The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1850-06-29

testnnts having clear majority OF the votes
of the districts. Under these circumstances
he should vote to give him the seat. These
voters had exercised their rights in what APP
peared TO them to be in conformity to law, and
he should stand up in defence of them. The
people Of Iowa had spoken and he should vote
10 respect their voice.
Mr.. VAN DYKE, before commencing his
speech, gave notice Of his intention to offer an
amendment to the resolution proposed by Mr..
SrRoNo, to declare the sitting member entitled to
his seat his substituting another to give the seat
to the contestant He regarded the taking away
Of the Kanesville poll-book to be larceny
and the individual holding the book, knowing how
il had been obtained, he conceived to be but little
better than the thief. Mr.. v. ID. then argued all
the points in the at length, (reported in pre-
vous speeches in this paper,) contending that the
contestant had been legally elected.
Mr.. BURT remarked that he had rarely listen
ed 10 an ADLER debate than this had been for the
last three days. Yet he had seldom witnessed
less attention paid on the part of the House.
This, he presumed, arose from the fact that the
members had generally carefully informed them
selves upon the question, from the reports OF the
majority and minority Of the Committee on Elec-
tons. He therefore felt at liberty to move the
previous question.
Mr.. STRONG Chairman of the Committee on
Elections) rose to claim his right under the rule
TO make the closing speech.
Mr.. VAN DYKE rising to point Of order,
held that after the previous question was moved,
the member introducing the bill was not entitled
to the benefit Of this rule.
The point Of order being oyorruled, there arose
conversational debate thereupon, participated in
by the SPEAKER, Mr.. ScHENcK, Mr.. SrEraEss,
of Georgia, Mr.. P. KING, MIR. WHIrE, MIR.
WOODWARD, Mr.. EVANS, Mr.. Richardson, Mr..
VAN DYKE, Mr.. Burt, and Mr.. EVANS, of Ma ry
land; when
Mr.. EVANS, of Maryland, remarking that the
question was new and Of great interest, took an
appeal from the decision the chair, in which he
conceded, but only in order to have the decision
or the point placed on record
The question on the appeal being put, the de-
cision of the chair was sustained; whereupon
Mr.. STRONG addressed the House from the
rostrum for an hour, summing up the case IN favor
OF the claim of the sitting member. g
Tile SPEAKER having brought the House to
order by much rapping, 49,.
Mr.. LEFFLER made few remarks to dis
claim the position which Mr.. EVANS. of Maryland,
has assigned to him, in saying that he (Mr. L.
had brought charges against Truman SMITH,
Fitz Henry Warren, and others in the course OF
his speech. '...'. ..... ..au <.
Mr.. DISNEY, then taking the floor, argued
for an hour in favor of the claim Of the sitting
member He had had twenty years experience in
such cases, and had never seen one in which the
rights of party were more clear, than were those
ofthe sitting member in this case. This Govern
ment being upheld by law, to sweep away its
statutes, State or general, would be to break it
down. The laws regulating elections were sa-
cred as my others. Ifthey could be disregardcd
in one respect, they might be dsregardcd in all
and, thus, minors and females might claim the
right TO be counted in an election in common with
voters so declared to be by the law. All election
laws were arbitrary, there being nothing in the
innate nature Of things to authorize one class to
vote, and to enforce the proprety of the exclusion
of other classes. .....
in the matter of the GAINESVILLE and Boone town
ship votes, against the proprety of the strict ell
forcement Of the Iowa election laws, strenuously
insisted that they should be regarded to Their utter
most letter, in the matter of the Boone county
vote, cast i'm under the organization Of Polk
county. They changed after this fashion in order
to strengthen the claim Of the contestant. There
was fraud on the part of the friends of the latter
from the beginning, and his case was thus tainted
throughout all its mnutie.
Even IN the investigation ordered by the House,
Orson Hyde had directed the Mormons, in reply
ing to nterrogatories put to them, to practice
fraud by refusing to disclose any thing likely to
make against the contestants claim. ID.
Mr.. d. next undertook to show that this act OF
HYDE was in keeping with his arrangement with
Warren, whose interviews and consultations with
HYDE and Pickett he explained at length. Pickett
was the only witness pretending that Kanesville
was legally competent to be attached to Monroe
county; even Hyde, as well as all others examined
at K, declaring that they knew their residence to
be six miles north Of the boundary Of Monroe
Yet knowing this fact, the minority of the Com
mittee on Elections had claimed in their report thai
Kanesvile was in Monroe.
Mr. DISNEY then reviewed the Boone township
vote, to show that the forty or fifty Mormons who
Z went from Boone township over to Dallas county
TO effect the choice Of officers for that county, never
pretended that they were residents of Dallas, oil
of territory west of that county. Thus their pur
pose was clearly fraudulent.
He defended the sitting member for his net o.
taking charge Of the Kanesville po-5ook, as being
proper under all the circumstances as he (Mr
THoMrsoN) knew well that it was the purpose o.
his opponents to perpetrate fraud, in which i
was to play an important part.
Mr.. d. secuted the idea that the judges Of thu
election in Kanesville were friends Of the sitting
member. Like Hyde and Pickett, though nomi
nally Democrats, they were connected with thu
Mormons, and had voted against Mr.. THOMPSON
He held that the action OF the Legislature o
Iowa in recognising the vote of Boone county
cact in copuex with Polk county. md in fur