Meigs County telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy [Ohio]) 1848-1859, 1856-07-29

followed by another Abstract of Election by
Council districts. These tables are carefully
prepared, but are long and difficult, and we omit
all save the following totals;
No. of Election districts ID
No. Of Representative districts IA
GO" Pro.Slavery votes cast 5,427
""F Free State 791
4" Scattering L 80
Total No. of votes cast $3.50
I" Legal votes l,3lo
I" Illegal F" 4,90S
No. of persons residents by census S,601
=" No. of voters Ly census 1892
I" No. of members IN Council 10
." in House 26
No. of Fepre's. elected by Illegal votes IA
No. of Council elected by Illegal votes g
Your Committee report the following fscts
not shown on the tables: -.
OF the twenty mine hundred and five voters
named in the census-rollS, eight hundred and
thirty-one are found on the poll books Some of
the settlers were prevented from attending the
election by the distance of then homes from the
polls, but the great majority were deferred by the
open avowal that large bodies OF armed Missou-
rians would be at the polls to vote, and by the
fact that they did so appear and control the cleo
ton. The same causes deferred The Free-State
settlers from running candidates in several dis
trcts, and in others induced the candidates to
Withdraw.
The pol. books Of the lid and With Districts
were lost but the proof is quite clear that in the
lid District there were thirty, and in the With
District thirty-eight legal votes, making total
Of eight hundred and ninsty-eight legal voters Of
the Territory, whose names are on the census
returns, and yet the proof, in tie state in WHICH
we obliged to present ,lafter excluqlng ller
gal votes, leaves the total vote Of; sic, show
ing discrepancy Of A2. The Discrepancy is
accounted for in two ways: First, the coming in
OF settlers before the March election, and after
the census was taken, OF settlers who were omit
ted in the census; or secondly, the disturbed
state of the Territory while we were investiga-
ting the elections in some of the districts, thereby
preventing us from getting testimony in relation
to the names Of legal voters at the time Of elec-
| ton. 49, @
If the election had been confined TO the actu,
al settlers undeterred by the presence Of non
. residents, or tie knowledge that they would be
| present in numbers sufficient to out-vote them
the testimony indicates that the Council would
have been composed of seven in favor OF making
Kansas Free State, elected from the lst, lid
lid, IVth, and With, Council Districts. The
result in the With and Xth, electing three mem
bers, would have been doubtful, and the With
With and IXth would have elected three Pro
Slavery members. s -
Under like circumstances the House of Rep
reSentatves would have been composed OF four
teen members in favor of making Kansas Free
State, elected from the lid, lid, lVth, With
UNIth ud Yth ~
Districts. LN
The resultin the XIIth and XIyth Represen
tative Districts, eecting FIVE members, woul,
have been doubtful, and the LIST, With, Xlth ant
XVIII districts, would have elected seven Pro
, Slavery Numbers.
r BY the election, as conducted, the Pro-Slaver
candidates in every district but the the Wilt
representative d1trct received majority Of tn
3 votes, and several OF them, in both the Counci
:. and House, did not "reside in" and were not "in
4 habtShts of the district for which they wer
elected, as required by the organic law. BY tina
act il was declared TO be "thet true intent an
meaning of this act to leave the people thereo
perfectly free to form and regulate their domeS
tic institutions in their own way, subject to tn
Constitution Of the United States" So caIefu
was Congress Of the right Of popular sovereignt!
thatto secure il 10 the people, without singl
petition from any portion Of the country, they re
moved the restriction against Slavery imposed
the Missouri Compromise. i And yet this right
so carefully secured, was thus by force and frau
overthtown BY portion Of the people Of an at
r The striking difference between this Republ
Y and other Republics on the Continent is not
the provisions Il Constitutions and laws, br
: that here changes in the administration Of the,
!. laws have been made peacefully. and quiet
% through the ballot box. This inv aSion is the r
and only one in the history Of eDuI Government
: by which an organized force from one State hi
elected Legislature fof another State or Ter
l, tory and as such it should have been resist,
BY the whole executive power Of the Nation
N Government. '1 e,t s51
e, Your Committee are of the opinion that n
7 Constitution and laws Of the United States ha
= invested the President and Governor of the TIE
ur ritoIy with ample power for this purpose. TIL
", could only act after receiving Authentic iHjc
o. nation Of the facts, but when received, wheth
before or after the certificates Of election we
. granted, this power should have been exercis
to its fullest extent. 1t is not to be tolerate
that legislative body thus selected should Q
10 sumo or exercise any legislative functions; o.
,r their enactments should be regarded as null a
void; nor should the question Of its legal ex
: tence as legislative body be determined BY
self, as that would be allowing the criminal
- Judge OF his own crime. In section % Of the
~ gahic act il is provided, that "the persons ha
~ ing the highest number Of legal votesin each
said Couhcil Districts for members Of the Cou
oil shall be declared by the Governor 70 be di
- elected to the Council, and the persons havi
oy the highest number Of legal votes for the 4Ho'
ar Of Representatives shall be declared by the q
eat ernor duly elected members Of said House.
The proclamation OF the Governor requiied
- verified notice of acoHtest, when one was ma
AZ to be FLED with him within four days after
III, 'olection Within that time lie didnot obtain
'oi formation al ID force or fraud in any except
/, following Districts, and in these there were
ed teral detects III TIE returns OF election. WI
he cut decidipg upon his power 70 set aside 81
"a lions for force and fraud they were set aside
..iiii 4 the following feasonsn 3ieHtfs,l nd ADah
Up, In the Isl District because the words,
'ed lawful resident yotcrs'' were stricken from
q raIttn ~