New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1873-11-20


familiarity with the Constitution OF the
State as for the misiufo-natiou with respec.
to our recent public history. /; will he
remembered that our first state officers.
Legislature and Representatives IN Congress
were elected al the same time, that the
Constitution was ratified in December. l>Ct.
all of them for terms OF either two OF four
years, and thu Constitution sontajas the
following:
Representatives in Congress 10 I'll the
existing rdrdacicS shall be elected at the same
time this Constitution is submitted to the
people OF the State for ratification and for
tie Jul term ncSt succeeding her election. and
thereafter elections for Representatives in
Congress shall be he'll bieHaiuiv. The first
election shall be held on the lirst Tuesday
after the first Monday in November, preced-
ing said full term" Sec. p, Art. MI.
Under this provision, though in palpable
violation of the Constitution of the United
States, all our five Congressman held fro
terms IN Congress on one election,
Again:
''SEC. 6. la order to establish civil gov
7 eminent as required by the Act OF Congress-
mentary thereto, an election shall be held at
the same time and place at which the Con-
stitution is submitted fol- ratification for all
state officers including members of the
Legislature, and for Representatives in
! Congress, at which election the electors.
who are qualified under the reconstruction
acts of Congress, shall vote aud none others.
SEC. Q. The first term OF civil officers
elected at the same time, this Constitution
is submitted for ratification, shall commence
on the second Monday after their election
shall have been officially promulgated, and
shall continue to hold from said time until
the expiration of the first FIJI team succeed
ing said election" Art. XIII.
.nsThus it appears that "all the State officers,
including members of the Legislature and
| Representatives in Congress- were all
elected at the same time. Bot county, toaH-
ship, and precinct officers. though they, too,
were all to be filled by election were not
elected at that election. Their places were
to be temporarily filed as provided by the
! following section, and all Of their regular
terms are to be tro years, save clerks ofcourts,
whose terms are fow wears:
"Soc. 6. The terms OF office of coaniy.
fo~nSbip, GHL p,ecihei cifrers shall expire
within thirty days after this constitution shall
have been ratified, and the Governor shall,
by and with the consent Of the Senate, there
after appoint such officers, whose term Of Office
shall continue until the Legislature shall
provide by law for the election of said officers,
provided the present incumbent o.! all county,
township, district, and beat officers shall
hold tbnir pfftraS fI.i,
sors are legally appointed or elected and duly
qualified. Sec. 6, Art. XII.
Again:
"All general elections sla! be By ballot,
and shall commence and be holden erc,y 'iro
years on the first Tuesday after the first Mon
day in November until altered by law"
&c.-Sec. 7, Art. ".
And again:
"The political year Of the State OF Misss-
sppi shall commence on the first Monday Of
January in each year, and the general cleo
ton shall be holden on the first Tuesday sue
ceedng the first Monday in November Ji>a-
nially.''-Sec. l, Art. XII.
1t only remains to be added that by the
laws OF Congress the election of December
1859, not being final or operative either for
the ratification Of the constitution, for The
choice Of officers, or for the restoration Of the
State till it should be approved hy Congress,
the Governor and State officers were not al
lOce1 10 be Installed I'LL the l0h diy If March,
1869, aud our Congressman not admitted 30
seats till about tie same time.
These constitutional provisions and these
historical facts furnish the whole argument,
with all necessary illustrations. None other
is needed. The officers then elected were
not Installed at the bcginnin. Of 'thc POI
litcai year Of the State"--i. e., the first Mon
day in January. Circumstances rendered it
necessary that they should be-, and they were,
installed ut an irregular and abnormal date,
to wit, on the 10th Of March, 1870. This
could not be the proper date from which to
compute their constitutional terms. That
must be, according TO the several clauses
have quoted, on 1.-The commencement Of the
political year." OF the first Monday in Jan
uary. 1t could not be the January preceding,
for at least three very commanding reasons.
First. The constitution had not then been
ratified by Congress, and consequently,
neither it nor the offices created by it had
then any legal existence. Section ., Article
XIII, above quoted, required that ''thc first
term OF all the civil officers" elected at the
election for the ratification Of the cOnstitu-
ton should be "bs fnU term succeeding said
election :" and thirdly, these officers having
been elected at the ZANE first general cleo
ton with Representatives in Congress, and
having atarted srsniy with them upon official
terms, all to BE measured alike by biennial
elections, the one class holding for two and
| the other for four years, and COn2ressnen
being required 70 be- elected ia the NoyeIn-
| Der preceding the commencement Of each
| incoming Congress, the terms OF the State
officers must necessarily commence in the
1 odd years, as the terms Of Congressman do.
| Thee arc some OF the reasons why it is
contendcd b. many Of the best jurists Of
/ Mississippi that tho second general State
election shall occur in November, 1874, and
/ that the recent election il unconstitutional
/ and void that the present act Of the Legis-
/ laturc requiring annual elections aud annual