STATE OF INDIANA, Marion county. Personally came before me, the undersigned, a notary public in and for said county and State aforesaid, David P. Barner, one of the assistant clerks of the house of representatives now in session at Indianapolis, in said State, and made oath that the foregoing is a true copy of a protest of a portion of the members of said house of representatives as presented to said house this day. D. P. BARNER. Witness my hand and seal notarial, this 13th day of February, [L. S.] 1857. RICHARD M. HALL, Notary Public. Sworn statement of twenty-six of the fifty State senators that they did not participate in the so-called joint convention at which United States senators were claimed to have been elected. Be it remembered, that, on this the 12th day of February, A. D. 1857, personally appeared before me, R. M. Hall, a notary public for the county aforesaid, Daniel R. Bearss, Solomon Blair, John S. Bobbs, Lewis Burk, G. W. Chapman, Stanley Cooper, David Crane, John R. Cravens, David H. Crouse, Samuel T. Ensey, John T. Freeland, John Green, A. S. Griggs, A. W. Hendry, Daniel Hill, Isaac Kinley, Walter March, C. D. Murray, James F. Parker, Isaac A. Rice, P. S. Sage, John F. Stevens, James F. Suit, John Thompson, John Weston, and John Yaryan, who, being duly sworn by me according to law, depose and say: That they are senators, legally entitled to and now holding their seats as such in the senate of the State of Indiana, now in session; that they, twenty-six in number, compose the majority of said Senate; that they were not present at, and did not in any way participate in, the so-called joint convention said to have been held in the hall of the house of representatives of the State of Indiana on the 4th day of February instant, in which so-called joint convention they have been informed that Graham N. Fitch and Jesse D. Bright were, by the presiding officer thereof, declared elected United States senators for the State aforesaid; that, to the best of their knowledge and belief, the senate of the State of Indiana has not at any time during the present session, by resolution or otherwise, given its assent to go into, or in any way participate in, any joint convention for any purpose whatever; and that on the day, and at the very hour, when the so-called joint convention was said to have assembled, they, the said senators, twenty-six in number, (except Samuel T. Ensey, who was at home attending upon his sick family,) were in their seats, the senate being in session transacting its regular Subscribed and sworn to before me, on this the 12th day of February, A. D. 1857. In witness whereof, I hereunto set my name and affix my notarial seal, at the city of Indianapolis. [L. S.] Be it remembered, that, on the 12th day of February, A. D. 1857, personally appeared before me, R. M. Hall, a notary public for the county aforesaid, Jonathan S. Harvey, principal secretary, and James N. Tyner, assistant secretary of the senate of the State of Indiana, now in session, who, being by me duly sworn according to law, depose and say that the twenty-six persons whose names appear in the foregoing affidavit, to wit: Daniel R. Bearss, Solomon Blair, John S.. Bobbs, Lewis Burk, G. W. Chapman, Stanley Cooper, David Crane, John R. Cravens, David H. Crouse, Samuel T. Ensey, John T. Freeland, John Green, A. S. Griggs, Á. W. Hendry, Daniel Hill, Isaac Kinley, Walter March, C. D. Murray, James F. Parker, Isaac A. Rice, P. S. Sage, John F. Stevens, James F. Suit, John Thompson, John Weston, and John Yaryan, are all members of the senate of the State of Indiana, now in session, and that they are holding their seats as such. J. S. HARVEY. Subscribed and sworn to before me, February 12, A. D. 1857. In witness whereof, I hereunto set my hand and affix my notarial [L. s.] seal. RICHARD M. HALL, To the Senate of the United States: The undersigned, duly elected and qualified members of the general assembly of the State of Indiana, represent to your honorable body that it is important not only to their rights, but to those of the people of the State, that a speedy decision should be made in the case of Graham N. Fitch, who claims to have been elected a member of your body by the legislature of Indiana, on the 4th instant, for the following among other reasons: 1st. As has been shown by the protests, copies of the senate journal, affidavits, &c., which have been forwarded to your honorable body, said Fitch was not elected by the legislature of Indiana, but by a con vocation of a portion of the members thereof, not authorized by any law of the State, by resolution adopted by the legislature, by any provision of the constitution of Indiana, or by any provision of the Constitution of the United States. 