Vicksburg weekly herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1868-1883, 1870-06-18

ments whereof shall have been
increased during such term
tits the spirit Of all honest law.
Article Ill, Distribution Of pow
ers, provides that "the powers Of
Government Of the State Of Mis-
sissippi shall be divided into three
distinct departments, and each Of
them cOnfided to q separate body
Of magistracy, to.wit; Those
which are Legislative to oneithOse
which are Judicial to another and
those which are Executive to
another. No person or collec-
ton Of persons being one of these
departments, shall exercise any
power properly belonging to
either Of the others except in the
instances hereinafter expressly
directed or permitted"
This is done to preserve purity
and the proper balance Of power
And in this provision is the spirit
Of the command that the Judicial,
Legislative and Executive shall be
kept separate and distinct. Else.
where we have quoted the letter
of command.
Suppose that Governor AlCorn
should desire much greater pow.
er than has been already given
him: that he should want half O
million of secret service fund in.
stead of $4,000 as now granted
him and many other special priv.
ileges, how easily would it be for
him in the gift Of these immense
number Of long term and profita-
Bile positions, to subsidize, without
any cost to himself, q sufficient
number of the Legislature. The
Constitution did not intend that
the Governor shall be empowered
to bribe members Of the Legisla'
ture to obey his behests, for it sayI
that no member''shall be appointed
to office during the term for ,Ohicl
he is elected" consequently re
signing does not make him eligi
bic to one of these positions. Th'
term for which members were
elected 10 certainly during the sit
thug OF the Legislature, If not fol
two years.
Then there is the question o
salary. The Legislature certain
ly provided for the pay attached Il
these positions and regulated tn
amounts to be paid. That por
ton then was certainly created
If it is urged that the pay Of thu
Judges was provided by the ole
law, then there has been an "in
crease Of emolument" for the pa!
is greater now than before.
Does any one pretend to 50!
that the Circuit Court District o
Warren and Kinds was created BY
the Constitution Or deny tina
it was not created by the Legisla
ture2 If all acts Of the Leg
islature passed in accordance
with the provisions Of the Con
stitution are the acts Of thu
Constitution and not Of th'
Legislature, then the Legislature
does nothing and the Constitution
all. Because laws passed by thI
Legislature not in harmony viii
the Constitution are null and void
Hence, il the Legislature can d
anything in itself it can and evel
has created these JudgeShips.
Section Twenty-four of ArtiCl,
Four, says the Legislature shal
from time to time, establish sucl
other inferior Courts as may b.
necessary" Under this provision
if Criminal Courts were estab
hshed in every county in the Stat
would they be created by tn,
Legislature, or by the COnstitu
ton? Or, If upon the other hand
should the Legislature fail or re
fuse to create any Courts unde
this provision would it disregarC
the command of the Constitution
The acts Of the Constitution rela
tive to these Courts are not sell
executing. No Courts could exis
through the simple provisions o
the Constitution.
The celebrated case of Grove
and Slaughter, argued before tn
Supreme Court by Webster, Cla.
and others, clearly define thi
matter Of self-executing Constitu
tional provisions.