Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-09-04


seats by as clear and indisputable a
title as that by which the Repre-"
ssntatives from Davidson, Shelby,
or Knox hold theirs" they will not
bo 1nseated. But weinsist that they
do not hold their seats by any such
tenure. The constitution is PLAIN
and explicit that the number OF
members of the House of Represen-
tatives "shall not exceed twenty
five, until the population OF the
State shall be one million and o
half" And it is also provided that
the number of Representatives shall
be "apportioned among the several
counties or districts, according TO
the number of qualified voters in
each" 1t is not even pretended that
this clause of the constitution has
been repealed or modified. There is
nothing in the schedule upon which
such an assumption can be based.
These men come up here to claim
seats in tho House of Representa-
tives contrary to the spirit and letter
of the constitution, and that instrC-
ment says that that body shall "be
the judges of the qualifications and
election of its members" That
right we insist they shall exercise,
and determine whether these MEM
bers are really bogus or legally
entitled to seats. Ignore for the
time the provision of the constitu-
ton to which we have called atten-
ton, and how do tn csc extra MEM
bers stand in the light of the
schedule? The eighth section of
the schedule provides "that said
superintendent be SO modified as to
give to the counties Of Johnson,
Garter, Campbell, Anderson, Union,
Sewer, Macon, and Hancock each
one member" 1t does not provide
that johnson aud Carter shall each
have one member in addition to the
Joint member to which they were
entitled under the apportionment of
1852. The wording and intention
of the provision clearly give to
Johnson and Carter only two men,
bers, yet those counties have regu-
larly sent three. Even under the
schedule they have had one bogus
member all the time. Campbell and
Anderson stand in precisely the
category. Here then we have two
bogus members for which there is
no provision, because the schedule
so modified the apportionment Of
1862 as to give these four counties
four Representatives instead of
two. The schedule modified the
apportionment Of 1852 so as to
give Sewer county one Represents
tive, but not q joint member
with Knox in addition, and
SO of Hancock, and of Macon.
Here are then at least two
members about whose illegali-
ty under the schedule there can be
no question. These members have
occupied seats in the Honse of
Representatives when they alone
constituted quorum Of that body.
Now will it be contended that laws
passed at such a time and under
such circumstances are legal and
binding upon this people? The
Press and Times betrays its ankle
ty upon this subject by its confess
sion that if the seats of these bo-
gus members be vacated on the
ground that they have ono legal ex-
istence," it will upset much of the
Legislation of the past four years,
because many of the laws were
enacted only by the votes of these
members, or when their presence
alone constituted quorum of the
House of Representatives. The
Radicals have gene along during
the past four years, at a
headlong rate, without stop
ping to inquire, or even caring
whether they were acting outside
the constitution or within its pro-
vision, and now when they find out
that their usurpations are to be cor
rected, or at least no longer tolera-
ted, they threaten this people with
the federal government. The time
when such a threat as that could
strike terror to the people of this
State has passed, and we greatly
mistake the men who have been
elected to the House of Representa-
tives, if they do not rigidIy scruti-
nize the legal right of the extra
members from East Tennessee TO
seats in that body They would be
cravens if they were not to act
thus.
Cash for Cotton Seed.