Evening journal., 1898-03-05
ASKING SENATORS TO RESIGN.
AN INSTANCE WHERE A LEGISLA-
TRE SET A PRECEDENT FOR
KENTUCKY'S ACTION.

hEN lO0A > A0llO4N.
The Kentucky Legislature has adopt
ed a resolution calling on Senator VIM.
Lindsay. of that state, to resign his
seat in the United States Senate. 1t
1yiiftbe transmitted to the Senate and
lse laid before that body by the pre-
siding officer, and thus become a part
of its official records. In the Senate 1t
will be ordered to lie on the table and
to be printed. That will be the end of
it. The Senate can take no further
action on it. Senator Lindsay will
hardly pay any attention to it. This
is precisely what happened in 1867,
when the Legislature of Wisconsin
passed a resolution instructing Sena-
tori. H. DOOlittle, of thatstate, to resign
his seat in the Senate. The journal
of the Senate for Monday, February 4,
1867. recites the following facts:
The president pro tempOre OLafay-
cite S. Foster, of COnnecticut), pre-
sented resolutions Of the Legislature of
Wisconsin instructing Hon. James II.
DoOlittle to resign his seat in the
United States Senate.
Ordered that they lie on the table
and be printed
The wisconsin Legislature took this
action because Senator DOOlittle voted
against the submission to the state OF
the fifteenth amendment to the Con-
stitutiOn Of the United States. He paid
no attention to the resolution, Dut
served his term out
Lewis Cass, of Michigan, opposed in
the Senate the adoption of the Wilmot
provisO, in spite of instruction from the
Legislature of his state to support II.
4 ~ aasf IL irsfIHI N
conflict between his duty and his prin-
ciples he would resign his seat. In op-
posing the Wilmot proviso in the face
of instructions from the Legislature
Of his state to support it, evidently he
did not believe that any conflict be-
tween his duty and his principles had
arisen. At any rate he retained his seat
in the Senate, only resigning in 1S4S
when nominated for the presidency by
his party, and, being defeated by Cen
eral Taylor, was reelected the follow
ing Winter to fill out his own unex-
pired term, and was chosen to succeed
himself for the term extending from
1881 to 1857 finally retiring from th'
Senate to enter President Buchanan,
Cabinet as secretary of state.
An instance Of a somewhat similar
nature occurred in the congressional ca
reer of the celebrated Henry Winte
Davis. He was elected to the Thirty
sixth Congress in 1858 as Know Moth
ing. There was a long struggle owe
the election of a speaker, John Sher
man being the Republican candidate
Finally the contest was ended by tn
election of Mr.. Pennington, a Republi
can member from New Jersey. Mr.. Da
Wis voted for him, and for so dOin
was. as he expressed it on the floor O
the House, decorated with the cen
sure of the Maryland Legislature" II
declared to his constituents that if the
would not allow their Representative
to exercise his private Judgment as t
what were the best interests of tn
state you may send a slave to Con
gress. but you cannot send me"
The right exists nowhere in law {
good policy which authorizes or en-
powers a State Legislature to call upo
a duly chosen United States senator
resign. If it did the Republican Legii
lature could call on Senator Gorma
to resign, for he certainly is not rel
resenting the majority Of the people
Maryland at present as is fully demon
strated by the elections in that sta'
in 1894, '95. '96 and '97.-Baltimol
News.