The Kansas herald of freedom., 1855-07-21
Minority Report
On contested seats an the House of Rep
resentotiess IF X. Z.

y
The minority of your committee ap-
pointed by this House, for the purpose OF
examining credentials, beg leave to pre-
sent the following repori in the form OF
a protest.
The government of Kansas Territory,
in the opinion of your committee, is an
official and progressive one, or in other
words, it is a government whose success
siye steps of progression are dependant
on official action. Congress passes a
law, designating the President and Sen
ate, as the means to appoint Governor,
and the Governor when thus appointed
becomes the organizing authority from
which the Legislative body eraaBates.-
Congress, through the Governor, organ
izes territorial government.
In Sec. % of the organic act, it de-
clares thar he shall, not that he may, but
that he shall commission all officers in
The Territory, who shall be appointed to
Office under the laws Of the Territory.
In Sec~22of the act, the steps to be
pursued by the Executive are definitely
pointed out. He is to take the census,
order an election, appointthe time, place,
and manner of holding such elections.
Il gives him the power TO appoint the per-
sons who shall supeTintend the election
and also makes him the sole judge of the
returns wien made by them The law
requires tle certificate &C election TO be
given to those persons having the highest
humber Of legal votes, and makes him .he
deciding power.
In Sec. GO Of TIE law, the Governor is
specifically ard definitely instructed how
to Judge Of legal voters He is to allow
white men Fl years of-age, and those
men are 70 be actual residents no others
are . be REGARDED as legal voters.
Taking this view, which appears to be
tie obvious meaning OF the law, your
committee would beg leave TO enter this
protest TO the majority report, for the fol-
lowing reasons, viz: The Governor in
whom the organizing power is vested,
has i'll accordance with his INSTRUCTIONS,
specifically pointed out in the organic act,
declared BY giving certificates of election
10 Philip p Fowler, Erastus D. Ladd,
John Hutchinson, of the 1st District,
Augustus Wattles, and William JeSsee oi
the Cd District, Cyrus X Holiday of the
81 District, and a J. Baker OF the 9th
District, that they are duly elected mem
bers of this house, and that those per-
sons who have not received certificates
of election from TIE Governor are not
members of this House.
cannot agree that this body has the
right 10 go behind tie decision of the
Executive, wLo, according to the law, is
made the deciding power, and decide on
tie legally of TIE election of the first
legislature in Kansas; for the obvious
reason, that the organic act makes him
the sole Judge of the election. The law
makes the executive tie channelto to, and
the organizing means of this body. TO
assume the contrary proposition, is to as
sert that this Legislative body exists be-
fore it is possible for it 10 have legal
existence.
Whatever latitude may be taken in
State Governments, with reference to con-
tested elections, they can form no preee-
dent for us, for the plain reason, that
while their governments are formed AMI
complete, ours is in forming state, and
therefore incomplete.
In the second place, from the evidence
before the committee, great deficiencies
appear not in the form of conducting the
elections, but in the manner of holding
them, both as to tie qualifications of
Judges and returns mia le out by them.
In some cases there is no evidence that
the judges were either sworn' or that
they regarded the common forms Of pro-
cedure in such cases, and in other in
stances they actually presumed to change
the laW by striking out the words "actual
residents - illegal voters and inserting
such words in their place in the returns,
as best suited their convenience, 1t is
also further evident, by comparing the
census just taken, with the number OF
votes polled at the election, and making
all the allowance which extraYagance
would suggest, that a great many more
votes were actually polled than there
were actual resident voters belonging to
such districts.
No doubt but these Illegal proceedings
induced the Governor to withhold certif-
cates of election from some, who from
the number of votes returned in their
favor, might, at the same time. appear TO
have been elected, and caused him to
give certificates of election to the gentle
men who appeared before us with their
certificates.
With reference to the right of the
Governor to order new election; the
organizing object to be accomplished ;
the obvious intention ofCongress, which
peryades the whole bill, together with the
implied and express language of the law,
declaring that where "a vacancy shall
otherwise occur, he shall order a new
election - make it perfectly clear that he
possessed the right To order such an eiec-
ton. Hence the conclusion that mem
bars holding their seats by virtue of that
election. have clear right TO their seats
in this House.
With these facts before me and my
cath TO support the organic act of this
Territory, to support me, | feel compell-
ed to wholly dissent from and protest to
the majority report of the committee.
appointed by tins House on contested
elections and we would further respect
fully request this body to extend time to
those members holding the Governor
certificate of election, in order to enable
them to procure additional eyidence, 10
substantiate their claims, and we would
also request this protest to be entered on
the Journal OF this House.
Sd. HOUSTON. Com.
JCLY 4th, 1855.
/ Rg l repeatit it, sir, l never can. and