New Orleans daily crescent., 1866-02-16
VOLUME XIV.

Shall nominate, and, by and with the advic
and consent of the Senate, appoint all Officer
whose Offices are established by the Constitution
. and whose appointments are not herein otherwis
. provided for; Provided, however, that the leg
islature shall have right to prescribe the mode
. appointment to all other Offices established b
law.n I" The Governor shall have power to fl
vacancies that may happen during the recess
! the Senate, by granting commissions, which sha
expire at the end of the next session thereof, az
less otherwise provided for in this Constitution
bat no person, who has been nominated fo
office and rejected by the Senate. shal
= be appointed to the same office durin,
, the recess OF the Senate and g" the legis
, lature may deteruine the mode of filling vacan
cies in all offices for which provision is not mad
in this Constitution" Now, with the exception o.
the Offices of sheriff and coroner, no such pro
Visions are made by the Constitution. So tina
even II he were inclined to regard this point as il
lis favor still he ought to have issued his procla
nation for the election of the other officers. Bu
the position assumed was that all the Offices ought
70 De filled by election and that it was the
bounden duty of the Governor to order it, especi
ally when he had been called on, as he had, by
the unanmous voice of the legislature. By article
lhty-nlne OF the Constitution, it is required thai
"he sfall take care that the laws are faith
4 1uiy executed" He is either the Governor
under that Constitution or he is not If he is il
Is his honnden duty to accord to the people the
right it accords to them, Of electng their own rep
4 resentatives as they had him. What is the whole
spirit of the Consttution-even of the Constitution
j OF 1864? Why, that as it was practicable,
; elections sbonld he be,di Article ono hnndred
and iftv.foA saws q AZ soon os oener,, eIect;on
can he bed under this ronet;tuto, in evarv o.;s1
of tbis State the Governor sba,, bv ,roc,on,,;o,,
or in case of bs fainre tn act the legslature sbo
by resolution. declare the fact,, and an forth
l.'Tbe terms of ofce of the State offcars o,oo+oa
on the 29d dav of February 1894 shall oxn;ro ~
The installation of their succeseors 90 horoi,
provded for ~ stand If not sooner bo,a A..
election Of their Successors sbal, +.ka n,a
on the first Monday of Novo,nhor 1oe7-0 :.
all parishes where the same can be held" The
Governor, therefore, either has not the power to
| fill these Offices, because the Constitution saws
they shall be elected by the qualified voters: or
| having the power originally, he has now the on
portunity, and is bound to fill them by election
as provided by the legislature. The gentleman
again referred to article 6fty-fve Of the Coistit-
ton, and to the general spirit of that measure, to
illustrate that the principle on which the govern
nent of the State is founded as well as under all
other Constitutions 1t is that ours is republican
form of government. If so where does the Gov
ernor's power come from to fill Offices? By article
one hundred and four it is provided that "no power
of suspending the laws of this State shall be exer
cised unless by the legislature or its authority"
Who gave the Governor the power to fill vacan-
cies, or to fill the offices originality Did he
get 1t from the Constitution of 1864? He de-
fed any Senator to point out to him an
article giving that power But the moment the
government was organized under that Constitu.
tion if he felt disposed to perform his duties under
1t, he was bound to act in accordance with its
provisions. He has not done SO. What is the diff
ference between suspending the effect of laws, and
suspending laws? Has he not virtually suspended
this law? 1t was his duty to order this election
the moment the government organized without
waiting for legislation. In accordance with the |
foundation of the State government, on a republi |
can system, the chief principle is distribution of
power and this is recognized by the Constitution
or 1864 as well as by others. There are the legis
lative, the judiciary and the executive depart
ments. And article 1 says: mo one of these
departments, nor any person holding Office in
one of them, shall exercise power properly
belonging to either of the others, except in the
instances hereinafter expressly directed or per-
mtted." Now, the pretense is that the object of
1he Dill before the Senate could not be car
'ieu outtor want OF sulhcient time. If the Gov
7rhor i,tu ISSUED MS proclamation " forthwith"
Us tne Dill provided, there would have been
abundance of time. Any objection on the ground
mat the general election law requires particular
iot'ce shoaia De given. falls before the fact that