The Placer herald., 1870-03-05
FORGERY, FALSE PRETENSES, OR
FALSEHOOD. m

o. as TO lead 10 neavy sW1Uulo upon Tue
Slate in a contract for The erection of a State
prison. The members Of that Legislature
were SO certain that asforgery had been cou'
m tied, that a, the noxt session the contract
was declared null and void. This crime had
most likely been committed while the bill
was in the hands of the Engrossing or En-
rolling clerks, at the instance Of some inter
ested party. The crime was of SO desperate
ard public a character, that the Indignation
Of the whole people Of the State was arous'
ed. and +. Vassault, the contractor, Estel
and all interested were glad to consent 10
the nullifying Of the contract. Something
very similar seems TO have occurred in the
Assembly on Monday, the 2lst Of February
last, while the fee and salary bill was under
discussion, or after it passed. According ,o
the Reporter and Union who occupy favor
able positions fer knowing exactly what was
done, the county Of Placer was excepted
from the operations Of the bill. Mr.. Wal
dron, from Placer, was in the Chair; Mr.
GiIdea bad moved 10 exempt Ell Dorado
from the operations OF the bill, San Bernar
dino having been previously excepted, and
his motion was adopted. We now quote
from the Unions report:
"Mr Power moved to place Placer county
in the same category as San Bernardino and
Ell Dorado, which was agreed to-
Mr.. Wadron then left the chair, and Mr.
Gldea took it. After some remarks from
| Mr.. Oates and Mr.. York, " ho wished to ex-
cept Tuolumne, the rules were suspended,
the till considered engrossed and passed !;
Mr.. Power and Mr. Waldron, of this county,
voting against the passage Of the bill. Now
it is said, in Auburn, that Mr.. Powers mo
tion did not pass, that it was not even sec
onded, and that both Waldron and Power
in the bill, and then voted again the bill
because it was bad one. Remember, Wall
dron's being in the Chair did not pre- vent,
him from seconding Mr.. Powers motion,
and that be was out of the Chair and on the
floor in time to renew the motion il it had not
been passed Remember, also, that Power
had been in the Legislature nearly three
MONTHS land it would be exceedingly strange
if he could not get a second 10 a motion
purely local, and more strange still if be
would sit down, knowing his motion had
failed for want OF second, without asking
some mem Der 10 second it This might do
to tell to Digger Indians, but it will not 60
down with the writer, who has served five
years as a member and officer of a Csifor-
MA legislative body, without further and
more positive proof Of the iuetiiciency ,r
duplcty Of our delegation in the Assem- bly,
The Reporter even published an editorial
the morning following, stating the fact that
Placer had been excepted from the bill.
At this distance it would look lik, the bill
bad been tampered with after its passage;
but If Mr.. Waldron, who was in the Chair,
Mr.. Power, who made the motion, and Mr..
Calderwood, who was setting beside him
when the motion was made, do or will Ger.
lfy to the fact that Powers motion was not
seconded, or put nor declared carried, then,
for the present, we must yield that point.
Mr.. Calderwood was present, as bis asking
TO he excused from voting on the bill, be-
cause be was interested in its provisions,
IA queer category for member of the Leg
islature TO occupy on bill not retroactive
in its provison,) proves. Then Waldron
and Power occupy one of these queer posi-
tions: First. they believed the bill bad
one, voted agains! it as bad one, wanted
to except Placer from its operations, no one
objected to their doing 80, but they failed
to do SO because one OF them did not second
the others motion, and nobody else done
SO because they were not asked to. Second,
if they did not wish to except the county
from the bill they must have thought it a
good one, and if it was a good one why did
:hey vote against iti Third, if the county
was excepted from the bill, on Powers mo-
lion and Waldron's declaration from the
Chair, as all the Reporters state it was,
Why not sick to that fact, and 60 to work
to have these false rumors in Auburn cor
rected, and the journals and bill made to
conform to the facts in the case 7 From all
we can learn from the newspapers at the
Capitol and the rumors in Auburn, the mat
ter is left in about the above mix. Above
all things We sincerely desire to place Mr..
WaIdron and Mr.. Power righ! before the
public on this measure SO that full justice
may be done them. We last week COM
mended them for their adherence to their
pledges and if we were then in error, we
should deeply regret i! for it always pleases
US to praise rather than condemn. Mr.. Cal.
derwood's position is an enigma to US, and
he can have the use of our columns to ex-