The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1884-02-07
EXECUTIVE POWERS.

great writers upon government that
its object is to protect life, liberty and
property. Then we naturally conclude
that when a government is created,
it possesses this indispensable power,
and then the only question arising is
to whom is the execution of such pow
er entrusted. For this, in the present
condition of Texas we must look to
the constitution of our state-which
say:
"The executive department of the
state shall consists of governor who
shall be the chief executive officer of
the state"
"He shall be commandments of
the military forces of the state, except
when they are called into the actual
service of the United States. He shall
have power TO call forth the militia to
execute the laws of the state, to sup
press Instructions, to repel inva-
sions and protect the frontier from
hostile incursions by Indians or other
predatory bands"
lie shall cause the laws to be faith
fully executed"
In view of these extracts from our
state constitution, it would seem diff
cult to resist the conviction that it
must have been the intention OF the
convention that framed it, and the
people who adopted it, to invest the
governor with the full power of the
state to protect property from lawless
and desperate combinations for its de-
struction. If the constitution had
said nothing more than che shall
cause the laws TO be faithfully eX-
ecuted," it would, by the strongest i'm
piicat;on, have given him the power
to use every means necessary and
proper to carry out this command.
But the power, in this case. is not left
10 Implication. He is expressly made
the chief executive of the state"
The commandments of the mill
tary forces of the state" He has
power to call forth the militia to exc
cute the laws of the state and to sup
press instructions. Then, here is the
highest executive duty enjoined upon
the governor, with the strong arm of
the government at his command. Is
not this a necessary, an indispensable
power? Is not a similar power incor-
porated in the constitution of every
state of the American Union? We
can safely venture the opinion that in
no other state has this power been
more clearly and strongly conferred
upon its chief executive than upon
our executive by the constitution and
laws of the state of Texas. Then we
may ask, how is it that all such pro-
visions in other constitutions answer
the purposes for which they were
adopted, while those in our organic
law, that are certainly fully as COM
prehensive and strong, are to be re-
garded as wholly inadequate? Some
of the constitutions, modelled like
ours, have been in force nearly hun
dred years. Would it not be strange,
indeed, when they have stood the test
until now, that for the first time it is
discovered the conventions that
framed and the people that adopted
them, so greatly misunderstood the
meaning of their provisions; would
it not be unwise, at this late day, to
act upon such presumption? By the
constitution of the United States the
presidents commander-in-chief of the
army and navy, and of the militia OF
the several states, when called into
the actual service of the United
States" BY another provision che
shall take care that the laws be faith
fully executed" These, it seems, were
the only provisions made on these sub
jects. History informs us, that soon
after Gen. Washington was elect
ed president of the United
States the celebrated whisky
instruction against the government
of the United States occurred in the
state of Pennsylvania. Under these
provisions of the constitution Gen.
Washington ordered out the militia
Immediately, suppressed the insured
ton and restored law and order. In
this connection it may be remarked
that the powers in this respect, given
in the constitution of the nitedStates,
are meager, when compared to the
corresponding powers conferred by
the constitution and laws of the state
of Texas. Nor are we without pre-
cedent in our own state. In or about
the year 1856, what was denominated
The "card war" took place in some of
our southwestern counties. and it
threatened to become general in west
ern Texas. The then governor, under
similar powers of the constitution,
caused men to be raised, who repaired
promptly to the scene of strife and
soon restored peace and order. When
the legislature convened the governor
in a message reported what had oc-
CURED, and that body promptly and
cheerfully appropriated funds to pay
the timely and valuable services
rendered to the state. Here then, was
construction by the execu-
cutive and the legislature, which
it is believed, has been fully acqui-
esced in for nearly thirty years by the
people, and by the three conventions
that have been since held to make
constitutions for the state. If this
construction had proven unsatisfac-
tory to the people, or had been sup
posed to be wrong, these subsequent
conventions would have adopted diff
ferent provisions, so as to make the
new constitutions conform to the will
of the people. But since these pro-
visions in ours are similar to those in
the constitution of the United States,
and similar to those in the constitu-
tions of the other states of the union,
we may surely presume that our con-
stitution, in that particular, is ade-
Quate to every emergency. So, at
least, it has been accepted, and no
longer ago than 1877, after the gov
ernor had used constabulary force
in the southwest against lawless men
to preserve the peace of communities,
the legislature again ratified tn
theory here presented nv anDronriat-