Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1864-04-12
sPEECH
HON. VIM. GRIBBEN,
HANCOCK Co. CONTESTED ELECTION CASE.
Delirered in the House of Representatives,
Wednesday evening, March 80, 1864.

w edHeSudy evening, MWCt 0V, loOf.
The question being on the adoption of the |
resolutions reported and recommended by |
MIR. Glover, from the committee on priyil- |
eyes and Elections, declaring that Hon. VIM. |
Gribben was not entitled to a seat on the
floor of the House, and that Parlee Carlin,
his contestant, having received majority |
Of all the legal votes cast-(t -(the contest hay
ing begun ut the beginning of the session,
and dT. Carlin hayi1g devoted the entire |
winter to collecting tes, imony to prove that
two poll books returned by military COM
panies under the soldiers voting law were
illegal)-Mr. Gribben said:
Mr.. SPEAKER / regret that the report of
the committee on Privileges and Elections
in this case was not made sooner, In order
that the House might give the subject that
fair, calm and dispassionate consideration
which its Importance deserves, and that its
judgment might be just, unbiased and i'm
partial. To secure these ends all agree with
me that it would have been better had this
report been made month ago. l am not
disposed to claim anything at the hands of
the House not clearly right; do not claim
vote which Is not clearly due to me, nor
am willing to see my opponent receive
credit for votes not due to him. l am pre-
pared to submit the question of testimony
and facts to this deliberative jury, and
abide by its decision in accordance with the
law. / have no feeling of personal i'll will
against any member of this House; have
no reflections to cast upon, no objection to
raise against any member of the committee
on elections, eXceptit its Chairman, Mr.. Glov-
er, who, 1t is but just to say, acted through
out the examination of the case more like
despicable pettifogger than a member of
4 1, a.. IL ;Ia Of fIa or
the beginning, and all his conduct, all his
actions since have been characterized by
the malignity and partisan prejudice which
he imbibed before knowing anything of the
facts.
was not before the committee when the
question of the fraudulent poll books was
raised. Whether these particular books
contain fraudulent votes or not, know not;
but / do know, and state it upon my own
responsibility, that men voted illegally for
my opponent, whose votes are counted
against me; know that minors in company
B, 9th regiment who had no right to vote
under any law. voted for Mr.. Carlin, and
their votes have been counted. l supposed
the poll books we've all right as returned to
the clerk; never saw nor examined one,
except once, when with Mr.. Carlin, we both
took q statement of the various poll books
w
were opened here we found four or five re-
turned to the Secretary of State which were
not returned to the county clerk, as provid-
ed by law. These books, it seems opened
UP a new issue; l knew nothing of their
contents, and supposed they were like the
rest, all right and to be counted and so
thought until last week, when / learned
that they were in my favor and that wit
nesses were brought here to impeach them.
1 asked permission and time to procure re-
butting evidence to prove that they were
just as legal as the other books, but this
the chairman refused. For the first time
looked at the books and found votes record
ed against me polled by minors whom l
kno,o to be minors and not voters. Since
one sett of books were impeached, de-
sired to prove that the others were not only
not above suspicion, but fraudulent; but
who so unreasonable as to expect that
could bring either witnesses or testimony
| from Chattanooga since last Saturday?
sent to Washington as soon as possible for
| rolls of the companies in question, but have
not yet had time to receivea response. Had
the committee brought this question up In
time for me to have obtained the evidence,
they would be welcome to all they could
make out of it: for l can prove that their
books contain illegal votes enough to end the
contest and give me the seat beyond dis
pute. There may have been informality In
the votes polled TOR me, but not more than
! In those polled against me. / am told that
| In order to save multiplicity of poll books
and writing, different squads got together
| at the ffont, opened poll book, and voted;
this may. have been the case with these
books; but time only was wantad to settle
| the question.
Mr.. Gribben then read from the law of
! 1881 relative to contested elections, wherein
/ 1t is expressly required that notice Of con-
| test shall state the grounds upon which the
contest Is brought, and the specifications of
| illegal votes, etc., also from the existing law
to the same effect, and then proceeded to
show that--even If thr books were in part
wrong, which do not admit-there was no
mention made in the notice of contest OF
the Intention of the contestant to take testi-
mony in relation to the defects in the books,
and therefore the question can not be now
considered without a palpable violation of
the law. That no such notice was issued 1t
| is sufficient to say, as the committee know,
| that knew nothing about 1t until last week.
! [The speaker also read the rule adopted by
the House of Representatives in the Gamble
| contested election case, where 1t Is explicit-
ly provided that the contestant shall not be
allowed to take testimony upon points not
mentioned In the notice of cOntest.] Now,
why will this House allow the contestant In
this case to take testimony, at the States
expense, months after the notice OF contest
Is served, in direct violation of the law, and
contrary to and beyond the solemn rule Of
the House itself? The contestant in this
case took testimony up to the. time came
here and assumed my seat, and then he got
| himself deputized as sergeant OF
| this House to serve summons upon his wit
nesses, and thus procure testimony. He is
a gentleman of abundant leisure; he had
nothing else to do but to work up this case
and spring it upon me, and upon the House
! at this last hour of the session.
| desire to submit another proposition to
those of the legal profession in the House,
in connection with this soldier voting law
| under which this contest Is brought. Sec
ton ,16 of that law prescribes that copies OF
the poll books of the elections held In mill
tary' encampments, together, with the ball
lots, shall be sealed, and one copy sent to
the County Clerk and another to the Secre-
tary of State. The law specifically requires
that the books and the ballots shall be
sealed up. Now In this case it appears
| in the evidence that poll books were
sent to the Clerk In some instances with
| out the ballots, and lin Others ballots
were sent without the poll books; ball
j lots were sent to the Secretary Of State
without the books, and books without, the
ballots. In one case twenty-six votes were
sent with but twenty ballots, and the siS