The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1838-12-25
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TUESDAY DECEMBER25, 1888.
THE PENNSYLVANIA RIOTS.

HE EENNS 1LV AVA NV
We wish to call The attention of our readers to
the important considerations connected with this
unhappy controversy. For ought know, it
may turn out that the Wing members from Phia-
delphia County are not legally elected, and that
The Van Buren, claimingi seats may be EMIT
led to them; and a matter of course, that Mr.
Ma, Tor and not Ingersoll is entitled to his seat
Congress. For ought we know, the Wing Judges
Of elections in the above named County may have
acted frauduIouly in returning the Wing members
to the Legislature as did the Van Bmen Judges in
returning Ing.rsoll to Congress OEthese questions
the house Of Representatives of Pennsy 'Vania in
one case and the house of Representatives in Con
gress in the other are the competent anu constl-
tutional tribunals TO decide.
But the consideration which wish to urge
and fix in the minds of readers is the fact, that
the mob no have taken forcibIe possess of the
Senate chaabe and expelled the Senate of Penn
sylvana from their seats, is composed exclusively
of the Van Buren, party, and upheld and JUST.
fed by the administration papers throughout the
country 1t is not pretended ,ha, the Wings have
had any thing to do with disturbing the proceedings
OF the Assembly. But the MOI, dignifed by the
" B. papers with the appeiIaon Of the "peopIe,"
is described as expressing Its indignation against
|
the Secretary of State and sundry other Wing oE
icers, whom they alege have legal right
to their seats, or have transcribed their powers in
some official acts.
The several Legislative bodies are made judges
of the election of their members by the Cons,itu.
ton of the United States, and by those of The
cral States, bnt W nere in these instruments is it
provided that the people shall assemble and drive
! from the halls of Legislation the Representatives
who claim to be elected E-'-'''s'' Ill., A>o,~nn.
and where will 1t end? IF the Van Buren, mob of
Pennsy vania may assemble for The purpose of DIS
persng the Legislature, and their papers generally
uphold and countenance the proceedings, where is
the guaranty that mob of the same party will not
on the Cd Tuesday of October next assemble at
Montpelier and expe from the Legislative halls the
General Assembly of Vermont? Are editors who
councnance the proceedings of the mob at Harris
burgh aware of the tendency of such riotous
semblages? Call them by what name will
applaud them tho sovereign people, denounce
/ them as the mob-a must admit that their pro.
ceedings have not the sanction of law. They
an asseublage Of politicians, who have met from
Phladelphi and other counties for concerted ac-
,on-for preventing, by force, the organization of
the house of Representatives unless it is effected
in the manner they shall dictate. Their objec,
can only be attained by crushing the civil power
and substituting the reign of anarchy.
If ever there where patriotism and
love of country and regard to law combined to de-
mand of the conductors of the public press their
united Reproduction of measures tending to anarchy,
civil and revolution, this is clearly one. Here
the true patriot, if found in the Van Buren, ranks,
will evince the sincerity of his love Of his country
by condemning in his party that which is fraugh:
with his counry's run and which, if not checked,
and put down, will tell upon the page Of history
the demon spirit which numbered and finished the
days of our happy Republic.
Since the foregoing was written have intel
ligence from tlarrisburgh of the dispersion of the
insurrectionists, and Of Il more pacific state of af
fairs, so that the presence of an armed force was
deemed unnece sary. This affair shows the ne
cessity of an organized militia.