Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1857-11-05
Gov. Walkers Proclamation to the Peo-
pie of Kansas.
LEcoMrros, October 10, 1857.

to Congress, that "the person having the great
est number of votes shall be declared by the
Governor to be duly elected, and certificate
thereof shall be given accordingly"
BY the 18th section of the act of the terri
torial legislature of Kansas, entitled "an act
to regulate elections" ," it is made the duty OF
the Secretary to examine the returns in the
presence of the Governor, and to give to the
person having the highest number OF votes IN
their respective districts, certificates OF their
election to the legislative assembly.
Under these two provisions OF the laws pre-
vaiing in this territory the recent general
election has presented for the joint considera-
ton of the Governor and Secretary queS-
ton Of the gravest Importance not only to our
own people but also to those of the whole
Union. The question arises upon the extra
ordinary returns made from the precinct of
Oxford, in the county of johnson. What pur-
ports to be the returns Of the election held at
the precinct on the 5th and 9th inst, have
been received by the Secretary, containing
sixteen hundred and twenty-eight names of
pretended voters, or nearly one half the num-
Der given in the whole representative district.
The disposition to be made of this supposed
vote is rendered all important by the fact that
the political character of the legislative AS
sembly will be controlled by the addition of
three councmen and eight representatives to
the strength of one party or the other, accord
ing to the adoption or rejection of the returns
in question.
In point of fact, it is we'll known that even
the whole county of johnson, comprising, as
it does part of an Indian reserve, which, upon
examination of the law, we find is not subject
to settlement or pre-emption, can give no such
vote as that which is represented to have been
poled at this inconsderable precinct of Ok
ford. But while this unofficial knowledge,
well-established and universal as it may be,
could not become the ground of decision and
action upon election returns, in themselves reg
uar and authentic the legitimate effect of an
apparent enorInity, such as that III question
would necessarily be to induce close examin-
alton of the paper presented, and to require
for its acceptance perfect compliance with all
the essential provisions of the law. Such an
examination of this document, conscentously
and impartially made, has brought us to the
conclusion that the returns from Oxford pre-
cinct in johnson county must be wholly reject
ed for the following reasons:
lst. 1t does not appear on the face of the
document presented to u.s. or in any other man
ner, that the Judges of Election took the oath
imperatively required by the statute, to secure
the impartial discharge of their duties ac-
cording to law"
I'd. 1t does not appear that the paper pre-
sented to us was one of the two original poll
books kept at the election, as required by law
but, on the contrary, it does appear, from
Unmistakeable internal evidence, that the pa
per is either copy of some other document,
or has been made for the occasion, and is not
the genuine record Of the votes taken at the
election The law requires one of the poll
books to be returned to the Secretary, the other
to be deposited with the Clerk of the Board
Of Commissioners Of the proper county.
ID As the vote of each elector was to be
recorded for each one of the twenty-five can
didates, unl in more than hundred cases ior
twenty-five, and that by rira r0cc vote, it was
physical impossibiIity that the number of
votes pretended to have been taken on the
second day, being more than fifteen hundred,
with the name of the voter written and each
of twenty-five candidates properly designated
could have been taken and recorded within the
time prescribed by law.
4th. 1t is an extraordinary fact tending to
throw distru>t upon the whole proceeding, that
Of the sixteen hundred and twenty eight votes,
only one is given to the delegate elect to Cor
greSs ; and only one hundred and twenty four
are recorded as having been east for the local
candidates of the township
Influenced by these considerations, and i'm
pressed with the grave responsibility resting
upon Us in regard to the fairness of the cleo
ton, and its freedom from all fraud susceptible
Of detection and prevention within the scope
of our duties, we deemed it essential to truth
and Justice that we should ascertain every fact
calculated to refute or confirm the conclusions
derived from the face of the papers. Accord
ingly We went to the precinct Of Oxford,
(Which is a village with six houses, including
stores, and without tavern, and aScertaued
from the citizens of that vicinity, and especial
ly those of the handsome adjacent village of
New Santa Fe, i'll Missouri, (separated only
by street and containing about twenty hOuS
eS that altogether not more than OnG-tenth
the number OF persons represented to have vot-
ed, were present on the two days Of the cleo
tlon, much the smaller number, not exceeding
thirty or forty, being present Oh the last day,
when more than fifteen hundred votes are rep
resented as having been given. The people of
Oxford as well as those of the ncghboring
village of Santa Fe, were aStounded at the
magnitude of the return and all persons Of all
parties, in both places, treated the whole affair
with derision or Indignation not having heard
the alleged result until several days after it bad
occurred.
In the course of our journey to and from
Oxford we passed over much the larger part
of the country of Johnson, and we became
thoroughly satisfied that there is no popua-
ton in the whole county from which more than
one-third the vote of that single precinct could
have been given. We learned that some very
few persons, having cabins on the reserve in
johnson county and claiming residence therein
though generally absent, had voted at some of
the precincts in that county but we are con-
WINGED that but a Ynrv innnnSidnrahln nnnhn