The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1880-01-07
The Quorum.
Less than a Quorum Have no Power
Whatever to Compel the Attendance
b. Of Any Body Before the House is Or
ganized.
[kennebec .IOnrnal.l

[kennebec Journal.
The Fusionists are very busy trying to per-
suade Representatives-elect that less than a
quorum of Representatives-elect may compel
their attendance.
Hear the Constitution and the Laws on the
subject. The Maine Constitution, Art. 4, Sec.
3, reads thus:
'Each house shall be the judges of the elections
and qualifications of its members, and major
ty shall constitute a quorum to do business; but
smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and
may compel the attendance of absent members, in
such manner and under such penalties as each house
shall provide"
The Constitution by its very language ap-
plies only to members and q Representa-
tive-elect is not a member" until he volunta-
rily appears and takes the oath Of office. No
man in this country can be compelled to take
an office, legislative or otherwise, by any
power whatever.
Observe further. The above article in the
Constitution says that "less than quorum
may compel the attendance of absent members
in such manner as each House may provide"
This plainly implies that it is the 'House"
that must direct the manner and provide the
penalties, and that therefore less than quo
rum have no power at all until the House is
fully organized. And then when the House is
fully organized less than quorum may COM
pei attendance of "abSent members" in what
ever manner the House preScribeS. This is
the power to which the SNpreme Court refers
in its recent decision.
And this is plainly laid down in the Laws of
the State. The Revised Statutes, Chap 2, Sec.
%, reads as follows:
The clerk of the preceding house of representa-
tives in like shall call the representatives
elect order and preside until they shall be quail
fed and elect speaker; if no quorum appear he
shall preside, and representatves-elect present
shall adjourn from day to day, until quorum ap-
pear and are qualified and speaker is elected.
Here the plain explicit statute shows that
until the appearance of quorum, the clerk
presides and nothing can be done but to ad-
journ from day to day until quorum appear
and are qualified and a speaker is elected.
Then with the Speakers warrant a member
who is absent may be compelled to attend.
But even the Speakers warrant cannot be di-
rected to q representative-elect, but only to a
member, that is, to one regularly "sworn
i'm
Here is what the Supreme Court in their
recent opinion declare:
''Tlre rule applicable to such is similar to
that which applies to our House of representatives.
The whole number of representatives established by
law is one hundred and ffty-one. A majority (that
is. seventy-siX members) constitute quorum to do
business If there is actually that number present,
and majority of them Chat is thirty members)
vote in the affirmative, a valid law can thereby be
enacted other business transacted. If less than
seventy-six members present. then no legal bus
mess be done except to adjourn, or compel the
attendance of absent members.
It will be plainly seen that here the Court
in declaring the actual number of quorum,
discusses what less than quorum OF the
"House' may do, and has no reference what
ever to quorum of the Representatives elect
as its plain language expresses.
The bold, bad, desperate design OF the worst
Fusionists is to get the fraudulent claimants to
seats counted in against the law, to assemble
in the House Of Representatives, and assume
Let every man who receives message or sum-
until a quorum appear and are qualified, that
even those who send the summons are not
''members" and cannot themselves be "sworn
in" until quorum appears.
And then let them know definitely that they
cannot have quorum of the House until they
obey the mandate of the Supreme Court, and
until fraudulent claimants give up their seats
to the honest men whom the People elected.
Gentlemen Conspirators, you cannot have
honest Representatives-elect to help you to a
quorum in order to sustain q fraudulent Organl-
zation of the House.
And If any Representative-elect Is molested
or annoyed by any message or summons from
the meeting of the fraudulent claimants in the
House of Representatives, let him warn the
bearer of the summons that he will be sued for
trespass on his rights. The whole House when
fully organized has no power to send for a
Representative-elect until he is sworn in, and
each Representive-elect has the right to choose
his own time when he will be sworn in. Mark
that, ye conspirators against the peoples rights