NEW HAMPSHIRE. 



547 



tors for Districts No. 2 and 4, for the feason that 

 Mr. Priest and Mr. Proctor are not legally entitled 

 to take seats in the Senate. 



JEREMIAH F. HALL, 

 JOSHUA B. SMITH, 

 CHARLES HOLM AN. 

 GEORGE A. WHITNEY, 

 GEORGE H. STOWELL. 



This protest having been disregarded, and 

 Mr. Priest and Mr. Proctor installed in office, 

 the five Republican Senators refused to take 

 part in the organization and action of the Sen- 

 ate with the rest. They withdrew, and or- 

 ganized themselves as Senators into a separate 

 body, electing George H. Stowell as their 

 President. They then passed, and sent to the 

 House of Representatives, the following reso- 

 lutions : 



Resolved, That a message be sent to the House of 

 Representatives, that the Senators from Districts 

 Nos. 1, 5, 7, 9, and 10, having protested against any 

 organization of a Senate in which Messrs. Priest 

 and Proctor are to act as members, which protest is 

 made part of this resolution, and having declined 

 to participate in any such organization, have organ- 

 ized themselves as a Senate by the election of George 

 H. Stowell as chairman, and Tyler Westgate as clerk. 



The undersigned, Senators-elect for Districts Nos. 

 1, 5, 7, 9, and 10, having protested against the oath 

 of office being administered by the Governor to Mr. 

 James Priest and Mr. John Proctor, as Senators for 

 Districts Nos. 2 and 4, now protest against those 

 gentlemen occupying seats, or acting as Senators for 

 said districts. 



Our reasons are substantially stated by Mr. Coun- 

 cilor Lovell, in his protest against the proceedings 

 of the Governor and a majority of the Council in 

 reference to those two districts. 



We have appeared here and taken our oaths as 

 Senators because it is our constitutional right and 

 duty to do so, without waiving any objection.to said 

 proceedings, or to anything that has been or may 

 hereafter be done by said Priest or Proctor, or by 

 any other person or persons, in disregard of the fact 

 that in Districts Nos. 2 and 4, at the last annual 

 election, no one was elected Senator by a majority 

 of votes. 



We do not, and shall not, waive any objection to 

 the legal defects which must manifestly attach to all 

 proceedings founded upon a flagrant usurpation, and 

 violation of the constitution. 



We have signified our willingness to take our seats 

 as Senators, and act as such with the Senators for 

 Districts Nos. 3, 6, 8, 11, and 12 only, and, under a 

 temporary organization of the Senate, to await an 

 adjustment of the questiops in dispute, by the court, 

 or otherwise.' 



But as our fair offers have been disregarded, and 

 it is the manifest purpose of the last-named Senators 

 to attempt an organization of the Senate, with said 



of, we do now, as the only effectual method of re- 

 sisting a palpable wrong and usurpation, decline to 

 participate in any such organization, protest against 

 the same as unconstitutional, and in effect revolu- 

 tionary, and we hereby move and demand that this 

 protest be entered on record by the Clerk, to whom 

 it is now tendered. JEREMIAH F. HALL, 

 JOSHUA B. SMITH. 

 CHARLES HOLM AX, 

 GEORGE A. WHITNEY, 

 GEORGE H. STOWELL. 



The five Democratic Senators, indisputably 

 elected, on their part recognized Mr. Priest 

 and Mr. Proctor as their colleagues, and jointly 

 organized themselves as a Senate, with John 



"VV. Sanborn as President. On motion, a com- 

 mittee was appointed to consider the matter 

 relating to the election and installment in office 

 of the Senators for the Second and Fourth 

 Senatorial Districts, and report. The commit- 

 tee reported that the action of the Governor 

 and Council in regard to the election returns 

 from those two districts was legal, and that Mr. 

 Priest and Mr. Proctor were legally occupying 

 their respective seats in the Senate. 



On the 3d of June the Republican Senators 

 met, and adopted a resolution in which they 

 stated the above-mentioned facts, and, in ac- 

 cordance with a special provision of the State 

 constitution, requested the justices of the Su- 

 perior Court of New Hampshire to give their 

 ppinion upon the following questions of law : 



1. Can five Senators actually elected, together with 

 two Senators not elected, and having no rights there, 

 constitute a legal and constitutional Senate of New 

 Hampshire, or perform any legislative or legal act ? 



2. Can a Senate composed of five other, actually 

 elected Senators, organized in due form, in resist- 

 ance of an attempted Senate composed of five Sena- 

 tors and two usurpers, perform any act other than 

 that of meeting the House of Representatives to pro- 

 ceed with the elections in accordance with the con- 

 stitution ? 



3. There being two vacancies in the Senate, can 

 the House of Representatives and five elected Sena- 

 tors, with the other five if they choose to attend, or 

 without them if, being notified, they fail to attend, 

 fill those vacancies from the constitutional candi- 

 dates prescribed by the constitution, and upon the 

 admission of the two Senators thus elected to the 

 Senate, making seven elected Senators, will the 

 Senate, as thus constituted^ be a legal and constitu- 

 tional body, capable of legislation, and entitled to 

 recognition ffom every branch of the State govern- 

 ment? 



The resolution was delivered to the court 

 with an official communication, signed by the 

 President and Clerk of the Republican portion 

 of the Senate. 



On the part of the House of Representatives 

 the Superior Court was formally requested to 

 give their opinion upon the legality of the ac- 

 tion of the Governor and Council in regard to 

 the election returns from the Second and Fourth 

 Senatorial Districts, for which purpose they 

 passed the following preamble and resolution : 



Whereas, In Senatorial District No. 2. by the re- 

 turned copies of the records on file in the office of 

 the Secretary of State, it appears that the whole 

 number of votes cast was 7,706, of which Joseph 

 Pettigrew had 1, Arthur Deering 2, scattering 3, 

 Joshua C. Merrick 95, Natt Head 3,7.71, James Priest 

 3,834; and 



Whereas, in Senatorial District No. 4, by the re- 

 turned copies of the records on file in the same 

 office, it appears that the whole number of votes cast 

 was 7,016, of which James M. Bishop had 1, Benja- 

 min M. Gilman 3, Henry M. Putney 1, Moses Hum- 

 phrey 1, Ira Osgood 1, G. E. Todd 2,Abraham Thorpe 

 9, Arthur Deering 46, George E. Todd 3,457, John 

 Proctor 3,495 : therefore 



Resolved, That the Speaker of this House be direct- 

 ed to obtain the opinion of the Superior Court, 

 as soon as possible, on the question whether the 

 Governor had the constitutional authority to issue 

 to any one of the above-named persons a summons 

 to appear as Senator-elect on the first Wednesday of 

 June instant. 



