Excerpt from Charles Sumner, Vol. 14: His Complete Works The seat of Hon. John P. Stockton, as Senator from New Jersey, was contested at this session of the Senate, on the ground of irregularity in the election. The Judiciary Committee, by their Chairman, Mr. Trumbull, reported that he "was duly elected, and is entitled to his seat, ' and in their report stated the case: - "The only question involved in the decision of Mr. Stockton's right to a seat is, whether an election by a plurality of votes of the members of the Legislature of New Jersey, in joint meeting assembled, in pursuance of a rule adopted by the joint meeting itself, is valid. The protestants insist that it is not; and they deny Mr. Stockton's right to a seat, because, as they say, he was not appointed by a majority of the votes of the joint meeting of the Legislature." The debate on this question showed earnestness and feeling. Mr. Fessenden, of Maine, used strong language: "I was exceedingly surprised - more so, I will say, than I ever was before, at a judicial decision, in my life - at the opinion to which the Committee on the Judiciary arrived in relation to this matter." Mr. Trumbull defended the report. Mr. Sumner followed. Mr. President, - When the Senator from Illinois rose to speak, I had made up my mind to say nothing in this debate; but topics have been introduced by him which I am unwilling should pass without notice. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.