Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 2.djvu/370

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354
W. D. Fenton.

states, were created by military despotism against the will of the legal voters of said states under the unconstitutional reconstruction acts, which were revolutionary and void, and that such bodies could not legally ratify such amendment. It was further recited that the resolution of 1866, passed by a vote of twenty-five ayes and twenty-two nays, by means of the votes of Thomas H. Brentz and M. M. McKean, fraudulently seated as members of Grant County, whose seats were vacated September 22, 1866, and filled by J. M. McCoy and G. W. Knisely, who, on September 29, 1866, entered their protest on the journal of the house, and declared therein that if they had not been excluded, they would have voted against such ratifying resolution, thereby defeating the same; and further reciting that on October 6, 1866, the house had not legally concurred in the joint resolution. It was resolved, therefore, by Senator Trevitt's resolution, that the resolution adopted September 19, 1866, had been so adopted by fraud, and that the same should be and was thereby rescinded. The ratification was withdrawn and refused; and further resolved that any amendment should be proposed by a congress in which all the states should be represented, or by a convention of all the states.

On September 23, 1866, the committee on federal resolutions reported in favor of the adoption of this resolution, and declared in the report that the conduct of the dominant party in the last legislature with reference to the proposed amendment was one of the reasons of its overthrow in the late election. This rescinding resolution was passed by the senate on October 6, 1868, and the house thereafter concurred. House Joint Resolution No. 13 was passed, instructing and demanding that George H. Williams and H. W. Corbett should resign their seats in the senate because, as alleged, they had misrepresented the people and supported measures in violation of the