The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1870-12-19
Gov. stevenson and the Flick Amend.
ment.

Gov. Stevenson and the Flick Amend-
ment.
From the RdHdt0ld Journal.
In well written article in the Cabell
county Press on the Flick Amendment,
which we see copied by several Of our cX.
changes occurs this language, ut is a
mere bubble to st0te that tho action Of
the Governor, in failing to publish as d.
Tected Jy lao vitiNtes tho action Of the
Legislature and renders the Amendment
void" That it is mere bubble and u
very silly one too, about the Amendment
not being published, is true, but that the
Governor IS directed by law" or that he
is or was directed to publish 1t oil, is a
mistake. 1t is the Legislature which
makes laws and provides hoo they shall
be executed True the Governor is re-
uuircd by the Constitution To take care
That the laws be faithfully executed" but
he can only do so in the way prescribed
by the Legislature ITSELF No law or res.
oIution was passed by that body authOriz'
ing the Governor or anybody else to pub
lish the Amendment. In the hurry OF
business this seems to have been over
looked. In passing the proposed Amend
mcut to the Constitution in 1866 the
Legislature provided how the publication
should be made, who should make it, and
how it should be paid for. In the case OF
the Flick Amendment nothing of the
kind was done, simply, as VIC suppose, be-
cause it was forgotten.
Each House Is the custodian Of the rec.
ord Of its own proceedings; the Cover
nor knows no more Of this record than
any other citizen until 1t is printed in the
form of the "Acts" and Journals" and
laid before him, this cannot be done for a
considerable length Oftimc after the I'D
iournment OF the Legislature. When it
WIS done in the case OF the last Lcgisla-
ture, it was discovered that, although the
proposed Amendment had been passed,
no provision had been made for the three
months publication required by the Con-
stitution. What was to be done in the
case? There was barely time LEFT TO i'd
vertisc. The Constitution merely pro-
vides that the proposed Amendment
'shall be published" but does not speCi-
" who shall cause the publication. Find.
ing no officer willing to run the risk and
DecOIllC TcSllullSIUIC lOI tllC GUSb VI tuS az
vertisement, tho Governor, rather than
let so important matter go by default,
ordered tue publication to be made, there
by exercising what, to him, seemed n
very doubtful authority, md one TINT
could be justified only by the peculiar
necessities of the case. This is the whole
Of it.
As TO the length of time the Flick
Amendment was published, We under
stand that it was furnished in time 10 be
inserted twelve times in most, if not all the
State papers, or ut least one paper in each
county where paper is published. In
some It appeared for thirteen weeks;
there may be few instances in remote
counties, or where 1t was not published at
tho time it was received, when the num-
Der of insertions were less. We agree
with the Press that all this twNddle as to
the amendment not being advertised nc.
cOrding to law, is miserable subterfuge
Intended to cover up the notification
schemes of the revolutionary wing Of the
Democracy. The Flick Amendment is
all right; It Is the shortest and cheapest
constitutional road to Acknowledgement,
and the JacObins who undertake to defeat
it will find political graves instead of the
public plumber upon which their avari-
Cious eyes are set.