The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1871-04-18
TEE JErFERsoN COUNTY CASE.

taxation. f:-3 - MA - ,
TEE JEFFERSON COUNTY CASE.
We have read very carefully both
Judge HALA's elaborate decision i'm
the Jefferson county case and the
Intehgenesr's supplement thereto and,
strange as it may appear, the united
h-ill;spcsof these two luminaries of the
law is not quite sufficient to convince
us that eleven is not majority
Of twenty-one. 1t ia scarcely COM
plimentary to the learning of the Judge
to find the editor Of the Intelligeneer as
sisting and strengthening the decision,
but the editor thinks and says that his
own view of the case is "the strongest,
and we would do him ipjustice If we
failed to couple his argument with that
ofhis Judicial kinsman and friend. Both
arguments are based upon the same
false assumption and both contain the
same fatal defect. .' D. E.. :
1t is a matter of common history,
known to the editor if not to the Judge.
that at the time OF the passage by, the
Senate Of the act restoring the county
seat Of Jefferson county to Charlestown,
a vacancy in the Senate had been ere,
sted by the resignation of Senator JOHN
SON. Judge HALL says, ut does not
very satisfactorily appear whether senaiI
tor JOHNSON, at the time in Question,
had, or had not, ceased to be member
of the Senate" but everybody who pre-
tends to even tolerable acquaintance
with State affairs knows that at that
time Mr.. JOHNSON hat ceased to be a
member of the Senate" his formal res
ignation having been presented, accept
ed and announced. 1t is also known,
except by Judge who is not expected
toknow anything, that no election had
beer made to fill the vacancy thus ere
ated, and that the number of members
of the Senate elected thereto had
thereby been reduced to twenty-one.
Eleven members of the Senate, a ma
jority of the members who were at that
time elected thereto" votedaffirmative
" upon the passage Of the act, which
was thereupon duly proclaimed.
When the Constitution of West Vir-
ginia was framed, a number Of the
counties that it was proposed to incor-
porate into the new State were within
the lines Of the Confederate army. 1t
was not known whether or not the peo-
ple of those counties desired to be en-
braced in the limits Of West Virginia,
or to be represented in the new Legisla-
ture. The Constitution was, however,
so framed as to entitle them to represen-
tation, if they chose to elect representa-
tives, but the clause was so expressed as
to prevent those who did elect mem
bers of the Legislature from being ham
. pered by those who did not. 1t was
with this intention and understanding
that while the number of Senator'S was
fixed at twenty-five, it was only neces-
sary for the passage Of a bill that it re-
ceive the affirmative vote Of majority
of the members elected thereto"
When vacancies existed, either through
the intentional or unavoidable failure
of the people to elect representatives,
those vacant seats could not be counted
among the number of which it was ne
cessary to have majority. liza differ
ent rule had been intended; if the deter
mipation had been that no less than
twelve votes should constitute major
ity Of the Senate; it would have been
so expressed. twenty-five being fixed
as the number of Senators, the consti-
tuition would have declared, with like
precision, that twelve should be the
lowest limit Of majority. But
the fact that the organic law
speaks only Of q majority of the men,
bers elected to the Legislature, shows
that, BY the manifest intention Of the
law q less number than twelve in the Sen
ate might be a constitutional majority,
in case one or more districts had failed to
elect. And precisely the same interpre-
tation must be given to the law when
a vacancy occurs by either death or
resignation. Had Senator JOHNSON
died during the session Of the Senate
last winter, the number of members
elected thereto would have been re-
duced to twenty-one, until his successor
had been chosen. The same result upon
the number Of the Senators, followed
his resignation. If not; if the number
Of members of the Senate elected there
to" remained after Mr.. JoHNsoN's resig-
nation the same as beforei suppose that
a special election had been held i'm
mediately to fill the place of the SEN
ator from the Fifth District. 'could not
the number have been increased TO ttoenty-
Mree2 If the number had not been
diminished by resignation, the new
election certainly have produced
an unconstitutional increase. If
two Senators had resigned and