The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1874-12-30

COLHsEMl[[RA|PA,;syS e
"Wednesday For9iugI Deg 80, 1874.
Can an Act Become Law by Joint
Rule or the Generai Assembly,.

Auo OUJeUt' VI COWtuItG66b OF COQl6Es
ence in legislative bodies is that they
may oonsidsr'ahd report upon cases OF
difference between 1.-The two houees.
They have not theauthority themselves
to adjust such diGarenoes. That must
be done. by, tho. houses respectively
Committees can only. consider matter
referred to them. The conference
committee. like other committees, re-.
commends; the Houses adopt. This
applies equally to- the conferences
called simple and to free cenferences.
Each is simply to discuss propositions
submitted to them, to weigh proposed
notifications aud report back the sub
stance Of what is eaid or agreed to to
The houses for their action. They
lave no right to Conclude anything OF
legislative character upon their own
authority. Whe4ssthe committee of
FREQ conference reported to the House
of Represen.atiyeaio on the last day Of
the session before the recess that they
could come to no agreement with the
Senate, committee, We were surprised
that the Speaker ruled that their labors
were ended, and that the bill upon
which tho houses differed SO widely
would become ny law. whether the
House esreed to >-eceds from it's
,amendments Or. not II, must be
remembered -thatsrths Senate pro.
|vosed to vote sl5o.o0O for legisla-,
tave expenses, and the House by
amendment Sdt ,it,s down to $4,000
that the Senate fixed upon the sum OF
$1,000 for it's, contingent fund. and
the House razsd tito 900. In the
language Of ha'Goyerpor, the ACT in
Its. present form has been distiuptly,
and "Aecisively disapproysd ". one
NnsusesT Its final passage is due wholly
to joint rule of the General Assem-
'Idy-" But what joint rule can set
aside the requirsmsnt Of the Coustitu-
lion. that "no bill shall have the force
vi law npfi1 it shall have been re- ID
three times, and, on three several days
in each house?"t The concurrence OF
ate two bodies must be had before
,anything can beooape law. IT cannot
he presumed or ioferred; but must be
directly expresssd, The Constitution
.eonsers che right upon each house to
determine ;ts ride Of proceeding. but j.
vacwhere contemPlatas that "a law can
sy any process bs Svoly I'd opt Of such
SEies. We have not examined the
rules OF the House of Representatives
, Of South Carolina, but the interpreta.
: fieE put upon them by the decision Of
the Speaker in the case under review,
must either be very much strained. or
these rules must- ka7e, been loosely or
designedly drawn. They can be made
to cheat one house or the other out OF
its Legislative rights. and thus contra
vene or evade the will of the people.
The recent decision seems to be
-atroDgly opposed to the diotum Of
Gushing. which is good CON mon sense.
certainly: '"The great purpose of al
rules and forms ia to subserve The will
of the assembly rather than to restrain
It; to facilitate, and not TO obstruct,
the expression of their deliberate
sense rlt4- |! .-A+-- Y =. v2i
President Grants proclamation
against the people of Mississippi,
wherein he commands "disorderly and
turbulent persous to disperse," &c is