The Bedford gazette. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1805-current, 1866-02-23
ALEXANDER III. COFFROFEI,
AND
WILLIAM H. TGOONTL.

JANUARY 26, 1S66.-Laid on the table
and ordered to be printed.
Mr.. UPsoN, from the Committee of
Elections, made the following
REPORT.
The Committed Elections, tOWhOm
We're referred the certificates and all pa
pers relating to the election in the Six
teenth Congressional District of Penn
sylvania with instructions to report,
at as early day as practicable, which
of the rival claimants to the vacant seat
from that district has the prinaa tdcie
right thereto, reserVing to the other
party the privilege of cOntesting the
case upon the merits, without prejudice
from lapse Of time or want Of notice"
having considered the said certificates
and papers 50 referred, that Alexander
ii. COttrOth and William II. kOOntZ
each claims to have the prinla fdcjeright
to the vacant seat in question, and each
of said claimants has appeared in per-
son before the committee and also by
attorney, and been heard in support Of
his respective claim.
BY the general election law Of Penn
sylvania, (Purdon's Digest, Sth ed. 1853,
pages 2s7. 2SS, 2S9, 293, sections 50, 60,
63, 81, %. and ll3, when two or more
counties compose a district the choice
of a member of the House of Repre-
sentatives of the United States, it is
provided, afteran election has been held,
that the judges of election in each cOun-
ty having met, the clerks shall make
out a fair statement of all the votes
which shall have been given at such
election, within the county, for every
person voted for as such member, which
shall be signed by said Judges and at
tested by the clerks; section So and
one of the said judges Is to take charge
of said certificate Of votes, and produce
the same at meeting of one judge
from each county, at such place in such
district as is, or may be, provided by
law for that purpose. The Judges of the
several counties composing such dis
trictl having met as aforesaid, are then
required section 81 to cast up the sew
eral county returns and make duplicate
returns of all the votes given for such
Office of representative in Congress in
said district, and of the name Of the
person elected, and to deposit one of
said returns for said Office of repreSen-
B TAU * III tilt pilllt VI lilN bAOA1AOii'ltti.N
of the court of common pleas of the
county in which they shall meet, and
to place the other return in the nearest
post office, sealed and directed to the
secretary of the Commonwealth.
The said return judges are also requir-
ed section So to transmit to the person
elected to serve in Congress a certificate
of his election, within five days after
! the day Of making said return.
On the receipt of the election of MEM
/ bers of the HOuseOf Representative Of
| the United States, as aforesaid, by the
/ secretary Of the Commonwealth, the
governor is required tsection ll3) to de-
| clare by proclamation the names OF the
/ persons so returned a. elected in the re-
| spectiVe districts, and also transmit, as
soon as conveniently may be thereafter,
| the returns so made to the House Of
| Representative of the United States.
The sixteenth congressional district
! of Pennsylvania is composed of the
counties of Adams, Bedford, Franklin,
! Fulton and Somerset.
! The governor of Pennsylvania, in his
/ proclamation Of the date of December
! 26, 1864, declaring the names of the per-
! sons returned as elected in the congress
! siOnaI districts in said State, omitted to
! declare the name of any person as re-
| turned elected in the sixteenth district,
| as appears from the certified copy Of
| said proclamation accompanying this
/ report. paper | j referred to the COM
mittee, but states therein THAT no such
/ returns of the election in the sixteenth
| congressional district have been sent to
| the secretary Of the Commonwealth, as
| would, under the act of assembly of
! July ,, \. ID. 1889, authorize me to pro-
/ claim the name of anypersOn as having
| been returned as duly elected member
| of the House of Representatives of the
/ United States for that district" Said
act of July ,, 1889, is the law hereinbe-
| fore referred to.
Neither of the claimants, then, hav-
! ING any DriDtU fUcie right to the seat,
under the governors proclamation, the
committee next proceeded to examine
the official return made by the return
Judges of said district of all the votes
given for said office of Representative
in Congress in said district as cast up
! bv said Judges from the returns from
the several counties therein.
The committee found among the pa
| Def- so ftIeTTtu 10 liltlll tNO pdpCloS
Ipapers and 1, each on its face pur-
porting to be such return, and might
have been in some doubt a. TO which
was the genuine official return, each
being signed by a different set of return
Judges, save that the name of Nathan
| Winter is affixed to each as the return
Judge from Fulton county. and the pa
per purpOrting to be a return in favor
of Mr.. Coffroth paper A is signed by
four judges, while the paper purporting
to be a return in favor of Mr.. KoOntz
is signed by five; but they were reliev-
ed from any doubt on this subject by
the admissions of the respective claim
ants made before the committee, and
by the statement of facts contained in
the opinion of the attorney general OF
Pennsylvania, Mr.. Meredith, submitted
to the governor of said State on this