Samuel Freeman Miller

“ But the substance of this act clearly repels any such inference; for it is seen that the constitution of the new State was, in one particular at least, unacceptable to Congress, and the act only admits the State into the Union when that feature shall be changed by the popular vote. ”

“ In support of the bill it was argued, among other things, that a State was incapable under the Constitution of making any contract with another State; that States might negotiate with each other, might express a mutual willingness to do the same thing, but that this was all; that Congress by the act of 1862, assenting to the admission of a State composed of but forty-eight counties, had not given its assent to a State having in it the counties of Berkeley and Jefferson; that Congress had never assented to the admission of those counties until its joint resolution of 1866 ”

“ In the further consideration of the question raised by the demurrer we shall proceed upon the ground, which we shall not stop to defend, that the right of West Virginia to jurisdiction over the counties in question, can only be maintained by a valid agreement between the two States on that subject, and that to the validity of such an agreement, the consent of Congress is essential. ”

“ It was therefore further enacted that whenever the people of West Virginia should, through their said convention, and by a vote to be taken, &c., make and ratify the change aforesaid, and properly certify the same under the hand of the president of the convention, it should be lawful for the President of the United States to issue his proclamation stating the fact, and that thereupon this act should take effect, and be in force from and after sixty days from the date of the proclamation. ”

“ Although the jurisdictional question is thus broadly stated, no objection on this point was raised, and the opinion which settled the line in dispute, delivered by Judge Catron, declares that it was the unanimous opinion of all the judges of the court. The Chief Justice must, therefore, have abandoned his dissenting doctrine in the previous case. ”

“ The stating part of the bill was largely composed of the substance of four acts of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth, already presented at large, in the statement, copies of them being made exhibits and filed with the bill. ”