The Dodging in the House of Delegates Yesterday
December 9, 1862
The dodging in the House yesterday of the vote upon the motion to table the Carlile resolution would have been very amusing if it had not been so shameful - The friends of Mr. Carlile knew they had no hope of defeating the resolution but by preventing a vote on it, and as the New state comes up in Congress to day their whole effort seemed to be to get through yesterday without coming to a vote. For this purpose, apparently, enough stayed away in the morning, (the attendance being slim anyhow.) to prevent the presence of a quorum. The result was the house had to adjourn over till after dinner. It met again at two, but only sixteen were present. At half past two, however, there was a bare quorum, not one over. A vote was taken and the House refused to table the resolution by a vote of 17 to 4. The friends of the measure instead of pressing the resolution on through, as they could have done in spite of all factious opposition, by the previous question, now proposed, with a magnanimity altogether mistaken we think, to pass it by for the time being to permit the absent members to be present, (some of them having expressed a wish, discuss it.) and took up Gen. Kramer's resolution, which was discussed till evening and passed. Very shortly after the Carlile resolution had been passed the absent gentlemen began to drop in one by one, and it wasn't long till there was a pretty full house.
The Sergeant at Arms had considerable trouble in finding the truant members. - Five of them he found in one room at the McLure House, and was only able to get in on them by strategy. On being informed of their arrest, the most of them were found to be extremely unwell, though most of them did manage to get down to the house after a while.
We allude to this disgraceful business, that people here and elsewhere may be fully apprised of the conduct of their representatives on a public question. Of course the censure implied by a statement of such facts, should not rest on all the gentlemen in the list of absentees, for some have not yet arrived in the city, but it subjects all who were in the city and could have been present, to a damaging suspicion.
Timeline of West Virginia: Civil War and Statehood: December 1862