Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1866-11-24

N~SAANA1 tAAN dENioAOA uCAtAS CtiudAlI
upon all. To that extent each House may
be admitted to be, when acting ia good faith,
the supreme aIbiter, and Its decision in a
given case, although it might appear to
others to be erroneous, cannot be revised
But il is altogether a,,different question when
one Of these Houses goes beyond the plain
provisions of the Constitution, and under
takes to require an additional qualification,
or to establish new disqualification. In
such case, each member of the House has no
longer a common interest with every other,
and an inducement to do right; and the House
itself ceases 10 be a constitutional Judge, and
becomes prosecutor Of an individual, or an
actor against the right Of the electors.
The people have rights as well as
the two Houses. They have the ex-
elusive right to judge of the quali-
hcatiOn Of the members whom they
chose to send to the General Assembly, sub
iect only to the provisions of the Constitu-
ton. The religious faith, the moral char
actei, the intellectual qualifications of the
members are for the people, not the Legis-
lature. This point was sOlemnly decided
after years OF struggle, by the Parliament of
Great Britain, in the iaInOns case of John
Wilkes. Ihat notorious person was guilty
not only Of libel on the King, one OF the CO.
ordinate powers Of the British Government,
but upon morality. In 176S he was returned
as a member of Parliament from the county
OF Middlesex without opposition, but the
House declared him incapable of sitting.
Three other elections took place with the
same result, and at last, the House declared
Colonel Luttreli, Wilkes opponent, elected,
though he had received only three hundred
votes in the thousand cast, on the ground
that the votes for Wilkes were void from his
incapacity to serve. This measure aroused
intense indignation throughout the country.
The contest between Wilkes and the Minis
try became a contest for the preservation Of
the rights of the people. But in 1882, when
passion had subsided and sober reason once
more prevailed, the House voted that the
resolution by which Wilkes had been de-
clared incapable of being reelected, should
be expunged, il being suoversive of the
rights of the whole body Of electors in the
Kingdom"
at would seem but fair reasoning" saws
J uGge Story (COm. an Const., s. 625j, ''upon
the planest principles of Interpretation, that
when the Constitution established certain
as necessary for office, it meant
to exclude all others as Prerevuisites. From
the very nature of such provision the af-
irmation of these qualifications would seem
to imply a negative of all Others. A pow
er to add new qualifications is certainly
TO a power to vary them. 1t adds
to the aggregate what changes the nature Of
former requisites" The dominant majority
ght require the member to be Of certain
religious faith, or 10 belong to a particular
trade or calling, or to possess a specific men
tai, moral or property qualification. SIN
short" to again use Judge Story's language
Is. 624), there is no end to the variety Of
qualifications which, without insisting upon
extrayagant cases, may be imagined" I'm
der the reasonable qualifications established
by the Constitution, the door OF this part Of
the Government as was remarked by the
Federalist No. -, in relation to the Federal
Constitution, IS open to merit of every de-
seription; whether native or adopted, wheth-
er young or Old, and without regard to pow
erty or wealth, or any particular profession
of religious faith. But with an unlimited
right in each House to add to these quali6-
cations, there y no telling to what extraVa-
giant lengths the spirit of faction may induce
a dominant msjority to go for the purpose
of sitting popular will and retaining power
As well, it seems to US, might each House
establish a Procrustean bed for the regula-
ton Of the physical organization of its men,
bers as to lay down rules of mental, moral
or political conduct. Ii is enough to say
that the Constitution fixes the qualifea-
tions, leaving the people the free and unre-
strained choice Of their Representatives in
all other respects, and to refuse TO admit
such Representatives, when duly elected, is
to strike at the fundamental principles of
our republican institutions. Ny opinion,
4. 4. Il. -~s4 &
the General Assembly had any authority,
under the Constitution or laws Of the land,
for the exclusion Of the several members as
above detailed What then WAS the effect
Of such unlawful exclusion
The legislative authority Of this State
shall be vested in a General Assembly.
which shall consist OF a Senate and House Of
Representatives both dependent on tie people"
,Const, Art. 2, Sec. 81 To carry out this
provision, the Constitution then provides--
Section 4-for deeennial enumeration Of
he qualified voters, and an appOrtionment of :
he Representatives in the General Assem-
Div. Ii then provides that the number Of
aid Representatives shall, az the several Pc
rods Of making the enumeration, be appOr-
Toned among tie several counties or districts
recording to the number of qualified voters
IL each, not TO exceed a certain number. and
With an express proYiso " that any county
.aving two-thirds OF the ratio slEtil Je en-
tiled TO one. member" Ia like manner the
number of Senator's shall, at the several pc
-iods Of making the enumeration, be appOr-
Toned among the several counties or dis
ricts according to the number Of qualified
aectors in each not to exceed one-third Of
he number Of Representatives, and with the
,vy~ess. .rrovisO In aDDOrtiOuinQ the Sem
.tors among the different counties, the frac-
ion that may be lost byan county or coun-
les. in the apportionnent Cf the mem
,ers of the House Of Representatives, shall
,e made up to such county or counties in the
senate as near as may be practicable"
The provisions leave no doubt that the
ramers ofour Constitution intended that the
Gene7al Assembly should be composed Of
elected by the people from
be, several counties and districts ali over the
;tate. They have sedulously provided for
he representation of fractions Of counties
itherin the House or Senate. They could