Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1868-03-12
Ohio Legislature.
Wednesday, March IL, 1868.
SENATE.
MORNING SESSION.

MORNlNG SESSION.
The President called the Senate to order
| at o'clock.
THE CONTESTED ELECTION CASE.
| Attorney General WEST resumed his ar
gument for Mr.. Jones in the contested elec-
| ton case of Onderdonk and Jones, and
spoke about one hour and half. The
principal points in his speech, aside from
comments upon the evidence and facts in
the case were that the object to be aimed
| at in deciding questions like the one now
pending. should be to purge the ballot-box
of all illegal votes, and then ascertain the
will of the majority of the legal voters
this principle lying at the tounda-
ton of all popular government; that
the Interpretation of constitutional law
should be uniform throughout the State,
| and in all departments of its government; !;
that the United States courts adopt the in
terpretation given by State courts to the
constitutions of their respective States,
when such Interpretation is not in conflict
with the Constitution and laws of the Uni
ted States that the word = white" as used
in the suffrage clause of our present State
Constitution, had received judicial inter-
probation before the adoption of that Con-
stitution, and was incorporated into it with
that Interpretation without qualification );
that the phrase "citizens of the United
States" /" includes all who owe allegiance to
|
crime of treason against it; and that the
rule of "visible admiXture " of blood is
uncertain and variable, as well as any other
rule, save that of the preponderance of
white blood, which is to be determined by
parentage or ancestry.
| In answer to questions propounded by
Mr.. BERRY, Mr.. West stated that he was
opposed to the Supreme Court, or the Con-
gress of the United States, or any power
outside of the State of Ohio, prescribing
who shall vote in Ohio. He had never
favored, and never would favor any such
interference with our domestic affairs. He
said that he never would favor any assump-
tion of power on the part OF the Senate Of
the United States to deprive any State of
its Constitutional representation in that
body, provided such State had civil gov
ernment, and was in q condition to be rep
resented in Congress,
Mr.. West also said. in reply to direct
question by Mr.. MAY, that Congress had
| no more right than the ''man in the moon,"
to say that colored men should vote in Ohio.
| Col. BABER closed the arguments of
counsel in the case with speech on behalf
| of Mr.. Onderdonk. 1t was principally a
| reply to the allegations of Mr.. West in re-
gard to the evidence and the facts in the
case, and an analytical review of the testi-
mony contained in the dispositions on file.
| Col. Baber argued among other things,
| that the Senate, in deciding such questions
as the one then before it, was in no sense
bound by the decisions of the Supreme
Court of the State, but should give its own
Interpretation to the fundamental law of
the State, according to its own under
standing of the true meaning and
history of Ohio, from its beginning
as State to the present time, demonstrated
that it had been che uniform policy of her
people to allow no persons of any degree or
proportion of African blood to have any
share in the government of the State; that
the rule of constituting the word '.whiJe" in
the suffrage clause of the Constitution as
derance of white blood. was absurd; that
the true mode of ascertaining whether a
man was a white man within the meaning
of the Constitution, was by his reputation
and associations in the community in
which he lived; and that the people of
Ohio had, at the last State election, by an
overwhelming majority, sustained and re-
affirmed what had always been the settled
policy of the State, that no person having
any admiXture of African blood, and re-
puted negro or of African descent, should
have the right to vote.
After Col. BABER had concluded and
had answered some questions propounded
by Senators pertaining to the evidence,
Mr.. DICKEY moved that the Senate take
a recess till two O'Clock, which was lost on
rising vote of IA yeas to 16 nays.
On motion Of Mr.. CARTER, the Senate,
at II NJ, took recess till P. M.
AFTERNOON SESSION.
The PRESIDENT called the Senate to
order at three O'Clock.
THE CONTESTED ELECTION CASE.
The question being on the adoption of the
resolution that Homer G. Jones is not en-
lo6 fOa q in hq a 10
tor from the Eighth Senatorial district,
MIR. STAMBAUGH demanded a call of
the Senate, which was had, and all the
Senators were found to be present, except
Messrs. Brooks and Scribner who had
leave of absence, and Mr.. Campbell who
had not leave.
On motion of Mr.. LAWRENCE, the Ser
geat- alarms was dispatched for the Sena-
tor who was absent without leave.
Mr.. CAMPBELL having appeared in
the Senate Chamber, and taken his seat,
On motion of Mr.. DANGLER, all fur
ther proceedings under the roll were dis
pensed with.
The vote was taken on the resolution and
resulted:
YEAs-Messrs. Berry, Campbell, Carter,
Dickey, Dowdney. Emmitt, Evans, God
trey, Golden, Hutcheson, Jamison, Kenney,
Lawrence. Linn, May, Rex, Stambaugh,
Winner-1S.
NAYs-Messrs. Biggs, Burrows. Conant,
Corey, Dangler, Everett, Griswold, Hail.
Keller, Kessler, Kramer. Potts, Simmons,
Torrence, Woodworth, Yeoman-16.
So the resolution was adopted.
The question then being on the second
resolution that Henry M. Onderdonk is en-
titled to a seat in the Senate as Senator
from the Eighth Senatorial district,
Mr.. CONANT was opposed to the adop-
tion OF this resolution. By the resolution
.,,ck fhn 70 had n anlo roI = L
seat of the Senator from the Eight District
vacant. The seat of Mr.. Jones had been
contested by two electors of Gallia county,
and not. by Henry M. Onderdonk. The
point made in the contest, was that persons
having visible admixture of African
blood, had voted for Mr.. Jones, and Mr.. G.
claimed that the testimony taken in the
case should have been confined to that
point alone. He also claimed that all the
dispositions in the case should have been
rejected. and the seat declared vacant.
Mr.. STAMBAUGH had never been able
to learn that in a contested election case,
where there were only two candidates for
the same Office, the seat was declared va
cant. In the case pending, as there were
but two candidates for Senator, one of them
must have had legal woes enough to
elect him. Mr.. S. controverted the prOpo-
sition that all the dispositions taken in the
case should have been thrown out. Itwas
enough that the Senate had found that Mr..
Jones did not receive majority of the le
gal votes for Senator; it followed that Mr..
Onderdonk did. One, of the two candi-
dates being ousted from his seat, it was
clear, and needed no argument to prove
that the other was entitled to the seat Mr..
S., as long as he held seat on that floor,
would never vote to give man a seat here,
whose right to such seat depended upon
votes OF persons having visible admixture
of African blood.
Mr.. DANGLER contended that the tes-
timony taken in the case should all have
been received or entirely rejected, and that
if all was rejected Mr.. Jones was clearly
entitled to the seat, and no one else, and
that the same result would follow if all
tho Testimony was received Tt seamad to