Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1867-05-01
West Virginia.

The constitutionality of the act of all par
ties concerned in erecting West Virginia into
state, is likely to be shortly decided in the
Supreme Court of the United States, on a
question as to whether West Virginia has
authority III certain counties within the ter
ritorial limits of that state. 1t will be re-
membered that during the war the counties
which now constitute West Virginia, with
some representatives from territory occupied
by army the Potomac, elected state
officers, members of Congress and legisla-
ture, and claimed to be, and were acknowl-
edged at Washington as, the state of Virginia.
This government at first had its headquarters
at Wheeling, but afterwards moved to Alex
andria, where the counties now composing
West Virginia concluded to have an indie
pendent state government. The constitution
provides that no new state shall be erected
within the limits of another state except by
the consent of the original state and the pro-
posed new state; and to get along with this
provision, the state government at Alexan-
dria gave the consent of Virginia to the
formation of West Virginia. Since that
time West Virginia has been represented at
Washington, has been recognized state
by Congress and the executive departments,
and has exercised the functions of state
Congress, however, shortly refused to receive
senator's or representatives from the pocket
government at Alexandria, although Secre-
tary Seward and the executive department
continued to recognize Gov Pierpoint and
his legislature of eleven men, until the rebel
lion collapsed, when they migrated to Rich
nOnd nd there established themselves as the
government of Virginia 1t has not, however,
rince then, had any representation in Con-
grcss but has been treated like the other
southern states as not being a government
republican in form, entitled to recognition
as loyal state government.
Ii will be seen from these facts, that the
question which will be decided by the court
is one of some difficulty. 1t is probable,
however, that the Supreme Court will hold,
it held in the Rhode Island case, that Con-
gress il the proper body to decide what
government Is the legitimate one in any
state. and having decided that Gov. Pier
point state government was, at the time of
the creation of West Virginia, the rightful
state government of the Old Dominion, the
Supreme Court cannot revise that decision,
although Congress has since declared that it
could not recognize this Pierpoint govern
ment in some Of it's later phases. Holding
to that, the court will, of course, decide that
the Pierpoint governments consent to the
creation of the state of West Virginia was
valid, and West Virginia therefore became
oonstitutionally state in the Union, on be-
ing recognized such by Congress. This
will cut the Gordian knot, if it does not I'M
tie it
This question is one of the many vexatiOus
ones which the rebellion has bequeathed to
US, most of them, like this, being the result
of an unnecessary action at the time of their
occurrence \ state governm Mt at Wheel
ing calling itself Virginia, would have been
just legal, and just as serviceable to the
Union, as it was as West Virginia and
there was not the slightest need of exercising
doubtful powers i'll creating the new state
But Secretary Seward and others appeared to
delight in the exercise of such powers during
the rebellion, and the courts will have bust
ness enough for some years to come, to hear
and decide the litigation growing out of such
action