503 



MINNESOTA. 



for and demands at the hands of the represent- 

 atives of the people, unqualified censure and 

 condemnation;" and "that * * the loan- 

 ing of the State moneys to, or the depositing 

 them with private persona, even the bonds- 

 men of the State Treasurer, upon the implied 

 security of their official bonds, is hazardous 

 to the safety of the public moneys, and the 

 Legislature shonld, by legal enactment, make 

 and declare the same to be ' contrary to law, 1 

 as the constitution plainly makes it the duty of 

 the Legislature to do, and should visit violations 

 of the act with the severest penalties." After a 

 protracted debate the substitute was adopted 

 by a vote of yeas 75, nays 27, whereupon 

 the original resolution, as amended, was passed 

 yeas 75, nays 26. 



On the 4th of March, 1878, the same repre- 

 sentative who had proposed the two resolutions 

 just referred to, offered the following, which 

 was adopted : 



Wkereat, The 2Tth of last February inst., the House 

 did by an emphatic majority pass resolutions cen- 

 suring and condemning the conduct and manage- 

 ment of the State Treasury ; and 



Wh*rea, This House bos delayed further action in 

 the premiees in order that the Treasurer of the State 

 might recognize in the sentiment of the said resolu- 

 tion an imperative demand upon him for the tender 

 of his resignation of his public trusts, and that in 

 the opinion of the House a sufficient and reasonable 

 time Vis transpired without any indication having 

 been received of any intention on his part so to do : 

 be it therefore 



Saoleed, That 'William Seeger, the present State 

 Treasurer, he and hereby is requested to answer the 

 imperative demand* of the people in an immediate 

 t.'ii'lfr to the Governor of the State of his resignation 

 of the trusts placed in his hands. 



Raolttd. That the Chief Clerk of the House serve 

 a copy of the foregoing resolutions on said William 

 Seeirer forthwith. 



To these resolutions the Treasurer gave the 

 following answer: 



I am in receipt of the resolution passed by your 

 honorable body on March 4, 1873. I most respect- 

 fully decline to comply with the demand embodied 

 in that resolution. 



I most respectfully decline to stigmatize my ad- 

 ministration of the Treasury by resigning my office 

 under the circumstances which nave transpired. 



It is not pretended that I have ever perverted 

 one cent of the moneys of the State to my own use. 

 Every dollar which has ever come into my bands 

 ha* been faithfully accounted for. I found when I 

 came into office the Treasury was depleted by a large 

 deficit ; and that deficit ha* been made good during 

 the flrst year of my term. My successor will receive 

 it all. 



If till* were limply the question of giving up the 

 office, I would not hesitate one moment, out my repu- 

 tation aa a public officer ha been impugned, when 

 I had no opportunity to be heard. 



I am conscious of no wrong done by me. What 

 I have done may be made the subject of judicial 

 inquiry, and I am ready to meet that inquiry and 

 it* consequence* before any tribunal. 



I have the honor to bo, vour obedient servant, 

 WM. SEfeGER, State Treasurer. 



As soon as the reading of the Treasurer's 

 letter was concluded, one of the representa- 

 tives introduced the following resolution : " Re- 

 totted, That William Seeger, Treasurer of Min- 



nesota, be impeached for corrupt conduct in 

 office and for crimes and misdemeanor-.. ' A 

 call of the House was then, on motion, ordered, 

 and alter a warm debate, the resolution was 

 adopted, yeas 71, nays 32. 



I luring the debate on this resolution, the 

 most prominent among those who voted tor 

 impeachment declared that they had nothing 

 against the Treasurer personally ; one c\.n 

 averred that he "is known to be one of tin- 

 most honest men in the State;" that it \\ .^ 

 not Mr. Seeger they sought to punish, but to 

 establish a precedent ; that he must hold the 

 Treasurers office no longer ; that, alter the 

 passage of the resolution of censure, it was 

 understood, and the majority of the House 

 hoped he would resign, and even requested 

 him to resign by an express resolution ; that 

 since he refused to resign, impeachment was 

 the only means by which he could be removed 

 from office. 



A resolution was then adopted, whereby a 

 committee of five was appointed " to go to the 

 Senate and at the bar thereof, in the name of 

 the House of Representatives and of all the 

 people of the State of Minnesota, to impeach 

 William Seoger, Treasurer of the State of Min- 

 nesota, of corrupt conduct, and of crimes and 

 misdemeanors in office, and acquaint the Senate 

 that the House of Representatives would in 

 due time exhibit particular articles of impeach- 

 ment against him and make good tin- sumo; 

 and should demand that the Senate take order 

 for the appearance of said William Seeger, to 

 answer to said impeachment.'' The Senate 

 entertained the charges, and through a special 

 committee of three informed the (Jovernor of 

 it, that he might take such action as was re- 

 quired by the constitution of the State and the 

 exigencies of the occasion. 



A committee of five appointed by the Lower 

 House drew up articles of impeachment in 

 form to the number of four; each having one 

 or more specifications relating to it. They 

 were submitted to that body at the morning 

 session of March Oth. when they, together with 

 their respective specifications, were agreed to 

 yeas 61, nays 85. 



The day for the trial, after a protracted dis- 

 cussion, was fixed for the third Tuesday in 

 May (the 20th). 



On the 18th of March Mr. Seeger tendered 

 his resignation of the Treasurer's office to the 

 Governor, in writinir. the resignation to take 

 i-lVi-ct from the 1st day of April next ensuing. 

 He states the reasons which induced him to 

 resign, the principal among them being the 

 information he had recently received, "that 

 counsel fees and other expenses would n 

 an expenditure by him of $5,000 or $f..oou, 

 which would reduce his family to penury;" 

 and that " he believed himself already acquitted 

 in the minds of all fairly-disposed men.'' Th- 

 'Governor accepted the resignation on March 

 201 h. 



The Senate met as a court of impeachment 



