Journal of the Senate of the State of Texas, Regular Session of the Forty-Sixth Legislature Page: 79
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SENAT JOURAL 7
"One of the chief functions of the
Lieutenant Governor is to preside
over the deliberations of the State
Senate. The Lieutenant Governor is
not a member of the Senate, but by
virtue of the Constitution he is Presi-
dent of the Senate, and responsible
for the enforcement of its rules and
the maintenance of order in that leg-
islative body.
"The Senate is a part of your State
Legislature. Under the Constitution
the Senate and the House of Repre-
sentatives compose the Legislature.
The concurrence of both Houses is
necessary in order to enact legisla-
tion. Your Legislature is responsive
to the will of the people so long as
the demands made upon it are not
prohibited by some provision of our
Constitution. The Constitution is
simply a contract by which the people
have retained to themselves funda-
mental rights.
"These rights can not be trans-
gressed or trespassed upon even by
the Legislature. The Constitution
prohibits the Legislature from doing
certain things. Conversely, it re-
quires them to do certain things. An
enumeration of either its prohibitions
or its demands is not within the limits
of the time afforded me on this occa-
sion. Most of its provisions are al-
ready known to the public generally.
Every student of Civics is familiar
with them.
"It is sufficient today to say that
each and every provision of the Con-
stitution is included within the scope
of the oath which I have just taken
. to preserve, protect and defend
the Constitution and laws of the
United States and of this State.
"The remaining portion of the offi-
cial oath relates to past transactions
but that portion of the oath which I
have just quoted relates to a course
of conduct in the future. It becomes
a covenant with six million citizens
of Texas that I will to the best of my
ability observe the traditions and
precepts of our organic law.
"This organic law, known as our
Constitution, is the charter of human
liberties and the compass by which
to steer the ship of State. In these
momentous times and at an hour when
we are about to set sail for another
two years of Government in obedience
to its provisions, let us soberly con-
sider the import of that obedience.
Shall its mandate be obeyed simply
because they are commandments?Or shall they be obeyed because we
love the guidance of its accumulated
wisdom.
"Our forefathers had not only
their own experience to guide theih
in establishing the ancient landmarks
but they were students of Govern-
ments which had been established
throughout the ages. They had
knowledge of the rocks upon which
former Governments had wrecked
ships of State and they strove to
avoid the hidden terrors which might
wreck this one. This is confirmed by
the words of no less an authority
than Benjamin Franklin when he
arose in the Constitutional Conven-
tion on June 28, 1787, and said: 'We
have gone back to ancient history for
models of government, and examined
the different forms of those Republics
which, having been originally formed
with the seeds of their own dissolu-
tion, now no longer exist. And we
have viewed modern States all round
Europe, but find none of their Consti-
tutions suitable for our circum-
stances.'
"Thoughtful consideration might be
given today to the views of some of
those students of Government who
have left the imprint of sturdy
thought upon the pages of history.
It is appropriate to recall the words
of Daniel Webster when he said: 'I
shall exert every faculty I possess in
aiding to prevent the Constitution
from being nullified, destroyed or im-
paired; and, even though I should see
it fall, I will still, with a voice feeble,
perhaps, but earnest as ever issued
from human lips, and with fidelity
and zeal which nothing can extin-
guish, call on the people to come to
its rescue. God grants liberty only
to those who will have it and are
always ready to guard and defend it.
I believe the power of the Executive
ought to be brought back within its
ancient constitutional limits. Good
intentions will always be pleaded for
every assumption of power. They
cannot justify it even if we are sure
that they existed.'
"George Washington, the Father
of our Country,.perhaps had the most
solid conception of representative gov-
ernment of any man of his time or
of any time. He spent seven of the
best years of his life in the battles
of war to free his countrymen from
the rigors of an oppressive govern-
ment and then aided in the establish-
.nent of a constitutional form of gov-SENATE JOURNAL
79
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Reference the current page of this Legislative Document.
Texas. Legislature. Senate. Journal of the Senate of the State of Texas, Regular Session of the Forty-Sixth Legislature, legislative document, 1939; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth145993/m1/79/: accessed May 3, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.