The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1873-03-25
TUESDAY EVEN'G, MARCH %, !,
.An Outrageous Threat.

THR STATE JOURNAL threatens Virginia with
the fate of Louisiana because the present Gene |
raj Assembly has chosen to elect county judges.
1t would have Underwood issue writs, and arrest
members, and form u Republican legislaturel |
And this is the paper which talked SO grandly a |
few days ago of the importance of keeping the
executive and the legislative departments of
every country free and independent of each
other. 55- t.aE.
AS we never handy epithets, we can
hardly characterize this statement as its
,nendacious quality deserves. So far from
our threatening Virginia with the fate of
louisiana" we expressly deplored such
result as the action of the dominant party |
in tile General Assembly threatened to
bring upon us by its extra-constitutional
and revolutionary measures. We first
charged the purpose of precipitating a
Louisiana ,nuddle in Virginia upon the
political friends Of The Dispatch,
and then proceeded to show how such a
muddle would inevitably follow their
action, in postponing the next Legislature
beyond the time ia which 1T is constitu-
tionally required to meet. And this our
contemporary CONSTITUTES into ian outra-
geous threat" against the great state Of
Virginia. No, sir; that won't go down.
The men who threaten Virginia with the
fate of Louisiana, are those who, according
to the Dispatches own admission, are setting
the constitutional provisions of the state
aside in respect to the next General Assem-
bly,, which promises to be of different COM
plexion, politically, from that now occu-
plying our attention with its infamous
partisan schemes looking to a" Louisiana
muddle." Because we intimate, forsooth,
that the next General Assembly will give
no heed to these unconstitutional acts of
the dominant party, but viii convene as
the constitution requires, and discharge
its constitutional duties as imposed, We are
making" an outrageous threat!"
But by what logic is this sort OF threat
deduced? We have it in the very next SEN
tence following the one we have quoted.
"The Legislature (The Dispatch means the
present one, with its strictly partisan
majority is not made up Of craven spirits
who speak with bated breath;' and,
hence, should the Governor summon them
together, after the constitutional term for
which they were elected, and the next
General Assembly Qikely to be COM
posed of "crayen spirits" from The Dis
patch's standpoint) a should assume
to meet in obedience to the re-
quirements of the constitution, there
must inevitably be fight between the
non-crayen spirits" and the "crayen !"
ones! This is the dilemmatic assumption
of The Dispatch,
"Astrong dilemma in desperate case,
To act with infamy--then quit the place"
or try to elude the consequences of its
own party infamy by hurting a very weak
logic-arrow against the invincible shield Of
its antagonist 2 aie tats.Assi
We wish that our non-crayen and chiyal-
ric ueighbor could eyer get rid of its men,
tai nightmare in regard to Judge Under
wood. This courteous and affable gentle
man wouldn't injure AFFAIR of The Dis
patch's head, if he were forty times the
Gargantua that our neighbours .imagina-
ton would make him to be; nor can we
see how it would be necessary for us to
apply to him to tissue writs, and arrest
members, and form Republican Legsla-
tnre !" The constitution happily provides
that majority of the members of the Gem
eral Assembly, elected to each House,
shall constitute a quorum to do
business, and that even "sinaller
number may adjourn from day to day, and
shat haze po,cer TO compel the attendance
OF absent members, in such manner, and
under such penalty. as each House may
prescribe" The assumption of The Dis
patch that Judge Underwood would be
called upon by a majority of the General
Assembly to do the work of /" formingo or
organizing that body, and holding the snon-
craven spirits" at bay while the ''cravens''
marched up to the work of legislation
under the gigantic shield of that more than
6argantuan parsonage in judicial authority,
Is not only "quite amusing,n but it is
piece OF inextinguishable absurdity never
before reached It tops all the exploits of
Rebelals' hero in begetting Pantagrue,
parsonage altogether more wonderful and
absurd than himself. It ggEnsralk
But with all this pressure and weight Of
judicial nightmare on the stomach Of The
Dispatch, we are glad to see that its chest
still heayes with something of the old
chivalric spirit:
30 We tell The JOURNAL that we despse ;t
u'eats. we now have the authority of ever
respectable lawyer in the United sta les Sanats
Tor pronouDeing Judge Durei a usurper I'D a
Niolatorof the law and of The constitution This
Is hueh more than we had three Years agc
we can reach Washington in a few hours Ne
IL rings out this sentence in clarion
tones, telling usthat it despisos our threats.
aud that II we attempt to carry them into
execution, II can fyto Washn,gtoa and be
safe.
we are very glad that our contem-
porary looks to Washington as its temple
OF refuge under the dire threats it so Wig
orously affects to despise. Had this tenn
Pile of refuge been sought at an earlier dav
the mighty calamties which have fallen
upon Virginia might haye bean avar4o,