Portage Sentinel

In the House on Saturday, Dec. 9th Mr. Breslin, from the committee appointed, on a previous day made the following reports

REPORT OF COMMITTEE.

The Committee appointed for the purpose of inquiring into the circumstances, which have prevented a full and complete organization of the House of Representatives, by the presence and qualification of a Constitutional quorum of the members, and also, to inquire into the causes of the various disturbances which have been referred to this body, have discharged the duty assigned to them, and ask leave to report.

Constitution of the State, a quorum of members elect, of the House of Representatives, assembled at the State House at about 9 o'clock A. M., on the first Monday of December, and were called to order in the usual form, by one of their own members, another of them acting as Clerk pro tem. Upon a call of the roll, thirty-seven members presented the regular and usual certificates of election, and were duly sworn into the just discharge of their duties, as members of the House of Representatives—several persons occupying seats, understood to be members, not answering to their call. After an interval, the roll of unrepresented counties was called, and being several times repeated, five other members appeared, and in like manner presented the regular and usual certificates of their election, and were legally sworn into the discharge of their duties, and thus forty-two members of the House were regularly recognized and prepared to prosecute the duties assigned to them by the constitution and laws of the State.

After the first thirty seven members, as aforesaid, had presented their certificates, and had regularly organized themselves, a great number of persons obtruded themselves into this hall, and filled up the aisles and every vacant space within the body of this House. Amid the confusion thus unavoidably produced, a body of men assembled in one corner of the hall, and there, in defiance of the rights and privileges of this body, and with great noise, attempted the forms of a separate organization, to the disturbance and annoyance of this House. Every effort in the ordinary form was made to repress this disorder. The Chairman of this body, though occupying the Speaker's chair, and possessing for this purpose all the authority of that station, was entirely unheeded, and by the persons concerned in this attempt at a separate organization, treated with disrespect in every effort on his part, either to promote the proper organization of the House of Representatives, or to maintain the rights and privileges of a large majority of its members.

The constitution and laws declare that seventy-two members shall constitute the House, and two thirds of its members shall be necessary to form a quorum for the transaction of business. The forty-two members composing this body, though in point of numbers a majority of the House, are therefore not a quorum, and lack six of the number necessary to clothe the House with all the power and authority necessary for that branch of the Legislature. Nor can this body be organized and become so clothed until the number of members required by the constitution shall have regularly taken their seats and become qualified as members of this body.

Your committee, have, however, to report that every effort has been made to induce the absentees to take seats: The roll has repeatedly been called, and the Chair has again and again invited every person possessing the regular certificate of election to come forward and after being properly qualified, by the oath of office, to take his seat as a member of this body. The pretended organization before alluded to, though composed of but a few men, and confessed to number but thirty-one or two at most, as your committee understand, and a minority of the persons entitled to seats in the Legislature of Ohio, have persisted in a most offensive manner, to claim that this body should submit to their demands. By attempting to set up the form of a separate organization, they required this body to dissolve its own organization, and that your forty-two members should submit themselves to the will and orders of that irregular and unlawful assemblage of a minority.

Conscious, however, of the character of their proceedings, these men subsequently undertook to make various informal propositions to this House, and to dictate the terms upon which such of them as might be entitled to seats in this body, would undertake their duty, thus recognizing by these and numerous other acts, your present organization. But this body standing upon, and defended by the constitution and laws, and sustained by the usage of the country, was too deeply impressed with the importance of our high duties to derogate from the rights and privileges which the constitution of our country have conferred upon the Representatives of a free people. Whatever individuals, they are fully alive to the fact that it is of the last importance that the high and responsible character of Representatives of the people of this State should not be sacrificed by any unworthy act of theirs. The rights and privileges of the people must be sustained, and in this aspect this body has kindly but firmly vindicated the rights and dignity of the people's representatives.

One pretext offered for the refractory conduct of the recusant members, is, that the Clerk of the last session was not allowed to officiate in the organization of this House. The authority of the Clerk of the last session terminated with the adjournment of that body, and he can have no more authority in this House than any other person not belonging to it. There is no law or parliamentary rule in our State
which does or could clothe him with any authority or power in your organization. It is true that the Clerk of a former session of the Legislature, being frequently a candidate for reelection, and therefore present has, in some instances, been permitted, under the authority of the temporary Chairman to officiate, and when he has done so. it has been only as a scribe, and under the sufferance of the members, but it was never before pretended that he had any right to dictate or control. That a mere Ex-Clerk --a person whose term of office expired with the last General Assembly-should appear in this body, and decide on the validity of credentials, or dictate, or otherwise influence, the course of action to be taken on the subject of the contested seats of members would be a proceeding too preposterous to be entertained. The incipient steps taken by this body to organize the House of Representatives,have been on the only legal and correct basis on which the House ever has been, or ever can be organized. Each person presenting a certificate of his election executed by the proper authority, and duly authenticated is entitled to a seat, in the temporary organization, The law requires the returns of the election to be made to the Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas of the County, and he is required to open the poll books and make out abstracts of the votes. To him the law entrusts the returns and the written evidence which show the result of the election. And it requires him to make out for each of the Senators and Representatives having the highest number of votes given, a certificate of his election and to deliver the same to the person entitled thereto. This certificate of election is intended by the law to entitle the member to a seat in the temporary organization of the Legislature. Such is its sole and only object. Upon it he assumes and holds his seat as a member of the House, and a contest for a seat cannot be instituted until the House has been organized, before which the question must be brought for determination. In the organization of this House, so far as it has advanced, the counties were taken in the order in which they stand in the apportionment system, under which the members were elected-the first county being Hamilton. That system gives to "Hamilton county" two Senators and five Representatives. It gives to "Hamilton county" emphatically a representation of "two Senators and five Representatives." All that is required, therefore. in the Clerk's certificate is the fact that the member is a Senator or a Representative from that "county." There is no law which requires the Clerk to certify that the person "having the highest number of votes" was elected in any particular mode. All that the Clerk can do is, to certify that the person having the "highest number of votes," according to the returns. is duly elected. This fills the requisites of the law. The certificates presented from "Hamilton county" are in accordance with the law of the State, and it was with great propriety that the Clerk set forth no more in his certificates than simply filled the requirements of the law. At the commencement of the organization of this body, when the "county of Hamilton" was called, "five Representatives" presented certificates of their election, from the proper office, duly authenticated and in the usual and legal form. They were then duly qualified and took their seats. Could this body have refused their acceptance? Where was the right in any other Representative, having no better evidence of his title to a seat than these "five Representatives" exhibited, to raise an objection, before the organization of the body, and before a contest of their seats could be instituted? Notwithstanding the accumulated experience of forty six years, in admitting to seats in the House, all persons having legal certificates, thirty members refused to aid in the organization of the House. because that uniform and unvarying practice was not deviated from on the present occasion. This seems to be the chief and almost only objection alleged by the recusants, to participating in the further and perfect organization of the House. In conclusion, the committee would remark. that the House cannot, without a sacrifice of its privileges and dignity, without detracting from its self-respect as Representatives of a free and intelligent constituency -without disregarding the approved example and acknowledged practice of all their predecessors, yield to the extraordinary demands of the minority of this House. All which is respectfully submitted.

J. G. BRESLIN.
ALEXANDER LONG,
LUTHER MONFORT
S. R. MOTT,
JAMES M. BURT.