The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1857-12-05
Mr.. Chasess Canvass for DELEGATE.

OM00c'0 CanVa88 IOf Delcg0t0s
The Pioneer errs in stating that the I'd of
December, was 'the last day. by Territorial
law,in which the vote for Delegate to Congress
could be canvassed." The law is, that the
Board of Canvassers must ':lrocecd with" the
canvass within fifty days after the election;
but there is nothing obligatory in the stat
utes for its being completed by the last day.
The same law, as to time regulated the can
vass for Delegate, as regulates the canvass
for State officers. Yet the State Board of
Canvassers merely proceeded with" the
canvass within the fifty days, and are still
proceeding with it, though those fifty days
have expired Is there anybody that doubts
the legality of their course?
The truth is, Mr.. LITTLE CROMWELL
CHASE has been quite too fast in this Dele
gate canvass.
In the first place, courtesy, fair dealing,
decency called upon him to give notice of the
commencement of that canvass, 80 as to have
allowed Mr.. MCCLURE, or some of his Re-
publican friends, to attend it to see how hon
estly and fairly it was conducted!
In the next place, propriety would have
dictated his being guided somewhat by the
action of the State Carvassing Board in re-
ceiving or rejecting certain returns, and in
his waiting, therefore, until they had arrived
at conclusions on those points.
Mr.. CHASE may consider himself all-suf-
ficient for these matters, as he is sort of
Cromwell who tried to regulate the proceed
ings of parliamentary bodies'' and dictate
their adjournments as per the Constitutional
Convention! But then, he should recollect
also, that he is only little Cromwell, and
the old couplet applies
Little boats should keep near shore,
Larger craft may venture more"
In the third and last place, there is law
on page 81 of the Revised Statutes, which
Mr.. CHASE does not appear to have obeyed
very strictly:
Sec. 37.-If the returns of election of any
county in this Territory, shall not be receiv-
ed at the office Of the Secretary of the Ter
| rltory, within forty days after the election,
the said Secretary shall forthwith send mes
senger to the clerk of the board of Commits.
sloners OF such county, whose duty it shall
| be to furnish said messenger with certified
copy of said returns"
| Now, amongst the counties from which
the Pioneer says no returns were received at
| the Secretary's Office, -chiefy wild cat coun-
ties,-are included Goodhue, Mcleod and
Chisago, all three casting heavy Republican
majorities and n so distant, but that in
ten days, messenger could easily make the
trip to and from their county seats.
1t does not appear, however, that any mes
senger was sent, as directed by law though
we suppose the Secretary can excuse himself
to his party for this dereliction of duty to the
public, by the plea that he felt no particular
anxiety to have their nearly 1000 Republican
majority incorporated into the figures of the
canvass for Delegate!
There is something strange about the al
legged non-reception of the return from Good
hue county. Testimony is extant now in
st. Paul, that said return was duly despatch
cd from Red Wing, by the Register of Deeds
of Goodhue county, and that it ought now to
be found in the Secretary's office
That county being the residence of Mr..
MCCLURE, and the Register of Deeds thereof
being Republican, it is not probable the re-
turn would be retained there either by re-
missness or design; but at any rate it was
Mr.. CHAsE's duty to have sent for it.
Had he even let it be known when he was
about proceeding with the canvass for Dele
gate, upon the discovery being made that the
returns for Goodhue county were amongst
the missing, duplicate copies of it, properly
certified, were in St. Paul, and could have
been furnished him; for there was prepare
ton made to meet the possible contingency,
of the Goodhue return having been lost.
some how or other
And then as to Mcleod county-the ques-
ton arises, why didn't the messenger that
Mr.. CHASE is understood to have sent up for
the bogus return of Cedar City, bring down
also the returns of the rest of Mcleod
county, or were they not as badly wanted as
those from the one precinct sent after