Mr. SHELLABARGER. The majority of the committee tell us that we are bound to take the account which has been made up by these men thus guilty of conduct denominated revolutionary by Judge Black, and that we are not only bound to take it as good evidence, but that it has efficacy such as to shut the eyes of congress to every other return and fact in the case, and this although the wrongs of these judges are shown by the very papers which they produce to make out their case. Sir, I deny both the positions. Isay that the return judge from Somerset county did right in refusing to o into a board where he had ine wledge that t ie returns had been so altered, in violation of law, as that the will of the district would surely be defeated. Now, what is the consequence that comes from this position that it was right for Somer set to sta out of the board? Why, not that it enables the 4 other counties to elect a Rep Representative, but it merely compels them to do as Mr. Meredith says they ought to have done, to wit, send and get the Somerset vote, or if that be impracticable, it sends all the votes here to Congress to be counted by this House. The position that the gentlemen take is this: let 4 men exclude the legal votes of the soldiers, and let them count up the rest in violation of the express requirement of the law, which says that they shall count all the votes, and in violation of that other provision of the law which so s no informalit shall be regarded, and in violation of that still urther provision of the law which says that cle(1rk0sjn)“cIatstsinhgall not be lawful for said judges or up the votes which shall appear to have ecu given. asshown by the ccrtificates, to omit 9r rejectany part thereof. exceptwhere, in the opinion of said Judges, such certificate is so defectiveas to preventthe samefrom being understoodandeom puted in adding together the number of voteszin which casea certified cop of such papershall beat tached to the return an the original depositedin the prothouotarys office.” Each one of these vital legal requirements was violated in the rejection of soldiers votes in Adams and Bedford counties, and also in the making 11 of this district return which rejected or omitted Somerset county and yet gentlemen say that these are good returns, binding in law, and such that Congress cannot only not go back of them but such as shut the e ves of Congress to all the other legal and certified returns in the case, including those of the soldiers votes which had been rejected by boards having no jurisdiction to reject them; and that they are binding although these flagrant wrongs a)pear on the very papers which make out Mr. olfroths case. Sir, I will be part to no such a proceeding. I say that it is the duty of Congress to do what those men ought to have done, namely, count the votes and I was not surprised that my very skillful colleague on the committee. [Mr. LlhON] who is managing this case, fclt unwilling to answer the question put to him by the distinguished Gentfrom Pennsylvania, [111: Srsvsxsaj He managed to avoi one of, the plainest an simplest questions in the world, to wit, who had the most votes as shown by the papers. Now, Iwill answer the question that my colleague would not answer. As shown by the legal returns in this case the largest number of votes were obtained by Mr. Koontz and it is only by rejecting the votes of the soldiers phat you can possibly give this seat to Mr. Coffroth.