Delaware gazette and state journal., 1896-04-16

execise the Offices of Legislative and ex
ecutive.
6--That the act of Mr.. Watson in 90.
ing into the State Senate and tnkipg
the Speakers chair, and afterwards
marching with the Senate to the House,
without objection by the members Of
that body, was an adjudication of his
right to his senatorial seat,
G-That tho adjudication ia binding,
even II ON its face the Judgment was
renderodserroneously. That tho Senate's
action was final.
The Senator then entered into long
and dry legal argument as to incom-
patibiity under tho common law, and
the application OF the so called Ameri.
can system to the present case. He fol-
lowed the argument embodied in the
majority report, and presented no new
features.
He argued, or rather asserted, that
IL made no difference whethnr tho office
OF Speaker became abBolutsly vacant,
suspended, or held in abeyance. He
said it made no difference, as any one
would lead to tho same conclusion
that is, that Mr. du Pont was entitled
to seat. "We may not select one, -
he said, "and rest tho case; but we
know that the right ia among them. II
the office became vacant. suspended or
held in abeyance it would be the same
result, so it must be entirely indiffer-
ent which one ia correct
Tho Senator then said that he had
discovered that in the wording OF sec.
tion IA, Article 9, there waHan express
implication that tho Speaker became
Governor. lle said that thore was no
need of the third clause, which was
merely repetition Of the statement
made in the first part OF the section.
iIe said it was probably added as q
further form Of providing for the pro-
lection Of the people. Tho Senator at
tompted to break down the force Of the
precedent established by Gov. johnson
of pennsylvania, in resigning his Office
of Speaker, by arguing that Mr.. John
son might not have been man Of very
much weight or legal ability. He said
the fact that he was Governor did not
give a guarantee Of ability. MIR. Gray
jocularly remarked that it was case
of TOO Much Johnson.
When the laugh which Mr.. Gray's
remark had caused subsidized, Mr.
Chandler called Mr.. Browns attention
to the Constitution OF the State of
Mississippi, adopted in 1850, in which
there was direct recognition of the
common law rule OF incompatibility
Mr., Chandler said the trainers of that
Constitution-an and Mr.. George of Mis-
sissippi, was a delegate to the conyen-
tion-had made provisions in their
document to prevent the blending OF
the Legislative and executive offices.
Mr.. Gray said that this was an inter
esting discovery, and that in all proba-
bihty the Constitutional Convention
which will soon meet in Delaware,
would see the wisdom CT doing the same
thing; but he said the present Consti-
tuition must be construed, and insisted
that it required an express provision
to make the doctrine binding. Mr..
Chandler replied that he differed, Gas
we frequently do ON great constitutional
questions. -
Mr.. Brown insisted that the record
of the Joint assembly, or of the proceed
ings of the Senate did not show an
adjudication of Mr.. Watson's right to
vote against Mr.. du Pont He con.
tended that there was in the record an
express adjudication that Mr.. Watson
was not a Senator but was Governor,
and the vote was illegal, and therefore
Mr.. du Pont should be seated.
CHANDLER FAYoRs Du PoNT.
Washington, April II. Mr. Chand-
Ter, H., of New Hampshire, addressed
the Senate to-day in advocacy Of Mr..
du Points right to the vacant seat in
the Senate from the State of Delaware.
That State, he said, had treated the
country to novel sight. 1t was the
first case in the history Of the country
in which the Governor of 4 State had
voted for United Statos Senator, and
tho question was whether, in this case,
Gov. Watson could do that thing while
he was Governor. Like 'tthe old man
OF the sea-" Watson waa the incubus,
the nightmare, the usurper, the terror
which paralyzed the Legislature and
prevented the declaration Of an election
which had actually taken place nine
times the same day, but, rs Watson
presided, there was no such declaration.
Mr.. Hill, D., of Now York, asked
Mr.. Chandler whether Watson had been
asked to declare du Pont elected ON
each of those nine occasions.
Mr.. Chandler did not know ;but there
had been, ss the balloting went on, a
protest against the Governors right to
vote. Could the Vice President, he
asked. become President, on the han
pening Of a vacancy, take tho oath OF
office as President. perform his duties
at tho Executive Mansion, keep watch
OF the proceedings of the Senate. and,
finding that an important House bill
was to be defeated by tie vote, leave
the Executive Mansion, crowded into
tho Senate, oust the President pro
tempore of the Senare, secure by his
vote the passage of the bill, and then
return to the Executive Mansion, sign
tho bill and make il law. He was
willing, he said, to have an answer
"yea or nay' TO that proposition, of
which he had written out three or four
copies s-enough for his auditors thand.
ing them around amid laughter) unless
he should happen to have more audi
tors than the Senator from Mississippi
(Mr. George) had when he addressed
a., f,.,t,