Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1859-10-20


q oae county or district in different cOdnt7 or
striei the Constitution making provision in
UGH q csse, they must, and unti0a1nly have, vo.ed
18th and as part Of the county TO which they have
,een placed BY suoh change; and whether they are,
~ such change added TO an old or new county, il
s the same in principle aud must be the same in
practice.
TIE Constitution having made no provisions for
he votes 10 the territory thus taken from Grundy
and attached to SequAtchie, and the act changing
The county line deserving foe GruHdy county no Ju-
risiict'on this territory giving the voters 10
this territory no rights 10 Grnndy; 1t is submitted
that the citizens so included by this change beeames
entitled to all the rights and privileges and subject
10 all the restrictions and mitaons that pertain TO
the cquCty within whose jurisdiction they we're
placed There being no provision in the Conslitu- |
lion or in any law, for them 30 vote, except in the
county of, or with the territory composing the
county of Sequstshe, they had the right TO vote in
SeoastcLie county by the very terms Of article 4,
section l. Of the Constitution which is ss follows
Every free white man of the age Of twenty-one
wars being citizen of the United & ates and a
citizen Of the county wherein he may offer his vote
for six months next preceding the day of electon,
shall be tiled 10 for members OF the General
Assembly and other civil officers for the county
district in which he may reside" It is insisted
that the citizens of the Grun1y fractioa have no
right 10 vote with the balance of Sequatehie county
aud consequently their votes should be counted
in the eighth senatorial 1isifics. Ii this territory
Of Gruady county had been taken in the eriginal
formation Of the couoty Of Se9uNthIe. then there
would haze ksen controversy: bat such was n It
the ease; il was not united With seqaatc-ie county
by virtae Of tas power Of the Legislature with the
restrictions upon that power, to make new counties;
but, az above shown, became pIt of it By the ex-
eroise Of the power change county lines; then for
the reason sboVe named the citizens Of the frae-
ton Of the Grundy territory most Clearly had
righttO vote with The citizens Of the bAlsnce of the
territory Of SequaIchis, and could vote no where
else; they were entitled all the rshs and priv
eges and subject TO all the restrictions and imits
lions that pertained to the county within whose ju-
risdiciioa they were placed.
Your committee have examined all the evidence
laid before them By the cOLtesting partiel. Taey
find that the 2nd and 8th civil isiricts taken IRON
Grundy county, and attached to Ssquatckie. poiled
thirty-fve votes: nineteen being given by the citi
zens of this portion of Sequatche county, and the
remaining number sixtesn) by the resident citizens
Of the Hamilton portion They also find that tho
Sheriff OF SeQustehie county, either by himself or
deputies Eeld the election in all the civil dstr cts
Of that county; that the judges regularly ap-
pointed in tho distric,s ~ the preceding county
court Of Sequstehie Th.s. jour committee subn t,
was in conformity to the laW giving 10 Sequatchie
dstinct existence, aud requiring il t. vote iu the
eighth Senatorial district. There is some evidence
presented going to show that the Sheriff of Hsml-
ton county considered himself as giving parole de-
pustiou 30 the Sheriff of SequaIche 10 hold the
election. This fact, however, is contrOVerttd by
the Sheriff of Sequatchie, as will be from his
deposition, fled with this report, are also the
other depositions taken in the CAGE.
Your committee. believing that the Sheriff of So
quachie couaiy was fully authorized by law to hold
the election in his county, do not deem it necessary
to look minutely iato question Of evidence as TO
whether the Sheriff Of Hamilton county did or did
not confer upon him special depuGstion. II, how
ever, this question were important aud the deputs-
ton had been necessary, under the circumstance,
il would not be difficult show that the proof falls
short Of establishing the fact that deputstion was
either given or accepted.
Your committee are of opinion that the citizsns
of the seventh and eighth civil districts Of Sequatch
lie had no right 10 vote with the county of Grundy,
to which they originally belonged; that they we're
other compelled 10 vote with Ssqustchis, or not
vote at all. We have no knowledge Of any power in
the Legislature Of Tennessee, by an act Of legsla-
ton, to deprive the people, or any portion of them,
of the privilege Of the ballot box, when that priv
legs is exercised in accordance with the Consttu-
ton Of the State The Constitution provides that
Every free white man Of the age OF twenty
years being a citizen of the United States, and q
citizen of the county wherein he may offer his vote
six months next preceding the day of election, shall
be entitled to vote for members Of the General As
ssmby and other civil officers for the county dis
friets in which he resides" &c, To this fpndamen-
tai Law there is no exception, unless it msy be the
limited one Of citizens residing in the portions Of old
counties which have been stricken of to form new
.nes. The Grundy county territory does not iall
within this exception.
