The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-04-22
SUNDAY, APRIL %, 1900.
THE CONVENTION AND THE PEG
wnort News Herald SAYS:

The Newport News Herald says:
! The Herald was under the impression
that the present constitution expressly
declares that a new constitution shall De
passed upon by a. vote of the people be-
fore 1t can become operative. We ind,
however, that the constitution is not SO
plain on this point.
If the constitution of Virginia contained
any such provision as that indicated by
our Newport News contemporary, 1t
would be of no practical effect. True. the
constitution provides that all amend
ments thereto shall be submitted to the
people for ratification or rejection, but
when it comes to holding constitutional
convention the case is quite different No
provision Of the constitution now in force
could bind the action Of a constitutional
convention, for a constitutional conven-
1ion has the power to wipe out any part
of the existing constitution, or the whole
constitution, and write anew the organic
Law of the State.
There have been differences from the
beginning as to the de jure powers OF q
constitutional convention, but there can
be no question, ii seems to us, as to the
de facto powers of such body. In the
Virginia convention of 1929 the question
arose as TO the power OF the convention
TO disregard positive instructions of the
Legislature TO submit its work to the
people, and in point Of fact the new con-
stftution, which was finally formulated
by the convention. was submitted to the
people and ratified. John Randolph, wko
was a delegate. went SO far as TO say:
Sir, we have been called as counsel to
the pcople-as State physicians to pro-
pose remedies for the States diseases.
not 10 pass any act which shall have in
itself any binding force Many of the
statesmen of old took this same view, that
u constitutional convention was a collec-
ton of delegates appointed by the sover-
eign through the agency of one or more
branches Of the existing government, TO
perform certain determinate duties in re-
lation TO the formation or revision of the
fundamental law, and that it was their
function not 10 enact, but simply to re-
commend constitutional changes. But
others have taken the ground that a con-
stitutional convention is strictly repre-
tentative body acting for and in the name
of the sovereign and possesses. by actual
transfer of all the powers inherent in that
Boyercigi,. limited only by the constitution
of the United States
In the Illinois convention Of 1s47 one
of the delegates said that he had voted
md that he would continue to vote
aEainst amy and every proposition which
would recognize any restriction of the
powers of the convention. I'VE are" he
went on, 1.-THE sovereignty of the State. We
IRE what the people OF the State would
be il they We're congregated here in one
rrass-meeting. We are what Louis XIV.
said he was. we are the State. We can
frample the constitution under our feet
as waste paper, and no one can call us
TO account. save the people, In other
words, I'VE are restrained by nothing save
the constitution of the United States. We
may snap our fingers at the Legislature.
at the Governor or ct the Court Of Ap-
peais. at every institution Of State gov
ernment- We may be called to account
Hereafter. but for the time we are sover-
cign and We may make new constitu-
tion and establish 1t without submitting
Dur work TO the people for ratification.
One of the first things that the Virginia
convention OF 1929 did was to take UP the
Bin OF Rights. our Magma charta. and
the committee to which 1t was referred
naively reported TO the convention subse-
quently that it saw no reason to make
any changes In that noble old document.
and so 1t was by resolution incorporated
into the new constitution But 1t is ap-
parent that. had II chosen 10 do So the
convention could have torn the Kli
OF Ragnts to tatters and thrown the frng-
ments TO the winds. The people may in
sstruc1 their delegates TO tale convention
TO refer TO the people the constitution
which they shall frame, but NC know not
how the Delegates can be compelled TO
obey instructions iss5s
= - Tor these rcaSoux taaa4 The Times