BENJAMIN HARDING called and sworn.

I moved into the Territory in 1852. I resided in the Burr Oak precinct of the 14th district. I came from St. Joseph, Missouri, where I had resided several years. I was judge of the election on the 29th of November, 1854, appointed by Gov. Reeder. The other two judges appointed by the governor did not appear at the time of opening the polls. When the time arrived, I stated to the crowd that the other two judges were not present; gave a statement of the governor's instructions for such a case, which was for the voters on the ground to select other judges. I then nominated Mr. Waterson, and the crowd present voted him down. Several came around me then, and told me they thought there was no hurry, and that probably the other judges would yet come, and advised that further proceedings be deferred; which was done-deferred until nearly 10 o'clock. During this time there was a discussion arose as to the right of those on the ground to vote for judges. My impression at the time was, that a large majority of those present were from Missouri, residents of Missouri. Some one nominated Mr. Bryant as a judge, and he was elected by the crowd. The discussion still continued about the right of those to vote, and contended for very stenuously by some of the leading men from Missouri. Some one in the crowd had nominated Col. John Scott. It was my impression that he resided in St. Joseph. Mr. Bryant came to me, and stated to me that Mr. Scott had come to his house the night before and engaged boarding for a month, and he considered him a resident of Kansas on that ground. I still considered him a resident of Missouri, and refused to put the vote to the crowd. After some discusson, Judge Leonard, of Missouri, stepped forward and put the vote himself, and Mr. Scott was elected by the crowd, and he served as a judge of election that day. Mr. Scott has never lived in the district since, to my knowledge. I did not again see him in the Territory for several months. I suppose a majority of the votes cast that day were cast by resident settlers of the district; probably a handsome majority. Votes were cast by some I considered non-residents. I should give as an approximation that two-thirds, and perhaps more, were actual residents of the Territory. There were votes received there from those I considered non-residents, upon their oath or affirmation that they considered themselves residents of the district. I objected to receiving those votes, but I was overruled by a majority of the judges. I considered that it was the duty of the judges to examine voters with regard to facts only, and then to decide whether they were entitled to vote from that expression of facts. Persons were challenged and sworn, and I differed from the other judges as to their right to vote from their statement of facts. The other judges thought they were entitled to vote if they swore that they considered them1 elves residents; and thus the majority overruled me.

Cross-examined by Mr. Scott:

But one of the judges appointed by the governor, myself, was present at the time the polls were to be opened. I did not undertake to appoint other judges. I merely nominated one, and put the vote to the crowd, and they voted him down. I claimed no right to appoint the other

judges. I did not call Squire Waterson into a room, and ask him, as a justice of the peace, to swear me as judge, that I might thereby have a right to appoint the other two judges. I undertook to claim the right of judging whether those on the ground had a right to vote for judges. I did not ask Squire Waterson to swear me at all before the other judges were elected by the crowd. As an appointed judge of the election, I claimed the right, before I was sworn in, to judge as to the qualifications of persons present to vote for judges, for I considered that a portion of my duty. I had received no private instructions from Governor Reeder to that effect. I could not state that Colonel Scott, of St. Joseph, declared, publicly or privately, that he considered himself a citizen of Kansas Territory. Every man who voted that day did not swear that he was an actual resident of Kansas Territory, for those whom we knew to be residents we did not require to swear at all. I believe all those who were not known to the judges to be actual residents, took an oath that they considered themselves actual residents, before they voted. Judge Leonard, of Missouri, and other persons, were refused permission to vote because they would not take that oath. I asked Major Wm. P. Richardson some questions in regard to his residence, and he refused to answer me; stating that Col. Scott should question him, and that he would answer no questions I might ask him. Previously to his refusing to answer my questions, I might imprudently have asked him which he considered the head of his family-himself or his wife. I intended it as a joke, and supposed it would be taken as such. It was after that that he refused to answer any questions put by me. believe that the same questions were propounded to and answered by him, as to and by other persons, before he was permitted to vote. The other two judges, I think, expressed their opinion that each man was the best judge as to his own actual place of residence.

