The Nullifiers At Landsing

The Süuiite and House of the Michigan Legislatura have eaoh finally detcrmiin'd the coutested scats have refused to recognizü the decisión of the Stipreine Court a? bindiig u.on them, huve rcoognized elections held undar t law deelarix uuoonstUutioaal aud void, a legal, auc to-duy nccupy the position o( nullifiert. In mukiug thia annouiicuiiient we hav but few comruentK to muke und shüll giv thera in oonneotiou with a pynopsis o the prooeedmgs. On Mouday, Fobruary 20th, three rejiorts wei'ö presented frorn the Houso Spvcial Committee. The majority report pottifgged the question ut leniiüi, and arr ved at the conclusión thnt the Ilouao wae, utidor the Congtitution, the judge of the electiou, qualitication, and roturn of ita own membere, thut as judgc it wiia to determino uot aloue whether in conductiüg the election the laws of tho State had been duly observed, but vvbether suoh luws were constitutional ftud valid; aud that in inakiug a deoision, a due regard for its own rights and dignity, forbado a recognition of the decisión of the Supreme Court, which was conceded binding upou all other classes of citizcns. Thia report considered all the cases adjudieatod in the adjudication of the first oue, thafc they cnuld uot bc opened again, and that all the sittiug meuibers were eutitled to retaiu thoir seats. The main reaeon given why the i decisión of the Court was not buiding upon the House, was that the Court had no remedy if its opinión was fejected, aud that because process oould not reuch the House, tha House could do asit pleased. The document was sophistioa' as a whole, atid showed " Jordán a hard road to travel," and Mr. Gkiswold, who pcnued it, more of a pai tisan thau a lawyer. Mr. Wells, in belialf of the minority of the Comimttee, made an able report, oouolusively sbowing that the House should be governed by the rules of law in its investigaron aud dctermination of the rights of cbiimants to seats, that the Supretne Court was the uuthorized exponent of the law, and that legislatura as well ns executive offieera wero bouud b-y its doeree?. Abundant authority was quoted upon tire point, as also in refu'ation of the claim that the House had settled the matter bevond re-oousideration before tho decisión of the Court. - Congressional precednnts and judicial ink-rpretatioiis were cited, and the conclusión arrived at, that the soldiers' roting luw having been held unconstitutional all votes cast iu accordance witli it were illagal, uud that the ten contestant were entitlcd to seats. Mr. Mickley, of Lenawee, (Rep.), submittod a very candid report, dissenting from both the majority and minority. He took the poaition that in all ciiBes ih which tho House had acted in its judicial capacity bcforo tho decisión of tho Su preme Court, its action was final, und the eittiug membors could not be disturb' ed ; but that in all uew cases the testants were entitled to stats. This opinión was eonsoientiously eutertained by a few members both of the Sonate and House, but had it been adopted by the raajority would have preseutcd tbe auomuly of eome membois holding seittg by the soldier' votes, and of others being ejccted becauso of' them. The contested seats were raads the special order for Thursday afternoon, ai which timo they were taken up, n portion diaposed of, aud the baliinoe disposcd of on Fiiday evening. Mr. Gkiswold co;iduettid the mutter iu the House !or the sittiug ascmbere, aud althougli ia . - ...;■ K"d 'n-:rl"l f ■ r i r of oases fiiljiidicateil and MX nut adjudicatrd, he tuld the Housü tbat all had bcon ' te mined. The IIouso journals show thut Messr. Ekkd, of Inuhain ; BAyr.KY, of Oaklaud ; and Woodwukth, of tnghain; wero confirmed in their seats by a voto in each case of 65 to 24, four Bcpnblicans voting for the contestant. Mr. Clkment waseoufirmed in Lie seat by a vote of 63 to 26, six Republicana voting in avor of Millkk, Id the clenily unai'JudicateJ caaes, or