Show THE DEBATE It will be remembered that the telegraph brought very little of the debate in Congress on the contested election case of Cannon versus Campbell for the Utah delegates seat None of the first days proceedings pro-ceedings came over the wires and the synopsis of the second days was brief indeed Because of that failure fail-ure on the part of the Associated Press we reproduce below a portion of the debate which was opened in the House on Tuesday 18th instant by Mr Calkins who said The House having decided to enter upon the consideration of the Utah contested con-tested election case I now yield to my colleague on the committee on elections the gentleman from Wisconsin Mr Hczdionl Mr Hazelton It may seem Mr Speaker somewhat strange to this country coun-try alter the passage of such an act BE that which struck down the political power of polygamy in the territory of Utah that ibid House should now occupy any further time in determining the question whether tbt institution should maintain representation upon this floor Jxeverlhelete tbe situation of the Clue coming from the committee on elections to which it was referred to aster aia and report the facts and the law it becomes necessary that the case shall grappled and decided b I this House the fcole arbiter of the whole question I assume and I have the right to assume Air Speaker in view of the large vote which determined the question of political 1 politi-cal power under the sc called Edmunds bill and which has received as I understand under-stand the signature of he President and become a law that this House of Repre sentative on both sides by the measure and character of that vote will deny representation to Mr Cannon although he has received 18000 votes if they can find good cause for so doing And 1 assume that every gentleman will act in good faith in the determination ot the question now before the flouse one of tbe most important of our congressional history The committee disposes of the case fo far as Mr Campbell is concerned under the law which exists in almost every state in the Union that a minoriy vote under the circumstances could not control as against a majority votewhich had to be counted and canvassed Under the decisions of Wiscorain and other states of the Union Mr Campbell therefore is i declared not to be elected although be has the certificate of the Governor of the territory of Utah in this contest the question was raised by Mr Campbell the contestee that Mr Caunon was not a citizen of the United States at the time of the election The committee brushed that point away also and found although there were some irregularities ir-regularities while there was not a full and perfect record behind the certificate although it was not clear upon the proof behind the certificate that his residence was such as was required by the law when received his certificate of naturalization natur-alization yet under the decisions they held they could not attack that certificate collaterally and acknowledged and conceded con-ceded the question of citizenship stood upon the record in his faror the court having so found and certified Ibis brought the whole case up to the question ques-tion whether Mr Cannon having receive re-ceive this number of votes and being a citizen under the law was disqualified on account ot being a polygamist Now fir it i is i not the first time the question I this It has I has been raised in thiaeongress been raised before and gone to a committee com-mittee by tbe vote of the House but navv before has it appeared to confront unfairly rand squarely by being presented to the American representatives asa as-a question of disqualification for the office of territorial delegate The majority of the committee believed first that in the decision of this question pee important consideration entering into it was the differene between a delegate on thi floor and a member of the House from one of the states holding his authority au-thority and power under the Constitution i of the United States We held aaa majority ma-jority that if the delegate were a mere creature of the law his office not being a constitutional franchise if his office was created by statute alone at the will and sufferance of the He use then the whole question of determining whether he ehould go out or remain whether he could beerpelled or rejected was a question ques-tion within the control of a majority of this House of Representatives That U could take no larger vote to expel or reject re-ject the delegate than that required to enact or repeal the law creating the office of delegate Our opponents on the other side held to the position before the committee and I think in the report that although a delegate he stands guarded by all that fortifies a member of Congress within the spirit aod letter of the Constitution that the same qualifications qualifica-tions apply to him which apply to a member of Congress that he can only be disqualified for the same reasons which disqualify a member of Congress Upon all those points the majority of the commttee in their report take issue with the majority The discussions which have taken place as to the tenure and character of the office of delegate and of a member of Co egress are an interesting portion of our legislative annals Tney came up far back in the history of the nation and before any of us were born The question came up Mr Speaker and was discussed std determined by a Con gjess composed of members many of whom had taken an active part in the formation of the federal Constitution It was considered and determined by tome of the greatest constitutional lawyer and statesmen who adorn our national history Among these I name James Madison President of the United States one of the strongest and foremost perhaps per-haps of all who helped lay the foundation founda-tion of our republic and it wa determined deter-mined there and then that a delegate was a mere creature of the law that be was a mere envoy or agent from the peo pie of a territory coming here by the permission of Congress to take a seat in this House but shorn of all the vital powers belonging belong-ing to a representative of a state And right here I will ak the clerk to read from this case of James White a delegate from territory south of the Ohio River a way back in November 11 1794 A committee of that Congress reported re-ported upon his right to take his seat as a delegate upon this floor and upon this question of his attributes or power under the Constitution and the difference between be-tween his technical character as a representative repre-sentative from