The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1879-04-23
Instructions by State Legislatures
Seashore Gazette. ]

Instructions by State Legislatures.
Seashore Gazette.
The interest recently manifested in the
question Of power of the State Legislatures to
instruct the Senators representing States in the
United States Congress, does not, cannot ex-
coed the Importance OF the matter involved.
The discussion as to the binding force of in
structions so given has been. from time to
time, revived, from an early period in the
existence OF our Union. Except to the
opinions of individuals they teach nothing, as
the question was not susceptible of an author
itative decision the general current of those
opinions, it may however be stated divided
itself into two branches one having the ele-
ments of consolidation which sought to subor-
dlnate the States to the General Government ;
the other, those of the States rights creed
claiming Tor the States as sovereign members
OF the Union, all powers which were not ex-
pressly delegated to the General Government
by the compact on which it was established
Many precedents might be cited OF men pos
sessing the highest respect OF their contempo-
raries as well as OF pOsterity, who as United
/ States Senators recognized their obligation to
obey the instructions of their State Legisla-
lures, or il they could not conscientiously do
so, to vacate the seats they held and return
the trust to those who gave it. 1t is not how
ever deemed useful to present this long line of
presidents which is but facile mode to
escape the labor of submitting an issue of
principle to the test OF reason. 1t has been
common Tor those who denied the binding
force 81 Legislative instructions TO claim that
the Legislature not the constituency of
Senator True, it is not, but the Legislature
is the exponent of the opinion of the people
they represent and the frequent elections of
the members OF the Legislature as well as
their Immediate contact with their constitu-
ents justihes the suppostion, that they are
hast inf IN tba int ar,J H.
the people of the State-that people. who are
the constituents both of the Senator and of the
Legislature. The boldest will hardly DENY
that ours is a representative government that
its officers are but the agents of the people in
whom all power resides, and that 1t would be
alike unsound in politics and in morals for
the agent to misrepresent the known will and
settled policy of his principal.
In the organization of the General Govern
ment the United States Senate was designed
to be its most permanent branch. 1t was
made so both by the length of the term of
service and by the division of the members
into classes, so that one-third only of the seats
should be vacated biennially; but it is be-
ieved to be an error To suppose that this was
the classification of individuals, rather than
+ of place held by, and for the States. The
provision for classification, if it had been
directed to the service OF individuals, would
have given to each member as he entered the
Senate term of SIX years-but it is quite
otherwise-for example, When State
is admitted into the Union the Senators are
divided between the two classes so as to pre-
serve as far as may be, their numerical equali-
~ and again, Senator who Is elected to fill
a vacancy which may happen, to be only
chosen for the residue of the term which re
manned to him who Is succeeded Thus it
appears that the purpose was to distribute the
Senators among the States so as to preserve
to them relative repreSentation-in keeping
with the original organization; and to the
body itself permanence in State politics
rather than in individual representatives The
equality of representation in the Senate was
the recognition OF the equality and sovereign
tv of the States the Senator being it were
the Minister of his sovereign in Congress of
Nations, where each Minister represented not
the numerical or other force OF his sovereign,
but the equal dignity and right to speak upon
all questions involved in his mission. Mr..
Webster, in his great speech of the 9th OF
March, 1850, when bravely confronting the
mischievous fanaticism OF the people ne rep
resented, and severely criticising the practice
of State Legislatures OF instructing the Sena-
tors on questions not Immediately concerning
their constituents, nevertheless declined to
enter into the question of the binding force of
instructions; yet few, if any, did more than
he to magnify the powers of the General
Government and to place it beyond the direct
control of the States.
There is not-there cannot be a fixed and
absolute standard by which to measure the
responsibility of Senator to the Legislature.
The practice of requesting Representatives,
and instructing Senators, when the former
were elected by general ticket, and both had
therefore the same constituency, doubt
arose from the fact that the Representatives
were chosen directly by the people, and Sena-
tors indirectly by their agents, the Legislature.
A case NAV be supposed in which a citizen
whose opinions were known upon questions
discussed among the people at the time when
-I,Nr- H. :
they should elect that citizen of known opin-
ions so far it could be decided, APP
proved by the people, and if the Legislature
should subsequently instruct that Senator to
vote in opposition to his previously declared
opinions, and, as he might fairly claim,
against the wishes of his constituents the
people, that Senator would surely be justified
in refusing to obey, and he would have a
certain remedy by resigning his seat and
joining issue with the Legislature before the
people. The proposition however is so violent,
involving as it apparently would, the political
fate of the legislators that the case Is certainly
not one of probable occurrence. Ii Legis-
lature maddened by party zeal or in the ex-
citement of wild fanaticism should instruct
Senator to violate his oath to support the
Constitution, and do that which injured 9TH
ers but did not concern his constituents of
course he could not obey; and the extreme
case which was evidently in the mind of Mr..
Webster when he made the speech, before
referred to, would be presented for decision.
On the other hand We may suppose that
while question was freely discussed among
the people, an eminent citizen, whose previous
services richly endowed him with their conf
dence, did not enter into the discussion of the
new question, and when the Legislature as
sembled was chosen to be U. s. Senator, and
while so serving was instructed by the Legis-
lature to vote on question of expediency In
accordance with the known viii of the people
of the State. Ii, with far seeing wisdom be-
yond that of the Legislature and of the people,
| he knew before he was elected thattheir policy
was erroneous, and for any reason failed to an
nounce that fact or If he afterward learned
what he did not before know, that the proposed
measure would not contribute to the welfare
of his constituents, it would be public mis-
fortune that all wisdom should have been con-
eentrated in him; but it would be still great
!. er misfortune if that wisdom should be en-
pIoyed to crush the foundation stone of all our
institutions-the right of the people TO govern
| themselves The history of the world presents
sad record of wrecked Republics. None,
however, were destroyed BY one single convul-
| sive throb; insiduously the foundations were
| sapped Usurpations BY the few of the powers
Of the many, followed by the greed and cor
ruption which selhshness would suggest, in
time, made an escape to despotism, the most
| feasible means Of avoiding the meaner tyranny
! 81 self-constitutad oligarchy. These beacon
lights set BY The past warn rs Of the rock
J and shoals % be shunned In the future.