The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1874-01-30

the codeH
4 MIR. Butler, OF Massachusetts. Omitti
4 In the code. Now ask that ! may M
be further interrupted, No man can keC
: up q continuous line ot thought IN the iaC
) o. continuous interruptions. And cel
! tatnly cannot. S'Tg5S AZ = 80
Il Now, my. answer TO ell that about dis
D trict officers 70 thisi that 1t is wholly lal
D aside unless the House comes TO the col
!, clusion that members OF Congress Al
named and determined BY the constitu
/ ton In the term Hdistrict officers" whe
, there are other officers called district O
ticers, such as assessors, inferior maRis
trates, and others who are named as IN
trtct officers In the constitution. n MD :
But the point4let me restate II, az
have been interrupted-th point. In m,
judgment, Is just here: the Leeislatur,,
had provided that at the general election
members Of Congress should be elected
The Constitution came In aud decided, be
ing adopted by q vote Of the people, tha
on the 22d OF August there should be
general election in the sense In which
have used the term, and on that daytherI
WAS an electlon held by common consent
All parties held their Conventions, madt
Ineir nominations, carried on their can
vass, and did all the acts that men eve
do at an election, in reference to that day
One objection was made 10 this, and
listened with great care TO the gentleman
who made it, and 1t was that that day
l WAa mt 'hSp6 FIR thp n1acttnv hnnni,,s, 4,
would have been retroactive, and nobody
could have told whether any election had
psen 4eld on that day or not until after
tne yotes were counted and declared. Sir
the dit1culty with that objection Is that Il
proves 100 much; Tor IT 1t Is a good obiec.
non to the election, then there is no gov.
ernment IN the State Of West Virginia al
an; ne. election was held on that day, and
nobody has been elected in the State.
That Is hardly to be assumed on so slirht
q ground,
Now II L am right on this point, there
seems to be an end Of the case; and seeing
II exactly in that llght1 have not been
able to appreciate, perhaps, as much as l
ought the arguments opposed to It. It Is
determining in my mind q" Ssi93l
1hsHe listened In vain for any statement
that prior to the 22d Of August anybody
set up any claim that the election on that
day was not 9 regular election. i have
not seen 1t stated IN the newspapers, nor
have heard 1t anywhere, that until the
time the votes were counted and declared
any man IN West Virginia said an election
ior members of Congress could not be
held on that day. On the contrary, un.
derstand that all parties held conventions
in reference TO an election on that day.
MIR. Todd. The fact is that in the sec.
ond congressional district both parties
called congressional conventions, and after
deliberating both adjourned, agreeing that
August was not the proper time 10 hold
the election, and no nomination was made
BY either party. e%s
9Mr. Butler, Of Massachusetts. Icannot
say how that Is; 1t does not appear in any
oi the reports. o.
MIR. Speer. ] beg the Rentlemans par.
don't it is expressly stated in the report
signed by three members of the committee.
Mr.. Hazelton, Of Wisconsin, l bee TO
say that that is disputed by parties Who
claim that the convention was adjourned
not on that ground, butfor another rea-
son, to beoalled together by its chairman:
so that the matter Is in DISPUTE.
Mr.. Butler, of Massachusetts, We will
leave ont, the second district for mo-
ment and take the first. ID am informed
by gentlemen OF the committee who are
much more familiar with the case than n
am that there was asmatter Of DISPUTE
about the conventions in.the second dis
trict, but In the first district there was mo
dispute. Well, then, the people went on
and elected; and there was a claim OIL
election on the side Of the party now
seeking TO set aside the election. It was
supposed at first that he was elected
and the cock crowed, upon 1t in his favor,
and nobody suggested that there, was
anything wrong; but when the returns
from thelmountain districts came in there
was a change, and then the cock crew no
longer, but It was said the election was
all wrong; let us 20 over it again.
MIR. G. F. Hoar. Peter denied his mas
ter after the cock crew. JEGfygT a A
MIR. Butler, Of Massachusetts. MY friend
who is well versed in Scripture suggests
to me that 1t was not until after the
cock crew that Peter denied his Master.
Pardon me; he did it before, and then the
cock crew shame on him because he de.
MED his Master. Laughter However
that may, be, sir, nobody put in claim
that the election was Illegal up to that
time. ,f s2tf'iF st..s.'l1 - 10 .agg
Now, look upon all the machinery Of
holding elections as only the means by
which the people can find out who are
elected, and by which Congress is to be
taught; and when we have ascertained
that there was q fair election we throw
aside the machinery. Those Of US who
are old enough to remember the case, re-
member that inlthe great broad d.sesl case
of New Jersey the House threw aside the
whole machinery Of election, and took the
atf1davits Of the voters Of the State as to
how the election was carried on in order
to instruct itself whether there was fair
election without force orifrAud. and if m,