The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-06-23

the prescribing by law. When you
 begin to give the particulars of how
 the laws shall be executed, and what
 shall be done in detail. in Constitution
 making, you always run the risk of
 going apart from the legitimate office
 of the Constitution and descendipg in-
 to the domains of simple legislation.
 There Is a well defined distinction be-
 tween the two, the ofiice of . consu- i tutional provision and the office of | legislative enactment The Constitution has finished it's offiee, when it declares
 and deines the frame of Government | and the general principles of that Gov | ernment, and sets out and secures the
 personal liberties of the people. It is
 the offlce of regulation to go into de- | tails, but not of Constitution. and 1t ! against the danger. We put Into this | Constitution. in the first Article that | Is passed upon by this Convention the l dangerous precedent of permitting this | Constitutional Convention to so into | the domain of legtslation, instead of keeping in the bounds of what iegit- imately comes within the purview of the Constitution And, MT. President,
 we might go on sd infinitun with req sons why this change should not be made in our present Constitution, but will not pursue the subject further. And inasmuch as we must choose be- tween what appears to be the evil of l the substitute and that of the Section as reported by the Committee, I for
 one shall vote for the substitute offered | by tn? gentleman from Sumter, ai- though, If I had a chance to vote It down. so as not to leave worse one before us, perhaps I would object to both of ttem.
 Mir. Duke-This convention has been | listening for nearly two days to the | able arguments on this subject, and 1t | appears to me that a majority of the orators have spoken on 1t, if not all of them, and l think this convention is | sufficiently enlightened on the subject, and I do not believe, Mir. President, that there is any one in this conven- l tion now So eloquent and so logical as | to be able to change the vote of any | delegate upon this floor. think every | delegate has made up his mind as to
 how he will vote on this question, and | I do not see any reason for protracting this debate. at the cost of a thousand dollars a day, when there Is no good | to come of 1t. I therefore move the previous question.
 Mr. Rogers (Sumter)-As the mover
 of this resolution, under the rules of
 procedure of this body, have the right
 to close.
 Mir. Duke-After the question is put | to the House.
 The President pro tem-The Chair comedies the right of the gentleman to close. but the previous question has been called; Is the call for the previous | question sustained?
 The requisite number rising, the main | question was ordered.
 MT. Rogers (Sumter)-I desire to yield
 the time allotted to me, to Judge Rob
 inson of Chambers to close this debate. Mir. Robinson (Chambers)-I have
 listened carefully and attentitively to
 the able. long and prolonged argument of the gentleman from Montgomery, giving hls construction of this section
 of the Article reported by the Com mittee on Executive Department, and | every step he took was along preci- pice that was dangerous to the peace
 and prosperity of the State of Ala bama.
 Now. he comedies himself, that this | is a Returning Board, but a very small
 returning board. Now, MT. President. will ask the delegates to this con l vention who is to construe that section. the member from Montgomery, or the
 joint convention that sits and before
 which this vote is counted. Possibly the member from Montgomery will not
 be present Possibly he may not be &
 member of that joint convention, and | if there are differences of opinion in
 this body. and if there are some of us
 that construe 1t to mean that the door
 Is open, why may not that joint con- vention construe that the door Is open to have a judicial investigation of the
 matter.
 Now, MT. President. he comedies that this joint convention acts judi cially, to a limited extent What is q
 judicial tribunal? It is a tribunal that
 has the power to hear and to deter
 mine. If 1t has the power to hear and
 determine. 1t has the power to hear
 and determine the whole case, and that
 convention is the body that construes
 it and acts upon it. Now what do we have here. We have the same body
 that has a judicial investigation to es- | tablish a prirna facie right, and If a
 contest is inaugurated, we have the
 same judicial tribunal to try over the
 same case, and make the final de-
 cision. Now isn't that so. Now they
 would probably say. why go into these
 two judicial determinations on this question.
 MT. President the object of that pro-
 vision under the constitution of this
 State, and the constitution of the United States and of all of the States, is that the Speaker shall stand there as q simple machine. What power has the Joint convention under the old con- stitution7 Simply to be present and hear. Now that power is delegated to the Speaker, because there is no other State officer who can take those re- turns and count them up and declare the result. Why? Because they are all elected at the same time. Every State officer is elected at the same l time. except the judges of the Supreme | Court, who possibly have two years longer sometimes. but the next time i they are elected at the same time, and | then there Is no machinery at all by | which you can say, you must meet and open these returns and declare the re-
 Mr. President. this is dangerous. be- cause tie danger win only rise when there Is a close contest between two parties That is the question that the General Assembly will be divided on politically as the two candidates for Governor are divided politically Let us look at the practical results. and | illustrate how this will operate. The Speaker opens the rturns, and gen. | tleman objects; ke objects on the | ground that 1t Is a fraudulent return, | that the officers did not sign 1t. That Is a question to be determined by this court that this committee has estab- | llshed. What will they do. Hear the | testimony of one witness? No, Mir. | President. they will hear the testimo- | ny of all witnesses, and arrive at the | fact is that a fraud is that a forgery, |