bank, and his brother named Charles Fenton Brookbank, who was frequently called by the name of Fenton Brookbank. It further appears that over one hundred votes were cast for Mr. Brookbank for Representative, which were counted to him for Representative Delegate. Under this state of the case the tickets were printed in the following form, to-wit: Senatorial Delegate, Representative, Representative to the Legislature, and so on for other offices. And that the name of Brookbank was found immediately under the word Representative, &c. It is contended on the part of Mr. Osborn that all votes of the descriptions above mentioned should have been rejected in the election for Representative Delegate, and a portion of them in any election. By reference to the act regulating general elections, we find the following, to-wit: page 127 of Revised Statutes of 1843, section 31 "The ballot shall be a paper ticket which shall contain written or printed, or partly written and partly printed the names of the persons for whom the elector intends to vote, and shall designate the office to which each person so named is intended by him to be chosen." At page 129, section 41, reads as follows, to-wit: "If two tickets are found deceitfully folded together, they shall both be rejected; and if more persons are designated on any ticket to any office than are to be elected to such office, such part of the ticket shall not be counted to any of them; but no ticket shall be lost for want of form if the Board of Judges holding the election can determine to their satisfaction the person voted for and the office intended." In the above case, the Judges holding the election have determined to their satisfaction the person voted for and the office intended, and your committee do not feel at liberty to reverse that decision. By the tabular statement made out by the board of canvassers it is shown that seventy votes were polled at one of the precincts for Brookbank. The testimony proves that one of the ballots containing the name of Brookbank was for Senatorial Delegate, but was counted to him for Representative Delegate. This your committee conceive to be wrong, and deduct that vote from Brookbank's majority, and he has but one of a majority left. Your committee find the following state of facts legally established in regard to the vote of George Knowlton, to-wit: Knowlton was a man of family; he removed with his family to the State of Ohio; he is a farmer; he rented land and raised a crop, and remained thus settled in Ohio eleven and a half months, and then returned to Indiana at or about the middle of February, 1850; at the last August election he voted in Union county, Indiana, for Benjamin F. Brookbank, for Representative Delegate. This vote your committee conceive to be clearly an illegal one, which being deducted, leaves the vote a tie between the parties. At one of the polls of said county, on counting the votes, two ballots were found folded together; they were on an entire piece of paper, and each ticket was complete in itself; both were precisely the same, no name was erased on either, and no name was written on either-each was a full printed ticket, the name of James Osborn was on both tickets. The Board of Judges, &c., at that poll, under the provisions of the 41st section of the Statute above referred to, rejected both tickets. It is contended for Mr. Osborn that one of the two tickets should have been counted for him. We are not, however, inclined to disturb the decision of the Judges of election where the vote was cast. The testimony of the inspectors of the different polls in regard to the recount of the tickets above spoken of, was taken at the instance and request of the contestor, Mr. Osborn, as also the tabular statement of the board of canvassers. It has been contended that the poll of Harrison township should not have been received and counted by the board of canvassers for the following reasons, viz: The law requires and directs