Marshall County Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1855-1859, 1856-02-28
Gov. Readers Protest,

OUV. hccUcl 1IUCCSIs
The following is an official copy cf Gov.
Reeder's protest against the admission of
Gen. Whitfield as delegate from Kansas to
the House of Representatives at Washing
ton:
ITO tie Honorable the House of Repre-
sentatives Of the United States:
:. The memorial of the undersigned, on
behalf of the qualified voters of the Terri
tory of Kansas, and in his capacity of rep
rescntativeof said voters, as hereinafter sta
ted, respectfully represents: That he claims
to be entitled to represent the said Terrific
~ in the Thirty Fourth Congress as Con-
grcssional Delegate, to the exclusion and
in lieu of Hon. j. w. Whitfield, the sitting
Delegate, upon the following state of facts:
The said j. W. Whitfield, as your memo
rialist is informed, claims to have been cleo
ted at 4 pretended election held on the first
day of October last in said Territory, which
said pretended election your memorialist
contends and purposes to show was abso-
lutely void. being without any valid law, or
the will the people or qualified voters, to
authorize or support it.
THAT the law under hich said pretend
ed election was held emanated from leo
islaiive assembly which the peoplc and
qualified voters of said Territory protest
and declare, through your memorial st,
were not elected by them, but imposed up
on them by the force of superior non-resi-
dents, who could pass no law that would be
binding on them, and whose election and
action should not be sanctioned or recor-
nized by this House, because they are ut
tcrlv inconsistent with the idea of republi-
can government, destructive of the plainest
and most undeniable civil and political
rights.
THAT the said supposed election law
was entirely nugatory and of 10 effect. be-
cause passed at an illegal and unauthorized
place, where no valid Legislation could be
had, and was void in itself and on its face,
as containing provisions directly and mate
rally violate of the act of Congress to or
ganize the said Territory.
THAT said pretended election was not
conducted even according to the forms and
mode prescribed by the supposed law
which purported to authorize it.
THAT many hundreds of illegal votes
were poiled at said pretended election by
non-residents and others.
Aud your mcmorialist excuses himself
for the want of specifications under the two
objections last above stated, by reason that
he has been unable to obtain from the Ex-
ecutive Office in said Territory the necessa-
" information, or any copies ofthe returns
of said election; that after several applica-
t'ous to the Secretary of the Territory for
certified copies of papers in his Office had
been neglected and evaded, the said Secre-
tary finally gave a positive refusal TO fur
nish the copies demanded; ahd, for further
reason, that the said Secretary of the Ter
ritory has withheld the copies Of Executive
minutes for the year 1855. although the
laws require him to furnish them semi
annually to the President of the United
States, which said copies, had they been
forwarded, might have furnished the ncccs-
sary information to your memorialist.
"And your memorialist further states
that he was duly elected bya large ma ioritv
of the legal voters of the said Territory To
the said Office of Delegate at an election
held on the 9th day of Octt Der, which he
proposes 10 show was the only valil cleo
ton held in the Territory for tina, pur-
pose. y. ii. REEDER.
Washington, Feb. ~, 1855.