The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1891-09-24
THE AMENDMENTS.
EVERY ONE STRICTLY ON ITS OWN
FOOTING.
This as Proven by the Acts of the Legis-
lature and the Governog in Con-
STRUNG Former Constitu-
tional Amendments.
AUSTIN, Tex, Sept. 16, 1891.

W 2 the Statesman.
There is some discussion now being
carried on in the newspapers, as to
to whether the constitutional amend
ments recently vote for have been
adopted or defeated. A very few law
yers taking the position that no
amendment to the constitution can be
adopted where more than one are
voted on, unless each amendment re-
ceives a majority Of the votes cast at
the election.
This position seems to me to be alb
surd. 1t has neither reason or au-
thority to sustain it. In amending
the constitution it was clearly in
tended that each amendment should
stand OF fall upon it's own merits.
They are submitted separately, by
separate joint resolutions; they are
voted on separately, and the votes are
counted separately, and the returns
separately made.
Mr.. f. u. Morris, in a recent COM
~ munication to your paper, has so ably
the absurd position of all
such doubters, both by argument and
authority, that it is unnecessary to
draw further upon it. The object of
this communication is to show that
the present Legislative and executive
departments of the government have
construed the constitution as does Mr..
Morris.
The 21st LEGISLATURE, Acts of 1889,
PIP. 17l-2 passed the joint resolutions
inn hn
amendment was the railroad commits
sion amendment, by virtue of which
we now have the railroad commits
sion. The other amendment related
to the very important subject of taxa
ton. Both of said joint resolutions
provided for the submission
of both of said amendments
at the last general election
for state and county officers. Now if
the position combatted in this article
be the correct one then said amend
ments, in orderto have been adopted,
having been voted on at the general
election for state and county officers,
must have received majority of all
the votes cast at that election, taking
the highest vote as the test.
At the last general election
the highest number of votes
cast were cast for Comp
troller. The total vote for that officer
amounted to 340,986. Therefore, the
two amendments, under the above
theory, could only have been adopted
= by at least vote of 17O,494, bare
majority of the above vote cast for
comptroller. The railroad commits
sion amendment received 181 1854 votes,
Z Just II 400 votes more than the ma
witty of the vote cast for comptroller,
Z but the tax amendment only received
1899 votes. that number being just
Al ,103 votes less than majority of the
votes cast for comptroller. Now i
those who differ with me in the con
structure of the constitution be right
= and am wrong, then the tax amend
ment was clearly lost. The last leg.
islature, the Twenty-second, and the
present governor both held other.
wise, and held that both OF
said amendments were adopted,
and both today are recognized as parts
of the constitution. My reasons for the
above assertion are as follows:
The last legislature passed an act
entitled can act to carry into effect
Athe constitutional amendment 1.-THE
tax amendment above alluded toy
empowering counties to determine by
vote whether Is cents road tax shall
be levied by county commissioners
court"
Acts of 1891, pages sig. This act
was approved by the governor on
April l, 1891.
From this it clearly follows that
; both the legislature and the governor
!. have held, that each amendment to
the constitution stands upon it's own
merit, and that such amendments
that receive more votes for them than
are cast against them, are adopted,
whether such votes are majority OF
all the votes cast at the election OF
not. This construction of the Con-
stitution by both the legislature and
the governor, has decisions of the
'fhighest courts as we'll as common
4 sense and reason to sustain it, and
can never be successfully assailed.
81 r. H. WARD.