By Mr. Sprague, of sixty-two inhabitants of the township of Algansee, Branch county, for the division of said township. Referred to the committee on the organization of towns and counties. By Mr. Edmunds, of W. B. Hewitt, and others, asking the extension of the right of suffrage to colored citizens; Also, of A. Voorheis, and others, of Washtenaw county for the same; which petitions were referred to the committee on the judiciary. By Mr. Rice, of S. H. Parker and eighty-eight other legal voters of Lenawee county, for the abolition of capital punishment. Referred to the committee on the judiciary. By Mr. Walker, of William Beer and others, for the allowance of certain claims. Referred to the committee on claims. Mr. A. C. Baldwin, from the committee on elections, submitted the following report. The committee on elections, to whom was referred the claim of Payne K. Leach, junior, contesting the seat in this House, as a member from Macomb county, in the place of Chauncey G. Cady, now holding the certificate of election from said county, have instructed me to report, That at the recent election in the county of Macomb, for members of the present Legislature, as appears by the county canvassers' statement, Chauncey G. Cady received for the office of Representative, 660 votes, and in the town of Lenox, in said county, Chauncey Cady received 13 votes, and Chauncey G. Cady, none. Your committee have deemed it their duty to give these latter votes to Chauncey G. Cady, the person evidently intended by the voters to receive them.— This addition will increase Mr. Cady's vote to 673. One vote was given in the county for C. Cady. This vote your committee have rejected, as they believe that the vote itself should show for whom it is intended, and that it would be, in many instances, productive of the greatest evil to go back of the vote to ascertain the intention of the voter. Payne K. Leach, junior, received for the same office, in said county, as appears by the said certificate, 517 votes; Payne K. Leach, as shown by same document, received in the town of Washington, 6 votes; in the town of Sterling, 57 votes; in the town of Warren, 8 votes; in the town of Armada, 29 votes; in the town of Macomb, 16 votes, and in the town of Richmond, 54 votes, an aggregate of 170 votes. Said towns are all in the county of Macomb. P. K. Leech received in the same county, 3 votes. The only question presented to your committee was, whether the votes returned for Payne K. Leach, should be given to Payne K. Leach, junior. If we were disposed to discard all equity and justice in this matter, and reduce the question to a barely technical one, we would have to draw some very nice distinctions to arrive at a just decision of the matter. But your committee believe, that in all questions of this nature, the highest grounds of equity ought to be taken, and the questions be presented, divested of the cobwebs of technicality. They have made careful inquiry of different persons, and learned that there is no other Payne K. Leach in the county, than the one whose case is now before this house. Some old citizens, who have known Mr. Leach for years, have informed this committee that they did not know that there was a junior to his name, or that he was ever designated in that manner. Mr. Leach, who now claims a seat, was undoubtedly the person intended. The statement of the county canvassers clearly show this fact. The suffix "junior," with which Mr. Leach saw fit to cumber his name, forms no part of it. It is the same as though he had added "farmer," "lawyer," "esquire," or any other term to it, as a matter of description. In many cases, these terms of description might become absolutely necessary. Giving the 170 votes cast for Payne K. Leach, to Payne K. Leach, junior, it would increase his vote to 687-14 majority over Mr. Cady, after allowing him the benefit of all the votes he can consistently claim. Mr. Leach has furnished your committee with the affidavits of the members of the board of election, of the townships of Sterling, Armada and Richmond, in the county of Macomb, from which it appears that the votes in the first and last towns were actually cast for Payne K. Leach junior, and twenty-six of the votes in the town of Armada, were cast for Mr. Leach, with the junior appended. With this view of the case, your committee are unanimously of the opinion that Payne K. Leach, junior, is entitled to a seat as a member of this house, from the county of Macomb, in the place of Chaun cey G. Cady, who now holds the certificate of election, and they therefore respectfully recommend the adoption of the following resolution : Resolved, That Payne K. Leach, junior, be deerned duly elected a member of this house, as a representative from the county of Macomb, and that he be forthwith admitted to his seat. All which is respectfully submitted. On motion of Mr. Toll, the report was accepted, and the resolution. adopted. Mr, Leach thereupon appeared, took the constitutional oath, and and was admitted to his seat as a representative. The speaker appointed the following select