The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1883-08-15
THE GOVERNOR AND THE LEGIs.
LATURE.


assume to speak the views and pun
poses of the Governor, that the Ike
cutive has taken upon himself, as
duty imposed upon him by th
Constitution, to compel the Legisla
ture to pass apportionment bill:
Senator Gordon, the unquestlone'
and rather obtrusive oracle of tn
Executive. has announced in Senate
rial debate, that the Governor vii
compel the Legislature to pass appor
tionments, and that the depletion o
the Treasury to bankruptcy and tn
imposition of special tax upon th'
people to pay for protracted session
of the Legislature, would be OF llttl
moment compared with the tailur
to fulfill the mandate of the funda
mental law required the passage o
appointments.
1t seems that the Executive ha'
fallen into the rather common erro
of inexperienced but selfapprecia
tive, authority, of assuming that tn
Executive is the supreme and abso
lutte authority ofthe Commonwealth
If he had read the plain landmarks
of the past. and noted the popula
jealousy of all attempts at Executive
usurpation, or despotic exhibitions
of one-man power, he would no
have exposed himself to the just crit
icism of coordinate branches of au
thority charged with equal or greatel
powers and responsibilities in the en-
actment of laws. Or if he had reat
the Constitution with care, and noted
its discriminating language in confer
ring discretionary and mandatory
powers upon the Executive, he coult
hardly have fallen into the grave er
rors of assuming that the fundamen
tai law imposes upon him the fulfill
ment of both legislative and execu
tive duties.
The Constitution imposes upor
the Legislature certain duties
Among them is the mandate tha
the Legislature shall apportion the
State" etc. 1t is an imperative com
mand of the fundamental law, but i
is a command to the Legislature
and not to the Executive. 1t created
the Executive, Legislative and Ju
dicial departments of authority
made each a coordinate branch o
the government, but entirely indie
pendent of each other, and all abso
lutely forbidden to encroach upor
the prerogatives of others. Each de
rives It's commission from the SOW
ereign people each is answerablt
directly to the same supreme powel
of the State, and each is absolutely
above the coercion or control of th'
other.
Both the Executive and the Legis
lative authority have mandatory ane
powers and duties i'm
posed upon them by the Constitu
ton. The Legislature shall appor
ton the State" etc, but it may make
appropriations of money" etc. Th'
Executive "sbdU from time to tim'
give to the General Assembly infor
nation of the state of the Common
wealth and recommend to their con
sideration such measures as he may
Judge expedient," but the Legislature
is left supreme to Judge of the expe
diency of the measures the Execu
tive may judge expedient. HI
"shdW nominate" etc, certain pub
lie officers, but he may on extraordi
nary occasions convene the Genera
Assembly, and in case OF disagree
ment between the two Houses, witt
respect to the time of adjournment
adjourn them" etc. When he exer
cises the obviously discretionar,
rather than mandatory power o
convening the Legislature, his powe
over it is ended, save the power t.
adjourn it for a stated period in cas-
of disagreement on the single ques
ton of adjournment. On all othe
issues of dispute between the Hous
es, the Governor has no more powe
than has the humblest citizen of tn
Commonwealth. He discharges hi
duty by the exercise of a sound dis
cretion in calling the Legislature
and then the responsibility for ac
cepting or rejecting such measure
as he may Judge expedient," rest
solely with the Legislature and it
accountability is only to the peopl'
and not TO the Executive.
There was long an accepted Law
in Philadelphia that might was right
1t was bred and nurtured and reared
to omnipotence by a Pilgrim coteri'
that regarded political power as onl,
on agent to attain political plunder
That law seems to have heen trans
planted to Harrisburg and incorpo
rated as one of the cardinal article
OF faith of the administration. 1t i
a grave error. 1t is an error agains
public law against public integrity
against public decency, and Goyeno
Pattison cannot too soon silence tn
fiippant but offensive threats of Ex
ecutive despotism repeatedly mad
in his name in both the House anC
Senate. In the exercise of the dis
cretionarv power conferred upon hin
by the Constitution, he has called
the Legislature TO make apportion
ments, and there his duty and hi
responsibility ends. However clea
the mandate ofthe fundamental Law
in regard to apportionments, it is {
duty specially impossible upon th'
Legislature and not upon the Execu
tive; and the Legislature, like thu
Executive, is answerable only to tn,
sovereign power that makes Consti
tutions and creates Executives anC
legislators. 1t is high time, with {
Legislature demoralized largely by
Executive usurpation, and by th'
offensive arrogance of its specia
champions, for Governor Pattison t
re-read the Constitution and learr
that he is simply the Executive Off
Ger of the State, with power only t.
suggest the creation of laws and tt
administer them when created, anC
that the Legislture is as supreme il
its prerogatives as is every other CO
ordinate branch of the government
He must learn this lesson sooner o
later, and the sooner he learns it, The