The record-union., 1891-09-01
AT IT ONCE MORE.
The Celebrated Colusa-Glenn Squab-
BILE is Renewed With Vigor.
Governor Markham is Asked by the
Colusa Folks to Help Them Ont
He VIII Consider.

AAS w III SoA4SANsSIs
The residents OF Colusa County, not
being satisfied with the opinion that the
Act establishing Glenn County is consti-
tutional, had their delegation before
Governor Markham yesterday to ask
permission TO bring suit in the name of
the State to determine the question OF
constitutionality in the courts.
The Colusa people were represented by
Stanley, Stoney u Hayes and Johnson,
Johnson d Johnson, and Ii. NJ. Albery
of Colusa. The Glenn County people
were represented by Judge i. II. Cotton,
J. Z. Campbell also being retained III the
case
Grove L. Johnson stated briefly what
the application was for. After Mr.. john
son had concluded, Mr.. Albery addressed
the Governor. He said the Act Tor the
organization of Glenn County provided
for an election TO be held in May to de-
teTminC whether the new county should
be established or not Under the Act
five Commissioners were appointed by
the Governor 10 meet at Willows, the
county seat OF the proposed new county,
/ to form voting precincts ana 10 select
! election officers. ihe officers were Sc
/ lccted and the election held according 10
! law. At the election, III addition 10 de-
termining whether new county should
! be formed or not, officers were elected.
! The vote was announced as 92t for and
! 615 against the formation OF the county.
! The application before the Governor
! was based on the Civil Code Section $751;
/ which reads: AN action may be brought
! by the Attorney-General in the name Of
I the people Of this State, upon his own
-
/ vate party, against any person who usGrps,
! intrudes into or unlawfully holds or eXer-
/ ciseS any public Office, civil or military,
! or any franchise within this State. And
! the Acknowledgement must bring the
! action whenever he has reason to believe
that any such office or franchise has been
usurped, intruded into or unIawfully
1 held or exercised by any person, or when
I he is directed to do so by the Governor"
OF the five Commissioners appointed
/ by the Governor, three were SAID 10 be in
favor Of the proposed new county and
/ two opposed 20 it.
At the meeting OF the Commissioners,
! continued Mr.. Albery, the minority was
denied admission, and even denied the
! privilege OF being represented by an at
/ tOrney. The meeting was held behind
! closed doors, and none but the friends of
/ Glenn were admitted. 1t was most
/ harmonious meeting, he said, as every
thing had been prepared beforehand.
| The precincts and polling-places had all
been arranged-and arranged in such Il
! manner that only the friends of the pro-
! posed new county had any show at the
| polls. The election boards throughout,
with the exception Of two, We're made up
entirely of Glenn people.
Mr.. Albery then related how the COM
mission had, by some very clever gerry
Wandering. reconstructed the precincts
freeze Out the opponents of the new
county. They had entirely wiped ont Of
existence the precinct of st. John, be-
cause it was known to contain q majority
opposed to the new county. This pre-
cinct had stood intact for years, but in
this instance it was merged into Jucinto
precinct, the major portion OF which was
the Glenn ranch, and the inha OF
which were Glenn adheTents.
Similar gerrymandering had been done
III Princeton precinct The polling place
was moved from the town OF Princeton
to an isolated farm house, and the bound
aries had been doctored SO that they in
Guided heavy Glenn vote that preyi-
Ously belonged in another precinct. Nor
mand precinct had been tanpered with
in the same manner.
The attorney declared that the Election
Commission had wholly ignored the sta
tutory law with reference to the forma-
ton of precincts. The law commanded
that the precincts shall contain as near to
200 voters as it is possible to construct it.
/ But III this case, he said, the commission
had no regard whatever for the law.
In the town Of Willows some go per-
sons were permitted TO vote whose names
did not appear on the printed register in
use at the polls, but who had been regis
tered by the County Clerk, and had been
furnished with certificates. Mr.. Albery
hot hill b. -
a person cannot vote whose name is not
on the printed register, they permitted
the County Clerk to issue certificates.
This matter had never been passed upon
in court of California and the attorney
stated that this was one of the points it
was desirous of having a court consider
/ Those 270 certificate votes were sufficient
to determine the election in the two pre-
cincts they were cast in.
! AT the afternoon hearing Judge Cotton
addressed the Governor in behalf of the
I Glenn County adherents. He argued that
! the Executive had no revisory power.
The Attorney-Geueral said he did not
wish TO influence the Governors action
in any manner, but he wanted to know
what was TO become of the eleven mill
ions of taxable property in Glenn
County, provided suit was brought and
the court decided III favor of the petition
ers. He said he did not care what had
been said about him by personal ene-
mics because he had written an opinion
in favor Of Glenn County, for he knew
that every one of the damaging state
ments were false.
Grove l.. Johnson argued at length that
the Governor had the right to order the
Attorney General to bring an action, and
Mr.. Abery, Judge Cotton and the Gov
ernor took hand in the discussion.
The matter was finally taken under ad-
visement. The Governor, however,
stated that he would allow the attorneys
a reasonable time in which to prepare