Nebraska advertiser., 1859-11-24
Respectfully submitted
MIR. DaiIy's Protest.


To HIS ErceHency Samuel w. BIack,
Governor; the Honorable augustus
Hall, Chief Justice; and LeaUiH L.
Bowen, Esquire, District attorney of
the Territory of Nebraska:
The undersigned, Samuel G. Daily,
respectfully represents
That at the late election, held in the
said Territory, he was one of the persons
voted for a Delegate to the Both Con-
gress of the United States; and although,
as he is informed, according to the re-
turns of votes cast at the said election,
transmitted to his Excellency the Cover
nor, Experience Estabrook, Esquire, the
candidate for Delegate nominated in OPP
position to the undersigned, appears to
have received the highest number of
votes; yet, for the reasons hereinafter
stated, the undersigned believes, and
therefore insists, that he is entitled to re-
ceive the certificate of his Excellency the
Governor, as such Delegate.
Elections for Delegates in the Terri
tory, except as to the time of holding
them, are regulated exclusively by the
act entitled Elections" approved Janu-
airy 26th, 1856, Ep. 491 and the act am
endatory thereof, approved February Is,
1857 [p. 1877.
These laws were designed 10 secure a
full, fair, and genuine expression of the
popular will, in the choice of public SER
wants, and, to that end, to guard against
fraud and imposition; and no Uofes, not
given, certified, and returned an accord
anCe wib these LawS, can be received and
"caSt up IN the final canUaSS.
Conceding that, under the existing
state of the law, the final -canvassers
ought not to receive evidence of frauds
perpetrated by individual voters. or of
frauds or errors committed by the judges
of election, at lawfully constituted polls
of election, it must at least appear, prima
faeie, before the votes transmitted in an
abstract transmitted to the Governor
can be lawfully allowed, that such votes
were, or might have been, lawfully cast
and certified. If, for example, an abb
straCt Of votes given in one of the coun-
ties Of the Territory of Kansas should be
transmitted by the clerk of such county to
the Governor of this Territory, it would,
of course, be treated by the -canvassers as
altogether nugatory and so, an abstract
of votes cast In an unorganlzed county of
this Territory, though transmitted by a
person styling himself clerk Of such
county, would, for the same reason, be
equally nugatory. The organization Of a
county by the due election of county Of
6cers, is matter of law and public notori-
ETY., and the final ~canvassers are to be
presumed 10 know, because they are
bound TO know in order to be enabled to
perform their duty, what counties in the
Territory have been so organized, and
because they are by law forbidden to
count votes coming from any other.
But the undersigned has been informed
that, among the abstracts of votes trans
mitted to his Excellency the Governor,
there is one purporting to come from the
clerk of Buffalo county, whereby it is
made to apper that no less than 292 votes
were there cast for Mr.. Estabrook, and
not one for the undersigned. Buffalo
county was declared such by an act defin-
ing its limits, approved March IA, 1856
p. 3401. BUTT has never been organ
lied as a county, nc election for county
officers ever having been held therein
and it is accordingly not enumerated
among the counties IN the act passed last
year [p. 25lj ITO apportion the mem
bers of the House of Representatives
Had the small number of its inhabit-
ants desired its organization, there is a
simple and easy process provided by a
general law of the Territory Tentitled
IAN act in relation to new counties"
approved March 10, 1866, p. 2227, by
which their desire might have been gra-
titled at any time, but of which they have
not yet seen fit to avail themselves; their
number being, 1t may be presumed, In
their opinion. too inconsiderable to re-
quire such organization, or to warrant the
expenses to which II would subject them.
The undersigned has, however, been
informed that, some time during the last
summer, county officers for the county of
Buffalo were appointed by his Excellency
the Governor. IF his Excellency was
not by law empowered to make these ap-
pointments, they were, of course, invalid,
and no lawful election could be held in
the county, for the want Of proper per-
sons to conduct it. No places could be
designated for holding the polls; the per-
sons so appointed commissioners could
not give the required notices nor appoint
the Judges of election, nor could the per-
sons appointed judges act as such; the
person so appointed clerk Of the county
was not authorized to receive the returns
of the judges Of election, nor could he
the votes given, to his Excellency
the Governor. In short, the whole pro-
ceeding must have been irregular, base