that the inspector or a Judge from each poll shall carry the returns of such poll to the county seat on the Wednesday following such election ; that they shall assemble between the hours of noon and 4 o'clock, P. M., elect one of their number chairman, &c., and shall proceed to compare said polls and declare who is elected, &c. ; seven of the eight inspectors in said county assembled accordingly, and proceeded to and did compare the polls from seven precincts, footed up the result, and wrote a certificate of election, and a portion of said signers had put their names thereto,-say five of the seven,— by this time it was from twenty to thirty minutes past 4 o'clock, P. M., when the inspector of Harrison township appeared, presented the returns of that precinct, was admitted to a seat as one of said canvassers, the poll was compared and allowed ;-without that poll, Mr. Osborn's majority was four votes. Your committee are disposed to give very little weight to that objection, inasmuch as they have no doubt that if said return had been rejected by said board of canvassers, and the same had been presented to this Convention, it would be received and considered here without hesitancy. In view of all the foregoing premises, your committee are unanimously of the opinion that the surest method of obtaining strict justice in this case is to send the whole cause back to the people of Union county, there to be by them settled through the ballot-box. Your committee therefore unanimously recommend the adoption of the following resolution, and ask to be discharged from the further consideration of the subject. Resolved, That in the opinion of this Convention, no person has been legally elected to the office of Representative Delegate to this Convention from the county of Union, and that the seat of such Representative Delegate in this Convention is vacant. DANL. KELSO, Chairman. JOHN ZENOR, JACOB FISHER. Mr. Rariden moved to amend the resolution reported by the committee, so as to declare Benjamin F. Brookbank entitled to the seat; And the ayes and noes being demanded by ten members on said amendment; Those who voted in the affirmative were, Messrs. Barbour, Biddle, Blythe, Bourne, Bowers, Clark of Hamilton, Clark of Tippecanoe, Colfax, Crawford, Davis of Madison, Dunn of Jefferson, Foley, Foster, Frisbie, Gregg, Hall, Hamilton, Hogin, Holman, Kendall of Wabash, Maguire, Mather, McFarland, Morgan, Murray, Nave, Newman, Niles, Pepper of Crawford, Prather, Rariden, Steele, Stevenson, Terry, Thomas, and Todd→ 36. Those who voted in the negative were, Messrs. Allen, Anthony, Badger, Ballingall, Bascom, Beard, Berry, Borden, Bracken, Bryant, Butler, Carr, Carter, Chapman, Chenowith, Coats, Cookerly, Crumbacker, Davis of Parke, Davis of Vermillion, Dick, Dobson, Dunn of Perry, Duzan, Edmonston, Farrow, Fisher, Garvin, Gibson, Gootee, Graham of Miami, Graham of Warrick, Haddon, Holliday, Harbolt, Hardin, Hawkins, Helmer, Hitt, Hovey, Howe, Huff, Johnson, Jones, Kelso, Kent, Kendall of White, Kinley, Lockhart, Logan, March, Mathis, May, McClelland, Miller of Clinton, Miller of Fulton, Miller of Gibson, Milroy, Mooney, Moore, Morrison of Marion, Morrison of Washington, Mowrer, Nofsinger, Owen, Pepper of Ohio, Pettit, Read of Clark, Ristine, Schoonover, Shannon, Sims, Smiley, Snook, Smith of Ripley, Smith of Scott, Spann, Tague, Taylor, Trembly, Vanbenthusen, Wallace, Watts, Wheeler, Wiley, Wolfe, Work, Wunderlich, Yooum, Zenor, and Mr. President-92. So said amendinent was not adopted. Mr. Berry moved to lay the whole subject on the table; The consideration of the resolution of Mr. Pettit on the subject of grand juries, which was made the special order for 9 o'clock this morning, was postponed to 2 o'clock this day. Mr. Borden moved to lay the report of the committee on elections on the table. Which was decided in the negative. The question then being upon concurring in the report of the committee, and The ayes and noes being demanded by ten