The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1880-09-17
The BuckshOt War.
AN INTERESTING HISTORICAL EPISODE RE-
CALLED AND AN APPLICATION MADE.
To the Editor of THE TINES.

TO the Editor OF THE TINES.
''The committee appointed to inquire into
the causes of the disturbances at the seat Of
government in December, 1885" consisted
of Mr. Snowden, chairman, Messrs Flen.
niken, ,Roberts,T. S. Cunningham and Long.
Mr. Il. X. Boaz was elected secretary, The
committee met on the 18th of March, 1899.
On the 25lh of March.Mr. Long was excused
and Nj Ieilin was substituted. A large
amount of evidence was taken, and the COM
mittee made its report to the House June IS
1882
1t was an early attempt to commit an elec-
ton fraud, and the committee found that
"the difficulties which took place at the seat
of government on the 4th day Of December
last the day appointed for the meeting of
the Legislature, had their origin in a fraud
concocted by certain Federal return judges
in the county of Philadelphia, with the adj
vice and cooperation of William B Reed,
the Attorney General of the commonwealth,
and John G.. Watmough, the sheriff of the
city and county of Philadelphia, by which
the regularly elected members of the House
of Representatives were iniquitously attemp-
ted to be deprived of their seats, a fraud
which Thomas Fl. Burrows, Secretary tof
State under Governor Ritner, and Thaddeus
Stevens, one of his Canal commissioners,
and a member of the House from Adams
county, and the latter by attempting to or
ganize the Legislature in manner unknown
to the Constitution and laws"
In their report the committee find that
fictitious names were placed upon the regis
try; that bribes were offered and paid to
change the result; that hordes of individuals
under the pretext of being officers to preserve
the peace, were employed and stationed near
the respective election houses with the view
of intimidating the Democrats from the free
exercise of the right of suffrage that tick
cts were taken from the boxes before the
closing of The polls and before the canvass
ing took place; that tickets were thrown
into the boxes and counted which had never
been deposited in the legal manner and hat
false receipts for taxes were manufactured
and that other offences of a similar nature
were committed.
General Adam Diller testified: "In con.
sequence of an alarming report caused by
newspaper publications, one of them over
the name of Thomas II. Burrowes, stating
that their party should treat the late election
as if they had not been defeated, and an
other editorial in the Harrisburg Chronicle
Ritner paper, telling the people to repair
to Harrisburg on the day of the meeting of
the Legislature to put those eight members
from the county of Philadelphia in their
seats if they refused peaceably ifthey could 4,
if not, forcibly," there WAS likely to be
trouble At the meeting of the Legislature
The address of Thomas II. Burrowes, chair
man OF the State committee, "To the friends
of Joseph Ritner," contains this sentence :
"Let us treat tie clectioa ot the ninth instant
as if i0e had not been defeated and in that
attitude abide the result.
Governor Rtner called out the military
and put them under the command of MajOr
Robert Patterson. He saw at once there
was no necessity for such a display, snd 50
reported to the Governor Ritner refused
to discharge them, and directed the General
to undertake to preserve the public peace.
And ou the 10th December 1888, General
Patterson felt himself constrained to give
Governor Ritner q bit of information and
advice as follows: "Allow me respectfully
to state that mere violations of the public
peace should be prevented or punished by
the civil authorities, and unit it is ascertain.
ed that they are unable to accomplish those
objects the military should not be called on
to perform those duties. 1t is hardly necess-
ary to say that, as commanding officer of the
division, shall meet oil questions in the line
of my duty with promptness."
Thus we see in this very short abstract of
phamphlet Of 1853 pages, how history,
civil and military, repeats itself Here we
see the b'ginnirg of the Davenports aud
Mouatts in the Watmoughs aud Reeds of
forty years ago how weak government
sought to plunge the Stste into anarchy and
bloodshed, and was restrained and prevented
by coOland cleAr-headed military officer
one who knew bis duty as such, and yet de
termined that the civil law must be superior
to the military, and shat mere violations o
the public peace" were within the duties of
the civil sathoIities
John q. Freeze.
bloomsbury, Pa, Aug. IL, 1880.