American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1867-01-19
coNeREss-THE NEW BILL.

The Dill altering tue Gay LOT Tux
meeting of Congress has passed boil
Houses, and will of course become &
law. There is no reason for the in
terposition of veto. Indeed there
are some very good reasons for the
change; and but for the unworthy
objects with which it is made at this
time, there would be very little said
against it. The n. 0. Picayune, speak
ing Of this subject, says:
Heretofore the anomaly has always
existed. that every second year the
Legislature Of the Union was incom
plete. The congressional elections
in the States were arranged for local
convenience, on the basis of an exist
ing law, that when one Congress eX-
piled by its own limitation, on the
4th of March, the next was not re-
CURED by law to meet before the De
cember following. Consequently in
a number of the States the elections
! to the House of Representatives
we're not held until some time III that
interval during the summer proceed
ing the actual meeting OF Congress.
1t has, therefore, always happened,
when an extra session of Congress
was called in extraordinary conjunc-
lures, that some of the States were
actually unrepreSented or were CON
! strained to order special elections.
This difficulty might have been obvi-
ated in fact by the concurrent action
of all these States, in altering their
own laws of election, and advancing
! the period several months. But there
is always a great difficulty in obtain
/ ing the separate action Of number
of States on question determined in
each by circumstances affecting its
own particular convenience; and
there was always the plausible rea-
son that representatives should re-
fleet as mucn as possible the actual
current opinion of their constituents,
and as little time as possible should
be permitted to clapse between the
choice and the discharge Of the duty.
The advance of the day of meeting Of
Congress meets these difficulties, and
imposes as a necessity the duty OF
having Congress always filled, and
always convoked as early as practi-
cable. 1t does not impose and obi
CATION for more legislation or for Ion
ger sessions. 1t only dates them OFF
tcrentIy, to provide that there shall
always be a legal House Of Represen-
tativeS in existence I'd organized. as
there always is Senate Of the UNI
ted States.
There is a point glined in this
matter which the Radicals have in
view. as one that may be OF some I'M
portance in the course Of the pro
gramme party operations they have
laid out for the ensuing summer.
In case of vacancy in the Presi-
dency, the constitution provides that
the Vice President shall succeed
but when Presidency and Vice Pres
dency are vacant, Congress WAS all
thorized to prescribe by law the order
of succession. The order prescribed
by the law, passed in the Second
Congress, is, that the President Of
the Senate shall first succeed, and il
there be no President Of the Senate,
the Speaker of the House of Repre-
sentat:vts.
If Congress had adjoarncI without,
charge Of the time of meeting. there
would have been no Spea!."r OF the
House of Representatives,. IN view
of the threatened Impeachment and
possible removal of the President,
the successor would be the presiding
officer of the Senate. who may be
called to succeed Mr.. Foster, whose
term in the Senate expires on the
18th of March. But here would have
been but q single life on which the
lawful exercise Of Executive power
wouln depend; there would have
been no Speaker Of the House, and
all provisions. constitutional and lc-
gal, would be exhausted. Provision
must, therefore, be made for further
succession ; or the permanently in Of
flee of a Speaker assured. This is
effected by the provisions for the un-
interrupted existence of an organized
House of Representatives,. 1t does
not mean that Congress shall be iii
perpetual session, but there should
always be n Congress in existence
fully organized.
By force Of this law, and unless
some new provisions be adopted be-
fore the end of the session, the Sen
ate will elect a President Of their body
who will succeed Mr.. johnson, if the
impeachment be successful and i'm
medatelv after the close, the new
House will elect a Speaker, who will
succeed. in the event that the Senate
has no President, or its President is
in any way disabled.
The advance of the day of the
meeting of Congress has this, among
other objects i'll view, mainly per
sonal, one part Of the Radical scheme
for accomplishing partisan objects
through the forms of law. These mo-
tives faint the whole cOurse'of pro-
cecdings. which, if considered on gen
cral principles, would scarcely meet
with a ripple of opposition. But
Congress has been, OF late such an
area for turbulence, the centre from
which so many wild and disorgani-
zin9 projects radiate necessarily, to
confuse and distress the people; it
haS assumed Such alarming mowers,