The Kansas herald of freedom., 1858-04-03


compton. On Monday or Tuesday, DEF
enderf took the package containing the
returns TO Calhoun there, and said, g Here
are the Delaware Agency returns, handed
me by Mr.. Henderson, and had no other
conversation with him about them.
From the affidavits of Brooks and Ran
som it appears that on the 21st January
Calhoun gave the Delaware Agency re-
turns to Brooks to take to Gen. L. A.
Mclean, Chief Clerk of the Surveyor
Generals Office at Leeompton. They
were put up in double envelope: the
outer one directed to the Postmaster at
Lecompton . to avoid annoyance and de-.
tention.D Brooks delivered them to Nc
Lean on the 9th January, at Lecomp-
ton. Cole saw copy of those returns in
Missouri on the 1st February. in the
hands of Jack Thompson, of Leeompton,
an officer of Judge Gato's court, who was
there with Calhoun. Il was roll of six
sheets of paper, and contained 343 names
On the first day of the session of the
Board, January 18th, 1853, its attention
was called to the report, then current in
the community, that the returns from
Delaware Agency had been altered by
John D. Henderson from 43 votes to 543
The Board sat at Leavenworth from that
day until the 30th January. Henderson
testified before it on the 25th; Franklin
on the 28th. The subpoena of the Board
was issued on the third day of its session
for Calhoun, but he remained at Weston,
and has never been within the reach of
the process of the Board since its organi-
zation.
On the 30th of January, the Board sat
at Lawrence, and Gen. L. a. Mclean, of
Lecompton, chief clerk in the Office of
Surveyor General Calhoun, appeared be-
fore it and testified. He said that all the
returns of the election of the 21st of De-
cember, on the adoption of the Constitu-
ton, and the election of the 4th of JAN
uary for officers under it, which were sent
from the several precincts to Calhoun, had
been in his (McLean's) custody until they
were opened and counted in presence of
Gov. Denver, Mr.. Deitzler and Others, as
above stated; that after they were opened
and counted, they were again placed in
his custody; that about the 10Th or 20th
of January, messenger from Platte
county, Missouri, whose name he did not
reeollect, came to him at Lecompton, and
said " Calhoun wanted all the returns that
had been opened sent over to him. that
the messenger brought no letter, and that
he sent all the opened returns to Calhoun
by him, and took no receipt for them.
The Board subsequently, received in
formation which led it to suspect that the
returns had been buried by Mclean on
the night of the 29th of January, under
a wood pile, on the premises adjacent to
the Surveyor Generals Office The mem
bers of the Board, therefore, entered a
complaint before the Probate Judge of
Douglas county, uader the 9Th article of
the act entitled I" Practice and proceed
ings in criminal cases." (Kansas statues,
p. $50 setting forth, that under the acts
establishing the Board, they had right
to the temporary possession OF the elec-
ton returns of the 21st of DECEMBER and
4th of January, for the purposes of their
investigation; that John Calhoun, the le-
gal custodian of those returns, was absent
from Kansas, and beyond the reach of
the process of the Board; that L. A. Nc
Lean, in whose custody Calhoun had left
them, had testified that he had sent the
returns to Calhoun in Missouri; that the
Board had reason to believe that the re-
turns had been embezzled and secreted
on, or adjacent to the premises OF the
Surveyor General at Lecompton, &c.
On the complaint, search warrant was
issued by the Court, addressed to the
sheriff Of the county, who executed ii
against " the solemn protest of Mclean" :"
He discovered box, supposed to contain
the returns, buried under wood pile on
the premises, on the I'd February, 1858.
The box was delivered, unopened, to the
Probate Judge in open Court, and was
opened. BY order of the Court, in presence
of J. w. Denver, G.. W. Babcock, and q.
w. Deitzler, who testified they were the
same returns opened by Calhoun in their
presence, on the 18th of January. The
Court ordered that the returns should be
delivered to the Board, to be by it deliy-
cred in ten days to Your Excellency, and
by you held subject to the order of the
legal custodian. The Board have deliy-
cred them all to Your Excellency in CON-
| pliance with the erder of Court.
At the time the returns were found, a
subpoena was served on L. A. Mclean to
appear again before the Board; but he
| failed to come An attachment was IS
sued for him, but he escaped from Le-
compton and fled the Territory.
Copies of the complaint of the Board,
the search warrant. the protest of Nc
Lean, the return of the sheriff, testimony
| of Messrs. Denver, Babeock, and Deitz-
Ter, and of the order of Court, are here
with presented.
Returns from Delaware Agency pre-
cinct were found among the papers deliy-
cred to the Board. The poll list was re-
cognized by Diefendorf, by ink blots on
| the back of it, as the roll handed him by
Henderson. 1t consists of six half sheets
of paper fastened together with light col
ored waters, and strip of paper contain
| ing only the certificate, fastened on at the
bottom. The piece of paper the certifi-
cate is upon is wider than the pieces &c
which it is attached. There are 37s
names recorded on this list.
/ The Board issued snbrnnas for the
judges aud clerks of the election, but sue
ceeded In finding only Grinter and Nun
day, who had previously testified on tbs
21st and 26th of January. On the Al
of February they appeared, and testified
that this poll list was all forgery exoep'
! the paper fastened to the end Of it con.
tanning their original certificate A tally
/ list was also found with the poll list
which they said they had never before
seen. Their testimony on both examina
tons is consistent, and, in the judgmen
of the Board, strictly trHe. On both oc
casions. they stated that the vote returned
by them was but 4S.
With these returns the Board found
certificate signed by the judges and clerk
/ of Delaware Crossing. and sworn to ol
the 18th january, 1858. before Samue
Salter, claiming to be Justice of tn
4 Peace OF johnson county; as follows:
i TERRITORY OF kansas,
COUNTY or LEAvEswoRTH{
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