Your committee find in the certificate of the Sher-
if Of the counties comprising the Eighth Senatorial
District, that they at the time and place dssg
nsted by law; that after comparing the polls, John
A. MINIS received ma Jrity OF eighteen votes
over his competitor, VIM. H. Tibbs: whereupon,
your committee are Of opinion that John A. Mianis
is entitled to his seat 10 this House. Tney there.
fore, report the following resolution;
Res0Lped That John &. Minis was duly and con-
stituiOnally elected Senator of the Eighth Sena>
torisl district Of Tennessee, on the FIRST Thursday
in August, 1852 aud that be is entitled to his seat
in this bojy Rs such Senator.
B. L. SroyALI, Chairman,
r. G. PAYsE,
JAS. L. THOMPSON.
Mr. STOKES, from the same committee, presented
the following minority report:
The undersigned, minority Of the COMMITTEES to
which was referred the contested eeetion-case from
the Eighth Senatorial District, between WIllism II
Tibbs and John A. MINIS, not being able 10 agree
with the maj ority in their ststement of facts the
OF their argument, the result Of their
animation, beg leave to submit the following re-
port:
The undersigned have examined with great care,
the various provisions of the constitution and the
different acts Of the Legislature, bearing directly
or indirectly upon the merits of The case and have
analyzed minrtey the testimony Of cred by the con-
tesIahts. This exsmjpstion, begun and conducted
with sincere desire to attain seuAd and truthful
conclusion, has led them TO the firm CONVICTION
that William H. Tibbs, and Lot John A. MINUS, is
entitled TO the seat this floor Senator from the
gbtb DISTRICT; and while it may be that the I'M
dsrsigRed will not be able 10 convince sill the men,
= ~. - go Ill
here and elsewhere interested ia the matter, that
their conviction has much of sound argument and
good sense to sustain il. The merits of the con-
troyersy turn upon the determination Of two ques-
tons: We're The voters Of the Grundy fraction Of
Seauachie county entitled, az tee late election for
Governor, Congressman and members Of the GEN
eral Assembly, 10 Evte for Senator in the Eighth
Senatoris District and if they we're not 30 entitled,
was me election held and conducted in the Haml-
ton fraction of Ssquatchie county in reasonable
conformity with our statutory law upon that SUBJ
iect And TO these questions we will direct our at
tention in the order they are stated. lst We're the
qualified voters Of the Grundy frscEol Of Ssquatchis
county entitled al the late election to vote for Sen
ator ia the Eighth Senatorial District The major
ity sontsud tSst they were entitled, and the
dersigned deny this sRd insist that they could only
vote with Grundy county in the Fourteenth Sena-
torial District. BY the apportionmeRt lag CT 1912
the counties of Rhes, Bledsoe, Bradley, Hamiltop
and Marion form the Eighth Senatorial District; at
the session Of 1866, the General Assembly passed
an act chapter IE2, TO take effect the % day of
September, 1857, attaching the tenth civil district
of Bledsoe county and the first and second civil dis
tricts of Marion county to Hamilton county, and by
an act passed on the 4ih day Of November, 1857,
lses PriysLe Acts Of 1878, chap. 81 these civil
districts we're formed into the fifteenth, sixteenth
and seventeenth civil districts Of Hamilton, and it
is expressly provided that the qsteps Of the peace
aud ponstables then in off ce Eere 70 Continue TO
use and exercise their power and authority as jus
tees OF the peace spd oonsiables of Hamilton
county until their successors in office elected
or some other provision made for tae enforcement of
law and the attainment of JUSTICE On The 9Th
day of December, 1857, the Legislature passed an
act to establish the county of Sequatodie embPac-
ing in its designated boundaries the three civil dis
tticts taken from Bledsoe and Marion counties, and
made a part of Hamilton county as above stated,
and on the 4th day of March, 1858, the same legis-
lslure psossS en- act, by the terms of which por-
zion of Grundy county containing according to the
weight Of the proof, thiTty square miles Of terri
tory was sdded TO the new county of SsQuatnhie
under the pretenss Of change OF county lines. By
the terms and provisions Of this act, creating the
new couHty, the justices of peace, living in said
fifteenth sixteenth ana seventeenth civil districts,
vere authorized to meet on the first Monday 10 jan
nary 1858, and organize a cOGnty court, and elect
suon county officers they are entitled to elect;
commissioners we're appointed with power to select
n site for a permanent county-seat, and the sheriff
Of Hamilton county is directed 10 give notice OF,