The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1874-01-15
VOL Ill.


Texas, through its mouth piece, Colonel
Walker. late Of Ohio, and We arc told
military pensionary Of the United States,
has filed up nearly eight columns Of the
State JouI7,alin labored attempt to justify
Instantaneous decision in the Rodriguez case,
by which the Radicals design, If possible,
to deprive the people Of Texas Of self-goy-
ernment and continue their masters by the
aid Of Federal bayoncts. The greater por-
ton of this long rigInarole is to prove, by
cited authorities and wordy comments,
what no lawyer controverts. that the court
has the right ordinarily of determining the
constitutionality Of law, passed by
the Legislature, as FAR rs il affects
individual rights properly brought before it
for adjudication. The court passes lightly
over the evidence, which, in point of fact,
it cared nothing about, by saying that ''the
presumption of probable cause" was not re-
moved thereby from the mind Of the court.
We presume not, though this expression is
rather harder to understand than tlie sixth
section Of the third article of the Constitu-
tion, upon the true construction Of which
the whole question before the court really
turned. and which the Ohio colonel dis
poses Of in short order. His idea Of the
construction Of sentences and the true mean
ing Of them is worthy the acumen and ac-
quirements of Radical carpet-bag -a1ool-
master. The learned talk about analysis
and canons Of construction, and the inn
mense Importance of a semi-coIon is delight
fully pedagogical and absurd. The real
question is, what was tho intention
Of the Trainers of the Constitution
by this section To ascertain this,
You first take the common sense mean
ing of the words themselves, without any
hifaluting analysis or canons. Now we
say that the words Of the sixth section, re-
lied on by the court to show that the cleo
ton law is unconstitutional, by common
sense Interpretation show exactly the con-
trary. The whole section is but one SEN
tence, and must be construed together. It
contains proviso, which qualities it, and
it IS of no consequence whether that pro
viso is at the beginning, the end, or the
middle of the sentence. 1t is merely mat
ter of literary taste, and it could not be ex-
pected that such men as composed the Con-
stitutional Convention, which framed the
section, would display much of that quality.
Pointing is thing Of arbitrary VIII, ac-
cording to tho taste of the writer, and no
two literary men OF the United States
can be found who point precisely the same
At first, in the infancy Of the English
language, points were not used at all. Now
the comma and the semi-eolon are used in
differently by the best writers, some using
one, some the other. and some again using
neither. To prove what we have said. we
give section sixth without any pointing and
with the proviso merely transposed to the
beginning and the end Of the sentence:
Section VI. Until otherwise provided
by law all elections for State district and
county officers shall be held at the county
seats of the several counties and the polls
shall be opened for four days from o'clock
AN until A o'clock NJ Of each day.
Again-All elections for State district
and county officers shall be held at the
county seats of the several counties and the
polls shall be opened for four days from s
o'clock NJ until A O'Clock PM of each day
until otherwise provided by law.
Again, as in the text:
An elections for State district and
county officers shall be held at the county
seats of the several counties until other
wise provided by law aud the polls shall
be open for four days from o'clock 4 NJ
until o'clock NJ of each day.
Reading these over, will any man but an
Ohio colonel or carpet-bag school master
undertake to say that they do not mean
the same thing2 The election was to be
held for four days at the respective court
houses until otherwise ordered. And it
was otherwise ordered by legal Legis-
lature, with the approval of theGovcrnor.
But suppose that there is any ambiguity in
the language used you then consider what
was the intention Of those who used it.
You must suppose, in the first place, that
something sensible was intended IN
stead of something absurd To com
pei four days election, at a great ex-
pense, after the establishment of the pre-.
cinets by which all could vote easily in one
day is absurd But then, the chief mem
bcrs of the convention are now living, and
we know from their acts, which speak
louder than words, what they intended by
the sixth section and how they understood
it. Governor Davis was president Of the
convention and he approved the law Jack
Hamilton was the most distinguished scala
wag in it, and hc run for office under the
law, which Col. Walker, Of the carpet-bae
brigade, says is paipahly unconstitutional,
so much so as to bc not worth arguing.
How comes it that an Ohio earpet-baggei
should know 81 much better the meaning OF
n sentence than the men wAo framed it, Il
is ridiculous. The meaning is plain enough,
and ii has only heen perverted BY the
court for political object and to eonsumatC
a great crime. The law is constitutional,
and the Fourteenth Legislature will 50 con.
slider it. The supreme Court, composed Of
two iriterate scalawags and an Ohio carpet
baggcr, cannot overthrow the legal govern
mcnt Of Texas.