The Congressional Globe, Volume 13, Part 2: Twenty-Eighth Congress, First Session Page: 399
This book is part of the collection entitled: Congressional Globe and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
March, 1844.
APPENDIX TO THE CONGRESSIONAL GLOBE.
§99
28th Cong 1st Sess.
Presidential Election—Mr. Duncan.
H. of Reps.
shall be used, by whom it shall be used, and the
circumstances under which it shall be used. A vio-
lation of any of those provisions is a violation of the
constitutions and of the laws regulating the use of
the elective franchise, and a corruption and
violationof the franchise itself; and he who is
guilty of it, is guilty of treason the most dan-
gerous and aggravated; and if the sworn officer,
whose duty it is to guard and defend, that
franchise, has wilfully or negligently permitted
such violation, he is guilty of' both treason and per-
jury. And upon the same principle, he who holds
an office in corruption of the elective franchise, and
in violation of the constitution, is equally guilty of
treason, inasmuch as both are violations of- a sacred
and fundamental principle of the government. All
republics have placed a high estimate on the elective
franchise, and nave imposed penalties for its viola-
tions and abuses in proportion to its magnitude.
I believe in the Grecian States, in their republican
"days, a violation of the elective franchise was pun-
ished by death. It was also a penal offence for a
citizen of one State to vote in, or meddle with, the in-
stitutions of another. Such an offence was looked
upon and punished as treason. It is so, and is and
has been considered so, in every republic. An abuse
of the elective franchise is a violation of a funda-
mental principle of the government, and an attempt
to overthrow the government itself. No institution
should be guarded with such jealous care as that
of the elective franchise; for the overthrow of all
others put together, would not so much endanger
our liberties. It is the highest duty that every citi-
zen owes to himself, to his country, to the memory
©fhis ancestors, to their blood and treasure spilled
and expended in the great revolution by which we
were redeemed; and, above all, to those who are to
come after him, to preserve this franchise in its
pristine purity, and to transmit it unsullied to pos-
terity.
My next object is to show that the elective fran-
chise has been basely violated, and the ballot-box
most corruptly abused. If I can do that, I will have
shown good reasons why this bill should pass, or
some other one that will prevent such abuse and
such corruption hereafter.
I have stated that our constitutions and laws have
defined the manner in which the elective franchise
shall be used, as well as who shall be entitled to
its exercise; and the same rules prohibit its use in
any other way than those prescribed, and by any
other persons than those designated. For this pur-
pose, election precincts are established in every
county in every State in the Union. By the wis-
dom of our law-makers, those precincts are small;
they have also provided for the appointment of a
class of officers called judges of election, whose duty
it is to know of themselves, or by information, all
persons who are or are not entitled to the use of
the elective franchise. The judges are sworn to re-
ceive no vote from the hand of any one not entitled
to a vote within the precinct, and to reject all votes
from persons living without the precinct, whether
citizens of the State or the United States, or not. The
object of those provisions and guards is to secure
the elective franchise from abuse. Our constitutions
and laws have peculiarly guarded the States from
interference with each other in relation to the
privilege or the abuse of the ballot-box; and
all elections are declared void which are vitiated
by illegal votes—whether by illegal votes from the
hand of those who have no right to vote, or, having
a right to vote, vote in the precinct, county, or State,
other than that designated as the proper place to
vote, ft is now my purpose to show that the elective
franchise has been violated in all the particulars which
I have mentioned, but more especially by persons
voting in States, counties, and precincts in which
they had no right to vote, and m violation of ex-
press laws regulating elections, and defining the
privileges of elections; and it is to prevent a repeti-
tion of such violations hereafter, and in all time, that
I have introduced this bill. It would seem that the
framers of the federal constitution had a presenti-
ment of the possibility of the abuse of the elective
franchise, in the very manner and by the very means
by which it has been violated: hence they reserved
the means to the federa 1 Congress of preventing
such an evil.
I hold in my hand the constitution of the United
States. The fourth section of the first article reads
thus:
"The times, places, and manner of holding elec-
tions for senators and representatives shall be pre-
scribed in each State by the legislature thereof; but
the Congress may at any time, by law, make or al-
ter such regulations, except as to the place of choos-
ing senators."
Apart of article second, section first, reads thus:
"The Congress may determine the time of choos-
ing the electors, and the day on which they shall
give their votes, which day shal be the same
.throughout the United States."
And these, sir, are the constitutional authorities
for the passage of the bill now under consideration.
There never was a time, nor will there ever be a
time, when it will be more proper for Congress to
interfere and assert its constitutional authority jn
this matter than at this time.
