The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1876-03-22
The AsGurHes -9sese. al and taIe
Aieuaen ss 49, yeF-- OE-S
ResiEHati0R.

The Times publishes a letter of the
Attorney-General, treating the resigna-
ton of Lieutenant Governor Davis as
valid, and advise the Governor TO az
point an officer in his stead. If the
resignation i null and void, as another
Times writer contends. there i 40 va
cancy, and therefore there can be no
appointment. But the Constitution only
gives to the Legislature the right 90 pro-
vide for filling vacancies when the Con
stitution Is silent. But the Constitution
is not silert as to the mode OF filing the
vacancy of Lieutenant Governor. Art.
4, section 10, provides that the Senate
shall choose a President pro tempore, 10
act in the absence or disability of the
Lieutenant Governor Words could not
| be palmer. The Acknowledgement look
ed alone to the clause providing tor the
vacancy of Governor, and overlooked
that providing for Lieutenant Governor.
Again, the Constitution directs the
| government to be divided into three
distinct parts, and the Governor has no
power to appoint a legislator. The
Lieutenant-Governor, on tie vote in the
Senate, may discharge the most import
ant rights of legislator, and this, OF
itself, would debar the Governor from
any right to appoint Lieutenant Gov
ernor.
Indeed, the entire duties of the Lieu
tenant-GovernOr, as such, are purely
legislative. He may, in certain con
tingency, become Governor, and thereby
become an executive officer; but so may
the President pro tenn. Of the Senate, who
is certainly an exclusively Legislative off
Ger in his original creation.
The Attorney General derives the
power of the Governor to appoint Lieu
tenant-Governor from section 1874, which
! authorizes the Executive to fill vacancie!
, in State offices. The same section au
thorizes him to fill "district offices
where the district embraces more thar
one county. Can he, then, fill tempo
rarily vacancy in the Senate? Ger
tainly not. Why not? Because thu
words " district offices" do not embrace
legislative offices. Neither do the word
State officers embrace a Lieutenant
Governor, because he belongs so long a
} he remains simply Lieutenant Govern
orr TO the legislative department of thu
} Government.
, The Acknowledgement says that TIL
} d" Supreme Court of Florida have deci
: "d ed (under a Constitution similar t
"ours) that the vacancy in the Office O
{" Lieutenant-GoyernOr shall be filled b,
0 &" special election, and in the meantim
ga person to hold the office may be ar
D pointed by the Governor" 1t is tn
0 misfortune of the Attorney-General t
miss the mark widely. The trouble wit
his argument is, that the Constitution Q
Florida differs altogether from the Con
0 stitution of Mississippi. First, the for
. mer makes no provision for the election
of a President pro tempore Of the Senat
, to act when the Northumberland
under disability. Second, the Constitu
ton of Florida expressly provides tina
the Governor shall Fill all Uac0ncies, in
. GLIDING, of course, Iie4tenant Governor
The truth is, the whole Radical nor
nets nest have been set buzzing by
misconception of the recent act of tn
Legislature, which is itself only intende
to carry out the intention Of the Consti
] tuition.