The North-Carolina standard., 1845-03-26
sPEECH oF NIr. pANIEL,
OF NORTH cARoLINA,. ~ u

January 24,,1s45 -.
/ Mr., CHAIRMAN: Before / proceed to the sub
| iect before the committee must avail myself OF
this occasion to make brief reference the trans
action in the Senate of North Carolina, alluded
to by my Buneom6e colleague. The case of Mr..
Emmett has been very UNNECESSARILY and indiscreet-
ly drawn into this debate fol, party purposes As
the aspect which has been given 10 it is not war
ranted by what understand to be the facts OF the
case, conceive it to be duty which Lowe to
the Democratic Senators of North Carolina, who
have no opportunity here of vindicating them
SELVES aganstthe inputation attempted to be cast
upon them to make statement of the material
facts of the case, that it may appear IN its true
light. have the pleasure OF personal acqualnt-
ance wilh,many of the Senators, and L can say of
them, as believe may of all, hatthey are men
of high honor and great purity of character; and
it will be seen that, in this particular transaction
Eso far from meriting the censure they deservethe
recommendation of every friend TO the principles of
Representative government and popular rights, so
| little regarded blythe minions of Federalism,
The account given of the transaction by my
colleague is as follows; 81, - - ssr. '.-.c: IL
q When our Legislature, now in session, assem-
bled, there was tie between the parties In the
Senate. Each party was of course desirous OF
electine Speaker and other officers. According
TO the old and we'll settled law of the State, each
member elect was bound TO produce, before his
qualifications, the certificate of the sheriff Of his
having been elected. But one who claimed TO be
Ia Democratic Senator, was not provided with such
certificate. andthe fact became known through the
indiscretion of those friends that he consulted in
his dilemma. When the time came for the open
ing of the first day sessions this individual much
TO the surprise of his political adveTsares least,
presenteda a forged certificate in ME usual form,
was qualified as a Senator, and took his seat. 1t
was FIVE DAYS efore the body was organized by the
election of Speaker, &c. "A committee was
- Il
Ge1ce of the most conclusive character, reported
that the certificate had been forged either by the
Senator or by his procurement, and knowingly u.s.
ed by him 10 impose ON the Senate, and ecom-
mended his expulsion. The Of the Senate
was unanimous the first resolution, declaring the
certificate forgery; but upon The second, declar
ing that he ought TO be expelled, every member of
his party voted in the negative, thereby saying that
though he had committed forgery. he was not, in
their opinion, unworthy TO SIT acith Them" ..-
The committee appointed to investigate the mat
Ter, reported the following resolutions: ga5-a-
"EesoIred, That the certificate Of the Senator
from 0nslow, and by him introduced 10 the Senate
as genuine the first day of the session. is forgery.
"ReSotred That inasmuch as no evidence has
been offered before the committee 10 implicale any
other person in the transaction, that the Senator
himself has either been guilty Of the forgery, or
procured il TO be done, or was least aware ii was
not genuine, and therefore practised fraud upon
the Senate, and ought 10 be expelled.
"heS6jre0, j nat IOr tue reasons aIOCeSaIu, tue
Senator from Onslow be, and is hereby, expelled
from the Senate and his scat therein vacated"
The first resolution, as slated by my colleague,
passed unanimously; but every Democi at voted
against the second and third resolutions, which
were passed by the casting vote of the Wing
Speaker Their reasons for voting against The
resolutions have been embodied in protest aganst
their passage, drawn up with great ability, in
which the erroneous and utterly indefensbe po.
n Off AZ
and embodied in their two last resolutions, are ex
amined and exposed with a clearness and force
rarely equalled. | cannot present the merits of
the controversy in clearer lig ht and vindcale
the conduct of the Democratic Senators more sue
ccssufy, than by stating the material parts Of that
able document. -'': 3 ''. ,''-' "a
The Democratic Senators say they "protest
against the passage Of The two last resolutions be-
cause the rule of evidence which The majority of
the committee applied to his case, was laid down
in too broad, harsh, and unqualified sense; be-
cause the evidence was not correctly reported be-
cause that report, was, accompanied by an argl-
ment against Mr.. Emmett, based upon unfounded
assumption, and tended to prejudice his trial-be-
cause that report and The principle contained in
the second resolution threw upon him the burden
of establishing his own innocence because his |
counsel was denied that liberty of speech which
is indispensable to affair and i'm partial trial; and
because Mr. Ennett's account of the way he was
put in possession of the alleged spurious certif
cate and which was part Of the evidence reported
by the committee, being uncontradictcd and fully
supported blythe whole evidence sput in ON his
trial, and corroborated by unq1estoned proof of
his having the most unblemished character, form!
ed weight of: testimony which repelltd every
suspicion Of hlsgpihy connection with the spuri:
Gus certificate" = 5 = t - .' =, s'l'feo 1"t,a
L 5They then proceed to give the facts and rea
sons for their conclusions, from which dt appears
"that Ennett left hemef under, the most confident
belief and expectation of receiving his,cerhfcale
in time to- take his seat on Monday The I8thsof
November, the day aof Ehe meeting Of the begisla-
ture-that he was ~dvised, before he left home;
and after reaching Raleigh, by several members
of the Legislature that his certi6cate was not in
te his taking his seat but tha! his cox
leagues or Others would be heard to prove his
election, as had bern the practice ia other cases
That q stranger, called att his Feom on Sunday
night about eightorloek and said he had deter
fof him. bur did not make hinseH known; that
MI. Emmett asked him to walk IE114liie stranger
REPLIED he was ia hurry, handed Mi. Einelt the
letter and itnFie retired ia the dark; that
before The lette was handed AfrRhe called the
post Office for bis certificate, Wbichahes expected
toiafniye every ahonre but did not knowsVwh neither
by hand or mail ;othut the signature 10 the ceriis
cate fesemhled sihe handwriting pfleheriffi iAseriH
But Slightly, but enough to make pefsenia
quainted with II sappose II might have been writ!
ten on his knee; on the 29tt Of November, fav