The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1882-04-29
THE DEBATE.
Continuation Of the Cannon
Campbell Contest in the
House.
Representative Davis Argu-
ment.
CONTINUED from Fridays Daily.)

government Congress has granted terri
torial representation. It has decided i
| is nee1ful; it has decided it is right snC
| proper that the territories should be rep
resented in this House. Is that act 81
unconstitutional exercise of power
Clearly not. So. then. these delegate!
are here in accordance with laws consti.
tutionally made by Congress, and thii
House has no right 10 deny them theil
seats. This House has no right to deny
the right of territorial representation, be-
cause Congress has declared under the
| Constitution that the territories shall be
represented, and this House cannot disre-
gard the law Of Congress. So We have
two distinct classes of members Of this
| House. under two distinct provisions Of
the Constitution of the United States.
/ Some gentlemen make the mistake o.
supposing that because delegate il not
q member Of this house, under section 2
of article Of the Constitution, with the
right TO vote, that he has no right at all;
and that he, and thereby his territory,
can be ignored. I say this cannot be
done without q violation Of laws passed
in accordance with another provision of
the Constitution, and all the Constitution
must be permitted to stand, and not one
section to the exclusion of another. But
there is no conflict between these sec
tions. One merely provides that all the
legislative power Of this House shall be
exclusively within the hands and province
of the representatives of the states, and
the other simply authorizes Congress to
enact laws giving representation to the
people of territory who are not people
of q state, and whose representative has
no right to vote, and of course no right to
shape our legislation. As have stated,
section OF article l simply points out
who shall be the legislators Of this House;
that is all it means, and nothing more.
Wherein does the representation of the
territory conflict with this exclusive pre-
rogative of the representatives OF the peo-
pie Of the stated Wherein does the Office
of delegate impinge upon this peculiar
constitutional composition of this House?
In no possible way, because the delegate
has no vote, and of course no power to
shape legislation. The legislative COM
positioA of this house remains unchanged.
No violation is done to the Constitution.
On the contrary, all the provisions are
carried out in their fullest and freest
sense. So I say this House has not the
high handed arbitrary power claimed in
this case, that when q duly elected dele
gate from regularly organized territory
is sent to this House he enters not by the
grace of the House but by the section of
law passed by Congress in the cOnstitu'
tioDal discharge Of its duties, which law
this House has no right to disregard.
This brings ms to the second point in the
report of the majority of the committee;
that is, that Congress has no power to
fix the qualifications of 3 delegate. The
report admits that Congress can create
the Office Of delegate, but that it cannot
fix his qualifications, that Congress can
create an Office, but cannot say who shall
fill it; that under the constitution Con-
grees can make all needful rule, and reg
ulations for the territories; shall be the
judge Of what are needful rules and req
lstions, and under that may create the
office of delegate, but cannot say that he
shall have the same qualifications as
from state. The state
ment Of this proposition is its own refuta-
ton. But let US test it by what Congress
has already done. As has been read by
the gentleman from Wisconsin Mr.. |
section 1905 prescribes the |
qualification Of citizenship for certain |
delegates. Now, il it can fix the qualifi- |
cation Of citizenship, can it not fix other |
qualifications? Can it not say that he |
shall have the same qualifications as q |
from q state? Without |
discussing that point further I shall ask |
he question which naturally follows, |
t is this: Has Congress fixed the qualiH- |
cations of delegate? / say it has. It is
not necessary to discuss the question as
20 whether The constitution as such ex-
ends over territory, or as to whether
Congress has the power to extend the
constitution as such oveS territory be-
,ause it is absolutely certain that it has
be power to make the constitution
part of the statutory law Of the territory
# Utah. Section II Of the act of 1850,
that territory, declares
That the constitution and all the laws
Il the United States are hereby declared
o be in force in and to, extend over the
erritory Of Utah so far as the same are or
ny of their provisions may be appli-
able.
And what could be- more applicable
han the provision defining the quali6ca-
nsjority report says that this will prove
DO much; that if you hold to the posi-
ion that the constitution in its provis-
DDS and Its spirit extends over terri
Dry, then you cannot deny q delegate q
ote. That does seem to me to be a very
Irange doctrine, and I think no man on
econd thought will hold that the extern
ion Of the constitution over a territory
S its statutory law thereby destroys OF
npairs any of the provisions OF the con-
titation. The constitution has fixed |
There the legislative power of tais House
esides, and that 1t is exclusively within
be hands Of the representatives of the
eople Of the states, but 8 delegate ia not
representative from q state. ard hence
as no power to vote ana no authority tn
ct as 3 legislator. But it NAV be said {
lat these qualifications prescribed in the {
institution apply in terms and words TO
from states. That's true.
,ut the constitution of the United States
lso says that no state shall pass any er
oSt JGct0 law, or any law impairinO
le obligation Of contract. This applies t
express terms to State, and vet / snn- c
oie no man will say that Territorial | S
legislature could pass an ex Dest focfo :
w, or any law impsiting the ob!iOation
q contract. And why? Becanse Il
'ou!d violate the spirit and nrincinIos I'll
le Constitution, which has been N sda
le law Of the Territory. In a vor5 al
le PROVISIONS ana aIIthe principles of the 5
constitution are the laws ofthe Territory
far as they may be applicable. And I /.
* tRe questlon again, what can be more {
tnsn, mat provision which :
US tnSs MEMBER OF snis Housesshall be '