The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1867-02-07

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/ Government, and have very little to
do in time of peace. These, I see, are
both united in one person now. As the
war has been over nearly two years,
and the state scouts and Estate
: guards" having been disbanded some
time before, and the militia are 10 be
| kept enrolled" merely, in future-I
am unable to see any necessity for the
large expense which the Auditor esti-
mates for those offices. / see by act of
! the old State passed in '40-4l-Revised
I Code of '5O-page I27-the old State
paid her Adjutant General, who also
/ performed the duties of Q. NJ. General,
II salary OF one hundred dollars a year
/ he had the rhoke State, of course, un-
der his charge; and SO, think, his sal
ary remained till $3.50, when that,
with his labor, was increased, in view,
L presume, of the then approaching
war.
There is also the re-valuation of real
estate, which, in order to secure uni
foImity, should OF necessity devolve
! upon the State.
There is also the registration law, a
new feature in Virginia Legislation,
| which the constitution of the new State
/ expressly authorizes, but names no
mode or persons for carrying It into
effect, when passed. 1t devolves upon
the Legislature, therefore, to prescribe
! the mode, and the Governor, in obedi-
dence to the clause in the constitution
which says, she shall take care that the
laws be faithfully executed''-to see it
carried into effect.
The foregoing, think, are all the
| principal subjects which the constitu-
ton contemplates as coming within
scope of the States immediate and di-
rect management, and its liability to
pay. And now, whatever powers are
properly incidental TO these principal
hi Il
or from their nature necessarily i'm
I pEed-are to be taken to have been
tgrauted; also, as a suitable house for
| the Legislature to meet, and transact
its business, with suitable offices for
! the Executive officers to transact the
States business in, and keep its records.
The Linsley Institute, with rent and
repairs at $1,000 year, furnishes all
these accommodations for the State.
/ The necessary clerks and attendants
| for the Executive offices; and clerks,
I officers and attendants for the Legisla-
| tive Houses, with fuel and lights, books
| and stationery, required in the offices
and in performance of official duties
out none for private, personal use-and
| ten dollars for each member to pay
| postage with, whether upon public
! documents to his constituents, or pri-
yate letters, is as unauthorized by the
| constitution II seems TO me, as it would
/
! legislative oysters with, or new suits
of clothes-and the one would be as
! much incidental to any of the principal
| subjects as the other-and both equally
dangerous deviatious from the letter and
| spirit of the constitution. The evil does
not so much lie in the amount of money
thus misappropriated, as in the prece-
dent II establishes. And because Con-
| gressmen frank, and old Virginia Leg
islators pay postage with the peoples
money, is no reason, L submit, why
our Legislators should. The question
with us should be, does the true spirit
and meaning ofour constitution author
ize IL?
As some remarks OF Judge Brown, in
his recent opinion in the Attorneys
case, otherwise learned and able, may
| seem to conflict with the limit, set to
our legislative power, as herein before
! defined, 1 propose briefly 10 examine
! that portion. He remarks as follows :
| THAT the legislative power of the State
Is as SOUeTeiS7l, ample and complete as
| any other, or even as the British Par
| Lament, except so far as 1t is limited
and restrained in its operation by the
State and Federal Constitutions"
''In considering the powers of the
/ Federal and State Governments it must
not be forgotten that they are of very
! different TldtEreS-the one delegated; the
oTher original. The one possessing no
! poICer not delegated; the other having all
POtrer not prohibited by the Constitutions.
l-Stratton's case, lst w. Va. And the
| same view is sustained by numerous
decisions by Federal aud State Courts y
| 1 have not seen STATIONS case. but
| with all Difference must dissent from
| the doctrine, and feel authorized to
say. that no other Judge, of either Fed
| eral or State Courts, except such as had
adopted the extreme doctrine of State
I PicrhtS - hiah farFninafnA in he 2
rebellion, ever enunciated the doctrine
| 1t asserts that the Federal legislative
powers are ''deEegated" and that the
State legislative powers are ''OT-i9indL,' -
and therefore, while the State legisla-
| tive power is Somnipotenta and unlimited,
except by the Federal and State consti-
tutions, that of Congress is limited to
the powers delegated" ;" and that all
| State laws are presumed to be within
the constitutional limits until the con-
trary is clearly proven, and would seem
to imply that a different rule of con-
struction is to be applied to acts OF
| Congress.
Now the Federal Constitution prohib-
! its but very few things to States, and
nearly all these relate to subordinating
| State powers TO the Federal supremacy,
| which its constitution establishes, and
| not to the guarding and protecting OF
1 the civil rights of the citizens of State.
State to do for themselves, through
| their State governments. 1.-THE Judges
doctrine be true, our Legislature would
possess all sovereignty and political
power, not SO prohibited to the State
legislature by our constitution and only
the fragments so expressly prohibited
would in that case remain vested in our
people. This would reduce the 'tsover-
eign power" of the people, so much
bOasted of, to a very small measure
| ment. 1t would be the sovereign
Legislature, not the sovereign people,
Judge says, it would be as omnipotent
/! over the people as the English Parlia-
I ment, except only the lew restraints
which our State constitution in express
terms imposes Steering clear of these
restraints, our Legislature could dc
| with US as il chooses. It could pass a
law to require US to wear pixies in the
toes of our shoes, or wear coats of q
i certain length, or bury our dead in
! woolens, as the English Parliament
once required; or that We should weaI
no shoes in winter, or eat no meat-as
our Legislature is nowhere erpresSkg
prohibited doing these things. II could
establish the office of Lieutenant-Gov.
ernor, or any other officers, and impose
taxes in order TO pay them, because the
old State has them, and there Is no
thing expressly prohibiting our Legis
iature from doing it. The Judges er-
ror seems TO consist in overlooking the
total difference there is in the souTc,
and origin OF the two Legislative
bodies, our Legislature and the British
Parliament. Their origins are diamet
rically opposite. William, the Con
queror, was the English State, to star
, with. He held all sovereign power auC
in theory, at least, to this day, tht
English Parliament and English sub
ljects, subSist and live only by the graci
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