" In the execution
of this trust, the council were necessarily led to a comparison of both
the legislative and executive proceedings, with the constitutional
powers of these departments; and from the facts enumerated, and to the
truth of most of which both sides in the council subscribed, it appears
that the constitution had been flagrantly violated by the legislature in
a variety of important instances.
A great number of laws had been passed, violating, without any apparent
necessity, the rule requiring that all bills of a public nature shall be
previously printed for the consideration of the people; although this is
one of the precautions chiefly relied on by the constitution against
improper acts of legislature.
The constitutional trial by jury had been violated, and powers assumed
which had not been delegated by the constitution.
Executive powers had been usurped.
The salaries of the judges, which the constitution expressly requires to
be fixed, had been occasionally varied; and cases belonging to the
judiciary department frequently drawn within legislative cognizance and
determination.
Those who wish to see the several particulars falling under each of
these heads, may consult the journals of the council, which are in
print.
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