The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1856-02-09

Ia pOpuIdtIOu VI AOO udU pOLCu q FOCc VI Ofel
400. His remarks were listened to through
out with marked attention; and theyH wefs
to the point and conclusive. He was fol
lowed by
Mr. Flandreau, who felt that it was his
duty to make few remarks in support o
the report of the minority of the committee
1t was evident to him that a great wrong
had been done, that the contestant shoulc
have received the certificate which the sit
ting member had obtained. The law was
Statutes to show that it was the duty of the
Register of Deeds to give the certificate to
the person having the greatest number ol
votes, and that he could not reject them on
account of any informality in the returns.-
the Register of Deeds of Chisago county
and attempted to show that he had been
guilty of gross improperly in office, amount
ing to fraud. He referred to the law in
support of the position the minority of the
committee had assumed, j. e., that the con-
testant was good citizen of the Territory.
The contestant was a single man, and it was
the intention which constituted him full
citizen. He referred to the witnesses pro-
duced by the sitting member and endeavored
worthy of belief.
Mr.. Ludden said that he should not occu-
| py the attention of the committee long.
There had been great deal said by the at
torneys for the contestant-Col Irwin and
the gentleman from Nicollet-and but very
little said to the purpose. The whole matter
w. McCracken a citizen of Minnesota on the
pf 10 fol ho
since and, Had he received majority of
the legal votes of the St. Croix and Superior
subdivision of the First Council District !?
In answer to the first query the contestant
had produced the affidavits of sundry indi-
viduals of Superior and vicinity but they
only showed one thing, that the contestant
had "claimed'' residence in Minnesota :;
they did not 60 any farther in any instance !;
they were evidently all written by one per-
son, they were in one handwriting, and in
no instance, were they signed by the per
son who wrote them. They were evidently got
contestant had actually resided in the Teri
it, as to prove that he "claimed" residence.
He showed by the testimony of Mr.. Ely that
the "claim" which the contestant pretended
he claimed" to be citizen of the Territory,
he [McCracken] had bargained away on the
4th of April last. He was willing to rest
this whole case on the single question of the
credibility of Mr.. Ely's testimony.
1t was given in evidence by Mr.. Thomas
Masterson, who resided for three months
adjoining the 'claim" of AIcCracken, that
the contestant had not pretended to exercise
any control over it that he had never seen
him on it, and had never seen him in the
Territory but once or twice, and that he GER
tainly would have known it, were the con-
testant bona fide citizen. All the evidence
on this point went to show that if the con-
testant ever had a residence in the Territory,
he had abandoned it more than six months
previous to the election.
In reference to the pretence set up by the
contestant, that it was necessary to go to
Superior for the purpose of practising his
profession, it seemed somewhat singular that
he should hive to leave country where the
cote as polled last fall showed population of
1900 people, for county where the vote
showed no more than 400. Mr.. Parker, the
sheriff of Douglas CO., Wis, had testified that
court last year. discharged the duties of Dis
|
sented his bill for the same. Was it proba-
BILE, if he had not been resident of the State
that he would have been appointed to that
office?
Mr.. Ludden then went on to examine the
returns by which the contestant pretended
to claim the right to a seat On this floor.
The gentleman from Nicollet had read part
of section of the Statutes in relation to
the duties of Registers of Deeds in canvass
ing election returns, wherein they were not
allowed to throw out any votes on account
of informality. Mr.. L. would read the rest
of the section, which expressly forbid the
Board of Canvassers counting the returns of
any precinct not established by law; and
making breach of the provision of this sec
ton misdemeanor, punishable by both fine
and imprisonment. Now the Board of can
vassers of Chisago, could not have counted
these returns, as they knew there were no
such precincts established according to law,
as those from which these returns pretended
to emanate, without committing a felony
The Register had been most wantonly
abused by gentlemen on this floor for doing
nothing but his sworn duty.
The Commissioners appointed by Gov.
German had without any color of law estab-
iiSuCc Two cIcCtIou pIcCiLCCo III q COuuCy III
which they were not Commissioners. This
point had been decided by the Council in a
precisely similar case, in the contested seat
of Mr.. Hanson. Two of the alleged pre-
cincts, Grand Marias and Grand Portage,
there was no pretence had ever been estab-
lished in any manner. No oaths of Office OF
the judges and clerks accompanied the re-
turns, which the Statutes makes imperative
and the returns from all these pretended pre-
cincts were made out on one piece Of paper,
at the same time, in one handwriting, though
the precincts are many miles apart, and
signed by R. II. Barrct, not however, as
Judge of Election, or Clerk, or Register oil
Deeds. .eR
1t had been shewn by the evidence of Mr..
Parker, who had travelled the whole of the
north shore country, that there was not a
sufficient population to justify that vote-
Mr.. Parker had made many trips over this
region last summer, and knew every person
residing in that country, and every claim
house and claim; and in the alleged precincts
of Grand Maria and Grand Portage there
was not a single resident who had resided
there q sufficient time to become voter
These places had polled about 120 votes.-
DR.. Mayo who took the census of that regior
in June last had testified he could only fini
234 people; and in that enumeration, he
tells us, there were so many persons WHIT
held claims, but did not reside on them, tha
he could not qualify to his returns. Yet, thii