The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1886-07-29

under oath TO protect it, what re-
Spect or reverence is to be award
ed by the unsworn people to the
Illegal enactments of the VIOLA
tors of the fundamental Iaw?-
This problem is a serious one, and
it will only be solved by the gath
ering of the legitimate fruit OF
the grave wrong perpetrated.-
The II were no more, for general
purposes, The Senate of Ohio.
than was Jack Cade's mouth the
parliament of England" As
Jack found an inglorious end, so
do the II deserve.
A partisan majority Of the su-
preme Court hold that no inquiry
can be made which is IN conflict
with, not the expressed language
of the Senate journal, but the
presumption arising from its 81
lence as to the presence of a con
'stitutional quorum. Those gen
tIemen sitting on the Bench, like
Wisdom's owls, themselves sworn
to support and protect the consti-
ton of the State, know that in
strument has been most gravely
violated in the very matter thcn
before the Court, in the face of
that knowledge declare they do
not know and will not know the
very fact which any of them does
know. Fictions of law may be
necessities in some instances, but
when they are made to cover
usurpations, revolutions. the
highest political crimes. they are
carried to an extent that should
make a fiction of tie tribunal
carrying them SO far.
The Senate journal Is a clerks
record of the proceedings of one
branch of the State legislature
the constitution is the Tin theory
invlolable foundation of the gov
ernment; this Court says that
constitution may be defied, its
guarantees annulled, its protec-
tions destroyed rather than the
Court shall learn that the Senate
journal omitted to note that only
II Senators were present on a
given occasion. Common sense
stands aghast and political integ-
rlty turns away in shame and
despair at such a judicial holding.
All this is done upon the theory |
that the Senate journal and its
presumptiors. though they cover
fraud and usurpations as well as
violations of the constitution.
1t is said legislative bodies fire.
quently enact laws when quo
rum is not present, therefore this
holding is necessary. AS well
tell me that a Government must |
not take notice of open war
throughout its domains because
sometimes a good mother spanks
her boy with slipper, and it is
not noticed by the Government.
Usually when the majority is alb
sent on the passage of a bill it is
acquiesced in because the major,
i,y desired its passage. Ohio's
Senators had gone away TO de-
stroy the power of the Senate to
transact general business; they
had gone beyond the State to
avoid being brought back. This
remarkable condition of things
was known to all, and to no one
better than those Judges. The
of the Senate had sent
its officers TO Cincinnati and per
haps elsewhere to capture the
absent Senators, because that mi
nority was powerless without
them. ALI this the Judges of the
Supreme Court knew. Then a
substantial wrong was done, the
was violated, usur-
patiou was practiced; every
Judge knew it, yet these same
Judges say they are powerless 10
protect the government, to pro
feet the people. to protect the
because a presump-
ton. arising from the journal of
the Senate stands in the way. If
this was mere absurd nonsense il
might in charity be tolerated il
is much more. W. Fl. Il.
Compliments TO COWgill.