Year: 1859

DOO IN U. The Fort Smith Herald and its Helena ally, are hard up to prove that the legisla- ture was in session when the members were at home. They now say that while it was not, in point of fact, yet 1t was legally.- They are great sticklers for legality. Be- fore they fell back upon the legal excuse, they tried to make two or three points, First they denied the power of the Gov ernor.

 The constitution says:

 "In case of disagreement between the two houses with respect to the time of ad- iournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper, not beyond the day of the next meeting of the General Assembly,"

 The disagreement, it is to be seen, is to be between the two houses and not between the members. This fact was certified to the Governor; members of the legislature and legal advisers were consulted, and the legislature adjourned for the shortest prac ticable time. So far then that dodge would not do

 Next, Speaker Oates was the man to blame. He had voted to give members leave of absence. Unfortunately for this assertion, the leave was generally, if not in every case, granted by putting the ques- tion to. the House and not upon count or call of the ayes and noes, and in such cases the speaker did not vote

 The next point was that 1t was all one session and Mir. Duval certified accounts to legalize the acts of the legislature The Senate did not draw per diem for the re- cess and some of the members of the House refused to take it. Now if it was necessa- ry to take the money to legalize their acts, the acts of the senate are illegal and of the House legal only in part.

 Another dodge is, that the legislature is equal to the executive and therefore the Governor had no right to fix day for their reassembling. Unfortunately the clause in the constitution quoted above stares them in the face

 Still another attempt at argument IS, that less than quorum could send for ab sentees. Send who? The doorkeeper. By the time he travelled 300 miles, and brought up one truant, another would have gone. A very economical idea, to say the least of it, to have doorkeeper travelling all over the State, at its expense, hunting up estray legislators. A nice time those who remained here would have had. Noth- ing to do and four dollars a day.

 These positions being untenable, they fall back on the legality of the act. They sturdily assert that they had a right to pocket the per diem pay for and during the time of the recess. They had the power and some did it, but its legality is an open question.

 We do not wish to be misunderstood on the subject; we expect to be misrepreseted, but say here that we believed at the time, and do now, that the whole thing was brought about by men who knew that they were wrong but who were so opposed to Governor Conway, that they sought to get men to place themselves in opposition to him. To do this, they enlisted the Ga zette and commenced with sophistry and pleadings, until they succeeded in getting a majority to commit the error. We do not indorse all the harsh things said by others On this subject. We believe good men were led into it. This was not imbe- ciity but their placing too much confidence in the assertions of demagogues. They are not deserving the hard names they have been called, because they were deceived by others Those who brought this state of things about-who begged, argued, expos tuated and coaxed, they should bear the odium and their lodging is evidence that the blows are hitting the real offenders They have abandoned all their pleas but that of the legal right. Not one of them attempts to defend 1t on the score of moral right. The people, who are to decide this matter, will care very little about the con- struction of law, but will ask if it was right.-if it was honest?-if it was or was not taking pay for services not rendered?