The Montana post. [volume] (Virginia City, Montana Territory [i.e. Mont.]) 1864-1869, 1867-10-26


whatever it may in favor Of Edgerton, as
would the Herald if it was being issued.
Yet here we have a sheet which is will
ing TO abandon all the interests of Madi-
SON to subserve its own. rrrr...
In regard TO the arguments in the arti-
Gle, there is not a jurist but will main
tain the legality of the first apportion-
ment. The assertion that the action of
Acting Governor Meagher was invalid
when the Governor had been absent for
several months, was hundreds of miles
down the Missouri, and had not been
heard of for weeks, is too utterly absurd
to need contradiction, and the italicised
line is the best of evidence that it is
weak argument. Will the Democrat
please state. whether in the event that
Governor Smith had not arrived before
the 1st of July, the apportionment OF
Acting Governor Meagher would have
been valid? If it would, why raise that
question. If it would not, the Democrat
would have been necesitated by its own
assertion TO raise another fuss" So
far as the issuing of proclamations by
the Governor, declaring who is and who
is not elected, is concerned, thousand
of them would not have the least effect
either one way or the other. Were we
disposed to be technical, we might refer
TO the following extract from the Act
authorizing the Governor to make the
appOrtionment.
The apportionment provided for In this sec
tlon shall be based upon such an enumeration
of the qualified electors of the several Legis-
Native districts as shall appear from the cleo
tion returns In the office of the Secretary of
said Territory, and from such other sources of
information as will enable the Governor,
without taking new census, to make an APP
portionment which shall fairly represent the
people of the several districts in both Houses
of the Legislative Assembly.
Governor Smith did not have access
to ''the election returns in the Office of
the Secretary before making the APP
pOrtionment. Neither did Acting Gov
ernor Meagher when he issued the Sc
cond proclamation. The apportionment
made does not fairly represent, etc,
and those proclamations were not issued
frem the Governors or Secretary's office,
but published and proclaimed before
| they could have possibly have had the
! seal of the Territory affixed as required.
The Democrat says, Governor Smith
may have been mistaken in the ratio of
apportiOnment." There is no "may
have about it. We append the evi-
dence. 1t is not "too late to make the
| issue" 1t would have been better had
this question been decided before the
election. as we urged at the time, but it
can be and will be settled now, and there
will be but thirteen members. The
Capitol question is one that should not
be brought up at present, as we shall
take occasion to show ere long, but it
certainly will be, and we have no faith
in, or respect for, a paper that will, as
the Democrat has done, sell out for pot
tage and patronage when every manly
instinct and every sense of right should
prompt an entirely different course.
The following, reproduced from our is
sue OF Oct. LIST, shows the votes at the
general election of '67, with the ratio
and representation under the several
appointments. We commend it's con-
sideratiOn to the DCJ10cg1f