The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer

THE PENITENTIARY CASE.
The 8th and 9th Sections of Article 7 of the Constitution a Political Excrescence, and Declared Void by the Court of Appeals.

The Legislature, backed by the Court of Appeals, have rendered nugatory and void the 8th and 9th sections of article 7 of the Constitution. The appointment of the Secretary of State, having been otherwise provided for in the body of the Constitution, the 8th section, which reads "The Governor shall nominate, and by and with the consent of the Senate (a majority of all the Senators elected concurring by yeas and nays), appoint all officers whose offices are established by the Constitution, or shall be created by law, and whose election or appointment is not otherwise provided for; and no such officer shall be elected or appointed by the Legislature," is now declared a dead letter, or political fungus, and of no binding validity whatever. Will some member of the Legislature, or the Court of Appeals inform the public what this 8th section was incorporated in the Constitution for? It performs no office, and will never have any to perform in the present composition of the Legislature, or under the rulings of the present Court of Appeals. That court has decided that the Legislature may, under 8th section and 4th article create offices, and "designate the agent or person who may fill them." If it had said the agent composed of the Governor and Senate shall fill them, or the people by election shall fill them, then all would have agreed but that Court, carrying out the behests of the Legislature, took good care not to say so, but to decide that the Legislature might appoint a Board of Public Works, a corporation unknown to the Constitution, composed of partisans who should make all appointments to office. The plain meaning of the two 8th sections of articles 4 and 7 of the Constitution is, that there are but two modes known to the Constitution for filling office, one by election by the people, the other by appointment by the Governor by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and there is no third way of filling office. The Board of Public Works plan, as now provided by act of the Legislature and backed up by the judgment of the Court of Appeals, is a shameful and wilful violation of the Constitution, concocted by designing politicians, not only to strip the Governor of his rightful authority, and deceive an honest and forgiving people just emerged from the horrors and disasters of civil war, but to perpetuate power and rule in their own hands. But thanks be to the fountains of all political power, the people have informed themselves, and they will not accept the apology of a partisan Court, for a corrupt and lawless Legislature. It is now plain to all sagacious minds, that the decision in the Penitentiary case was prejudged. It is a most remarkable coincidence, that the Ring politicians, the Legislature, the counsel for Bridges and the Court of Appeals, all make the same war on Governor Jacob's veto message of the bill authorizing the Board of Public Works to make appointments of public officers. It looks as if there was a conspiracy to strike down an honest man, who had thrown himself in the way of violations of the Constitution, and between thieves and the public treasury. This was, and is his great offense. In a Republican government, there is still a higher court than a partisan Ring Court. The people have reserved the right to review the acts and conduct of their public officials. A severer and more rigid scrutiny than ever before, is instituted, and our word for it, the indignity and contempt of an honest people are now such for the Legislature and Court of Appeals of the State, that could their re-election come off to-day, such a rebuke would be given them as would forever politically damn them.

The decision pronounced in the Penitentiary case by the Court of Appeals of the State is not only weak and superficial, but is an attempted fraud upon an honest people, which they will at the next election of two members of their body unveil and expose.

O. P. L.