Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 2.djvu/371

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Political History of Oregon.
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constitution, known as the reconstruction acts, declaring that they had been actuated by unworthy partisan motives in their efforts to impeach and remove the president, and declaring that Senator Williams had acted from improper and unworthy motives. Nothing ever came of this effort on the part of the legislative assembly of the year 1868 to rescind the joint resolution of the previous session in respect to the Fourteenth Amendment. This action upon the part of the democratic majority was in line with the intense feeling entertained by that party towards the reconstruction measures passed by congress and the bitter quarrel between President Johnson and the republican majority. At this session, also, J. C. Alexander, Daniel Simpson, G. W. Burnett, J. F. Gazley, John F. Denny, James Applegate, R. Pendegast, T. W Davenport, J.G. Flook, D. P. Trullinger, W. D. Hoxter, J. W. Garret, W. W. Brown, John Minto, and John A. Taylor, being the republican minority, resigned their seats as members of the house on Saturday, October 24, 1868, leaving the general appropriation bill on the table, and other important legislation not passed. The house consisted of forty-seven members, thirty-two being a quorum. There were twenty-seven present and six absent, as stated by the governor in his message in response to notice. The house replied, declaring that there were twenty-seven members present and sixteen vacancies. The report of the committee, of which W. W. Chapman was chairman, impugned the good faith of the governor, charging him with falsehood and misrepresentation.

The legislative assembly for the year 1870 convened September 12, of that year. James D. Fay was elected president of the senate, and Ben Hayclen, of Polk, elected speaker. Among the prominent members of the senate for that session were: A. H. Brown, of Baker; Fay, of Jackson; Enoch Hoult, of Linn; D, P. Thompson, of