The news & observer., 1901-02-24
VOTE OF THE HOUSE
ON THE RESOLUTION
Continued from First Page.l

search all history; you may read the his
tory of all the judges who presided over
the courts of English speaking people
go search the bloody record of Jcffries,
read the trial of the seven Bishops, eX-
anime the records of all the judges that
have presided over the country from then
until now, and in all the history Of the
Jurisprudence, you will find that never
have judges been guilty of such usurpa-
tion to destroy a coordinate branch Of
the Government. (Applause).
''1n 1898 a terrible state of affairs ex-
listed in North Carolina. 1t was a state
of affairs that brought shame and humili-
alton to every man and woman in the
State who was proud of our past record
and gloried in our past history. That
serpent that had crept in secrecy and
filth and slime for thirty years in this
commonwealth. in 1897 and 1895 raised
for the first time its head in this capitol,
and licked out its forked tongue of fire
and poison and ruin. prolonged APP
pIause). The East was under it's domin-
ion and the West did not escape 1t poll
luted and disgraced every public institu-
tion OF this State (Applause). The peo
pie of North Carolina were aroused: not
only the men but the women also They
we're determined to come to her defence
and take possession of the State OF our
fathers, and preserve the heritage which
they bequeathed to u.s.
"There was a great social and political
revolution in North Carolina. The Gen
cral Assembly of North Carolina came to
this capitol in 1899 with a great mission
They came here with the great command
of the people; they came here, if you
please. to right this wrong; to drive these
rascals out and keep them out. They
came to clean out this Augean stable.
daughter and applause) They cleaned
ii out / thank my young talented young
friend from the county of Franklin for his
euIogy on that Legislature They clean,
ed IL out according 20 the Constitution
and according to the written law OF this
land. (AppIause).
THE POLITICAL DECISIONS.
IL shuddered when my friend from Mar
tin said that they passed these laws in
sutyersion of law and to override the
law | can see how the gentleman from
Madison can say that or the gentleman
from Stokes. I can remember how on
this floor, he (Stubbs) stood here ana
voted for these laws, and now says that
the laws were intended to subvert the
Constitution (Applause) The Legisla-
furc OF 1899, after performing IT'S great
and arduous duty. adjourned and left this
capitol. We left with forebodyings OF
alarm. We left with feelings that our
work might be updone. because we knew
the political education and the feeling
cf the men who controlled another CO.
ordinate branch of the Government No
sooner had we adjourned and gone home
than the Supreme court of North Caro-.
lima, in violation Of the prerogative con-
ferrod on them by the Constitution. began
o systematic, continuous and determined
attack upon tho work of the General AS
seFublv of '9S. Ny distinguished friend
from Aleeklenburg said. that when the de-
ci5iou in the Day case was rendered II
shocked his moral conscience. 1t shocked
the moral conscience of every lawyer and
every man IN North Carolina. Gap
pIauae). 1t was an admitted power OF
the General Assembly of North Carolina
10 abolish an office. That was decided
expressly in Hoke VS. Henderson; bui
when the Day case was decided by that
court it established the unheard of doc
trine that no office could be destroyed
until the term was out. They held that
Day was not only entitled to the office.
and to the emoluments thereof. but that
he was entitled to the duties of the office,
and until it's duties ceased. the office
could not be abolished OF course the du-
tics cannot be abolished as long as the
government stands. This is in the case of
Hoke VS.. Henderson The Day case was
the first. Every man in the State who had
tried TO keep back the social and political
revolution: every man who had stood in
defiance of the will of the people, the
great people of this State sent UP shout
of triumph and from those who had
over-ridden North Carolina and ruined
her and brought her to degradation, there
went UP shout OF triumph because they
knew that this was the beginning of the
work OF destruction, that these judges
had the power and would exercise. that
power ~Gagrantly and deflantly.
HOW PLEDGES WERE KEPT.
I'VE effected the great reformation and
went home. Within six months there was
scarcely an act of that great body left: q
few stock laws, SOME bills to protect fish
III Hanging Dog Creek Qaughter), few
dispensary bills and acts of incorporation.
tArpIause1. But the great reforms which
We promised the people to carry out and
which we did carry out were destroyed,
What became of these? They were
trampled down and ignored amid the
SCOTS and jeers of the men who had stood
In the way of the social moral and poll
tical progress of this State. This court
wiped out the law and scoffed at the law
maker. There was one great act that
was left standing. Yes, we went before
our constituents and promised these re-
forms to the people, and we complied
with our promise. (Applause). But il
the Supreme court is right we We're
wrong, and we came here under false pre-
lenses, and the Legislature of 1899 was a
sham and a delusion and fraud. There
was one law that they did not abolish; !
believe there was only one act Of politi-
cal import OF the General Assembly that
was not abolished; that was the Election
Law. How did we prevent that? Gentle
men of this House tell us that the court
did not intend to do wrong; that it did
not intend to abolish the law and ignore
the General Assembly and trample on the
Constitution. There is not a man in
North Carolina that does not know bet
ter. We all know it: we feel it in our
conscionees. (Applause).
This one law was not abolished, and II
was not abolished because the Legislature
did not adjourn This General Assembly