.MTc4NA.MjIwMjQ

XXXV

a majority of the House shall happen to be politically opposed to a majority of the Senate, and by meeting in Convention for filling vacancies, might be thrown into a minority. These contingencies or some of them are likely to occur, if not every year, at least every few years. But the framers of the Constitution anticipated that such contingencies might, and probably would occur, and therefore did not leave it to depend for its existence on the consciences of the Members of either Branch, strongly tempted as they might be, by party considerations, to prevent an organization of the Government; but wisely inserted this life preserving provision, that "the Members of the House of Representatives, and such Senators as shall have been elected, shall elect by joint ballot the number of Senators required" - We therefore, feel entirely justified in declaring it, as our deliberate opinion, that the course pursued by the Legislature of last year in filling the vacancies in the Senate, and choosing Counsellors, was imperiously called for by the occasion, and fully justified by the spirit of the Constitution; we may also add, that in consequence of the course adopted by the presiding officer of the Senate of last year, none of the four Gentlemen, elected to fill the vacancies in that body voted in the final passage of a single Act or Resolve passed by the last Legislature; so that if it were as clear that the course pursued in filling the vacancies was unconstitutional, as we deem it clear that it was constitutional, it is apparent there are no such great and serious doubts as to the constitutionality of these Acts and Resolves, as this Bill asserts. We feel ourselves therefore, constrained to say, we believe in our consciences, this Act has been got up and carried through, not because it contains