Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-08-15

hat article has provision in these
words
"Sec. g. ANY amendment or amends
mems . ta'st u luton may be pro-
,osed in the Ser ste or House Of Repre-
entat;ve =, aud, II the Same shall be
gre, j to by q n Jority ofall the members
,lected 10 esch OF the two Houses, such
,ropos. amendment or amendments
hail be enterc / on tn 'joui lis, WITH |
The yeas and rays Their NJ and refer J.
10 t1e General Assembly next to be
chosen; and shall be published six
months previous . the time Of making
such CHOICE And il in the General AS
sembly next chosen as aforesaid, such
proposed amendment or amendments
shall be agreed to by two thirds o: all
the mcmbefs elected to each house, then
it shall be the duty of the General AS
sembly to submit such proposed amend
ment or amendments TO the people, In
such manner and at such time ss the
General Assembly shall prescribe. And
if the people shall approve and ratify
such amendment or amendments by a
majority Of all the citizens OF the State
voting ior Represen' .tives voting in their
favor, such amendment or amendments
shsll become part Of this constitution.
lVhe1 any amendment or amendments
TO the cor s'i.ution shall be Pfopo d an |
pursuance 81 he foregoing provisions, the
same shall at e. Oh of the s. .iors be read
TIRE. tim, on three several days n each
house. Tie Leg azure sb u ri propose
amendmen's ID he Jnstitu,' on oisenef
than once in six yeals."
A glance at the words we have
seen fit to italicise, will satisfy any
candid mind that the mode by
which proposed amendments may
originate with the Legislature is
permissive merely. 1t could hard
" have been foreseen that con.
trary meaning would ever be sug-
gested, and yet so jealous was the
Convention by which the. instru-
ment was formed, of possible mis-
Interpretation of it, that they re-
heated the first section Of the De-
claration of Rights in the final sec
ton of the constitution, that no
man might say what followed had
repealed what went before. The
twelfth and last section of the eley-
| antb and last ahicle is in these
| words:
The declaration of rights hereto pre-
fixed is declared to be a pan of the
/ constitution of this Site, and shall new
or be violated on any pretence whatever.
| And to guard against any trarsgression
of the bIgh powers We have delegated,
we declare that every thing in the b'll OF
rights contained IS excepted out of the
general powers of government, and shall
forever remain invlolate.'
| We presume that in view OF
the very words of the instrument
itself we may certainly proceed
upon the assumption that now, as
in all past time, the catholic mode
of revising the constitution il
through the action ola convention
I No other supposition was ever en-
tcrtained by the lawyers OF Thu
State, and by tho lawyers OF THU
State none other IS entertained now
i The present nee ossity for a consti'
tutional convention is equally be
yond question. The true voice ofth
people of Tennessee has beeH forcl
bly, silenced for many years, an
; now, upon the State becoming one
moro free, it is due to herself t
declare her acquiesence in ever.
legitimate result of the late wal
l and to take measures which WI
render forever impossible the iutur
!, Acknowledgement of her free people
OF course it is necessary that Ii
judiciary shall be constitutional
. elected as, for instance, the const
tuition of 1884 changed the mode
i" electing Judges from appointmel
y by the Governor to election by tt
J Leg stature, and thereupon the ter
- of every Judge was held to ha'
expired and elections were ha
II under the new system. So in 1S5
/ when the election of Judges W
y transferred to the people, the emit
bench of the State was vacated al
Il elections under tho constitute
were had. Indeed it is no TRUMP
D of free principles to secure only Il
J. executive and legislative branch'
y of the government, when the thIr
u namely, the Judiciary, may possib
u not be in harmony with the gent
u of the constitution which tn
u are to expound.
5 1t is hardly possible TO over est
h mate the powers of the body to
= assembled; sufficient to say that b
4, for the Inhibition to that effect
n the federal constitution, the co
At vention would have the power
rs change the form of our State go
le ernment into that of monarch
10 We respectfully suggest, therefor
I'd and we believe the suggestion to
a in full accord with the great splI
to of the pr opie, that a seat in the CO
ne vention is not a proper comphme
no either to aspiring young men
~ ambitious older ones. The o6J'
n VIII not be to Introduce new ldei
IT, but to return safely to the old; q
n those who made the State respt Ct
s. bile under the old coDsti.utit
OF should now be honored With I
s. task of awakening it's spirit.
he desire to bury nothing but proscr
on ton, and the duty of moderate
can be most ssfoIy entrusted to W
of old men. Such body of delega
lp- should be selt ctcd as will conn
M the now constitution with the b
mt toric name of the State. For m
&C. self, 1 would SEQ John Bell ma
rst Chairman of the convention,