The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1871-12-02

The Lieutenant G0vernorship.

The Lieutenant GOvernOrship.
OPINION OF A LAWYER ON THE
SUBJECT OF THE SUCCESSION.
Editor Picayune: The constitu-
ton of 1868 makes no provision
for the election or appointment
of a successor to the Lieutenant
Governor other than the general
power conferred on the General
Assembly in article 100.
Pursuant to this article, q law
was enacted, August 10, 1868.
(act No. 81 of 1861 by which
the Governor is authorized "to
fill vacancies in all offices for
which provision is not made in
the constitution" by appoint
ment, subject, in the case of
State or parish Offices, to the con-
firmatiOn of the Senate.
This act repeals all laws con-
trary to or in conflict with it's
provision, and, among Others, the
act No. so, approved March "a,
1865. See acts of 1868, page %.
It appears, however, that, by
oversight l have no doubt, this
act was enormously copied into
the Revised Statutes of 1870 us
follows:
Section 1860, Revised Statutes:
In case of vacancy in the office
of Governor, the Lieutenant
Governor shall be Governor; in
case of vacancy in the offico of
Lieutenant Governor, the SEN
ate shall elect a President who
shall DO Lieutenant Governor.
Section 1861: If the Office of
Governor, Lieutenant Governor
and President of the Senate shall
become vacant by death. or other
wise, the Speaker of the House
of Representative shall be Gov
ernor and the Senate, at their
first meeting, shall elect a Presi-
dent, who shall be Lieutenant
Governor.
And in the same work, under
the caption "Governor," we find
the act of August 10, 1868, also
incorporated as follows:
''That whenever a vacancy oc-
ours in any Office, State, parish or
municipal, in this State, now
existing, or that may he hereaf-
ter created, from death, resigna-
ton, or from any other cause
whatever, the mode of filing
which is not provided for in the
constitution, all such vacancies
shall be filed, if they be State
or parish officers, by appoint
ment by the Governor, with the
advice and consent of the Sem
ate, which appointment shall be
for the entire unexpired term of
such vacant Office" etc.
AS the Revised Statutes were
compiled under authority of act
No. 81, of 1868, the work is held
to be simply ''revisory 1egisla-
tion," and the act No. 90, of 1870,
as only an approval by the Leg
islature, and not new enact
ment in the proper sense of the
term. See State VS.. Brewer, %
An. 274, and the cases there
cited.
The act No. so, of 1866, en-
braccd in sections 1860 and 1861
of the Revised Statutes, having
been repealed, cannot be said to
have re-acquired the force of law
by mere approval, without "re-
enactment and publication at
length" Constitution, article 115.
But if the acts of 1865 and
1868 were both in force, and
necessarily in conflict, the latter
would prevail, because of greater
formality attending its passage,
and it's agreement with the con-
stitution, which provides for a
general law relative to vacancies.
(Sec Constitution, article 1907
That tho constitution makes
no special provision for filling Il
vacancy in the Office of Lieuten-
ant Governor, is manifest from
perusing it. Article 53 provides
that the General Assembly may
in certain cases determine what
officer shall act as Governor-not
of Lieutenant Governor.
So article 55 provides that
"whenever tho Lieutenant Gov.
ernor shall administer the Gov
ernmcnt or shall be unable to
attend as President of the Sen
ate, the Senators shall elect one
of their own members us Presi-
dent of the Senate for the time
being" But such Senator does
not thereby become Lieutenant
Governor. Nor does this article
of the constitution authorize the