The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1857-07-25
Whe was the Proper Person - Call the
Convention 20 OrdeFe4

I Convention 10 OFdeYt@ ~.
At tie time of the unsuccessful effort Of
Chase to organize the Convention, the DEM
ocrats asserted that he by virtue Of bis Office,
as established by long precedent was the
only proper person to call the Conventit t.
order. Since then, however, when establish
ed precedents have been shown to be inever,
instance against lis usurpat,on, they have
that any person" has that right
We maintain this doctrine, that t was per
fectly right and perfectly competent for any
member elect, to call the Convention to or
der in tie first instance but if each Of the
one hundred persons elect should exercise
that right, the Convention instead Of coming
to order would come into confusion, hence j.
would be better that each delegate shout
not insist upon the exercise of his undispu-
table natural right, but delegate his right to
some member. who would thereby acquire in
addition to his own right to call the Conven
ton to order, the right of each individual
member who had so delegated his authority.
Thus, if twenty of the members elect had SO
delegated their authority, the recipient wou'
have twenty times the right of any Other
member, on whom no authority Of the kim
had been conferred. This position we think
cannot be controverted.
Now what special right had Mr.. Cha~s
to perform that Office ? 1t is conceded tina
by virtue of his ofice he had no authority D.,
law or precedent. Is it because he claimed
to be member? We can see no other rea-
son for it. But. claiming to be member
had he any better right than any of the nin'
ty members at that time on the floor g
Had any of the members elect solicited hin
to call the G invention to order, thereby CO
sering on him their own rights in the pre- m
Uses? There is no proof that such was til
case, or that it was pretended to be the case
Now what right had Mr.. NORTH to cal
the Con ention to order? He Rad in adj.
ton to his natural right as member the d.!
egated right OF fifty-six persons holding reg
| lar certificates Of election to the Convention
| He therefore hal fifty-six times create
right than Mr.. CHASE, unless that individual
was simll- rly delegated. But if he was s.
delegated, how many persons did lie repr
sent? Certainly he did not, NOR will he PIE
tend to have represented any Of the tifty-s'.
whom Mr. North represented. Now as fit.
SIX is a majority of the whole Convention,
CHASE represented all the Democrats on t..
floor, be must have represented minority
And admitting that he acted in accordano
with the wish S OF every member OF the hi
nority, his authority stands in the premises t
that OF Mr.. NoRrH's as the number of tt
Democratic members at that time on the fln
of the Hall is to the Republicans, and as the
do not claim to have had more than forty
and it is doubted by many that they had eve
thirty-arithmetically speaking, it would b
as 3Oa40 is to sc.
As Mr. NoRru represented the wishes of
majority of the Convention, and lar
majority of the members elect on Il
floor, the majority were bound to, an
did recognize him as the most proper perso
TO have the floor, and accordingly voted wit
right good will on Mr.. Ms motion to ca
Mr.. Galbraith to the G ,air pro tea., and couI
not and did not IN any manner recognize t.
assumed authority Of Mr.. CHASE. NJ
CHASE assumed the Chair as Secretary
the Territory, and to receive and enter'a
motions made to the Chair, but as he had n
sucn right, he could not act as Chairma
without vote of the body authorizing HI
to do so, or without being self-constitute
chairman.
) Therefore, as Mr.. Chase could net
Chairman, he could only claim right to tt
floor, but as Mr. North also claimed Il
floor, and az they could not both have it
: the same time, and as there was no presidi
officer to designate which Of the two We.
hest entitled to it, the members elect then
selves were the only proper persons to judg
Now it cannot be denied that nearly tac
! thirds of the members elect on the flour
that time recognized the ri=ht of Mr.. Morn
to the for. Hence it follows that NJ
CHASE was out of order and disorganze
: and that no motions which he should assun
, to make, or did make, could be properly p'
to the Conventions; or baving been so impro
erly submitted, the members were boun'i n
IT,, and only minority did, take noti
. thereof.