The Bedford gazette. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1805-current, 1870-01-13
TFIekery. Fraud and Corruption.
s.Dtir Congressman, has finger i'm the
pie


eth Senatorial District was called, the
Clerk of the Senate read the certificate
of Hiram Findlay, as Senator elect for
the District, and also laid before the
Senate paper signed by w. c. Hicks,
ofSomerset county, purporting to be a
certificate of the election of Edward
Scuil. Mr.. Wallace moved that Hiram
Findlay be sworn as the sitting Sena-
tor, which motion was lost, all the
radical Senators, save Mr.. Lowry, of
Erie, voting against it. Mr.. White
moved to refer the papers in the case
to special committee with authority
to inquire into the facts and to report
to the Senate within sixty days. Mr..
Lowry, radical, denounced this course
as an outrage, an attempt TO do great
wrong not only to Mr.. Findlay, the
Senator elect, but to the people of the
Twentieth District who would be with
out representation in the Senate. He
said that there were two papers present.
ed to the Senate, one regular and legal
in every respect, showing the election
of Hiram Findlay; the other irregular,
invalid, amounting to nothing more
than a communication from single
individual, certifying the election of
Mr.. Scull The Senate could easily de-
termine, from these papers, whether
Mr.. Findlay or Mr.. SculI is entitled to
the seat pi'ia7a tiqcie. Headed that the
rejection of Mr.. Findlay's certificate
would bring odium on the radical or
ganization and he would not be party
to such partisan work. But Mr.. Low
rvs political associates turned deaf
ear TO his counsel, and Mr.. Whites
motion was adopted by vote Of II to
IS. Such proceeding was never be-
fore attempted in either branch of the
legislature. No committees have ever
before been appointed TO revise the
action of a board of district return
Judges, as all committees on contested
seats must be drawn by lot, according
to law, and not appointed, as this one
was. by partisan presiding officer.
UH friday IasT, IGe cuunnIluee
properly styled a committee to
invent an excuse for swindling Hi
ram. .Findlay out of his seat in the
Senate) made a report. Two of the
three members of the committee, both
bitter and unscrupulous radicals, re-
ported in favor of giving the seat,
griHla .facie, to Mr.. Scull, on the
ground that the vote Of Allegheny
township, Somerset county, which
gave Mr.. Findlay majority of 40
votes, could not be counted. The
other member of the committee made
a report declaring Mr.. Findlay enti-
tied 20 the seat. 4 debate arose on the
subject, during which Senator Wallace
made a clear and powerful argument
in favor of Mr.. Find:ay's right to the
seat, the strong point on which was
that the two papers construed togeth-
er showed that Hiram FHdiay has q
nlqjoruy Of al the roteS cast in The dis
trict. There was flutter among the
radical Senators. Mr.. Lowry again
announced his conviction that Mr..
Findiav was entitled to the seat. Mr..
Graham, of Allegheny, said he was
nos yet prepared 10 vote on the ques-
tion. There were unmistakeabies signs
of decentralization on the radical side OF
the Senate. Mr. Lowry and the DEM
ocratic Senators urged an immediate
vote. but more time was desired by
the radicals and the matter went over
until Tuesday evening of this week.
We are not advised, at this writing,
what has been the result of the strug-
gle One thing is certain, the seat can
not be given to ScuIl without the de-
liberate disfranchisment of the votes
of Allegheny township, Somerset
county.
We will do Mr. ScuIl the justice 10
say that we are convinced that he is
not making this fight of his own mo-
lion. He has been dragged into the
contest by John Cessna and a few 9th
er hangers-on of the radical party who
are personally interested in his obtain
ing the seat. When the nomination
Of Alexander SlutZman, last autumn
occasioned disturbance in the radical
ranks, Cessna determined to take adj
vantage Of the state of affairs, by COM
pel!ing Stutzman to withdraw and
nominating Scui in his stead, 50 that
the latter might resign his office OF
Assessor of Internal Revenue, po-
sition which Cessna desires to confer
on a certain radical politician of Frank
lin county. with view of purchasing
the future support of his party in that
county. 1t will he recollected that