Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1888-01-31
Observation-Disclosures 81, 1888.


Each house Of the General Assembly
is required by the Constitution to be the
sole Judge of the election, qualifications,
and "retuns OF its own members
That is. each house shall decide for itself
whether or not return is true-whether
the candidate returned was dul y elected
or not In order TO determine whether
the candidate returned was duly elected
or not each house must take such stepsas
will satisfy itself--not the other house
nor the two houses together-on that
point. If the House of Delegates were
10 certify TO the Senate that Mr.. ELLIS
was duly elected to the Senate last No
vember, and that he was duly qualified
and had presented true return, that
certificate would DO worth nothing more
than the certificate of the town-crier Of
the city of Roanoke to the same elect ;
for the Senate. so the Constitution re-
CURES "shaHjudgc' of these matters for
itself. The Federal Constitution pro-
vides that each house of Congress "shall
he Judge of the elections, qualifications,
and returns of its own members. The
language of the State Constitution is:
each house shall judge OF the cleo
ton, qualifications. and returns OF its
members" The language of the State
Constitution is, if possible, stronger
than that of the Federal Constitution
and vet though the national House OF
Representatives discussed fully the other
day the question of reopening the CAR
LIsLE-THEBE case, not one OF
its constitutional lawyers, as far as
we know, took the ground that the House
did not have the power to disregard and
override the Federal statutes providing
how elections for the House Of Repre-
sentatives should be contested. Mr..
CARLISLE wears ago settled the question
by a single phrase. These Federal
statutes, said he, are mere "practice
acts. They bind the House OF Repre-
sentatlves no further than for cOnve-
nience sake it may choose to be bound
by them.
IL, then, the House of Delegates has
nothing 10 do with the returns OF the
members of the Senate, how can any
statute which that body might pass bind
the Senate? Let us suppose that the
two houses pass bill providing that if
the person returned is not notified with
in five days after election-day that his
return is contested it shall not be con-
tested at all. The Senate might know
the return TO be false and fraudulent,
and vet we are told that this body
would have been precluded by the action
Of the Legislature, ~mch has no lurisdic-
ton in the matter, and nothing at all to
do with it, from seating the lawfully
elected member. The persons on the
other side of the question we are discuss
ing admit that the House of Delegates
cannot as a separate body have word
to say as to whether or not Mr.. HoUs-
TONS return is true return but they
contend that if the Senate will join hands
with the House OF Delegates and pass a
statute evading the constitutional pro-
vision that each house shall in these
cases Judge for itself, then and in that
case the House OF Delegates will have
the right to assist the Senate in Judging
OF the election, qualifications, and re-
turns of its own members. For example,
they say that if the Senate had been OF
the opinion that Mr.. SCorT. of Gooch-
laud, was eligible to the House of Dele
gates when be was elected last November,
the Senate could not of itself have taken
even one step towards making that
opinion effective. and seating Mr.. ScoTT,
but that If the two houses had passed
beforehand law providing that no can
didate's qualifications should be in
CURED into unless this was done before
the election, or within five days there
after, then the Senate could not, unless
as provided by that act. have unseated
MIR. SCorr because he was disqualified.
In a word, If the other side can with
good reason contend that the Senate can
not decide return" TO be untrue un-
less it is contested within ten days after
the election, they can with equal pro-
pricty and with equally good reason
maintain that a disqualified mans dis
qualifications shall not operate 10 keep
him out of the Senate unless the Ques.
tiou is raised within ten days
after the election. For the Senate has
exactly the same power to judge as
TO returns that it has TO Judge asto quail
fications. Its power is absolute in both
cases. Either disqualified man can be
seated under operation OF an act Of AS.
sembly or else returned candidate can
not be thus seated. Either any return :"
can be passed upon by the Senate with
out regard TO statutory provisions, or
else qualifications cannot be passed
upon by that body in disregard OF sta
tute.
The Negro Problem.