It would seem, with the knowledge which we
possess of the wholesale frauds and unvarnished
treason that were practised in 1838 and '40, that it is
an imperious duty which we owe to our situation,
to the country, and the oath we have taken, to pass
some Jaw which will arrest a repetition of such
frauds. I would be excusable in the mere assertion
of the frauds upon the ballot-box, and violation of
the elective franchise, practised in the elections of
those years, s well are they known, and so firmly
are they fixed in the convictions of this wide-spread
community; but I have promised proofs ana ex-
poses, so 1 proceed to present some of them. I say
some of them, for I have neither time nor space to
to give even those I have more than a bird's-eye
glance, nor have I had time or opportunity to collect
the one-thousandth part.
I hold in my hand a book. It is the journal of an
investigating committee raised and authorized by
the legislature of Ohio to investigate a contest be-
tween J. C. Wright, contestor, and G. W. Holmes,
contestee, (all of the county of Hamilton,) who were
candidates for the Ohio Senate at the annual election
of 1840—the former as rank a blue-light federal
whig as ever justified the Hartford convention, or
worshipped a coon; the latter as pure and as firm
a locofoco anti-bank Jeft'ersoman democrat as ever
bore the name, or "skinned a koon;" both clever
fellows, and highly respectable citizens in every per-
sonal and private sense. Holmes was the successful
candidate; Wright contested his seat; and this book
contains the evidence disclosed by the contest. It is
a large book; it contains four hundred and twenty
pages; and every page, from the title-page to the
last page, is crowded inclose lines arid small type,
with evidence of the basest frauds on the elective
franchise. Well as the frauds of 1840 are under-
stood, this book discloses frauds beyond suspicion,
and almost beyond comprehension. Did I
not owe it to my conscience, to my
country, and to my office, and this con-
stitution, which I have bound myself, with up-
lifted hand, and in presence of my God, to sup-
port,—for the honor of my country, and for the
character of our republican institutions at home and
abroad, I could wish this book, and all such evidence
off rauds practised in that memorable 1840, were
among the things that never were. But the evidence
is here in books; it has a place in the knowledge
and recollection of the people in this country; and
it is matter of taunt and boast m other countries.
So, our best plan is to use it, and expose it, to pre-
vent a repetition of such frauds. Sir, I have evi-
dence indisputable that not less than seven hundred
voters were imported into the single county of Ham-
ilton, at the election of 1840, to defeat the demo-
cratic ticket by a regular, organized system of swin-
dling and pipelaying. A part of the evidence is
contained in the journal to which 1 have referred; a
part in the acknowledgments of those who partici-
pated in the frauds, not only as workers and con-
ductors of the iniquity, but as voters also; but a
larger part in letters which I received from persons
residing in the interior of the State of Ohio, and
several other western States—letters received before
the election, informing me that arrangements were
making by the whigs to send voters by companies
to defeat my election, and letters received after the
election, informing me that companies had been sent,
had voted, and boasted of having done their part to
defeat "bully DuncanI have said that I have
neither time nor space to display but a small part
of this mass of evidence. I can only present one
of the most glaring iterms, and merely allude
to the balance. Pipelayers flocked from other dis-
trict, and other States—some on foot, some on horse-
back, s^me on mules, by wagon-loads, by stage-
loads, and by steamboat-loads. My time will only
permit me to notice the steamboat-loads. I will ask
the clerk to read the following deposition. The
clerk read:
57.—DEPOSITION OF JEFFERSON PEAK.
In the matter of the contested election, where the seat of
George W. Holmes, in the Senate of ihe.State of Ohio, is con-
tested by an electorof Hamilton county, the saidGeorge W.
Holmes appeared by his attorney, Thomas J. Henderson, at the
clerk's office of (he Gallatin circuit' court, in the town ofWar-
saw,county of Gallatin,State of Kentucky, on the secondday
of December, 1840, agreeably to the annexed notice, and ad*
journed over until to morrow morning, December 3, 1840, as
endorsed on said notice.
December 3,1840 fcf
Met pursuant te adjournment, when Jefferson Peak, a wit-
ness, produced on the part of said George W. Holmes, who
being duly cautioned and sworn, deposes and says:
Question by Thos J. Henderson, attorney for George W.
Holmes —Please to state if you know of u«y person or persons
taken to Cincinnati to vote at the State election held on the
13th of October last; and if you know any thingabout it, state
all you know in relation to theml
Answer by Deponent.—I went onboard the steamboat Mailt
at this Jpiace, on the night previous to the State election in
Ohio, for Lawrenceburg, Indiana, on business for Messrs.
Peake and Roberds, of this place. On going aboard, I found
the boat so much crowded, that there was no possible chance
for sleep, either on the floor, or in a state room or berth. As
there were so many persons on board, over and above places for
sleep, including the floor, myself, with a number of others,
were compelled to sit up all night, or nearly so. I did get to
lie down a short time before day hy occupying another man's
placeon the floor, which he had just Iclt.
