The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1889-03-26
A CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTION.

A CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTION.
The discussion in some of our exchanges
regarding the Presidency of the State
Senate invites serious reflection, and all
should join, without regard to personal
opinion, in pursuing that course less cal
culated to produce complications.
The fact is that all the trouble arises
from the change in the time of holding
the regular session of the Legislature from
anuary to April, and at the same time
putting an end to one Legislature as soon
as a new one is elected, which is in No
vember, thus putting an end to the old
Legislature nearly six months before the
new one meets in regular session, without
providing any method by which the new
one may meet and organize in extra scs-
sion, previous to the regular session.
The Constitution, section 6, Article Ill,
requires the Senate to elect permanent
President, and the House permanent
Speaker, at each regular session. But the
Legislature has met in extra session and
ele cted President of the Senate and a
Speaker of the House, without any au-
hority in the Constitution for so doing,
unless the Legislature. being called to-
gether, possessed the inherent power to
elect a Constitutional President and
Speaker. 1t may be that it had this
power, but, after electing these officers,
can they be deposed when the Legisla-
ture meets in regular session? Is it not
reasonable, since the constitution con-
templates extra sessions to be held at
any time, to construe Section 6, Article
III, as intended, more to prescribe the
mode of election and the tenure and func
tions of these officers than to get the date
of their election, and hence, in the event
Of an extra session before the regular SEES
sion, might not these officers be then
elected? There can be but one President
of one Senate and one Speaker of one
House, (unless, of course, in case Of a
vacancy,) and should the present officers
be substituted by others, we will have
President Houstoun's and Speaker Gas
kin's names signed to some OF the acts Of
the present Legislature, and the names
Of other persons signed as President and
Speaker to others, and thus the stamp OF
unconstitutionality would be placed either
upon one or the other set Of acts.
Now, we do not know what necessity
may arise to bring the constitutonalitv
of these acts into the courts. Hence, let
the Legislature save all the points posi-
Die and re-elect the present officers, thus
preventing the acts of one Legislature
being signed by different Presidents and
different Speakers, when the constitution
provides for but one President and one
speaker for one Legislature
1t is contended that the Legislature
had the right to elect a President and
Speaker for the extra session. If it had
the power to elect constitutional Presi-
dent and Speaker, that power involved
the right to change the time prescribed
in the constitution for the election Of
these officers, which right the Legislature
may have had, but that it could elect any
but such President and Speaker as is
contemplated by the constitution, viz:
permanent President and Speaker, we
cannot admit.
If the same officers are reelected at the
regular session, all points may be saved,
for then il the question should be raised
that the officers elected at the extra SEES
sion are the constitutional officers,
though two elections were held, the legal
construction would be, that they held by
the first election.