The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1870-03-29


HANG nj present turned towards ViTe'n'"
,e,irs. VIC avail Ourselves OF the occa'ioh
Z, correct any erroneous notions wien may
,ovc entered their minds in regard to INC
action of our Legislature. An Albany
nencr. after confcssing that 1t has ho' rs"''
The enabling act. has the presumption 70
surCes, that that act is probably uncohS'i-
tutional. As we have heretofore s'a'e"'
that act is based upon the following section
of the Constitution:
THE manner Of conducting ana maS'.'t
returns Of elections. al determining eoo
tested elections, and o: filing vacancies ~
Office in cases not specially provided Tor 10y
,bis Constitution, shall be prescribed D.!
law. and the General Assembly may declare
Tho cases in which any office shall be deemed
vacant where no provision is made Tor the
rurpnsc in :his Constitution"
No one can doubt the power OF the 'che'
raj Assembly under this section to provide
1.-THE manner" of filing vacancies not pro-
yidcd for in the Constitution itself. We
have heretofore shown that the Legislature
MAY even cause an elective office TO be filled
temporarily hy appointment. The next
,,ucst;on is ss to the vacancies themselves.
The shove quoted provision removes all
douh; on that point also. 1t grants to the
General Assembly plenary power not
merely 10 declare vacancy when one no
,,riously exists, hut to declare the cases
even in which any office shall be " deemed
vacant" That IL, to avoid all trouble ana
al disrute between contending claimants
,,on o.scc. or which might be caused by
m incumbent claiming the right to hold
IN 10 Lis Office, the Legislature is invested
with fall power to declare that they
=. DEEM the office vacant. Necessarily
- iudrment is final. There can he no
a,,peal. 1t is as il is in Congress.
Congress turns out many legally-elected
Democrats and puts in many kad'-
,,s,s who were not elected at all, yet
,hcrc is no apreal. The courts have n"
Jurisdiction. The Congress is the sole ana
exclusive judge. The impeachment case,
which we referred to the other day, Is
case in point. Mr.. JOHNSON might have
been entirely innocent, and yet If the
Senate had pronounced him guilty he
would have lost his high Office. lie would
lave had no redress, no remedy for his
wrong, no appeal. The decision would
have been final. And this because the
Federal Constitution confers upon the
Senate the sole power to try such cases. :"
here our Constitution confers upon the l.e-
gisature the sole. undisputed, unquestion-
able power TO "declare the cases in which
ANY Office shall be deemed vacant whore
mo provision is made for the purpose i'll
"ihis Constitution
For The purposes, then, OF this srgumen:
it il immaterial whether the offices filled by
military appoinees were vacated on the
2t!h Of January last or not. If there was
a doubt, it WAS for the General Assembly
10 decide. From It's decision there can De
NJ appeal. 1t is the tribunal designated III
the Constitution to perform this duty. No
provision is made in the Constitution lol
such state Of things as existed upon the
Cessation Of military authority IN THIS
State. II was clearly case not "other'
wire" provided for, and therefore ne
ccssar;ly provided for in the section Of
the Constitution quoted above. Inc
General Assembly exercised power con
icrrcd upon it by the Constitution itself
\ court Of justice would have just rs good
{. right to pass upon the question OF the al
mission Of NORTON to his aeat in the Senate
"A to undertake 10 say whether vacancie-
existed in the Offices of t:!s State upon the
admission of her representatives into Con
yress. If the Constitution had merely grant
ed to the General Assembly power to fill
vacancies not specially provided for, the
case would be different. 4 court having
iuriadicton would then have had the right
to say whether such vacancies existed OF
not. But such is not the fact. So far iron
il, the Constitution, after granting TIM
power, proceeds at once to grant to the dene
raj Assembly the unqualified and unlimited
power Of declaring when Offices shall b.
deemed vacant "where no provision j
made for the purpose in the Constitution.
1t is plain, then, that "A court of justice can
not decide such q question without excr
cising u power expressly granted to tn
General Assembly.