The Daily clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1866-1888, 1876-03-21
The Attorney General and fhe
amf-GOverDOrs
Resignation.


Attorney General, treating the resigna-
ton of Lieutenant Governor Davis as
valid, and advises the Governor to ap-
point an officer in his stead. 1t the |
resignation is null and void, as another
Times writer contends, there Is no va
cancy, and therefore there can be no
appointment. But the Constitution only
gives to the Legislature the right TO pro-
vide for filling vacancies when the Con-
sritution is silent But the Constitution
is not silert as to the mods of filing the
vacancy of Lieutenapt-G Governor. Art.
4, section 10, provides that +" the Senate
shall choose President pro tenpore, to
act in the absence or disability Of the
Lieutenant.G Governor" Words could not
be palmer. The Attorney-General look
ed alone to the clause providing for the
vacancy of Governor, and overlooked
that providing for Lieutenant Governor.
Again, the Constitution directs the
BONeIuuleHt W uc uiNiucu AutO GHIcc
distinct parts, and the Governor has no
power to appoint legislator. The
Lieutenant Governor, on a tie vote in the
Senate, may discharge the most import
ant rights of a 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 394, which
authorizes the Executive to fill vacancies
in State offices. The same section au
thorizes him to fill district" offices
where the district embraces more than
one county. Can he, then, fill tempo
rarily vacancy in the Senate? Ger
tainly not Why not Because the
words "district offices do not embrace
legislative Offices. Neither do the words
g State officers embrace Lieutenant.
Governor, because he belongs (so long as
he remains simply Lieutenant-G Govern
orr TO the legislative department of the
Government.
The Acknowledgement says that the
"Supreme Court of Florida have deci
ded (under a Constitution similar tC
ours) that the vacancy in the office OF
Lieutenant-GOvernor shall be filled by
especial election, and in the meantime
ca person to hold the office may be APP
"pointed by the Governor" 1t is the
misfortune Of the Attorney General to
miss the mark widely. The trouble with
his argument is, that the Constitution OF
Florida differs altogether from the Con
stitution of Mississippi. First, the for.
mer makes no provision for the election
of President pro tempore of the Senate
to act when the Lieutenant Governor is
under disability. Second, the Constitu-
ton of Florida expressly provides that
the Governor shall fill all vaconcies, in
Guiding, of course, Lieutenant Governor.
The truth is, the whole Radical hor-
nets nest have been set buzzing by a
misconception of the recent act of the
Legislature, which is itself only intended
to carry out the intention of the Consti-
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