During the night on our way up, nearly all the conversation
aeenmd to be in relation to the Ohio election, that was to take
Flace on the next day; and a great portion of the passengers
that I saw that night did not have the appearance that cabin
passengers usually have, though I did not see anything like
all the passengers were on "board, as I got off of said boat about
dayheht, at Lawienceburg; and agreat portion of them were
m bed when I went on board, as every place seemed to be
crowded; and the greater portion of those I saw seemed to be
more like ruffians than otherwise. And when the boat stop-
ped at Lawrenceburg to put me out, they sent me ashore m
the yawl, and I had to pass through the lower deck to get to the
yawl, and there appeared to be a great many persona on deck
as well an in the cabin.
Alter remaining m Lawrenceburg a short time—probably
one-and a half hour, I left for Cincinnati, Ohio, on board-the
steamboat Indiana, where we arrived about 10 o'clock on the
morning of the day of the election in said State. Purkig
which day, in passing through the city of Cincinnati, I saw
several advertisements sticking up indifferent places, purpoit-
tng to want hands to go on the Green river locks to work, to
the number of one or two hundred hands. Thisadvertisement
stated that they wished all the hands that, would conclude to
go, to be ready on the wharf on Wednesday morning, tHe 14-h
of October, ready to go jn board the mail boat, for which so much
per month will be given—the amount not recollected. On my
arriving at the mail boat, General Pike, next morning, I saw
an unusual number of persons on board said boat, General
Pike; and also a large number on the wharf and wharf boat
opposite the said steamboat General Pike. I also saw a man
on the wharf, with a sheet of paper in one hand, which ap*
peaied to contain a number of names, and a number of bank
bills in the other, and seemed to be settling with a number or
men on the wharf before the boat left, and the same man, with
the aid ofanother, continued to settle and pay a number of n*en
and boys, or youths, on board of said boat, after she left the
wharf. And alter we had left the city of Cincinnati, and pro-
needed down stream aomel s^x or etgfot miles, Mr.E. F.
Calhoun, of Mississippi, and myself, were in conversa-
tion on the politics of the day, and during which time
a gentleman by the name of George Buell, of Lawrence-
burg, came up to us in the cabin of said boat, and asked
me if I had noticed what was going on on board of Che
boat. I answered that I did not know of anything strange. He
then asked me if I had not observed a man paying off men -on
the boat ever since she had left the shore. I answered I had,
before she left and since. He asked meif I knew whatn meant.
I told him I supposed that it was an individual who had beea
to Cincinnati to engage hands to go on the Green river locks.
He immediately informed me that it was a man paying off per-
sons for going to Cincinnati to vote for Pendleton, I said to
him, u cau'tbe possible, lie replied, come with me, and I will
prove it to you, or I will satisfy you, I do not recollect which.
He then started, as well as I recollect, towards the crowd, when
they weie assembled at or near one end of the cabin of said
boat. I called or spoke to him to stop, which he did. I then re*
marked to him [Buell] and Mr. Calhoun, and requested them to
be cautions, and we would find them out. About this time the
crowd appeared to move forward, and assemble again on the
boiler deck, in front of the cabin. We three then proceeded
near the crowd. I went up in the crowd,and observed one man
sitting on the railing of the boat, and some ten or fifteen around
him; the one sitting seemed to be mak'ng calculations; and he
asked one of the men how much did thev owe him, or how much
was his bill; he replied, Sunday, Monday,Tuesday, and Wed-
nesday. The man lemaiked, th^t was making the calcula*
t or,, that he ought not to charge for Sunday, as he could not
mike anything in Louisville on Sunday. He remai ked that he
\v«s to have a dollar per day for every day, Sunday included,
and hoai din the < ity of Cincinnati. Ju*t at that time the man
sitting down observed me looking on; and some individual who
stood hy holding a sheet of paper in his hand, with a large
ntimberof names < n the samp; aod the individual_who sat on
tke rail observing me looking on the same, he immediately
snatched the paper in the other man's hand, andtoie the same
in two; and rernaiked, at the same time, by G—d he did not
wantevesy man to see thfir paper.
The whole ciowd thf*n moved their stand to near the wheel-
house; tin*! there, <i? before, appeared tw proceed to settle with
divers individuals They seemed to come up from thedeckof
said boa' into the cabin in ciowds of from 10 to 15 in number;
and aferthey got through settling, and a portion of ihemie-
ceiving dieir money, they would disperse and go below, and
another crowd come up. They continued in th s way, I think,
until about one o'clock, p m. ot said day; during which time I
did not fully satisfy myself about the matter.
I then went to the clerk of the boat, who was at that trme a
stranger to me; I asked him how many men were there on
board that had been carried to Cincinnati to vine. He laushed,
and remarked that he did not know I a^ked h;m tfho se'tled
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
United States. Congress. The Congressional Globe, Volume 13, Part 2: Twenty-Eighth Congress, First Session, book, 1844; Washington D.C.. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth2368/m1/409/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.