The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1865-12-16
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The Views of the Loyal People OF west
virginia I'm Regard TO their Rights
end Duties Ctoaehing their state
Matters and the PrOPrIety OF State
Measures now being AEIfatetl, Espe.
cIRlIy the COnstIIutIOnRIity ofihe
|. So4chIIed t'Tesf oath LAW and its
.1-& wv ~
Editors Intelligencer:
we regard the Government of the
State as Belonging Exclusively TO the
people residing therein, who have been
loyal in their covert acts" mt leust,
during the recent var; and all that
have Voluntarily committed covert
acts OF treason" during the same. Pc
Ei2a 90 having f9Ffeitedi thereby all
right of participation in its ndminiSi
tration, until they shall have been re-
stored to JuU aud complete citizenShfD-ot
TIE Ugited States by taking the Presi4
dents amnesty oath, and residing Cat
least all such as left their homes to aid
the rebellion and were declared ttiI0n
residents" by the act of our Legisla-
ture, passed Feb. 10, 1862 in the State
one year Mt least thereafter. These
views we believe to be Just, constitn-
tional and right, and are resolved to
maintain them at, at,all,haZards. .
So regarding ourselves as the excIu-
siE6 owners of the State Governments,
we claim, To have the undeniable right
to have it administered according to
our VIII asexpressedin in our State Con-
stitpttQn, aud our agents or servants,
tUf they are nothing more, whether
4llilE Legislative, exe6udNe, judicial
or ministerial offices, must so adminis-
ter 1t or expect to be removed. Our
constitution particularly describes and
Hn rNFr ~. II
public -serv1uts-the- Legislative theirs.
the executive theirs, and the judicial
theirs alSoI ak being under oath to
Support tlle Gonstitution-of the United
States and of the State, and to faithful
,lgPenoTm the, duties OF their respective
once; that is, the legislative, theirs; the
executive, theirs; and the judicial theirs.
No one class has the right to exercise
any powers allotted to either of the
others. Sec. 3, art. 1, State ConstituL
ton reads thus: "The powers of Gov
eTnmept, reside in all the citizens of the
State and can be Tightf1lly exercised
only in 9ccord9nleSe 315q with their will and
Section 4 of the same article reads
thus: 1.-THE legislative executive and.
judicial departments of the Govern
ment shall be- separate and distinct
Neither shalfeXetoise the powers prom.
erly belonsiug to either of the othefs.
No person shall be invested with. or
exercise the powers OF more than one
of them at the same time"
agents or servants are alI elHct.t
ed by the qualified voters for the terms
prescribed in the Constitution. and All
subject to be impeached "for mal-ad-
minlstratton, corruption, incompetence
or neglect of duty or any high crime or
sdemeanor.p The House of Deler
gates have the sole power Of .iIhpeach4
ment and the Senate the sole power 81
trying such impeachment, See art. Sd !,
.sec.-10, LState Constitution. AS the
terms of office of our Judges arelmuch
longer than those of soEf other public
eeIyantS and so tnrthBr removed from
us, their masters, and us the faithful
discharge OF their duties, which are, to
GSceTfufll aud declare what the Ldb,f Is,
after it has been made by the I,egislae
ture-and then to apply it to tho -filcts
arising sins each case coming before
them; but 7leUeT to make, alter or 1cIedI
any Ldp, us that part we have assigned
crckUsiUEty to our legislative servants
are virtually interesting to all, we put
in our ARt!'6, sec. 13, this
further safeguard and security against
judges abusing their powers, Tyiz;
"Judges may be iNeIR0Ced: :froin office for
misconduct, incompetence or neglect Of
duty, or on conviction Of nm, infamous
offence, by. the concurrent vote OF, q q
ed TO each brnnoh of the legislatufe!.
and the cause of removal shall be en-
tered on the journals. The Judge
against whom the, Legislature may BE
about TO proceed shall receive notice
thereof, accompanied by the causes al
legged for his removal at least twenty
days before the day on which either
branch of the Legislature shall act
thereon" The Judges may be removed
for mtsconduct, which means here IN
telItioIldL tDrollg: tHfor incompetency,o or
neglect Of duty;;'H which means here n
want of sense and learning enough to
rightly discharge the duties Of his office,
duties.
If;thereforeCa Judge should under
take to decide, whether in form or ina
strnctlonse to the grand Jury, Or otherl
wise, what the Legislature HtedntOr in
tended by aalaw it had passed; that is,
to. give. construction to a. statute, and
whether the same be constitutional or
not, that Judge is bound to give the
construction and make the interpreta-
ton in dccorddNce tsfEh the tVeU eStttts
tEshed TItLe8. of construction lUHich are
found IN the common LaiC; and If he fails
so to do, he'is liable to be Removed CunEzl
der the foregoing section for niscon-
duct II he did u kpowipgly,jo or for in
.competeuOe If hedid It because heknew
no oahettef9 The loyal people want to
have no such Judges on the bench; and
made, It the express dntY OF the Legis-
1atiVe servants to remo2h them. The
Legislature consists of Delegates of the
Assembly, chosen once q year, and
members of the Senate, @B6sehr 6nce in
every two years, whP aEe.aH lt'ader, s9i-
elIln oqth % Lph9kd and Si.ppoTt the 'U7tt-
ted States and State coHstitIttiORS, and.
faithfully perform the, duties of theiV.
Office, which are mainly To make. alter
or repeal laws SO as t0 meet the wants.
from time to time, Of the loyal people.
These persons that compose our Legis-
lature, being seventy-tWo in all, NAV
be fairly reckoned among our best men
or we should nobentfuStf fhem to make
our. laws, or with the power of renloY-,
ing any. or all of our Judges whenever
they shall wilfullY do wrong, or betray
a want of the necessary sense and learn
ing to make = tudge1 or neglect their
wrong or e6krup ptIy, the House of Dele
gates is bound to ipnpeaeh. him and the
Senate to try him, and so with the Gov
eFnoF or other Executive officers, and rs
the terms of Office OF these are all short,
we get rid of the evil by choosing other
nenlin their places. 10 these Eegisla-
tive Servants, seventy two In number
we have entrusted the power, and made
q tteir duty, to remove any of our
Judges whenever they shall prove un-
taithfdl or inconlpe petaht. I, we Teqnife a
voter to, be citizep.of the State, which
requires heshould be a. titu and com
ptete Ecitizen. of the zU7iftedT States, and
also that every person, to be eligible to
any Office. shall be qualified voter.
s,,s 1f we want to alter Or amend our con-
'situtiopi its 18th article provides "a
plain and ,easy way to do it-f We have
Oonfided to our leg gfslatiVe servants the
power to- propose amendmsnts, and
after such afnendneEits have been
hSteed to by two successive Iegisla-