Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1872-01-20

l
Printed under rule, 81
Same member from the same committee re-
ported legislation inexpedient on order rela-
ting to amendment of law, that health officers
OF towns shall have power to compel yaccin-
| alton IN certain cases.
Mr.. RANDALL from the Committee on State
Lands and State Roads, to which was refer
| red the petition Of James Withee for lot OF
| land without settling duties, reported re-
solve in favor of the same Read and as
| signed. f~b
Same member from the same committee,
on petetion of Hiram Morse of Lyndon, for
lot of land waving settling duties, reported
a resolve in aid of same. Read and assigned.
| Mr.. WILSON from the same committee, on
petition of America Bartlett for deed OF
! land, reported resolve in favor of the same.
Read and assigned.
Mr.. HuMpHREY from the Judiciary Com
mittee, reported, ought to pass on bill an act
to amend the charter of the Maine State
Boiler Company, and legalize the doings of
said company. Read and assigned.
| Mr.. KING from the Committee on Division
| of Towns on petition of Charles ID. WILDER ct
ais. reported bill an act to set off certain real
estate from the town. of WalthaH, and an
mex the same to the town of Easterbrook.
Read and assigned. -
Mr.. WYMAN from the Committee on Manu-
features reported ought to pass on bill an act
to incorporate the Dexter Mills. Read and
assigned.
Mr.. WEBB from the Committee on Elec-
tons reported leave TO withdraw remon-
STRANGE Of Phillip Gagnon against the right OF
George Seely to hold d seat in the House.
The report was read and accepted.
PASSED TO BE ENGRossED.--An act to make
valid the dongs of the Brewer Artillery Com
pany in aid of the Soldiers Monument in
Brewer; an act to incorporate the Richmond
Factory Association.
Mr. ESTES presented the following order
ORDERED, That the Committee on Pay
Roll be directed to make up the pay of Phil
lip Gagnon of Frenchville, contestant for
seat in the House, at two dollars day since
the opening of the session, with the usual
mileage.
Mr.. CARLETON thought it time to shut
down our paying contestants who come here
without the shadow of a chance to succeed,
and he inquired of the chairman of the Com
mittee on Elections, what the merits of this
case were.
Mr.. WEBB said that the whole number Of
votes thrown in the district were 525, the con-
testant having 240 votes, and Mr.. Seely, the
sitting member, had 295, and majority OF 40
votes. Mr.. Seely's seat is contested upon the
ground that the assessors of St. Francis plan
tation did not return the Secretary of State
certificate stating who their officers were at
the spring election, which was required by
statute. The contestant did not claim that
there was any illegal voting, or that the re-
turn of this plantation was illegal, but that
the officers of the last annual town meeting
neglected to notify the Secretary of State be-
fore the LIST day of July last who the as
seasons were. That plantation gives so votes,
none of which were for the contestant, and
all of which were for the sitting member.
Secondly, the plantation of st. John, which
gives % votes, one for the contestant and 90
for the sitting member, is contested by Mr..
Gagnon on the ground that one person
signed all the names of the selectmen to the
return sent in to the Secretary of State.
Two of them cannot write at all, and the 9TH
er can. They employed some person to write
their names for them, and did not make any
"mark." No fraud is alleged in this planta
ton, excepting that one person at the request
of the assessors signed their names to the
return, which, it is said, is contrary to law.
The third is Wallagrass Plantation, in
which AZ votes were cast SO for the sitting
member and Tor the remonstrant, and that
is in precisely the same condition as st. John.
There is no illegally in the voting, but the
returns are signed by another person, for the
reason that the assessors can neither read nor
write English. ,cat~"a @
To inquiry by Mr. Lebroke, Mr.. WEBB stat
ed that if these two plantations were thrown
out, the contestant would be elected by five
votes. But on the other hand the sitting
member says that the town of Frenchville,
which cast 232 votes, 200 of which were for
the contestant and SO for the sitting member;
and if we throw out the other for the infor-
malities, that we must also throw this one out
for informalities. The informally in French
vile is that the contestant signed the select.
mems names to the return sent in here, as he
says himself, and the difference between that
signed by him, and those other two planta-
tons, is that he signed their names, and there
is cross made where their names are
signed, but it is not Witnessed. -
The CoDmittee came to the unanimous con-
clusion that the contestant should have leave
to withdraw. The gentleman from Wallaw-
grass Mr.. KeeganJ had asked him to put in
an order for the pay of the contestant, which
he had declined to do, but there was nothing
said about it in the Committee.
These contested election cases coming from
Aroostook county every year are at large ex-
pense to the State, and they are regarded
down there more as a matter of fun than any
thing else. His vote in this case would turn
merely upon the precedent which it 10 our
duty to establish in this matter, and not in
relation to this particular case. He believed
that if man comes here and has reasonable
ground to contest an election, and still don't
succeed, he should have his pay but when
he comes down here without expecting to
prevail, as he had been told Mr.. Gagnon had
come, he was opposed to compromising him
for it.
Mr.. WEBB read from affidavits which had
been before the Committee, tending to show
loose manner in voting in Frenchville, boys
holding the ballot box and check list count
ing the votes in the box during the progress
of voting, etc. E
Mr.. KEEGAN proceeded to refute some OF
the charges brought in the afidavits, after
which he spoke upon what he conceived to
be the real question in the matter. He said
he doubted whether members might not be-
lieve that the Committee on Elections, which
acting no doubt in good faith, had not at least
made a mistake in Judgment, and mistake
in law. 1t seems that the question is to be
tried, and he should far prefer trying it upon
a motion that the contestant be admitted to a
seat in this House. He had made no motion
of that kind, but the case was this:
| In the first place, the contestant had come
here by no counsel of his. He (Mr. Keegan)
might have said that he believed that the con-
| testant according To law was entitled tn 81