National Republican., 1874-05-08

asked for. His right to the offic sss",,.,hoa
at all, is established by the -. ~ ,ho
Q .rcuit Court of Pulaski W. -a Of
the opinion that the CT s,y,i'y. r =, ;arisdic-
ton of the subject .eai' 0o'.iT nav ,SS.
- eatter, and lis Judgment
T"-,s T. -ssF and valid.
~ --1'@ !. -.It'' 4 stthess conclusion,, the de-
-, ei 70 0's hraled, ana writ Of mandamus
"Ii t,. oe H~' 'as2 as prayed for.
lsgn@ JOHN MCCLURE,
Chief Justice
JOHN E BENFETT,
E. s. SEARLE,
NJ. L. STEVENSON,
Associate Justices.
No lawyers were present except those who
Semain inside Of the campsat the State-house.
| THE BAxTERFTEs CLAIM
that the decision to-day amounts to nothing;
first, because legal court is composed of the
full ,bendh; second, tAet tho question of the
Governdrship is one Ssr the Legislature alone
to detesnine.
| ACTIvITYTN BOTH CAMPS.
TMTe has been q little more activity in both
CAMPS to-day. Afeer taking off the Memphis
a squad of twenty Brookites at Lonoke last
might and disarmng them, company OF BaX-
ter'men got on board and have came to this
Fcity to reinforce Baxter. =
Yesterday at spadra, in johnson county,
General Lee Thompson and Colonel Brizzolari,
sef Brooks forces, took forcfble possession of
the steamer Robert Semple.
The owner, General A. H. Myer, got q. writ
sof replevin aud the sheriff served it on the par
ties, capturing Brizzolari and portion of his
men. Thompson escaped.
Baxter receiEed one company Of recruits from
Hampstead county this evening, and expects
more tonight The Brooks party have ex-
tended their Notifications to-day around Benja-
min block.
AS the time for the Legislature to meet draws
dear, men are coming in from all sections of
! the State, mostly as reinforcements for Baxter,
though Brooks received a few men yesterday.
| Brooks has organized cavalry company to
do scouting duty. He has pickets tonight out
on Capitol hill, nearly one mile from the State
house. Beyond this there is no change in the
position of the various forces. The guards are
doubled again tonight around the Baxter
camp.
| IN BEHALF OF BROOKS.
To the Editor Of the National Republican
SIR: Having failed to prevent the assembling
Of the Supreme Court of Arkansas by kidnap-
ping two of the judges, the Baxterites are now
asserting that the constitution requires that
the full court Of five judges must be present
before any business can be transacted. The
Press agent at Little Rock, who is also a staff
officer Of Baxter, is very lucid on this point,
and, as usual, conveys impressions that are en-
tirely erroneous. That the people who are
loudly making these assertions know better,
and only take this line of argument to mislead
the public, is very evident.
The only provision of the constitution of
Arkansas referring to this subject is as follows
Article z, section 8, says: "The Supreme
| Court shall consist of one chief justice, who
shall be appointed by the Governor, by and
with the advice and consent of the Senate, for
the term of eight years, and four associate JUS
tices, who shall be chosen by the. qualified
electors of the State at large for the term of
eight years" -.
| Nowhere else Is this subject mentioned in the
constitution, and no other ground have these
| persons for their misstatements and perYersions
of the truth.
The whole matter of the assembling and
proceedings of the Supreme Court is regulated
by statute, and the law upon the subject we
give below:
Sec. 2. That three judges of said court shall
constitute quorum and be authorized to hold
any term Of saiT court PrOrided, That no
decision shall be made or pronounced by said
court without the concurrence of at least three
of the judges thereof.
Approved December 5, 1868.
Can anything be palmer than that less than
full bench constitute quorum? We think
not, and there cannot be any doubt that all
candid minds viii agree with Us gRoR R.Sa FsadiRG a
the statutes of Arkansas. T.,
Since writing the ab57e we learn that the
Supreme Court has Jurisdiction in the case of
Brooks vs.. Baxter, and has also finally decided
that Brooks is the legal Governor of Arkansas.
This decides the question as to who is Governor.
and we hope that the guerillas, confeder
ates, and kidnappers composing Baxter's mob
will quietly disperse or be made to feel the
strong arm of the law. P.B.
ANOTHER CARD FROM REPRESENTATIVE
WILTSHIRE.
WASHINGTON, d. c., May I, ISL.
TOthe Editor Of the National R epuIlican:
SIR: The Brooks party, failing to produce
the belief that the judgment of Judge Why
tock's court was authority for Brooks forcible
seizure of the State house and attempting a
revolution in the State, in the face of the con-
stitution, have got together three of the five
judges of the Supreme Court, namely, Chief
Justice Mcclure and Justices Stephenson and
Searle, and propose to hold that court and make
some decision declaring Brooks the Governor.
Two of these three judges, Stephenson, and
searle, concurred in and signed the opinion of
the court in the case Of the State, on the rela-
ton of Joseph Brooks against Baxter, in which
1t was held that neither that nor any other
State court had jurisdiction to hear and de
termine the question of contested election for
the office of Govefh6t, that power belonging. :. to
the General Assembly of the State
1t is thought now that Judges Stephenson
and searle, having joined in the Brooks sop-
spiracy to oust Baxter by force, will join Chief
Justice McClure-who dissented from that |
opinon--in holding, in collateral proceeding
by nlanddmuS against the State treasurer, that |
Brooks is the lawful Governor. If so, such |
conduct on their part would be ridiculous and |
in legal Jurisprudence, because,
first, in addition to the inconsistency of such |
conduct in these two judges the second section
of artice "a of the constitution defining what |
shall constitute tie Supreme Court, provides
that it "shall consist of one chief justice and |
four associate justices" Five judges and no
less constitute the Supreme Court. There is
no provision in the constitution for any less |
number than the whole five judges to consti-
tute that court, consequently the three judges |
named, or any number less than the whole,
cannot hold that court. That the trainers of |
the present constitution intended that all the |
judges must be present and act, in order to |
make it the Supreme Court, is evident from |
the fact, which will not be denied, that the |
constitution of the State prior TO the present |
one did authorize less number than all the |
judges to hold court.
The act of the Legislature approved Decem-
Der 5, 1868, authorizing three judges to hold
the court which Brooks now relies on, is valid,
because it attempts to constitute a Supreme
Court composed Of a less number of judges
than that prescribed by the constitution, which
no legal mind will admit can be done. :
Second, the court intended to be held by
those three judges is within the military lines