committees: On that part of the Governor's message relating to the apportionment of members of the legislature, Messrs. Walker, Edmunds, McDonald, Kennedy, Groves and C. Baldwin. On that part of the Governor's message relating to a sale of the works of internal improvement, Messrs. Hand, Walker, Moran, Cole, Scott, Ransom and Rice. The following communication was announced by the Speaker: Detroit, January 12, 1846. Hon. ISAAC E. Crary, Speaker of the House of Representatives: SIR: I have the honor herewith to submit to the House of Representatives a preliminary report relative to the revision of the laws. Very respectfully, Your obedient servant, S. M. GREEN, Com. of Revision. On motion of Mr. A. C. Baldwin, The preliminary report was laid on the table, and ordered to be printed. The following message was received from the Senate : SENATE CHAMBER, To the Speaker of the House of Representatives: } SIR: I am instructed by the Senate to respectfully inform the House that Senators Smith and Littlejohn have been appointed a committee on the part of the Senate, under the "joint resolution relative to rules and manual;" also, to transmit a "joint resolution relative to the claim of John Rouse," and a "joint resolution relative to geological survey and geological department," which the Senate have adopted and respectfully ask the concurrence of the House therein; also, to inform the House that Senators Videto and Chipman have been appointed a committee on the part of the Senate, urder the last mentioned joint resolution. Respectfully, &c., JA'S E. PLATT, Secretary of Senate. The joint resolution relative to geological survey, and geological department, was read twice, and On motion of Mr. Walker, the further consideration of the joint resolution was indefinitely postponed. The "joint resolution relative to the claim of John Rouse," was read twice and and referred to the committee on claims. MOTIONS, RESOLUTIONS AND NOTICES. On motion of Mr. Barbour, Resolved, That the Commissioner of Internal Improvement be directed to communicate to this House the form of the deeds taken by the state in all grants to the state for works of Internal Improvements, Also, whether the right of way has in all cases been granted to the lands through which our works of Internal Improvement have been constructed. Mr. Ransom offered the following resolution, which was referred to the committee on the judiciary: Resolved, That the following amendment to section eighteen, article four of the constitution of the state be proposed, to wit: Insert between the fourth and fifth lines of the said section the following: Nor shall any member receive additional compensation by virtue of any office or place which he may hold in the respective house to which he may belong. Also strike out the word three in the fifth line of said section and insert the word two; so that said section shall readThe members of the legislature shall receive for their services a compensation to be ascertained by law and paid out of the public treasury; but no increase of compensation shall take effect during the term for which the members of either house shall have been elected; nor shall any member receive additional compensation by virtue of any office or place which he may hold in the respective House to which he may belong, and such compensation shall never exceed two dollars per day. Mr. Edmunds offered the following resolutions, which, on his motion, were laid on the table: Resolved, That a special committee of three be appointed, whose duty it shall be to ascertain and report to this House a full statement of the liabilities and resources of the state; including the acknowledged and unacknowledge portion of our indebtedness, with all the ascertained and contingent liabilities of the state, whether foreign or domestic, due or to become due, designating the nature and amount of each class of our indebtedness. Resolved, That the state officers be, and they are hereby requested to furnish said committee any information they may require to enable them fully to comply with the requirements of the foregoing resolution. On motion of Mr. Walker, Resolved, That a committee of three on the part of the House be appointed to act with any like committee of two that may be appointed on the part of the Senate, for the purpose of taking into consideration and reporting upon so much of the Governor's message as relates to the geological survey and all reports from officers in the geological department. Messrs. Peck, Hand and Ames, were appointed by the Speaker, a committee under the foregoing resolution. On motion of Mr. Brotherson, Resolved, That the committee to whom was referred so much of the governor's message as relates to the apportionment of senators and Representatives be instructed to enquire into the expediency of dividing the state into single Representative districts, and that they report by bill or otherwise Mr. A. C. Baldwin, in pursuance of previous notice, asked and obtained leave to introduce a "bill to amend an act incorporating the Troy and Rochester Railroad company." |