The weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1869-18??, 1869-11-24

can come before the present session of til
General Assembly which demands as seriou
! and Thoughtful a consideration, or whicl
| requires as early and decisive action IS tia
with regard to the term of Office nj the Sen
ators and Members Of the House of Repre-
sentatiyes. n
This action should be prompt, for IL thei
erm extends beyond the 4tfi day of March
1871, IL il their duty on the I'd Tuesday o
this session to elect an United States Sena
tor; and nothing can be more importan
than. their decision, for, should they err II
holding over beyond their constitutions
term. their Legislation would be revolu
tionsry and void; or Should they give plac,
to another body, before the expiration O
their lawful term, the legislation of suct
body would be equally defective. Thee
must therefore decide non, and they mus
decide rightly. faihr q 8isiilB OH
This is not an arbitrary QUESTION; mol
does it at all depend for its solution npor
what the two. Houses may think ouga to D.
the law; nor whether it win please the peo
pie; nor whether IL will quiet the clamors o.
aspiring politicians anxious for another
shuttle of the political cards; but simply
and selely upon ! fair and strict construc,
tion d The constitutions itself
The General Assembly Is i.creature of u
eensitytio1. sd 1e1l> =: = ra>o ~ =
)1z< <a.tf a1,; j eanpoz 90 beyond ifz
Limitations without nsurpafion; nor fall
short OF its requirements without failure to
perf'rm its duty, 'seit ~
What, then, is the constitutional term Of
Office of the present Senators and Represen-
tatives Tie subject is mentioned no
where in the Constitution except in sections
% and 30 OF Art. 2. Hlaa i.Ia
Section 81 is as follows: "The terms of
office for Senators and members OF the
House Of Representatives shall commence a.
the time of their election; anc the term of
Office of those elected at the first election
held under this Constitution shall terminate
at the same time as if they had been elect
ed at the first regular election
The present General Assembly being the
first elected under the Constitution their
term of Office {" shall terminate at the SAME
time as if they had been elected at the first
ensuing regular election" So that tits neces-
sary to consider when the first ensuing reg
ular election takes place, in order to fix a
termination to their offices.
There is but one section in the Constitu-
tion which refers to this subject at all, Sec
go. which is as follows:
The election for members of the General
Assembly shall be held for the respective
districts and counties at the places they are
now beld, or may be directed hereafter to be
held, in such manner as may be prescribed
by law on the first Thursday in August in
the year one thousand eight hundred and
seventy-nne, and every two years there
after" -. ..r fteg
So that the first ensuing election -
takes place on the first Thursday of August.
1871. This is the " first election after or
{" ensuing that at which this General As.
sembly was elected; and it is Irregular
election so that it is the election referred
to in Section 27, above quoted which is to
define the termination of the present Gen
eral Assembly-or in other words the pres
ent General Assembly must continue as if
they were elected on the first Thursday of
August, 1871.
/ am at loss to see what other construction
can be placed upon the Constitution.
have examined it carefully and repeatedly,
with view if possible to discern some
way of avoiding the conclusion to which /
have arrived for should much prefer that
the Legislature were fresher from the people
-and had been selected at time of calmer
election and greater quiet, than that bois-
rous epoch in which this was chosen. But
he language is unmistakable This General
Assembly must, without an amendment to
he Constitution hold on as If they had been
lected on the first Thursday of August,
671- -
f.se ssatnfaiiy sssl.s s..l = s-.. -. ..,...
lctuated the trainers of the Constitution in
living this long term to the first Legislature
-and think that upon reflection the mat
er will appear plain to any one who is not
ictuated by prejudice or selfish motives.
An old system of government has been
wept away, and with it the accumulated
machinery of ages; all this must be replaced,
md that too by the first Legislature. An
'ligarchy had been turned into democratic
Republican government. class and race legis-
alton abolished. This necessitated a sys-
EN- of laws and regulations totally different
rom those that had existed, to guard against
Mischief and decentralization. The whole
ivil code of procedure had been discarded !
nd new system instituted in its stead. In |
~ ~ Hoo oS II tiiCiC uuO UGH uO SOftIQ-
lent before this constitution, and the first
Ieneral Assembly was required to put it all |
/ active operation. viii it, then, seem |
range that u little longer term of office was |
iven to them upon whom such extraordin. |
ry duties were imposed? or that they |
lould not be limited to the short space per-
anently allowed to those General Assem-
hes which should only attend to the routine |
ork of an established government Would |
have started one set of Legislators upon a
ork which it could not be expected they
ould have time to thoroughly peformY 1t |
ems to me that the action of the trainers of |
Ie constitution was eminently wise and
roper. Besides, is there any other reason
by such action is now condemned, except
olitical hostility to the Legislature and
denial of its competency and
tegrity and can either of them be sup
osed to have been In the minds of the fra
ers OF the constitution or can they he
stened to by this General Assembly with
roper respect for its own dignity.
~