ie cuses not uresvnted until af ter the tcision of the Supri'ine Gburt, the vote as Rearer equl. Tlie vote was fii-at iken on Uie rolutoa coiif&rinmg Mr. [cKay, of (ilhoun, in hia setit, and tood 44 to 36. Tlie j urnnl shows Unit 'ght niernt'tTS wlioe scits were contastd, til Nih of whieh omj and the saine rific;4u w.is ïuviilvud, to wit'. Mer. Bttylfy, Bad fither, 1' 'ckurd, Liued, Schats, H'oodworth, and M Kav, Iiimself', oted for retaiuing McKay. Mr ClkmNT8 was abseut - in fact has not hnnored lie Legislature vviih hia presence since bo deoisiou of tlie 0urt - and Mr. Boink, wub exensed. Mr. LuTiiuit, whose e:it was not cotnested, but wlo hold it - he lias 8ÍnoP resigned - by the soldiers' vote, did [iot vote on nny of the cases. - Che rem, su ing csei ere disposedof by about the rae vote. A close shave, hat'a certain, and a triuuiph over the constitución of which the (áenibera who contributeiJ to t will not ícel proud wlien tho sober second thought ht uorao So much for the cases ín tho House. Iu the Sprint tliere were four contested seats, two frota this county, one f rom Oiikland, and cuo fcom MaeomU Threu of the contohtants prosented jertifioates :f eloctioii o the ffirsi duy of tlie session, but were not sworn in ; while Camí''.::i,t,, of Maeottji, uiade uo coutoa muil w'er the deoisiou üf the Supremo Gitrí. The Senate Cüiumittee ou ElectioD reported at length on Tuesday, Februury 21st. It stated the act on had iu the Senate in the case of J. J RobiüON claimiüg tlie 8eat of J. Wkbstkr Cuims, that he appeared on the first day of the ses. sion, presented a certifícate of efeution, aud demaaded to be sworn in; that the iimtter was referred to the oouimittee on elections, but subsequently taken from that eommittee and referred to a special committee, which reported that J. Webstek Ciulds was entitled to the seat, aud he was accordingly sworn iu ; that eub. eequently a memorial was presented in behalf of Mr. Robison, and referred to the committee ; aud that it appears that the questiong at issue had been takon frora the committee, and were in possession of the Senate, and that thecommit tee do not understand that it can prop erly take aetiou in the matter, until tbe Senate snall place it in posseasion of thy matter in question. It strikes us that the resoiution of the 3Oth of January did thal very thing, and that the ooramittee dodged very ad rok!-, pmbably to aflect the vote ot some tender conscienced Senator - perhapa Senator Walker - ior eiich uieuiber of the eornmittee eubsoquently voted for a resoiution declariug that Mr. Robison was -entitled to the seat. 'Beforo proceeding to the other mntters of the report, a few words u to Mr. JRübison's case may not be out of place. Messrs. JONES, Robiscn, and Hoyt eaeh ippeared with certifioates on the first day of the ftöftsioo. Messr8. Jav aDd Ciiawford also appeared, clairning the seats ot Miei's. Jones and Hoyt, and preseuted Clerks' certificates that had tba soldiers' voiea beeu allowed by the canvagsers they would have been elected, and on these certiñcates they veré immediately sworn in, and Messrs. Jones and Hoyt grauted permission to contest. Mr. Childs' oertitioate had boen lest, and neither henorRoBisoN werenworn in. Tlieir case was given to a special comuaittoe, which deolined to enter iuto any quealion but the one as to which received the most votes, couuting soldiers' votes and a!l, .though Mr. Robison proposed to show enough illegul aud frauduleut votes givi-n for Childs to deteut liim, even though the goldiers' votes were recoguizcd aa regular. And so as soon as Mr. Childs obtaiued a certifícate that he had u uiajority if the soldiere' votes were counted, the couimittee reported in bis favor and he was adinitted. Mr. Iíobison, without waiting for tho decisión of tbo Suprerae Court, iinmediately proceeded to procure evidence of illogal voting under the soldiera' votiug law, aucl had that law been held good, hud obtained ubuudant