The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1868-11-14
THE RADICAL REVOLUTION.


Tho OreGonSd'a of last week says:
"The Coppcrhoads arc everywhere bowling In
concert because tho Republican members Of tho
House resigned and foilod tho revolutionary pro-
jocts Of tho Democratic majority. Tho rosigna-
tion Of the members Is denounced without stint as
an act OF "socession," "rcvolution," etc, as If
| Il wero not perfectly lawful proceeding for any
person holding an oficO to tendcr his resignation
at any timo. II Governor Woods should resign
| we imagine tho Democrats would n0t be specially
indignant; yet Il is quito rs lawful for Q mcmbor
Of the Legislature to resign Il Is for Governor.
A Democratic Senator, Huston Of Lane county,)
resigned and loft the Capital the other day, and
| nobody questioned his right to do It.. Resigna-
/ only whom tho caucus programme Is defeated
thereby. Such state Of things makcs oil tho diff
| ference In tho world"
Will tho very sapient editor of the
Oregonian be so kind, and obliging,
and condescending as to specify one
single revolutionary project of the
democratic majority" of the Lcgis-
latureP We take the liberty of stat
ing that no such project was ever con-
tomplated by this Democratic ma
jority aud when tho editor charges
or insinuatcs that there was he simply
states faisehood. So much for that.
/ The Oregonidn says that Huston,
! q Democratic senator from Lane coun.
ty, resigned and went home, and no.
body questioned his right to do it.
That Is true and NO Democrat that
we know questions the right OF any
member Of the Legislature to resign.
OF course they each and all have an
abstract right to resign (; and the Gov
ernor is bouad to accept their resig-
nation, if they insist upon it. We
know of no constitutional or statutory
law which compels man to act in
public capacity against his will
While, however, this is all true, yet
there are times when it is highly i'm
proper and even criminal for members
of the legislature to resign. When,
on the Goth Of October last, Messrs.
]. G. Alexander, Brown, Davenport,
Simpson, Galley, Pendergast, Trullin-
ger, Minto, Taylor, Denny, Flock,
Hoxter, Applegate, Burnett and Gar
rett, resigned their seats and Left the
hall of the House of Representatives
in body, they perpetrated criminal
act, although they possessed, abstract
ly considered, the right to resign
BY resigning the quorum was broken
without a quorum no business, except
that looking to an organization, could
be transacted. The wheels Of legisia-
ton were completely blocked. No
law, however important it might be,
could be passed, for want of quorum.
Whtn these fifteen Radical members
resigned, several important bills were
pending, and would have passed in
few hours more-among them was the
appropriation bill. No money can be
lawfully drawn from the State Treas
ury without anappropriation bill. Is
it not plain to every candid reader
that those Radical members who re-
signed were guilty Of criminal act !?
If no money can be drawn from the
Treasury what will become of those
to whom the State is indebted? Ore
gon justly owes several thousands of
dollars to the State printer. He has
done the work, and he ought TO be
paid and it is rank injustice to him,
and those in his employ, that he is
net paid according to contract. The
State owes DIR. Hawthorne for keep
ing the insane. 1t costs hiR several
hundreds of dollars every week to
keep them. He should have his pay !;
it is rank injustice TO Ain that no
provision has been made to pay him.
It is a fragrant violation Of contract
on the part of the State; and il, after
a while, he should turn the poor, un-
! fortunate creatures he has in his
charge, out into a cold and unfeeling
world, no one could justly blame him.
We know him and we know that he
will sacrifice as much as any other
man in the State to prevent such a
dreadful catastrophe; but no one
viii expect him to bankrupt himself
by keeping the insane, without pay
and It they do they will be disap-
pointed. The judges Of our State
will want their salaries; they cannot
be expected to work for nothing and
board themselves; but they cannot
legally draw a cont until an appro
priation has been made by the Legis.
lature. The Same is true In relation
to every other individual whom the
State owesm Even State warrants
cannot be legally drawn in tho ah
sence of appropriations. Read Col
Chapman's views and arguments or
this point to be found in another col
umn:
Those who attempt to defend the
action ofth Radical members urge
that when they resigned the forty
DAYS had expired that they could