The interior journal. [volume] (Stanford, Ky.) 1872-1881, 1873-02-28
A CONSTITUTIONAL CONvEN.
TIOy.

Assembly the duty Of taking the neccs-
sary initiatory steps to call constitution
al convention. The 18th article Of the
present Constitution Of Kentucky, COM
monty styled the "New Constitution" re-
cites that, when experience points out the
necessity ofamendment,a majority Of the
members Of the General Assembly shall
"within the first twenty days Of any reg
ular session concur in passing q law for
taking the sense Of the people of Che
Commonwealth a. 10 the necessity and
expediency of calling convention
We do not feel the moral certainty that
many of the advocates Of constitutional
reform profess to entertain, that expert
ence is now pointing out the necessity
for a thorough constitutional revision
nor do we take decidedly the opposite
ground. II is urged by those who are
favorable to the calling Of convention,
that IL the necessary initiatory steps were
taken at the earliest possible moment, il
would yet require period of about seven
years to effect q revision. This is true,
and results from the first section of the
14tb article above referred to. When
this necessity is felt by majority of the
members Of General Assembly, and
law is passed, in conformity thereto, to
take the sense of the people Of the Gem
monwcalth, ii is made the duty Of the
several sheriffs at the next general cleo
ton which shall be held for Representa-
tives TO the General Assembly, to open
poll for, and make returns to the Sec
rotary of State of the names Of all those
entitled to vote Cor Representatives, who
have voted for calling convention; and
if it shall appear that majority of all
the citizens of the State, entitled to vote
for Representatives, have voted for call |
ing a convention, the General Assembly
shall, at its next regular session, direct
that similar poll shall be opened and
returns made for the next election of
Representatives; and If, thereupon, it
shall appear that majority of all the
citizens Of the State, entitled to vote for
Representatives have voted for calling a
convention, the General Assembly shall
at the next session, pass law calling
convention, to consist of as many mem
bers as there shall be in the House of
Representatives, to be chozen on the first
Monday in August thereafter. These
members so chosen shall meet within
three months after their election, for the
purpose of adopting, amending, or chang
ing the present constitution.
Thus It is readily seen that the franz
ers of our present constitution, and the
people who ratified it, were determined
that no revisions of the smallest charac-
ter should take place during the proba-
BILE duration of any feverish state Of ex-
element. Observation and lessons of
history, if not OF experience, have taught
to them the stupendous danger to any
free state of impetuous, hot-spur changes
in the organic law. They readily fore
saw that without this salutary check on
constitutional revisions, a political party
might rise like a whirlwind, and rush
violently into proscriptive measures of
the most direful character. The ease
and readiness with which amendments |
to the Constitution of the United States
may be proposed and ratified, afford
striking, and to US a sad, example Of the
evils resulting from lack of the same
wholesome checks in the original of that
document. Time had not fairly dried
the ink on the original manuscript of the
18th Article of the Constitution of the
United States, before it was declared by
the Secretary of State to be part and
parcel of the Supreme law Of the land.
1t was conceived and Matched in the life
time ola party of political prescription
its; an evil which might have been avoid
ed as well as that of the 18th amend
ment, if it had required the same length
of time to amend that instrument that it
does to amend the Constitution of the
State of Kentucky.
This necessary delay in revising our
organic law does not, of itself, furnish
any solid reason why the initiatory steps
to the work of revision should be speedi-
ly taken. If there. does, in point of
fact, exist necessity for amendments,
then the necessary steps should BE-, I'M
mcdiately taken but ficf reasons sake
let1rTor6 done just because it will
take seven years to effect a revifon.
1t is likewise said that Constitution
al Convention should be called for the
purpose of expunging from our present
Constitution the various sections recog-
nizing the rights Of property in slaves,
on account Of their conflict with the
Constitution of the United States. The
only section which materially conflicts
with the 18th amendment is the 3D.
section of our Bill of Rights, which de
clares that the right Of property is be-
fore and higher than any constitutional
sanction; and the right Of the owner Of
a slave to such slave, and its increase,
in the same, and as inviolable US the
owner of any property whatever"
1t would assuredly bea reckless piece of
extnvagance to call a Constitutional