evidence to give him bis seat. But ihe evidence was rendered useleüs bj the course pursued by the committee. Ia a private letter to. us, Mr. 11. says, " I don'i know that I ought lo cuuBure the comuiittee on elections for reporting a ít did in ray caso, as it would be ludioroua spectaclo to seo grave Senators nioueing over the sol diers' voting returns, lookiug for illegal votes, wheu the Supremo Court has decided them all illegal." And Mr. K. is right, and so we will uot detail the evidence he had procured, and which if 1lowed would have given hira the seat if the law had been held constitutional. In tho other th reo cásea, tbe comtnitteo reported nnatiimously in favor of the eontestants. The report was an able 'ése, tl priícedeuU citíd to the point, tbut no legal toles could le gken under un unconstitutional late, and conclusively dispoíed ot the res adjudicata argument 80 couíideutly rolied upo hj the House coiiimktee. Tbe report, aa publi.sbed, however, hab been ernasculated, two ov three of tiie strongost argumenta ind most pertinent uuthorities buing droppod out bodily. We hope tbat the roport will yot bü published entire. TLe resolutions accompanying the report were made the epecial orjer fo-r 2 o'cloek, P. M., of Thursday, Feb. 23d. at which time tliey were taken up and disposed of without debate. Befoie voting upon tho lesolutionsí however, Mr. Bakciíopt offered the lowing resülution : Resolved,. As Hiu sense of the Senate, thivt 11 Senator, tho right lo wbose seat is iuvolvod iu the resolutivos ru portud from the comtnittue on privileges and clücüoiia, is enlitled lo vete upon the (juestiou of the adoptiou of either of'suoh resolutions until the question of the right of cach to his seut shall have been de cided by the Sena te. Which was promptly voted down, and ou each resolution three Senators voted whose seats werocontested upon the same ground with the fourtb Senator whoso seat was at stake, and, ia saving him, saved themselvet hy their own votes. Mr. Jay u:oved the following resolutioD : Rnohed, That J;iin J. Eodison ;s entitltid to a seat iu this Senate, as Senator for the Eighth Senatorial district, in place of J. Webster Cijilds, the present occupant, Whioh was lost by the foüowing vote : Ykas - Messri. Adair, Baneroft, Oliapman, Croswell, Forster, Godfroy, Howell, Langdon, Luce, MeCurdy, Míuqís, Nevins, Trea'- 13. Naïs - Messrs. Aldrioh, Brown, Col lier, Crawford, Crego, Davis, Divine, Eclsell, Fovvler, Hubbard, Jay, Jerome, Merrill, Perrin, Wait, Walker, Watkins - 15. Tlie vote was then taken on tbe resolutiou admittiug Mr. Jones to the seat oocupied by Mr. Jay, and it was lost as follüws: Ykas - Messrs. Adair, Baneroft, Ohapman, Crego, Croswell, Poistor, Godfrey, Howeil, Langdon, Luce, McOurdy, oís, Nevius, Jferrin, i reut - lö. JS'ays - Messrs. Aldrich, Brown, (Jhilds, Oblliur, Crawford, Davig, DiWne, Edsell, Fowler, Hubbard, Jerome, Merrill, Wuit, W-ülker, Wutkins- 15. Messrs. Cukgo and Peiuum voted against Rodison on tho ground that Lis claim hnd been adjudicated, but voted for Jon Ka. Thu resolution admitting Mr. Hoyt to tbe seat occupied by Mr. Crwvford, was lost by tho same vote as above. The resolution adtnitting Mr. bkli to the seat of Mr. Huisbard was lost by L vota of 14 to 14. Seuator Walker, by permisslon oí Mr Hlbbarp, voted for the contestant ; Senstor Pjjrrin dodged out of the Senute, and a culi was refused to bring him back ; and Senator Nkvins, w_o had voted in favor of the other eonJestants, says he voted for thü resoíution, but his vote was not recorded. And, so, Mr. Hübbakd retains his seat after the Senate bas actually voted to oust him. The whole thing had evidently been pre arranged. The farce was endüd, the uwjesty of the Republican party vns sustaiued, the Öuproine Court was rebuked, but we did not uotioe that tho counteoanoos of the Ropublioitn Senators sbowed mueh olation over the result of their day's wnrk With many wvy faces they had awallowec