Year: 1875




convention of the House and Senate filled


the vacancies) the Republican nominees


would be elected, and the Senate would be


Republican. To avoid this result they


voted to throw out the whole Republican


vote in the Second district, for the reason,


as they alleged, that Gen. Heads name was


not Matt, but Nathaniel. After doing this


they declared Priest, the Democratic can


didate, TO have received majority OF all
the votes cast and notified him that he was


elected. But this would not give them


majority of the Senate. The Temperance
candidate, Deering, had not lived in the


State seven years, as the constitution. re-


quired, to be eligible to the Office of Sena-
tor. He was a candidate the year previous
and his votes had been counted, and the


voters su opposed him eligible. The Coy
ernor and Council then voted to throw out
all the votes cast for Deering as blanks,
and proceeded to declare that Proctor, the
Democratic candidate, had received a ma
jority of all the votes cast, and notified him
that he had been elected. They refused


" "ulI lOl az lAOh4 q DCh4OSAoIAS
court as to the legality of their action,


(Which the Republicans agreed to abide,)
we'll knowing the opinion would be against
them from all the precedents, and from the
opinion given in the case of Bell against
Pike, which was drawn by Judge Ladd, one
of the present Democratic judges, and
unanimously concurrcd in, that the Gov
ernor and Council had no power to sum-
mon witnesses to correct errors made by
town officers in counting, but must confne
themselves TO the returns, and from them
certify who appeared to be elected"
leaving the body to whom the member was
returned to be the final Judge where the
power existing to summon witnesses and
TO go behind the return and ascertain its
correctness.


When the Legislature assembled, the
two Senators who had in this manner been
declared elected presented themselves,
with the others, and were sworn in by
Democratic officials; whereupon the five
Republican members protested and with
drew. The seven Democrats then elected
one Of their body president and asked for
the opinion OF the court as to the rights of
Priest and Proctor as members. As we
understand it, the court have declined to
pass any opinion in their answer upon the
action of the Governor and Council, and
hold as the Senate is the judge, and has


final Jurisdiction upon the qualifications of
its members, they would be outside of their
province in giving opinions where they had
no jurisdiction.


The House Of Representatives submitted
to the court the simple question of the right
of the Governor and Coulcil to do more
than to count the votes returned to them
for that purpose, and to notify the parties
who by the returns appeared to be elected.
We have seen no answer made to this
question from the House, but presume, if
they have not done so, the court will
decline to pass an opinion upon the action
of a coordinate branch of the government
which was not final, though in this case it
would seem to be practically SO; because
unless the House and the Republican
members of the Senate shall ignore the
usurpation of the Governor and Council,
and declare vacancies exist in the Second
and Fourth districts, and fill them up by
electing the Republican candidates, Priest
and Proctor, having been sworn in by the
Democratic officials, will vote to stay there,
and even if they do not vote the Senate
would be equally divided, and could not,
so constituted, vote them out.


The Democratic Governor and Council
did not dare to await an opinion from a
Democratic court before throwing out the
votes of Head and Deering, because they
were morally certain it would be against
them, and against the usurpation of power
by which alone they could hope to prevent
the repeal of last years outrageous gerry
which extended to every city in
the State, and to every Senatorial and coun-
cilor district. To maintain the gerry
mander was their only hope of securing
power and controlling the election of a
United States Senator next year, and hence
the desperation of their action. Their duty
was purely ministerial one. They had
no power or process by which they could
summon a single witness to get at the facts.
They violated law. justice and every pre-
ccdent in going behind the returns at all.
They violated law, justice and consistency
in declaring the thirty eight hundred votes
cast for General Matt Head as blanks, after
the votes for Frank Jones as gen.
uine. They violated the law again in
out the votes of the Temperance
as blanks. They usurped power
when they declared Priest and Proctor
elected Senators, and notified them to ap-
pear ard act as such, when they had no
more right to do so than Judge Roberts,
their defeated candidate for Governor, has
the right to act as Governor. The same
men who defeated Priest and Proctor at the
polls defeated Roberts, and for the same
purpose. They did not want another year
of Democratic rule.


But one course seems open to the Repub-
licans of New Hampshire to defeat this
gross usurpation. The Governor and Coun-
Gil who perpetrated it are out of Office and
out of the reach of punishment, except
what comes from public condemnation
of their course. The Senate is equally
divided. The joint convention Of the
House and Senate by the constitution fill
all vacancies in the Senate. Can the usur-
pations of the Governor and Council cir
cumvcnt the constitution and defeat the
will of the people beyond remedyf We
think not; and the only way to prevent it
is for the House to notify the Senators
elected, as has heretofore been the custom,
to meet for the purpose of filling such va
cancies as exist Having the facts all be-
fore them, the body to whom the constitu-
ton has conferred the power of filing va
cancies could declare, as the facts show,
that no person was elected in the Second
and Fourth Senatorial districts, and hence
there are two vacancies to be filled, and
proceed to fill them; after that, and filling
the vacancy existing in the Office of Gov
ernor, proceed to the duties of legislation;
do just what they would have done had the
Governor and Council performed their plain
duty under the law instead of perpetrating
a gross usurpation.