Daily Kennebec journal., 1899-12-06

| Resolved, Further, that when sworn
in his credentials and all papers in re-
lation to his right to retain his seat
be referred TO the COMMITTEES on judic-
iary with instructions to report there
on at the earliest practicable-monlen
| Taylor then opened his speech in ia
Vor of the adoption of his resolution
He would not urge its adoption, he
said, were he not prompted b. a high
sense of duty. The constitution was
| Inconsistent, he continued. if it was
contended that the limitations imposed
were not to be added 10. The power
of Congress to halt the claimant at the
door. he insisted. yas clear The in
eligibility created by conviction for
crime was a power inherent in gov
ernmeat irrespective of the constitu-
ton. He cited several cases to show
that as punishment for crime the
Legislature had ample authority to
disqualify man from holding office.
When Tayler began to speak rRob-
erts left the seat he had been occupy
ing and took a seat near the Tn aisle
where he could hear With f ease
Throughout Taylor's rclfhak he sat
FACING his aceuser, egypt eawHen he
turned to his desk tos4 notes of the
points to which ne dez faFepIy.
Continuing, Taylor rc1A h1 a de-
cision of the supreme court Refining
polygamy which stated that irre-
spective of whether a man had scon.
tracted plural marriage after the pas
sage of the Edmunds act and ire
spective of whether he had since CO.
h hi tod n .,
ty' of 'polygamy if he still maintained
the relation Of husband 40 more than
one wife.
Referring again to the two pybela-
nations of amnesty he argued t4aflthe
claimant was in no better position than
he would have been had no such proc
lamation issued. But higher than the
civil law Was a law of civilization
whichkdemanded- that one so tainted
should.be excluded.
He cited the case of Whittemore. who
had been guilty of selling cadetships
and who upon his appearance at the
bar. of the House was rejected as unfit
to sit in the House. The power and
the right IRE inherent, said Taylor.
It was onlyn. estion Of propriety, of
wisdom Ap sedent.
In all @S kestigation' and study Of
precedentsl Rylor said he had failed
to find a e case where the House
had hesital re assert upon proper oc-
casion its leht. to "a member at
the Bag wlMn his qualifications for a
seat We're dttstioned. He quoted extern
s,yely from Nc Crearye on Elections" in
support. of Ms argument. He reviewed
the cases OF Proctor Knott Boyd Win
chester and5John M. Rice of Kentucky.
who had been stopped at the bar of
the House On the ground that they
were disqualified because they had been
dsloyal
We are told.'' said Taylor. in con-
that we are about to create
an unhappy precedent. Why, Mr..
Speaker, we are doing this in the open
gaze of the whole world, not in a clois-
tered court. We are the servants of
the people empowered to do the right
as we see it. The public eye is upon
us. the public conscience quickens us.
In that presence, we can do no wrong
if we do but obey it,
Taylor's concluding sremarks were
greeted with a stormsofs applause, both
from the floor and the galleries. Few
Democrats, however, Joined in the ap-
plause.
Richardson, the minority leader. fol-
lowed Taylor. He did mot intend, he
said, to discuss the merits of the case. |
The question in issue was as to |
the representative-elect. Rob-
erts, had a prima facie right to his |
seat. He was not willing to reject n |
representative-elect who appeared att
the bar of the House with his creder-
tials in due form. If he was denied |
admission a precedent would be Gre |
ated which would rise to plague the
House in years to come. The only con- |
'titutional objection raised against the |
related to his naturaliz- |
alton and that, Richardson asserted. |
would not hold.
He defied the other side to produce
l single precedent where objection was
'aised to the admission of the oath ex.
,apt on exceptional grounds. The prec-
edents cited were made during the war
and We're not to be relied upou. In
those days the constitution was writ
Continued on page 2.) i