Speech #500010857

Sardinghausen thought he ought not to be. the contestant naturally did not agree with Mr. Sardinghausens views of the case. They differed as good men will differ. and the contestant said to Sardinghausen. who was then and had been for a long time a State senator in Indiana and a member of the Democratic party. "You had better look to your own citizens hip." Sardinghausens reply was. as it appears in his sworn testimony. that he had gone into that court and been naturalized before the contestant himself. to which the contestant replied. There is no record of it." We see. therefore. that it is no new thing for the records of this particular court to be brought into politics to affect the citizenship of candidates for office. That record is defective throughout. There are one hundred and fifty names of naturalized citizens with nothing but bare memoranda of them. There are others without one line of memorandum in that court. Citizens applied for certificates in order that they might go out and take up land in the Territories. but no record of their naturalization could be found. There are cases where men had certificates and where there was not even a scratch of ripen to show it. There are the cases of two men whose names bad afterwards been entered in that record. forgeries. as appears by the testimmny in this case. and it is on that disfigured. imperfect yecord. tainted with forgery. that it is proposed to deprive the contestee of his seat in this House. So much for the record. as to which it is argued by the other side that we can not bring any parol testimony to cure its defects. The other single point in this case is the fact of naturalization. To that fact we have the testimony of Mr. Jenkinson. which is entirely unimpeached. He swears to two conclusive factsthat he was present when Captain White was naturalized. and that it was after the war. and after he (Jenkinson) had given up the practice of the law. That testimony has not been impugned in the slightest degree. We then have the testimony of Pratt. the sheriff. who was in court at the time of the naturalization. and the only attempt to impugn his testimony is by saying that lie was hostile to the contestant. If the veracity of men in that Indiana district is to be impugned on that groundI say it with entire respectthere will be A very large number of persons. reaching into many thousands. who can not be received as credible witnesses. That testimony stands to the fact of naturalization and to the fact that tbe naturalization occurred subsequent to the war. defeating the attempt made by tLe other side to show that the declaration of intention was in 1858. Last of all.we have Captain Whites own testimony. It is admitted that in the confusion and excitcmentof the election he made contradictory statenments. but from the beginning he said. "I have been naturalized." From that he never swerved. His testimony on that point is direct. and until this afternoon. in the speech of the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. ONEALLJ. there ha not been a single attempt to impeach his character for veracity.