members, Those who voted in the affirmative were, Messrs. Alexander, Allen, Anthony, Badger, Ballingall, Beard, Bicknell, Bowers, Bracken, Bryant, Butler, Carr, Carter, Chapman, Chenowith, Clark of Tippecanoe, Colfax, Cookerly, Crumbacker, Davis of Madison, Davis of Parke, Davis of Vermillion, Dick, Dobson, Dunn of Jefferson, Dunn of Perry, Duzan, Farrow, Fisher, Foley, Foster, Frisbie, Garvin, Gibson, Graham of Miami, Graham of Warrick, Haddon, Holliday, Hamilton, Harbolt, Hardin, Hawkins, Helmer, Hendricks, Hitt, Hogin, Holman, Hovey, Howe, Huff, Jones, Kelso, Kent, Kendall of White, Kinley, Lockhart, Logan, Maguire, March, Mather, Mathis, McClelland, McFarland, Miller of Clinton' Miller of Fulton, Miller of Gibson, Milroy, Mooney, Morrison of Marion, Morrison of Washington, Mowrer, Murray, Newman, Niles, Nofsinger, Owen, Pepper of Ohio, Pepper of Crawford, Pettit, Rariden, Read of Clark, Ristine, Schoonover, Shannon, Sims, Smiley, Snook, Smith of Ripley, Smith of Scott, Spann, Tague, Taylor, Terry, Thomas, Todd, Vanbenthusen, Wallace, Watts, Wheeler, Wolfe, Wunderlich, Zenor, and Mr. President-103, Those who voted in the negative were, Messrs. Bascom, Berry, Biddle, Blythe, Borden, Bourne, Clark of Hamilton, Crawford, Edmonston, Gootee, Gregg, Johnson, Kendall of Wabash, May, Moore, Morgan, Nave, Prather, Steele, Stevenson, Trembly, Wiley, and Yocum-23. So the report was concurred in. Mr. Owen, from the committee on the rights and privileges of the inhabitants of the State, made the following report: MR. PRESIDENT: The committee on the rights and privileges of the inhabitants of the State, to whom were referred certain memorials on the subject of equal political rights to the colored race, namely the memorial of the Salamonia River Regular Baptist Association, and the me orial of the Religious Society of Anti-Slavery Friends at Newport, 'ayne county, have instructed me, as they have already been disarged from the consideration of this subject, to report the said morials back to the Convention, and recommend that they lie on e table. Which report was concurred in. The resolution of Mr. Maguire, pending when the Convention last adjourned, was taken up. Mr. Borden offered the following amendment: "That one thousand copies of the proceedings and debates of this Convention be published by the State Printer in book form with an index." Mr. Lockhart moved to lay said amendment on the table, and The ayes and noes being demanded by ten members, Those who voted in the affirmative were, Messrs. Alexander, Allen, Badger, Barbour, Bascom, Beard, Berry, Biddle, Blythe, Bourne, Bowers, Bryant, Butler, Carr, Chenowith, Clark of Tippecanoe, Cookerly, Crawford, Davis of Madison, Davis of Parke, Davis of Vermillion, Dick, Dobson, Dunn of Perry, Duzan, Edmonston, Farrow, Fisher, Frisbie, Garvin, Gibson, Gootee, Graham of Miami, Graham of Warrick, Haddon, Halliday, Harbolt, Helmer, Hendricks, Hitt, Holman, Hovey, Huff, Johnson, Jones, Kelso, Kent, Kendall of Wabash, Kendall of White, Lockhart, Logan, Mathes, Miller of Clinton, Miller of Fulton, Miller of Gibson, Milroy, Mooney, Morgan, Morrison of Marion, Morrison of Washington, Mowrer, Murray, Niles, Nofsinger, Owen, Pepper of Ohio, Pepper of Crawford, Pettit, Prather, Rariden, Ristine, Schoonover, Shannon, Sherrod, Sims, Snook, Smith of Ripley, Smith of Scott, Steele, Stephenson, Tague, Taylor, Thomas, Trembly, Vanbenthusen, Watts, Wheeler, Wiley, Wolfe, Yocum, Zenor, and Mr. President-92. Those who voted in the negative were, Messrs. Anthony, Ballingall, Bicknell, Borden, Clark of Hamilton, Colfax, Crumbacker, Dunn of Jefferson, Gregg, Hamilton, Hardin, Hawkins, Hogin, Howe, Kinley, Mather, McClelland, McFarland, Nave, Newman, Read of Clark, Smiley, Spann, Terry, and Wallace-25. So the amendment was laid on the table. Mr. Gibson moved to fill the blank in the original resolution with 5,000 copies. Which was decided in the negative. Mr. Kelso moved to fill the blank with 1,000. |