578 



NEBRASKA. 



good citizens, all patriots who love their country 

 and cherish their country's honor. 



The State election took place on the 10th of 

 October, and resulted in the choice of the Re- 

 publican candidates. The total vote for Gov- 

 ernor was 50,083, of which Silas Garber, Re- 

 publican, received 29,947 ; Paren England, 

 Democrat, 17,719 ; and J. F. Gardner, " Green- 

 back," 3,017. Garber's plurality over England 

 was 12,828; majority, 9,811. The candidates 

 for Congress received the following vote: 

 Frank Welch, Republican, 30,900; Joseph Hoi- 

 man, Democrat, 18,206 ; Marvin Warren, 

 " Greenback," 3,580. The total vote for pres- 

 idential electors on the 7th of November was 

 53,389. The Republican candidates received 

 31,916; Democratic, 17,554; "Greenback," 

 2,320; Prohibitionist, 1,599. The Republican 

 majority was 10,443. 



As the new constitution imposes the duty of 

 canvassing the votes upon the Legislature, and 

 the regular session was not to be held until 

 January, 1877, the Governor called an extra 

 session of the members of the last Legislature, 

 to be held on the 5th of December, for the 

 purpose of canvassing the votes for presidential 

 electors. The legality of this course was dis- 

 puted by the Democrats, and steps were taken 

 to invoke the intervention of the courts, and 

 prevent the electors from casting the votes. 

 The Legislature met, however, and canvassed 

 the votes for electors, declaring the Republi- 

 can candidates elected. Question having been 

 raised as to the eligibility of Amasa Cobb, one 

 of the candidates, the following resolution was 

 adopted by the House of Representatives : 



Resolved, hy the House of Representatives of the 

 State of Nebraska, That the Senate be and is hereby 

 invited to meet the House in joint convention im- 

 mediately after the adoption of this resolution, for 

 the purpose of electing an elector of President and 

 Vice-President of the United States, to fill said al- 

 leged vacancy. 



The following points of order were raised : 



1. That this body had no knowledge of any va- 

 cancy existing in the board of electors. 



2. 'That the law required that the presidential elec- 

 tors be elected by the people, at the general election 

 in November. 



3. That the joint resolution under which this 

 body sought to appoint an elector was void, for the 

 reason that it was not read at large on three separate 

 days, as required by the constitution, nor does it re- 

 peal the present law providing for the election of 

 presidential electors. 



These were promptly overruled, the resolu- 

 tion was adopted, and the two Houses in joint 

 convention filled the " alleged vacancy." The 

 electors met next day and cast their votes for 

 Hayes and Wheeler, without any interference 

 from the courts. 



Much damage was done again this year over 

 a large portion of the State by grasshoppers. 

 A convention of Governors of several Western 

 States and Territories Avas held at Omaha, in 

 October, to consider the question of dealing 

 with this destructive pest. Among those pres- 

 ent were Governors Pillsbury, of Minnesota; 



Kirkwood, of Iowa; Hardin, of Missouri; Pen- 

 nington, of Dakota; Garber, of Nebraska ; and 

 several scientific men. The following plan of 

 action, suggested by Governor Pillsbury, of 

 Minnesota, was adopted, after a discussion 

 upon the whole subject : 



1. A joint and urgent appeal to the President of 

 the United States, to be signed by the Executives 

 here assembled, and others favoring the movement, 

 requesting him in his forthcoming annual message, or 

 other suitable manner, to commend the subject to the 

 prompt and favorable action of Congress. 



2. A similar joint request from this body to the 

 congressional delegations from the States here rep- 

 resented, and others interested, urging their assidu- 

 ous efforts for the passage of an act of Congress 

 providing for the appointment of a commission of 

 both scientific and practical men to consider the 

 whole question, including cause and remedy, with ad- 

 equate provision for suitable bounties for the preven- 

 tion and cure of the evil. 



3. A joint memorial, if practicable, or some other 

 form of combined official action by our several Legis- 

 latures, asking the aid of Congress for these pur- 

 poses, and to that end requesting the concerted and 

 persistent influence of our several congressional dele- 

 gations. 



4. Recommendations of the subject by the Gov- 

 ernors to the favorable consideration of the several 

 State Legislatures interested, invoking the adop- 

 tion of such practicable measures as have proved 

 efficacious, and such as further experience may sug- 

 gest, including the repeal of existing game-laws, 

 or such modification of them as will prevent the de- 

 struction of birds which feed upon the insects; the 

 offering of bounties for the destruction of eggs and 

 insects ; the prevention of prairie-fires until a suit- 

 able time, for the destruction of the young grass- 

 hoppers by firing the grass. The encouragement 

 of tree-culture for promoting moisture and harbor- 

 ing birds, and such other means as may promote 

 the great end desired. 



A decision of the U. S. Circuit Court, ren- 

 dered in May, by Justice Miller, confirmed the 

 title of the Burlington & Missouri River 

 Railroad Company to the lands taken under a 

 grant by act of Congress of July 2. 1804. An 

 attempt had been made to have the patents set 

 aside, on the following grounds: that lands 

 had been taken beyond the lateral limit of 

 twenty miles on each side of the road ; that 

 some sections being fifty or a hundred miles 

 from the road could not be considered " on the 

 line thereof," as required by the grant: that 

 the sections were not distributed equally along 

 each twenty miles of the road ; and that along 

 certain portions of the road, where it came 

 within twenty miles of the Union Pacific, the 

 lands had all been taken from one side. The 

 court held that, as no lateral limit was men- 

 tioned in the grant, the allowance of "ten 

 sections per mile, on each side of said road, on 

 the line thereof." could be taken at any dis- 

 tance necessary to make up the amount of the 

 grant from lands " not sold, reserved, or other- ' 

 wise disposed of by the United States;" that 

 "on the line thereof" meant simply parallel 

 to the road, and was not restricted to any par- 

 ticular distance; that it was not necessary that 

 the lands should be taken up and patented on 

 the completion of each twenty miles of the 

 road, though that was authorized ; that it was 