a bitter pill, aud we leave thein to digest it. (3P To Attorney Gtmeral Williams the recent decisión of the Supreme Court has proved an "eye opener," and has enabled him to conolude that the Constituticn is not always to be interpretcel in accordance with party wishes. He has, therefore, in answer to a resolutiou of the Senate, given his opinión that the April election is not " a general eleetion" within the meaning of the oonstilution, and that constitutional auiendments should be subimtted to the people at the November eleetions. If the Legislatura place more confidence in the Attorney Geueral tliao in trio Supremo uourt, ït inay bow to his decisión, in which case no constitutioual amendment can bo voted upon by the people until ber, 1866, and no soldiers' voting law euacted until 1867. For thia delay the soldiers inay tbauk the obstinaoy ot the liepubliciins in the Leginhiture of 1803. %3C Geo. Luther, member of the House from Ottawa county, olected ly the eoldiers' vote, resigned bis seat on the 25lh uit. Ho recognizes the decisión of the Supremo Court as binding, and the wishes of his ooustituenta aa in accordance with it. His letter creutod quile a ttir iu the House, and he was criticised severely by bis Rcpublioiw ! friends, but it came out that he de I terminad to rcsign iuitnedintuly afler the decisión of the Court w;is announced, but bad postponed doing so at the urgent requet of a Republican oaucus. The Houtie refused to allow liits letter of resignation to be entered on the journal. We give it in another column. It is in manly contrast with the action of mcmbers who voted to retain ibumselves iri thuir soats ia defiance of law. Tho Boston wool market is reported at a stand still, consumers deoli ning to invest iu liirpe lots escept at do creaeed rutes. 50,000 lbs. of Michigan vvoo) koM brt vfoek at 91c. a $1.00. I3P The 38ih Cougress will come to an end at 12 o'olock to-night, unless the seseion is crowded over a Hule into the sinall hours of Saturd:iy Bvoroing. - "When the whecls of legilation have stoppud we shall know whut has bee done with the enrollinent bil) and the tax b'll, in bnth of which allour readers are interested. HyÜT Hon. iIugic McCullocii has. been appointed Seoretnry of the Treasury, via Fessknden rcsignod, nnd will of course retuin the pcmition during the coming Presidential term. He is known in financiul circles as the head'of the National Bunk. Bureau. It m intimated thfit no other changea will be raudat i-n the Cabinet. L-LT The Legislatura has enacted a law IegaKing almo9t everything thut was dono by cilios, towus, or individuáis, in the matter of payin# bountiei betweeu July 18th, 1861, and Februnry 4th, 1865, but we mistrust that the far-famed Philadelphia lawyer wilt be unable to unravel the mysteries and contradiction ot ita complionted seotion-". It is a model of ill-disrested logislation. %1L' fty l'le apportionment bill introduced into the Seoate, Washtenaw and Onkland Countius o:ioh lose one Senator. We expected this reault from the bungling mannor in wbjeh the late consus was taken in many of the tovrns. - We retain four niemberg of the House. EiF All eyes ara eagerly watt-hing the movements of Siibrman and the armies at and around Richmond. Tho plot thicken?, and unless the rebels can beat SnuKMAN back, the rebel nest at Richmond will soon be surrounded. - We wait the result with considerable oonfidence. LW Bell, the Lake Erie pirnte, oaught in the attempt to throw carg off the track near Niágara Falla, N. Y., and oonvictecl by military oourt, was hung on.Gorernor'a Island, N. Y., on Frulay last. J52ST" The Republican State Convention is to bo held at Detroit next Tuesday, the 8th, and the indications are tbat Judge Ciiiustiancy goea ovorboard. Ö? The U. S. Öenate has squelohed the bogua State of Louisiana, by refusiug to admit the Senators eloot. {5P Gold has hovered around 200 duriug the last eek. Wednesday it closed in Wail street at 199 3-4.