and fourth OF June was regu-
IL; f.on = 1reinfniar IL bih They Saa no powef to
" ,has aaQ b %son ben
10 feter ri to tie Gcrernor'a proclamation, Or :skc
no 1 ts ~ te 1 ont tie
b aais tst ~ 1ps psona
~ 1hc Andifor al fhe State Of Iifinoia !" For ali
the interest that attact 81 to this caee (which Was
nn1ninnlly n7ocoeinr by Kcyes TO gct the sr,, Of
t1r doi':rs ffom he treasury pf the State for lis
ntfen6oncc on the Legislature on the I'd OF June)
Wns incidental to its Connection with the Wabash
iii. whose validity was supposed to b indirectly
on Considerations which do not at all ents1 into
dtnc = Jndre Wa,Ecf n his Later case discass-
Is fulty the question whether the Legianture was
legally In eessiun amer the twelfth Of June 1859
EfSer br1euy recouuting The familiar history Of
disneSs;on e Of lie iceieia,ure he JudEe de.lnes
bjs nost,on and concsHtrates lie main BODY Of h]s
argument on those topics in the following para-
III ia mt denied that the Governor issued his
fourth articie of onr Constitution. In doing 50 he
tas Ell &c e
4nd ThatIcr thia he so nr mi wber we see FINN
the aheenre nf nh cntr,es pnon the Journals that
the fWo I.onsas ceased to kold further sessions.
hnmes arfi The halls wers ciosed. thie annsrent
ncnnieecence on fhe mart or the 1ne;nbers of the
two bodies. to nv mind is satisfactory evidence
ttat they dcsisned to terminate the session. By
set m that they had determined 10 ceaac to meet,
ami. yFhcteyef weight they may havc attached to
the Governors proclamation, they did, in facl ad-
journ, or ut least ceased 10 hold their daily.
eeseiouB according to the usuhl cOurse Of
such bcdfee. and tlfs cessation was
60 far as the Journals show, without day. AND 1t
eeens that ii designed to adopt the act Of the
rF ~ M 1,A5 fFfr