The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1866-12-19

must obey these, even if by so doing
he must violate the Constitution and
laws of his own State. So with the
Legislature of the State indicting a
United States Senator they act ias the
agents of the State, but they act I'M
der Federal authority, and when a
question of eligibility arises they must
solve it by going to the National and
not to the State Constitution. alis
Under MIR. Craven's theory the Gov
ernor of this State could not be le-
gally elected to the Presidency Of the
United States during the term for
which he was elected Governor, al
though the people and the electoral
college should declare IN his favor.
If this is so the Constitution
of Indiana. is some pumpkins, quite
as many, we think, as that of South
Carolina ever was. Ia 8gli
The State, then; having no power
to declare who shall be eligible. or in
eligible, to the United States Senate,
the provision in the State Constitu-
ton, on which Mr.. CRAvENs relies, is
70 be construed as applying to Offices
under the State Constitution or Laws.
But, Mr.. c. says, this would be an I'M
meaning and unnecessary provision,
if applied only to officers under
the State Constitution. The reason
for so saying, given by Mr.. c., is that
the Office of Governor is the highest
State Office. Well, if it is the Office
of Lieutenant Governor is not the
highest, and this provision applies,
also. to him. He might want
to run for Circuit or Supreme
Judge, and this provision
would render him ineligible during
the term for which he was elected
Lieutenant Governor. But how did
you find out, Mr.. c., that the Office of
Governor is the highest office in the
State? We grant that it is the
highest executive Office, but deny
that it is superior either in honor
or profit to auseat on the Su-
preme Bench of the State. An ex-
President of the United States served
as Justice of the Peace and an Ex-
Governor of this State, adorned the
bench of the Court Of Common Pleas
of one of the Districts and it might
well happen that a Governor might,
near the close of his official term, de-
sire a seat on the Supreme Bench.
This provision would prevent his being
elected until after the expiration of
the term for which he had been elect
ed Governor. Mr.. CRAvENs has the
convenient faculty Of making assump-
tions that have no foundation, and
then. basing arguments to- sustain his
main position on these assumptions. |
For instance, in the extract, already |
quoted, he says that it is matter of
almost daily occurrence, that citizens,
for certain offences. are deprived Of |
the right to vote and the right to |
hold office. True; but when and |
where was it ever decided that such a |
sentence would deprive the citizen of |
the right to hold office, or vote else
where than within the jurisdiction of |
the State bywhose authority it was |
pronounced?i, Does Mr., c.. suppose |
that a sentence Of acknowledgements |
in Illinois, passed on man who had |
subsequently become a citizen of In |
diana, could be invoked here to pre-
vent his voting? IF he does he is mis- |
taken, A man just discharged from
our penitentiary and DISTINGUISHED for
life, in this State, by his sentence,
might be elected or appointed to a |
Federal office, the next day. in the
absence of Federal law declaring that
this sentence should render him in
eligible. The argument of Mr.. G.. is
about as conclusive as that used by
others, in 1864, to show that Governor
MORTON was ineligible to the
office of Governor because he had
been elected Lieutenant Governor
in 1860, and had during nearly the
whole of his term performed the
duties of Governor. The real diff 4
Guilty then was, as it now is, that Cow
MORTON was eligible, and would
probably be elected. We fear that is
what ails Mr.. CRAVENs now.
RepudiatiOn-A Deserved Rebuke.