The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1857-06-20


To him whose faith and trust are there,
Tho black the gloom, is still GOOD NIGHT. ii
Now and Then-the Difference.
The Pioneer of yesterday morning c''n-
tains more than a column Of the most viru
lent abuse of the Rev. c. G.. Ames, Of Min
neapos. for his official conduct as Register
of Dee ds of Hennepin County, in granting
certificates of election to the six Republi-
cans in the ST. Anthony district. As to the
legality or proprety of the action Of Mr..
Ames in the premises, we shall at present
have nothing to say. We have elsewhere
given an article from the st. Anthony Re-
publican, showing the proceedings of the
board of canvassers and the motives which
led them to their course in the premises
And We must here be permitted to remark,
that whatever error, either of law or equity,
which may or may not have been commit
ted by the oard of canvass"rs, We believe
them to have been actuated by a conscien-
tious sense of their duty.
history of Minnesota during the last two
years, many inconsistencies will be observed
in the conduct of the Democratic party, its
leaders and journals. When-in the fall of
1855, it was notorious that w. j. Howell
was elected to the Council from the 9th and
J. B. Bassctt from the llth council districts,
&c fbo
Registers of Fillmore and Hennepin coun-
ties to their opponents, because, IN the
case of Howell, an error had been made by
the officers of election in one of the precincts
in returning his name as "Wm. j. Howelr
instead Of "Warren j. Howell" as the votes
were cast and in the case of Bassett, be-
cause there were inforrnalities in the holding
of the election in Carver county, and GER
tain precincts of IIennepin, making it obga-
tory upon the Register, as he considered it,
to reject the vote, although thereby the
voters of ose precincts were entirely dis
fanchsed; and the certificates Of election
were given in both instances to persons who
received minority of votes-when, we say,
tn Sc events happened and we denounced
the action of the Registers for their conduct
in the premises, we were told by the Pio-
neer and Democrat that these officers had
but performed their duty-tbe Office of Reg
lister we were told was ministerial and be
had no power to go behind the certificates
ofthe judges of election in the case Of How
ell and see whether the returns t. r "Wm. j.
Howell' should not have been for "Warren
j. Howell :" and in the case of Bassett as
the Register was sworn officer of law, he
must of course reject the returns purporting
to come from precincts, which did not recoy-
Mise as 're5ularly" staLlished-though the
electors in both instances had voted properly
and in good faith. We were told this, we
said, and had to be content with it, although
under color of law, we believed that an out
rage had been committed upon the rights of
electors If the Sth and 1lth districts; and
knowing it was in the power, and believing
in the justice of the Legislature to set the
matter right, we forbore further remarks.
But now when Locofoco OK has been
gored by Republican bull, great outrage
has been committed. The Register has been
guilty of an act which should subject him
to a criminal prosecution" &c. That is to
say-that which is duty in the case of a
Democrat, lis an act Of rascality performed
by Republican. All we h We to say in this
matter is, that if the action of Geo. E. Huy,
Mr.. Ames' predecessor, was right, then is
that of Mr.. Ames for, though the cases may
not be paralle., they are similar.
Although we relied upon the Legislature
to do justice to our friends in 1866, yet
how were we disappointed The Demo-
cratic party not only voted to keep Messrs.
Hanson and Tillotson, the minority men,
bers from Hennepin and Fillmore, in their
seats, in violation of all justice, but they also
expelled Republican from the House to give
them majority. Now, although we shall
be the last one to advocate such course in
the case Of the St. Anthony delegates, yet
if it should be done it will be seen that there
is high Democratic precedent for it, and the
Pioneer which then defended and profited by
by these outrages, should be the last to
whine now.
But while the Pioneer is so Mortified q,
this movement at St. Anthony, it is endea'
yoring to, and if its friends in the Conven-
tinn should it have the power, would consu-
mate a greater outrage in the admission OF
six delegates from the seventh counci! dis
trict. This would be such an outrage against
the rights oithe people of the proposed State
as the Democrats committed in st. Paul on
election day. The seventh council district
is composed ,f Pembina county in which
there are two election precincts, both oi
which are out Of the limits of the proposed
State of Minnesota and in that part Of the
district which will be IN Minnesota, accord
ing to the Congressional boundary, there is
neither post office, precinct. nor scarcely an
inhabitant, nor do we believe there has been
an election. Yet the Pioneer and its friends
will endeavor to frist six delegates from that
egion upon the Convention for the purpose
of giving a Democratic majority. While We
have all along appropriately left the seventh
district out If our tables, the Pioneer has
placed it in It's; ard when the other day
il SAID that df couse nothing had yet been
heard from thr7th district; J" it might have
said with more truth q We have seen the
returns from this ditrict; Joseph Rolette