The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1866-01-18
To she People of Putnam Comfy
WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA, !
January l6, 1866.


Tie seat to which you have elected me
in the House of Delegates, of West Yir-
ginia, find barred by a test oath which
/ am unwilling to take Such oaths,
looking as they do to the political or re-
ligious opinions, OF to the past conduct
of persons, cannot be applied as pre-
reanisite to holding Office, in accordance
with the Constitution of the United
States, or with the constitution Of West
Virginia, and are subyersive of the prin-
cipies upon which all representative free
government is founded. Whenever they
have been resorted to their only use has
| been, as party engines, to keep one set
| of men IN and another out OF power. BY
| them an INSCRIPTIONS minority may dis
franchise and rule over the majority
The object of administering oaths to
officers of government is to secure the
honest discharge of their duties whilst
in Office AS preliminary to the oath to
| perform these duties faithfully, it has
been thought proper to require the Off
Ger to swear to support the Government,
OF, in other,words, the Constitution. Car
ried farther than this, the practice can
accomplish nothing for the public good,
and therefore it has been limited Nor
has the oath any other value than as it
is sacred pledge binding the honor of
the officer; beyond this it is worth moth
| ing, because delinquency is never follow
ed by prosecution for perjury, and could
not in the very nature of the thing, avail
| if attempted. Other means are always
adopted to punish the offender and OBJ
tain satisfaction.
| To attain any good end all such oaths
should look to the future, because the
| interests to be affected are altogether
prospective The past has nothing to
do with them except as disqualifying
| crimes may have been committed, but
then trial and not an oath must deter
mine the persons guilt or innocence, and
as consequence his disability for hold.
ing Office.
All the powers which the Legislatures
of the States possess, are conferred upon
them by their respective State constitu
tons A plain tgurative definition of
our constitution may be that it is fence
surrounding the Legislative body, con.
fning and limiting the sphere of its ac-
ton. When the members of the Legisla-
ture work within that fence their acts
are laws, and every man is bound to
obey them but all that they do outside
of that fence is no more than the acts of
other citizens, and any attempt on the
part of the Legislature to invest such
acts with the force aud validity of law
is an Uffense against the people and to
| them the members are amenable There
can be no excuse for crossing the boun-
dairy 1t is so definite in form, so plainly
in view, that no one can fail to see it.
The constitution of our State provides
that every person elected or appointed
TO any Office of trust, civil or military,
shall, before proceeding to exercise the
authority or. discharge the duties of the
same, make oath or affirmation that he
will support the constitution of the Uni
ted States and the constitution of this
State"
The Legislature, at its session of 1863
enacted that every person elected or
appointed to any Office of trust, civil or
military, shall, bel ore proceeding to ex-
ercise the authority, or discharge the du-
ties Of the same, take the following oath:
L, A. B, do solemnly swear that will
support the constitution of the United
States, and the constitution of this State;
that have never voluntarily borne arms
against the United States; that 1 have
voluntarily given no aid or comfort to
persons engaged in armed hostility
thereto, by countenancing counselling or
encouraging them in the same that
have not sought, accepted or attempted
to exercise the functions of any Office
whatever, under any authority in hostil-
ity to the United States, that have not
yielded a voluntary support to any pre-
| tended government authority, power
or constitution within the United
States, hostile or inimical thereto and
that I take this obligation freely, with
ont any mental reservation or purpose
of evasion.
LISA principle that will not be disputed
that the Legislature, national or State
can not pass laws which render useless
your or my rights. The constitution of
| this State strictly defines your right of
selecting representative. You have
theright to elect to the Legislature any
man whom you may select, excepting
only that
No man who is minor, or of unsound
mind, or pauper: or who is under con.
viction of treason, felony, or bribery in
an election" or
"Who shall not have resided within
the district or county for which he was
chosen one year next preceding his cleo
ton" and
No person holding an Office of profit
under this State or the United States"
and
No person who may have collected or
beeen entrusted with public money.
whether State, county, township, or mu-
nicipal, until he shall have duly ac-
counted for and paid over such money
according to law shall be eligible to
the Legislature: These, with the disa-
bility imposed by the provision against
duelling, comprise all the constitutional
restrictions upon your choice.
The Legislature cannot exclude ex-
| cept as the constitution gives the power.
The constitution gives power to exclude,
IN criminal cases, only after conviction
The Legislature substitutes an cath for
CONNECTION. and thus excludes because the
oath is not taken. Thus we have one
disability fixed by the constitution and
another by the Legislature.