The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1872-12-24

tiary for the term of one or more
wears, and il BY the death or resignation
of the appofntee oftbis board . vacancy
shall be created in this Office one month
or one day after the appointment is
made, or one month or one day before
the end of the term, then, that the Gov
ernor shall be called upon to fll the
vacancy, as provided in the 9th Section ?
Why should not the same body that
made the original appointment I'LL the
vacancy7 The Board of Public Works
does not make it's appointments with
the advice and consent Of the Senate.
If the advice and consent Of the Senate
is not reqnired in making an appoint
ment for an entire term, why should it
be required to fill vacancy during
part of the term?
The 9Th Section prescribes that the
Governor shall nominate, and by and
with the advice and consent of the Sen
ate, appoint all officers, whose offices are
established by this Constitution, or shall
be created by law, and whose appoint
ment or election is not otherwise pro-
vided for. Now, in my opinion, the
words '.or shall be established ny law
includes all offices not established by
the Constitution. The new .Constitu-
ton organized new government, and
recognizes no officers or agents, except
such a. it directly establishes or author
ICES to be established under provisions.
1t nowhere refers to officers that have
been established by law. So then:
whose appointment or election is not
otherwise provided for" refers to all
such as are not provided tor in the
Constitution itself. 1t is true that
officers appointed under previous laws
continue 10 office under the present
Constitution, but their continuance In
Office is not by virtue Of any law exist
ing at the time of the adoption OF the
Constitution, but under the express
sanction of the Goth Section OF the
Schedule to the Constitution. BY
reference to this Section of the
Schedule it will be seen
that their continuance in office is tenn
porary; and this section Of the Sched-
ule implies that the Constitution itself
recognizes no offices or officers hereto
fore created by law. But let us suppose
that this Sth section did not refer to
officers whose term had heretofore been
established by law, or rather that the
words used in this section, whose ap,
pointment or election is not otherwise
provided ior,' includes all officers whose
appo ntments have been heretofore pro-
vded for by law. Then it results
that the Governor under the Act
passed February "a, 1871, shall in the
month OF March next, appoint toard
consisting of nine Directors tor the
ASYLUM at Weston, and this, too, with
out the advice and consent OF the Sen
ate. But il it shall transpire that one
of those uine shall die or resign before
the end OF the year, and vacancy shall
thereby be created, the Governor, then,
under the 9th Section Of Article ! OIL
the Constitution shall, by appoint
ment, fill such vacancy until the
next meeting of the Senate, when
he shall make a nomination,
Tor such office. This involves the alb
surdity OF requiring the advice and con-
sent of the Senate to make valid ap
pointment OF one member of this board
Tor an unexpired term OF month or
a day; and yet the Governor, without
such advice and consent, under the
law referred to, shall appoint the entire
board OF nine tor an entire term. 1t Is
confidently submitted that the true in
tent and meaning OF these several sec
tons s, that all public officers not
elective shall hereafter be appointed by
the Governor; and while the Constltu'
ton thus increases the powers and duties
OF this high tunctionary, it provides at
the same time that his increased re-
sponsibilities should be shared in part
by the State Senate. This is an i'm
portant question. The writer OF this
article is aware that others entertain
different opinion from what is here ex-
pressed. lie has been induced to
trouble your readers with his views,
with the hope oil thereby evokIng
the views OF others. 1t will be readily
conceded that it is Of vital Importance
that the officers AID agents OF a Govern
ment should, each aud all, hold their
POSITIONS by no uncertain tennre. A.