The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-01-07

Members of the Legislature
Would Return to the Capitol and
Rescind Resolution for Ad-
5ournment-COnduc willing to
Accept Situation as He Found 1T.
Z The WISCONSIN legislature of 1861 COM
menced its regular session in January at
Madison, writes Judge Amasa Cobb, the
then speaker of the assembly. in let
ter to the Lincoln Pioneer. The writer,
being a member of the assembly. as the
lower house is called in that state, was
elected speaker. David Atwood was elect
ed speaker pro TEN, Alexander w. Ran
dali war governor, and Butler G. Noble
lieutenant governor The Republican
members were largely in the majority in
either house, but the Democratic mi
nority was able, active and ultra mon
tame.
1t Will be remembered that almost i'm
mediately after the election of 1860 lead
ing men of the Southern states had raised
the standard of rebellion. At the time Of
which L write they had in, form estab-
lished an Independent government. The
legislature had made a small appropria-
tion OF money to enable the governor to
raise and equip troops, if a requisition
should be made by the president upon
our state, in case of actual hostilities;
which was scarcely believed possible
But such was the conservatism of the
committees and Of the majorities Of the
two houses Of the legislature that the bill
making this appropriation was SO word
ed that as we shall see, it was in the
opinion of the attorney general null and
void. and so no appropriation had been
made. Fsat
AT that time. whatever may be the case
now, there was no constitutional limit
upon the session of the Legislature, either
as to its duration or the continuance of
the pay%of che members; but there was
an llnwritten law, or maxim, that no
regular session could be prolonged be-
yond such time as in the opinion Of the
farmer members they could plow their
fields That time had arrived about the
second week in April, and a joint reso1u-
ton adopted by the two houses provid-
ed for the final adjournment on Monday
the 18th day of April, at o'clock in the
forenoon.
AS ItQ .De6n the. CUSTOM IN SuCn cases
the evening session of Saturday the 18th
day of April, was considered by the Of
ficers and members as the last business
session. Of the term, and although held
until the Small hours of Sunday morning,
was spent by the two houses in the dis
charge of the routine business necessary
to flfs Efual adjournment IN listening to
bunl1um speeches, for Bunkum county
was as usual, fully represented in that
legislature and in final shandshaking and
1eaVe-takfng among the members.
At this time we had heard nothing Of
the firing upon or the surrender of Fort
Sumter. nor the CALI of the president for
volunteers.
CRISIS CAME.
But late In the afternoon of Sunday
dispatches were received announcing the
commencement of actual hostilities at
Charleston harbor and the crisis at Wash
fngton. And just at this time to make
good the saying that the ''misfortunes
never come single, it became known that
the attorney general had given out the
opinion that the bill making the appro-
priation above referred to was unconsti-
tutional aud void;. and so after three and
a. half months hard. work we were about
to close the session, leaving Wisconsin
utterly unprepared to take her place and
do her part as a loyal state in this great
emergency Of the Union.
There were some who enjoyed the spec
tacle of the lately successful and tri-
umphant Republican, or, as they ex-
pressed it, Shanghai" party of WILSON,
sin, brought to such a plight by it's own
ineHiciency and lack Of the courage Of
Its own convictions. One person in par
ficulaE,s. a newspaper reporter, who wrote
over the -pseudonym of Sioux" was
more profuse and loud than choice in his
terms of the "black Republican, legisla-
ture, and eXultatfoni<at the fix they had
got themselves into by practically adj
journing the legislature without any
preparation to meet the crisis which he
his paper and all the Democrats had pre-
dicted would soon be upon us unless Lin
coin would back down and compromise
Il doubtless felt a greater degree of re-
Eponsibilty for the situation than though
had not been the speaker and the fact
that up to then recent period had for
some years held the office of adiutant
general Of the state made me a special
mark for the shafts OF wit and ridicule
of Sioux" and others.
Along in the evening some of the mem
bers Of the assembly and two or three
senator's came into the Office of the hotel
where L was, and one of them spoke to
me of their having just come from the
governors office, where they had been in
consultation with the governor to devise
some means to prevent the adjournment
in the morning; but that they had de-
SPARED OF being able to hold the mem
bers at the capitol in sufficient numbers
to accomplish anything, as the train
would start for Milwaukee at o'clock,
the very hour, to which the two houses
had adjourned, and at which, under the
terms of the joint resolution, they would
adjourn sine die. and that the governor
had gone to his boarding house quite
beat out.
then went to Judge Hoods house,
where the governor roomed, and was in
formed by some member of the family
that he had retired, but 1 was admitted
to his room and found him greatly dis
couraged and distressed by the situation.
He thought that nothing could be done to
prevent the final adjournment. but de-
clared that he would Immediately call a
special session, yet greatly regretted the
loss of valuable time thereby. Upon nv
suggestion that something yet might be
done to prevent the adjournment, he
verbally appointed me his aid-de-camp
and gave me his carte blanche to do any,
thing in his official name that I thought
necessary and proper to prevent the adj
Journment, and said that 1t was mil
itary necessity" and thus heard, for