a territory and A member of Congress representing a state ia so clearly set forth on page 91 of this book contested election being a compilation ol cases that I ask the clerk to read it < I The clerk rend Bsifollows Mr Madison said that in w casts there often arose a difficulty in applying old names t new things The proper designation of Mr White iF t > be found in the laws and rules of the Constitution He is not a member of Congress therefore there-fore and so cannot be directed to take an oath unless he chooses to take it voluntarily volun-tarily Mr Murray moved that Mr White should be required to take an oath Mr W Smith observed that the Constitution Con-stitution only required members and the clerk to take the oath The gentleman was not a member it does not even appear ap-pear for what number of years he was elected In fact he is no mre than an envoy to Congress Instead of being called a delegate to Congress had he plainly been called an envoy the difficulty would havo vanished Be is not a representative repre-sentative from but an officer deputd by the people of the western territory It is very improper to call on this gentleman to take such an oath any more than any civil officer in the State of Pennsylvania Mr Smith did not consider him as coming even within the pjstoffice law f > c franking letters he is not entitled to pay unless a law be passed to that end endMr Giles agreed with the gentleman I who spoke last as to the impropriety ol 1 demanding an oath of the gentleman Mr Dayton was against requiring the oath Call him what you will said he a member a delegate or if you pleae a nondescript It would be wrong to accept ac-cept his oath even if he should offer it He in not a member he cannot vote which is the essential part It is said that he can argue and by that means influence in-fluence the votes of the House But so also a printer may be said to argue and influence when he comes to this House take notes and prints them ia the newspapers Mr Boudinot said that as the House had set out on a wrong principle it was natural that in their subsequent progress they should wander further and further from the point But QS the House had now given their decision he acquiesced in it It was however a etrabge kind of a thing to have a gentleman here arguing who was not bound by an oath Several other members spoke and on the question Shall the Delegate take an oath as a member it was decided in the negativeayes 82 noes 42See Philadelphia Phila-delphia Gazette of 18th and Qlh November Novem-ber 1791 The report and resolution were then agreed to by the House and Mr White took his seat as a delegate During the session a bill was passed allowing him pay and the privilege of franking letters as a member Mr Hazeiton That shows that the first delegates admitted here from the territories ter-ritories were not even required to take an oath of office and Mr White took his seat without taking an oath of office at all and up to the time that the law was extended to the territories outside of tbe territory embraced within the ordinance of 1787 the law and practice hive never extended beyond what is implied in that decision As we acquired new territory by war and conquest we codified our laws so to speak upon that subject and provided as we do in section 1862 of the Statutes that Every Territory shall have the right to solid a Delegate to the House of Representatives Repre-sentatives of tbe United States to serve during each Congress who shall be elected by the voters in the Territory qualified to elect members of the legis ative assembly thereof The person having hav-ing the greatest number of votes shall be declared by the governor duly elected and a certificate shall ba given accordingly accord-ingly Every such Delegate shall have a seat in the House Representatives with the right of debating but not voting vot-ing Now the question of citizenshipthe qualifications of citizenship enters in no way into the law which I have read The question of age of inhabitancy none of the great qualifications which apply under the Constitution of the United States to members of Congress enter into this law at all and it was not until sometime some-time after that Congress in order to supply one of this conditions adopted section 1906 providing that The Delegate to the House of Representatives Repre-sentatives from each of the Territories of Washington Jjllho and Montana must be a citizen of the United States Before that the law was silent upon that point and afterward if there is any law requirung thattheDelegate flom Utah Territory should even be a citizen of the United States it is a law which has been passed subsequently to this and whether such law exists or not I do not know But taking these decisions and these statutes together and taking the legislation as it appears upon our statute books creating these territorial delegates we find that the delegate is to all purpose pur-pose under every shape you may view it simply the naked agent or envoy from the territories of this Union whose connection con-nection with their representative power may be cut off termirated or destroyed at our will We are the power to fix the qualifications of the delegates from the territories not the Constitution We are the power which creates his office which creates him The Constitution fixes our qualifications because it i fixes us as members mem-bers representing the power of this government gov-ernment Now I was not surprised in our debate upon this Edmunds bill the great oct which struck down the political power of polygamy in the territories to hear my friend from Alabama Mr Herbert Her-bert and one or two others of the best lawyers on that ede of tbe House tiue the position that that law terminated the official existence of Mr Cannan or any other delegate representing the same class of power as ho would represent if seated upon this floor That I understand under-stand to be the position asumei by some gentlemen upon that side Now what does this section of th st law provide SEC SThat no polygamist bigamist big-amist or any person cohabiting with more than one woman and no woman cohabiting with any of tbe persons described de-scribed as aforesaid in this section in any territory or other place over which the United States have exclusive jurisdic tion shall be entitled to vote at any election held In any such territory or other place or be eligible for election or appointment to or be entitled to hold any office or place of public trust honor or emolument in under or for any such territory ter-ritory or place or under the United States To be continued |