I

LEAVENWORTH CITY, K. T., May 24, 1856.

B. HARDING.

To Mr. Reeder:

A. A. JAMISON testifies:

I have examined the poll-lists of the 14th district for the 29th of November, 1854. I found the names of the following persons I know who then resided in Missouri. The following is the list: Alexander Davis, Sidney Tenent, George C. Collett, Andrew Cox, F. C. Hughes, William Turpin, and Oliver H. P. Craig.

TECUMSEH, K. T., May 6, 1856.

A. A. JAMISON.

THOMAS W. WATERSON testifies:

To Mr. Scott:

I was at the election in the 14th district, at the house of Benjamin

Harding on the 29th of November, 1854. I was on the ground before the judges of election were appointed that day. None of the judges appointed by the governor were present there, except Benjamin Harding. The hour of opening the polls had about arrived when I got there. Directly afterwards Mr. Harding invited me into his house. I was then an acting justice of the peace, commissioned a short time before. We had a good deal of conversation about the election, and he asked me to swear him as one of the judges appointed by the governor. This was before any of the other judges were appointed. I told him he had better wait until the other judges had been elected, and I would swear them all in at the same time. He stated that there were a great many of them who were not entitled to vote for judges, and he wanted to be sworn in, that he might decide who were legal voters to vote for judges. I then told him that, in my opinion, he had not the right to decide that, according to the proclamation of the governor; that it was for each man to determine for himself as to his right to vote; and, therefore, I declined swearing him in. He then asked me what he should do. I told him I thought the best plan was to take the law, read it to the crowd, and let every man judge for himself; which he did. He also wanted me to serve as one of the judges. I said I did not want to serve; but he put me in nomination, and I was voted down by the crowd by a large majority. I was an acting justice of the peace in and for the 14th district of Kansas Territory.

LEAVENWORTH CITY, K. T., May 24, 1856.;

T. W. WATERSON.

To Mr. King:

JOHN W. FORMAN called and sworn.

I came into the Territory from Missouri about the first of April, 1843. I removed to Doniphan, where I now live, in 1853. I was appointed by Governor Reeder judge of the election of November 29of the election of delegate to Congress, which was held at the house of Benjamin Harding, in the 14th district. When the election came on, I was just recovering from a long spell of the typhoid fever, and, much to my regret, I could not attend the election. The election was held about 14 miles from my house. But few of my neighbors attended. They were almost unanimously for Whitfield, against any other candidate running.

JOHN W. FORMAN.

LEAVENWORTH CITY, K. T., May 27, 1856.

J. B. CRANE called and sworn.

I live on the Fort Riley road, about ten miles from here. I moved there from Buchanan county, Missouri, on the 20th of August, 1854. I was at the election of the 29th of November, 1854, at Mr. Pensen

H. Rep. 200-2*

au's, on Stranger creek. I am tolerably well acquainted in the southern part of the district. One Mr. Frasier was one of the judges of that election, and I think R. Riddle another; but I do not recollect the name of the other. There were a good many people, pretty much all strangers to me, at that election. I think there were some three hundred votes polled there that day. I left the place of election about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. I saw one man there—a Mr. Lewis Burnes, from Weston, Missouri, that voted. There was some dispute about the polls, about the right of Missourians to vote-some saying that any man having a claim in the Territory had a right to vote, no matter where he lived. I should think, from what I saw and heard about the polls, that not more than one hundred votes could be polled in that district at that time. I think there were at least two hundred votes given that day that were given by non-residents. There were some of my neighbors who were not at that election. From the fact that I know that some of the residents did not vote, and from all I can form an idea of, I think there were not more than one hundred resident votes given that day. I do not recollect of seeing any arms. there, except some few bowie-knives and pistols, and perhaps a few guns. I saw some of these strangers coming in from towards the riversome in carriages and some on horseback. I remained there until some of them left, and they came back towards the river. I saw some of them vote. I saw no fighting, and no one was prevented from voting that I know of.

