The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1881-10-08
The Democratic Programme.

Ifthe utterances of the Democratic
newspapers can be depended on as
indications of the course the Demo-
t,Gratic Senators mean tOsuursure at
the called session. the programme is
to proceed with the election OF a
President pro tenpore before admit
ting the three Senators chosen to fill
vacancies. This is to be done ON the
plea that there is no presiding officer
to receive the credentials of the new
Senators, and that one must be chOs-
en- before they can be sworn in. The
President pro tenapor is in this case
not, as the title would indicate, a
temporary presiding officer to occupy
the chair only until the body cansbe
fully organized, hut the regular aud
peruianent presiding pfiice9 to i,aitl
his piace for an indefiEite period, and
to stand first in the line of succession
to the Chief Magistracy. The choice
of this officer is, therefore, matter
of great National importance. and
one in which all the States of the
Union have All equal right to partici-
pate. Yet it is seriously proposed
by the Democratic organs that the
State of New York be entirely dis
franchised in this grave proceeding,
and that the State of Rhode Island
be deprived of one of the two votes
to which she is entitled. This is to
be done under cover of defect in the
rules of the Senate, which do not
contemplate vacancy in both the
i Vice Presidency and the Presidency
pro telop,re of the Senate, and con-
sequently fail to specify Il method for
receiving credentials and swearing
in new members when both such
vacancies exist.
The programme thus proposed
violates one of the first principles of
parliamentary law, principle rccog-
nized in every representative body
from county convention up tn the
House of Representatives of the Uni
ted States--namely, that all men,
| bers-elect whose seats are not con-
tested have right to participate in
the organization of the body. The
members of the House vote for
Speaker before taking the official oath
on their prim0 fdcie right to seats
shown in the credentials filed with
the clerk. This is the case in the
Legislatures ofsome States in others
the oath is administered by the Sec
retarv or by judicial officer. In all,
however, the right to vote for the
presiding and other officers of the
body belongs to all members whose
credentials are in due form. Can it
be seriously maintained that some
ether law governs the Senate, and
that the members who get i'm at a
prior session can keep out all their
newly elected colleagues until they
have chosen presiding officer and
parcelled out the clerkships and door
keeperships among themselves ? The
case only needs to be plainly stated
te show how untenable it is. The
Senators from New York derive their
title to participate in the proceedings
of the Senate, not from any cere-
mony on the part of an official of the
body, but from the State they rep
resent. For the Senators from other
States to exclude them until the only
important work of the session is com.
pleted would be an act ofgross usurpa-
tion and a direct insult to the chief
Stale in the Union.
We do not care to argue about the
meaning of Senate rules or the want
of rules to meet the present contin-
gency. The principle which should
govern is so plain that there can be
no two honest opinions about it..
Every State is entitled to an equal
voice with every other State in the
organization of the body. The acci-
dent of death or resignation cannot
justly operate to disfranchise State
which fills the vacancies thus occur.
ing in @ legal manner and sends her
representatives duly commissioned
to occupy the empty chairs. In the
proceedings of courts, when no stat
ute is found to meet a given case and
secure the ends of justice, an appeal
IS made to the common law. There
is common law of legislative bodies
known as parliamentary law which
time out of mind has been evoked
in deliberative and legislative assem-
blies to supply the want of definite
rules. Let the Senate apply it to
cure the defect now developed in its
own regulations. There is no real
obstacle in the way of doing so. The
Senate can call one OF its members to
take the chair for the time being, as
is often done during the absence of
the presiding officer, the new Sena-