The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1871-01-05

on restless ana drifting waves anC
e God knows, We drift fast enough wit
: the modern appliances which We hav
5 for making and mending constitution;
/ This is what the illegally excluded cit
, Zen has the right to ask it il what tn
: liberal men proposed 10 give, and 8
e far right and justice, and, if yo'
: please, honorable charity Of sentimen
{ meet.
As to the remarks of General j. j
Jackson, Parkersburg Gazette, Decembe
T 22d ult., (received since this letter wa
prepared and in the printers hands
| the conclusive reply is, will Governo
Stevenson certify that the due lega
. notice of three months has been given
will he make the statement OF an oficia
untruth to supply the General with tn
facts necessary to his legal presumption
and does he ask a Democratic Legisla
. ture to affirm or endorse public false
hood.
Does General Jackson ask q Demo
cratic Legislature to take this course ant
thereby affirm that it is right or in th
power of an accidental majority in
Legislature to pass law letting only
portion of the people vote (bankers
freekolders, or those who will take some
oath to some particular party purpose,
then submit an amendment fundament
ally changing the Constitution to &C
complish that purpose2 Then any Leg
islature, with Governor to appoint
registrars can change the whole frame
work Of the Constitution. The power
to disfranchise. thus, is power to en-
franchise, black, white, or female OF
non-descripts OF any kind.
As to General Jackson's fears Of an
archy if the DISTINGUISHING clause i
treated as void, that, then, all the acts
OF the Legislatures and election OF
officers would be also void, are imag-
mary. If this were so, do not know
that it would be any very great or IRE
trievable calamity; certainly not more
so than some Of the other incidentaLS
which have beer endured, and which
he himself so graphically describes,
as when q Constitution was made "by
men who were not elected by the peo-
ple," several Of whom were refugees,
had no constituents, and were admitted
to represent counties who, at the time,
wholly repudiated their action, and that
1T is matter of history that all action
O: discussion of it wGs suppressed 10y
military force" But this fear has no
foundation. AS stated before, the State
has been acknowledged by the sovereign
political power OF the General Govern
ment, and although this was "a coup
detat," it preserves it as State So, by
Art. w. 2 Goth Of the Constitution,
each branch (of the Legislature) shall
be judge of the elections. qualifications,
and returns OF its own members, and
no court or any other tribunal can in,
quire into these facts. Their acts, us
leg, lative acts are valid 80 far, bat are
nIalid in all o'her matters wherein
hey violate the Constitution. The
Legislature being final judges Of the
cleo lions, qualifications and returns OF
irs own memb r., could make laws, but
il could not make unconstitutional laws.
There is a marked difference in the
cases. as there is in other points Of sim
ilarity made by him. So as to the va
lidity of patents for land, election
of officers when no contest, or
when the final tribunal in 81 ecial cases
have acted in their prescribed jurlsdic-
ton. 1t is to he remarked that the
Constitution prescribes formal man
ner, by the proclamation Of commission
ers, for its adoption and putting it into
execution, but no such provision l.
made tor the amendments, and the
question Of their adoption is always an
open question, there being no formal
mode OF declaring their adoption. In
view of the legislative and judicial con-
fusion which have prevailed in this
State, in and since the formation Of its
Constitution, we are now at the point to
begin in an order OF principle and apply
the proper remedies 10 correct the errors
of the past and provide, as Tar as pos
sibIe, against like errors for the future.
Will these gentlemen practically test
their own doctrines The Legislature
DISTINGUISHES 1000 voters, OF any kind,
for any cause; some dozen of suits are
brought; first in the Circuit Court and
here are delays; they are appealed,
and here are further delays; but the
axe of prescription has been at work
all this time. Randolph Us Goode shows
it, and the Constitution has been vio-
lated by the passage Of a surreptltious
amendment, and the false amendment
is now made the justification Of the I'M
constitutional legislation. But suppose
the Court OF Appeals should say that
the act was void as to these men
who had sued; but that is no evidence,
on their theory, that any body else was
excluded, whatever the public history
of the country would show upon the
subject, and the amendment is valid
1t is the sheerest abandonment OF pin
cipLe to tolerate such a faet-to justify
such deed when done, and corrupt the
public morals so that it may be again
repeated by any party ascendency. For
such purpose the passage Of the
Flick Amendment is very proper, for it
embodies all these evils and enormi-
ties
In proposing to retain a Registration
Law for the present. it is chiefly az
guiding and instructing those having
charge Of the elective franchise, so that
right and justice shall not fail, that Their,
shall be uniformity in the administra-
| ton Of the law in every part Of the
State, that these officers, themselves,
shall not be subjected to civil suits or
criminal proceedings, and to retain the
errors OF the past in disre.arding consti'
tional proceedings, and to provide
against the repetition OF like errors for
| tho ,uturs nv thus correcting and di