Cross-examined by Mr. Whitfield:

Mr. Whitfield and Mr. Flanigan were the two candiaates at that election. I voted for Mr. Flanigan. I do not know when he moved into the Territory, and do not know where he lived. I never saw him. I do not know whether Mr. Flanigan resides in the Territory now or not; but I believe he does not. I do not know when he left the Territory. I have heard of his being in the Territory since the election, but do not know what became of him. I was not acquainted in the district, as a general thing, except in the south and southwest portion— perhaps one-third of the district. I do not know the size of the district. It is a large district, and included Kickapoo. I do not know about the town of Atchison. I think the boundary of the district followed the military road to the Stranger creek, and then went up the Stranger; do not know how far. Some of the strangers I have spoken of might have lived in the portion of the district I did not know, but I do not think so. They might have lived there. There was plenty of room for them, but I do not think they did. I recognised but one man whom I knew to be from Missouri. Of late it has been a pretty general practice to carry arms in the Territory, but not at first; though a man moving in generally had a rifle, but did not carry it about with him. There were a good many persons about that time looking out for claims in the Territory, but not so much as a short time before; and but few did so where I was acquainted. I heard no complaints at that time about a want of an organized government here in the Territory.

LEAVENWORTH CITY, May 19, 1856

J. B. CRANE

FRANCIS M. POTTER called and sworn.

I live about twelve or fourteen miles northwest of this, in the fifteenth district. I came from Buchanan county, Missouri, to the district, on the 16th day of October, 1854. I was at the election at Pensenau's on the 29th of November, 1854. I think I know Jesse Morin-Captain Morin, as we call him. I am not very well acquainted in that district. There were quite a crowd of men at that election, and I saw some from Buchanan county, Missouri. I saw James Ellison, Samuel Singleton, Allen Pullen, John Galbraith, and a man by the name of Kirk, who has moved into the district since, but I do not know where he lived then. I do not recollect about an encampment. There were a great many people there, coming on horseback, and in wagons, from towards the Missouri river. I should suppose there were some three or four hundred persons there. I think not more than half of the persons there were residents of the district. I did not vote that day. I saw some of these people go away towards the military road. There were a good many there when I left. I did not see any man vote that day.

Cross-examined by Mr. Grover:

I am not certain as to the residence of Mr. Pullen. I frequently saw him attending on a ferry on the Missouri, and my understanding was that he lived on the other side. The ferry was at Iatan, Missouri, across the river. The way I got my understanding that he lived in Missouri was, that I always saw him in Iatan when he had nothing else to do. He may have lived in the Territory, but I never knew of it. I think there was no settlement on the river opposite Iatan; if there was, I did not know it. I think Mr. Pullen did live a while on this side of the river after that. I do not know as the people of Atchison came to Pensenau's to vote. Atchison was a

small place then. I had been there. Men, in going from Pensenau's to Atchison, would go out towards the military road. I suppose those also to Port William, Kickapoo, and Salt Creek valley. ́I think probably these points would embrace more than a majority of the votes in the district. I cannot tell how many I saw leave Pensenau's to go towards the military road. I could not state whether I knew half of the resident voters of the district at that time or not; I may have; is likely I did not. I saw no one vote that day. do not know where Jesse Morin was living at that time. A week or two before that election I saw Morin in De Kalb, Missouri; but I did not know where he lived then, and I do not know where he lives now. The citizens of Kansas frequently went over into Missouri at that time; I did myself.

LEAVENWORTH CITY, K. T., May 20, 1856.

F M. POTTER.

I

JOHN W. HOUSE called and sworn.

I live about six or seven miles from here, on the military road, in