The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1891-08-08
THE FLORIDA SENATORSHLP.

that Wilkinson Call was not elected
United States senator. l cannot, there
fore, in the discharge of duty, certify thai
he was elected.
So says Governor Francis +
Fleming. And the governor If
right. His decision will be endorsed
|by a majority of the democrats Of
Florida. And the FLoR1DIAN be-
llieves the United States senate will
itself decide that Wilkinson Call has
no right to the seat he claims
There is no other way for them to
decide if they abide by the law.
Governor Fleming has prepared
an able and elaborate opinion upon
the question, which the FLoR1D1AN
presents with this issue in full as a
supplement. 1t lis document which
carries conviction with it. Cover
nor Fleming has carefully considered
and deliberately weighed every
claim presented by the friends OF
Mr.. Call and the precedents cited by
them, as we'll as the protests pre-
sented by the members of the legis-
lature who hold that Wilkinson Call
was not legally elected. And the
governor has given his decision after
close and unbiased study of every
phase of the question. He is con-
vinced that Wilkinson Call was not
legally elected, and will act ac-
cordingly.
The case is clear. There is no
room for doubt. The constitution
of the United States provides that
Senators shall be chosen by the leg
islature. The Legislature is defined
by the constitution of the State
of Florida to be a senate and a
house Of representatives.
The constitution further provides
that majarity of each house shall
constitute a quorum to do business.
The only things permitted to be
done by less than quorum are to
adjourn from day to day and to COM
pei the presence of absent members.
Was there quorum Of each house
present on May %? The journals
show that there was not On the
morning of May 26, only Is senator's
answered to their names at roll call.
There was no quorum present to
transact business and the sergeant-at-
arms was sent out to search for absent
membership he found them not.
During the morning Hon. William
Forsythe Bynum, chief clerk of the
house of representatives, appeared at
the bar of the senate with a message
from the house, but was informed
that they did not have a quorum and
could not receive it.
At noon President Je # B. Browne
and fourteen other senators marched
into the assembly hall and joined
with the house in the farce play of
making senator. 1.-THE senate had
no quorum to transact business, how
could they participate in the joint
assembly? There was no legal cleo
ton. How could there be under the
constitution of the State of Florida
without quorum Of each house?
In his able argument in the Har-
Ian case, Mr.. Bayard said:
Sir, I hold it to be a principle of law
which has, think, no exception, that
where two integral bodies are authorized
to do an act, it cannot be done withou,
the consent of those two integral bodies
They must both be present and act il
the matter, or there can be no validity il
the act done. This is universal law.
| And there was no validity in the
so-called election Of Wilkinson Call
The friends of Mr.. Call pin great
faith upon the act Of congress O.
: 1866, but while this act would ap-
pear to be susceptible of the con
struction contended for by Mr.. Call
such construction would be in viola
ton of the constitution, which pro-
vides that the legislature must elect
A construction must be given a sta
tute if possible so as to render i
operative and at the same time avoi,
f conflict with the constitution. An,
it has been shown that the statut,
. is susceptible Of such construction
g requiring the presence of boil
l houses to elect.
This claim that the case of M,