The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1859-09-09

Court, in case of contest, thought it proper
to reply to Hon. d. Cooper as follows:
STATE OF MINNESOTA, }
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE,
ST. PAUL, June %, 1858.
HON. u: CooPER-Sir: Your note of the 2lst
was received by mail on the 23d. Being en-.
gagged just then in moving my office to differ
ent wing, at the Capitol, was prevented from
answering as promptly as l should have liked
viii not certify to any copy of any docu
ment on file in my Office unless it be full, true
and correct copy of the document, and this, as
mentioned to you in my previous communica
ton, snail always be ready to do. As you in
your letter clearly ask for certified extracts of
titles on nle In my office, / answer, that do
not feel authorized to comply with your re.
quest. am, most respectfully,
Your Ob't serv't, Francis BAAsEN.
To which received the following reply:
~, ST. PAUL, July 5, 1858.
SIR-Yours of the 2Sth ultimo was received
some. days since, but from various causes, 1
have been unable to reply to it until now.
1t has occurred to me that you. perhaps. mis-.
take the request, which had the honor to make
of you, on behalf of Gov. Ramsey respecting
the election returns.
We desire not partial, but full and entire
copy. OF the vote for Governor cast at the
And need scarcely say to you that we do
not want the vote for members of Congress,
Supreme and District Judges, Lieutenant Gov.
ernOr, Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer
or for any other officers but Governor.
cannot think therefore that by yours of the
18th ult., you intend absolutely to decline to
furnish us with the full and entire vote for Gov
ernor, unless we also take with it, the vote cast
and returns made for all other officers, voted
for at that election.
The labor of making a copy of the entire
election returns in your office, to say nothing
of sthe useless expense would be the means
of causing great delay, while our purpose and
intention is to institute proceedings at once, if
we are permitted to obtain the necessary infOr-
nation from your office.
Indeed, it would have greatly facilitated the
whole matter had you acted on your first oblig-
ing intimation and permitted my clerk under
your own supervision, to have made such notes
as l desired. Then day or two at most,
would have suficed for him to have obtained
all desired.
Hoping that we now understand each other,
and that you will furnish certified copy of the
other officers voted for at that election, and
that may hear from you at your earliest con.
venience.
am most respectfully
your very obedent servant,
Attorney for Gov. Ramsey.
On the receipt of this letter appointed i'm.
medately Henry N. Setter, ESQ.,, special
clerk to prepare said abstract for Hon. D.
Cooper, stating the agreement made between
the Judge and myself in regard to the pay.
Shortly after leaving for New York city on
business, gave Mr.. Setter note to Judge
Cooper. stating that had appointed him, and
that Mr.. Setter was to receive the pay for said
abstract to his own use. Mr.. Setter went to
Judge Cooper and desired him to pay small
sum on account, stating that over one. third o.
the work was done.
Judge Cooper asked how much the copy
complete would cost? Mr.. Setter answered
him between SIS and 500, and perhaps less.
Whereupon Judge Cooper said that it was
great deal more than he expected, and that
Mr.. Ramsey expected the costs of the same
would not amount to over ten or fifteen dollars;
and that he would not be willing to go to a
heavier expense. On my arrival home from
New York, found Mr.. Setter, and asked him
if the abstract was finished. He told me it
was not, and related the above conversation
between Judge Cooper and himself.
The work, so far as it was done, can be seen
at my office. 1t is not paid for get by Hon.
David Cooper, the. attorney of Mr.. Ramsey,
and any honest person acquainted with such
business, may examine the same, and see if
there was anything included in the abstract
that was not absolutely necessary to make the
same complete, so as to be used before court.
The matter then dropped, and have not
heard anything about it since, from Gov. Ram
sey or his attorney. The reasons why refused
Judge Cooper the privilege of allowing his
clerk to ransack my Office, were two fold, as
stated at that time:
LIST. Being responsible for the documents de-
posted, did not wish to employ in my office
any person did not perfectly know; and
I'd. That the friends of Hon. A. Ramsey had
perpetrated agai Gov Sibley, ever since his
election, a series of personal attacks and saw
age abuses, not consistent with my views of
political warfare in civilized country and
that did not desire to prostitute my office and
furnish food for continuing such a warfare, by
giving, under my official sanction garbled cx-
tracts from documents which would prevent
their true sense being taken; and that no good
WOulU RESULT 10 Lne OCdCe IrOm SuCn course.
But, at the same time, freely stated, that if
the friends of Hon. Alex. Ramsey desired to
contest, they would not find any impeachment
in their way from my side. This I showed
clearly, by even refusing the customary fees
for copy of the documents, and asking his
attorney only to pay the absolute necessary
clerks fees, had or would have, to pay my.
self.
The expenses, as stated above, would not
have been over one hundred dollars, and prob.
ably only sixty or seventy dollars; and the hue
and cry of my having charged directly or indi
rectly such q sum as two thousand dollars, is
an unmitigated falsehood. And further, the
statement that ''the Secretary of State refused
to give a copy of a part of the returns--that u.s.
of the returns of the vote of Governor alone
unless he furnished copy of all the returns for
all the State officers" is simple untruth. l
understood Judge COOPER at our first interview,
and he understood me, that it was only an
abstract of the vote for Governor that should
be given, but that it should be full abstract
of such vote, and not any partial extract there
from. Hon. D. COOPER, when he declined to
have the abstract finished, did not object to the