The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1858-01-23
The Democracy Evading Investigation
into the Election Forgeries.

ments, as for individuals and families.
Acting upon this axiom, the truth of which
no one will dispute, Senator Folsom of Chi
sago County, the other day in the State Sen
ate offered resolution calling upon CHASE,
the Secretary of the Territory, to lay before
that body the returns in his office of the re-
cent State election, which returns, through
his habitual discourtesy and bearish man
ners, were practically inaccessible to Repub-
licans and even to such Democrats as might
be suspected of wishing to examine them
with view of exposing rascality instead of
coveringit up.
The object of Senator FOLSOM, in offering
a resolution of this nature, and of the Repub-
lican Senators supporting it, was their solicit
tude to vindicate the fame of Minnesota from
the deep reproach and shame which would
rest upon it if it was true, as was alleged,
that the whole batch of her State officials
elect, obtained their certificates of election
by the criminal connivance of the Democrat
ic majority of the Board of State Canvass
ers, SAMUEL MEDARY and JOSEPH R. BROWN,
and in violation of the will of majority of
the people, fairly and legally expressed.
1t was felt by the Republican Senators,
to be of the highest Importance in NOR
al as well as political sense, that Mime
sofa should not enter into a federal Union of
respectable sovereignties like ours, with the
brand of forgery on her youthful brow her
budding manhood should not be disgraced on
the first page of her independent national
life, by the spectacle of men in Office as her
first rulers, who held them by fraud, by per-
jury, and by forgery! They argued, that if
these charges were true, it behooved the rep
resentatives Of the people to know it in an
official manner and to take steps, officially,
to vindicate the right of the people OF the
State to choose their own rulers and that
such right sh.uld not be nullifed; neither
through the rejection-by the INSCRIPTIONS
Democratic majority of the Board of State
Canvassers, on false and trifing TECHNICAL
ty-of 5000 of the peoples votes honestly
polled and legally returned nor through
their counting into the Canvass forged major
tiles, on forged election papers. from fictitious
election polls never held!
They also believed, that whether true or
false, such grave charges having been made,
backed by protest signed by ALEXANDER
RAMSEY and other eminent candidates on the
Republican State ticket, endorsed by the mi
nority member of the Board of Canvassers,
the Hon. THOMAS j. GALBRAITH, who, as
the journal of the Board will prove, contend
ed at every stage Of the iniquity, against its
commsson-there was sufficient probable
cause" for, and that the honor of our future
State demanded fair Investigation into the
whole matter, so that, on the one hand, if
the charges We're false, our escutchen might
be relieved from the blot of their imputation,
by public and authoritative denial; or if
found to be true, measures might be taken
which would free Minnesota at one and the
same time from the imposition of officials in
her public offices through the preparation of
crime, and from the odium before the world
of quietly acquescing in the scoundrelism and
rascality through which their certificates of
election were procured.
With these objects in view, it might be sup
posed the Democratic Senators en- masse, if
they we're honest, and if they believed their
candidates honestly and fairly chosen, would
have been eager for the investigation, would
have courted the most searching scrutiny
But they evirced no such confidence in the
validity of their candidates election. They
showed themselves possessed of no such hon
esty of purpose, as would desire "justce to
be done though the Heaven should fall."-
Those of them who had sense of shame
enough left, not to wish to put their names
upon the record squarely against the propo-
sition, tried to embarrass the passage of the
resolution and defeat it altogether, by a
gone of parliamentary tactics, with the in
tention of killing it in some indirect manner
without directly voting against it. But the
non-return of some of the Democratic men,
bers from their excursion home during the
holidays, giving the Republicans tempo ary
majority, the Senate was at length brought
to direct vote upon the proposition and it
finally passed-but even then quite a large
minority of the Democratic Senators-on the
pretext of economy CO-voted against TAX
ing this first step towards investigating the
torgeries by which Democracy obtained its
victory in the recent State election This
minority, however, we will do the Democra-
racy the justice to admit. were but their
fellows of the baser sort" who if needs be,
and the interests of the party and their own
required the sacrifice, would not stop at
merely hiding forgery, or hindering inrestiga-
ton into forgery committed for the benefit of
the Democratic party by others
Well-the resolution calling upon CHASE
for the returns, was duly forwarded to him
by the Secretary of the Senate and after
lapse of several days he has sent letter to
the Senate refusing to comply with the call,
upon several pretexts, insulting aud charac-
teristically discourteous. cit would take
too long time to copy them-it would re-
quire a month and Sundays to do it-he
can't permit the originals to 60 out of his
oflice'-and variety of gratuitious sug-
gestions about the difficulty of complying
with the resolutOn-and an intirnation that
the Senate has no business to require the Ia
Dor of him at any rate; but he supercllious-
ly tells them that "it will afford me pleasure |
to have that work done for you; preceded you
will furnish me the necessary means to en- |