The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1805-01-01

ceiiaryto SiYethe pecple due notice of an eleeti-
on for representatives . Surely not.
! But, faid Mr.. CLAW, the governor has hiuCtlf
lrecognized the law in the very writ: were not
The lame officers appointed to conduit this cleo
ton as were appointed to conduct the general
election! Were not the ballots given in the flnc
manner, cou ted by the fame pcrlons, and re-
turned by the fame judges Whence did they
derive their authority but from the law and
the iaw ought to have been complied with in
every other rcipect. It is true an election was
TO be held throughout Pennsylvania for electors
Of PRECEDENT and Vice PRECEDENT the governor
aetuated 10y the moft laudabe motives, in order
to fave the county of Wahington the expence
OF fpecial election, directed that member of
Congrets ihouid be choien on the fame day 10
iili the vacancy caufed by the Resignation OF Mr..
| I1oge. But the committee would recolle6t that
| although the people knew that electors were to
| be appointed they did not, they cou d not know
| OF the intended choice OF Representative. In
Penn.ylvania, the people do not rs in fome of
the iouthern itdtes, all meet at one place in the
county TO give their votes. Now, each county
is divided into number of diitriSts in each OF
which an election is held, 10 that no perion has
more than few miles to go to the poll. The
county of Warrington is divided into Fix or
eight of thefe diftritts. The iherfs proclaEa-
ton was ihued on the iirf day of November
and the election was held on the fecond. Al
thuogh the people of the town of Warrington
| and Its immediate neighbourhood might receive
due notice, it was impoiiible that thoie VINO re-
tided and voted III the remote part of the county
! ihould. Indeed it was evident that they did
not-An election for electors was held on the
fame day. 1t was generally known that TO op-
| petition was intended, and the people were
therefore leiS anxious about the reiut. The
electors were choien by Il general ticket through
! out the Fate, the votes of any one county were
therefore deemed of comparatively little impor-
, lance; this WAS not the cafe however with re-
! preventative in CongreiS. The county of Waih-
lnston forms di.trtt for the choice of one
| member, the people Of that county not having
| the cooperation OF any other part of the fate,
| niece EARLY depended for fuccefs upon their own
vigilance and exertions. Yet what was the re-
iut the bare majority given for electors exceed
cd the whole number of votes given both for
the fitting member and for the rival candidate
1t was therefore evident that the people had not
notice fut,icient Of the congregational election.
Mr.. Z. did not mean to impeSch the motives of
the governor; on the contrary he thought them
prsiie worthy; but fubfance ought not 10 be
iacrliiced to form. The Object Of elections was
that the majority of the people might have an
opportunity of giving their fair and undated
tuhrageS, In the choice OF perlons 20 reprefent
them, and if thong any miaaken corfructions,
however pure might be the intentions of the ex-
ecutive or of the Legislature, this object was de-
Icated III III eietti0f it was :Eisuas violations
of the rights or the people and ought not to br
confirmed. This opportunity was not given in
the pretent inffance or the fitting member would
not have been returned. Conceiving this 10 be
the cafe and believing that the people HAD not
that notice which by law they ought 10 have had,
he conldcred the election void and ihoud vote
againlt the report of the committee.
M, Ti1yIlsy faid if tb1 ti,hi,.9 bafor. -;
committee OF the whole was an election law he
would cheerfully fubicribe to many of his COL
leagues MIR. C!ay's) obfervations. He admit
ted that Consrcis mad a conftitutional authority
to make laws which would preicrbe rules to
regulate the exerciie of the executive dilcrstion
in iiiuins wits to fupply vacancies, but neither
CongrefS nor the fate Legislature have made flch
laws, but left it i'll the hands of the executive
who is under an unconditional coniti-
tutional obligation to ille fuch wrts, and who
in Pennsylvania aud other fates always has
done 10, and thereturnsof elections on theie Yrits
have in all catcG p2lied the deciiion of the COM
mttees OF elections, and received the approba-
ton Of Congrefs. Therefore, as he had faid be-
fore, the quelt;on turned more properly on the
difcrcet proper ute of the executive difcretion
than the right of exerciling If.
in ofcsT 10 1To+e ts.:!a: Tie governor i; Che
cafe before us had acted indilcreetly, Mr. y. fs;d
nS CciiStSoS 'Asit COiSifS NOW uilIGdlCNaDIC II
would have been for the governortohave IGueda
writ with fuch !hort notice to a di9riA which he
had named, & which conlias of three counties s,
f-nds two members. The petitioners them
fe!ves argue from the extent of the AlIeehaDv
diltriGts which contains counties thinlv fei
tied, and is fpread over an extent of territory
larger than ion,e whole Rates. He thought it
UNFAIR to argue, that becauf. the governor gave
fuch ihort notice to the leaf extenive and leaf
numerous diitri6t in the Fate, diftrid conflt
ing of one thickiy fettled county, and which
had representative for lefs than 80, 1000 inha-
bitants, and to correipOnd with another very
important general election, the day on which il
was to be held had been 70 long proclaimed
that every man knewit, to charge the governor
with indiicretion equal to what it would have
been, had he given our the fame notice to the
mott extenhye and diiperfedly fettled diltrids
at time when no general election made il the
duty of the citizens to be prcfent OF the election
ground, was improper. AS it was the govern
or's conduct, and That only, that was called in
queltion in this cafe, il was proper to obferye
that though his colleague was jufti6ed in fay
ing they had but one days official notice, vet
i'll fact they had had part of two other DAYS,
and the writ having laid one day open in the
Prothona.ory's Office, as was rndertood before
/ il was proclaimed, through the abfence OF the
iherif, was not the fault of the governor. If
the governor had done wrong he did not with
I to extenuate his offence, but he thought it i'm