Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1910-07-15


Again Others allow the Legislature TO
formulate ameudm-nts to - Submitted
to the people SEPARATELY, aud these t.
come a part of the Constitution If
adopted by the REQUISITE vote.
The work Of the commission la pre-
I'ariug for pre~eutmeut To the next ses-
sion of the General Assembly proposals |
Vermont, Was tot intended ia the miUd, I
of its members to extend to a general |
revision of the constitution, which the
commission verv PsoPerly saws Is the
function either of constitutional con-
vention or of general commission of
representative character.
If proposal number oue, eliminating
the time lock clause, is adopted aud the
power of initiative in respect of amend
ment at any session is preserved, every
new amendment will of necessity re-
ceive free, full and open discussion.
Proposal number two deals with the
veto power of the governor. 1t requires
substantially that two-thirds of the
members present in each house shall
pass bill upon reconsideration after
disspproval by the governor before it
can become a law. 1t has been held
generally throughout the country that
so far as the approval or disapproval OF
bills is concerned, the governor is COM
ponent part of the Legislature. This
has been. the Vermont doctrine, but the
constitution as it stands has in large
measure weakened and rendered iueffect-
i've the veto power of the governor, by
providing that bare majority may pass
bill over his veto. 1t is interesting to
note that, although this doctrine was
borrowed from England, it is now prac-
, tically obsolete in Great Britain. There
the ministry must theoretically, always
1 |
mons except where it assumes to dis
solve Parliament When any BILL there
fore, has passed both houses, it stands
= approved automatically by the king.
Proposal three, having to do with a
. change in the time of the biennial meet
ing of the General Assembly to the hrst
Wednesday next after the first Monday
in January change in the day o
{ election of state officers to the first Tues
e day of November; change in the tim'
r when various official terms are to oegin
, seems reasonable enough Such chang
a would be uniform with the practice il
1 nearly all other states, and would saw
= the state the expense and general busi
n less disruption attendant upon havini
two elections the same Autumn.
:. Proposal four aims at doing away wit
the possibility of diIatory tactics on tn
n part of single member OF the Legis
N lature who, as the constitution nos
Al stands, can hold up legislative bushes
% unreasonably by the simple expedien
2 of calling for yeas and nays. The pre-
:. posed amendment would fix the leas
number in the House who may call fo
As yeas and nays at 10; in the Senate at !.
q. Proposal FIVE seeks to bring order on
In of chaos in which the matter of pardo
- and Communication of sentence no
,e stands. 1t is no part of the governor
n prerogative to extend mercy by way {
a. pardon out of hand to a person foun
guilty Of murder in the first degree, bn
AZ it seems, he may only reprieve. Exec
!. tive clemeney has been usurped by ii
70 Legislature by inference. The languag
n. of the proposal is "No person ought
any case, or in any time to be declare
I'd guilty of treason or felony, by the LIE
IT, islature, nor to have his sentence, upo
n. conviction for felony, committed, remi
g. ted or mitigated by the Legislature. Ar
n. that section Il of chapter 2 be amende
a. by emitting the words sand murde
where they occur therein.
mr. To confer upon the Legislature Il
IN functions of trial court in Grimm
a cases is retrogression too fragrant
;, endure. 1t has been suggested tn
IN such action by the Legislature, is in Il
nature of bill of attainder, prohibitt
by the federal constitution.
,,s A reminder of the ameliorative i
fuences of such bills is found in the i
stance afforded by the great attaind
act passed by Parliament in 1858, in h
- time of james II, when between 20'
and 5000 persons were attainted, the
nd property confiscat+d and themselves Sc
lat fenced to death if they failed to appe
ra- at certain time, and this list OF pt
he sons, SO prescribed, was kept secret u
DIV til after the time set for the appearance
BLOOMFIELD
Hermon Cooper has returned fro