2d. There is no law in force in Indiana regulating the manner of choosing senators in Congress, except the Constitution of the United States, which, if it were not the supreme law of the land without any legislative enactment on the part of the State, was, by an act of the general assembly of Indiana approved May 31, 1852, declared to be a law governing this State.-(1 R. S., 1852, 351.) 3d. A decision of your honorable body, sustaining the legality and regularity of Mr. Fitch's pretended election, would destroy the existence of the senate of Indiana as an independent branch of the legislative department of the State. 4th. The present session of the general assembly will expire, by constitutional limitation, on the 9th of March next; they therefore pray that you will decide on the pretended claim of Mr. Fitch to hold a seat in your honorable body during your present session, and before the expiration of the present session of the general assembly of Indiana. INDIANAPOLIS, February 16, 1857. Senators. D. R. Bearss, J. F. Suit, S. T. Ensey, "Mr. Lane offered the following resolution: "Resolved, That the senate be invited to attend in the hall of the house of representatives at two and a half o'clock this afternoon, to open and publish the returns of the election for governor and lieutenant governor, as required by the 4th section of the 5th article of the constitution of the State of Indiana; and that the senate be informed of the passage of this resolution. "Mr. Grose submitted the following amendment : "Resolved, That the senate be, and is hereby, invited to be present in this hall, to-day at 2 o'clock p. m., to witness the counting, by the proper officers, of the votes for governor and lieutenant governor, and the administration of the oaths, respectively, to said officers. And the business for such meeting is hereby declared to be limited to the business aforesaid, and none other shall be performed, nor motion made or entertained during said meeting, for any other purpose whatever, except to adjourn said meeting without day. "Mr. Walpole moved to lay the amendment on the table. "The ayes and noes were demanded by Messrs. Grose and Gordon. "Those who voted in the affirmative were "Messrs. Abel, Adams, Allen, Bethell, Blake, Bowman, Brown, Bryan, Carnahan, Clark, Claypool, Conduitt, Crowe, Davis of Sulivan, Dobbins, Douglass, Duncan, Early, Edson, Harrison, Hayden, Herod, Hoagland, Humphreys, Kerr, Landiss, Lane, Lewis, Marvin, Modesitt, Moore, McDaniel, McFarland, McGinnis, McKinney, Neff, Reese, Reyman, Robbins, Schermerhorn, Sherrod, Shoulders, Slicer, Smith of Bartholomew, Studabaker, Taggart, Trippet, Wallace, Walpole, Wiley, Williamson, Wright, Yater, and Mr. Speaker-54. "Those who voted in the negative were "Messrs. Austin, Ballenger, Batterton, Boyd, Branham, Clapp, Colgrove, Conner of Hamilton, Conner of Wabash, Crawford, Cullen, Davis of Hendricks, Denby, Gordon, Grose, Hutchings, Jefferis, Larue, Mercer, Merrifield, McDonald of Lake, Neal, Price, Shuman, Sloss, Steele, Stone, Van Sandt, Vawter, Wagner, Ward, Whitcomb, and Williams of Lagrange-33. "So the amendment was laid on the table. "Mr. Gordon moved to lay the original resolution on the table. "The ayes and noes were demanded by Messrs. Gordon and Grose. "Those who voted in the affirmative were "Messrs. Austin, Ballenger, Batterton, Blake, Boyd, Branham, Colgrove, Conner of Hamilton, Conner of Wabash, Crawford, Davis of Hendricks, Gordon, Grose, Hutchings, Jefferis, Larue, Mercer, Merrifield, Moon, McDonald of Lake, Neal, Price, Shuman, Sloss, Steele, Stone, Van Sandt, Vawter, Wagner, Ward, Whitcomb, and Williams of Lagrange-32. "Those who voted in the negative were— "Messrs. Abel, Adams, Allen, Bethell, Bowman, Branson, Brown, Bryan, Carnahan, Clapp, Clark, Claypool, Conduitt, Crowe, Cullen, Davis of Sullivan, Denby, Dobbins, Douglass, Duncan, Early, Edson, Harrison, Hayden, Herod, Hoagland, Humphreys, Kerr, Landiss, Lane, Lewis, Marvin, Modesitt, Moore, McDaniel, McFarland, McGinnis, McKinney, Neff, Reese, Reyman, Robbins, Schermerhorn, Sherrod, Shoulders, Slicer, Smith of Bartholomew, Studabaker, Taggart, Trippet, Wallace, Walpole, Wiley, Williams of Knox, Williamson, Wright, Yater, and Mr. Speaker-58. "So the resolution was not laid on the table. "The resolution was then adopted by unanimous consent." "The Speaker made the following announcement from the chair: "Gentlemen of the house of representatives: "The constitution of the State of Indiana requires that the speaker shall open and publish the returns of the election for governor and lieutenant governor, in the presence of both houses of the general assembly; and as the official term of the governor and lieutenant governor elect commence this day, I have communicated an invitation to the senate to meet the house in this hall, and, in obedience to the constitution, I shall, so soon as the senate appear, proceed to publish the returns for governor and lieutenant governor. |
