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To: GOPcapitalist
The sitting Speaker of the House presided over the secession ordinance in Neosho and, per the existing reports of it, quorums existed to pass the measure.

Other accounts state that a quorum did not exist, I've never seen an actual vote count out of the Neosho session. I've read accounts that when the Missouri legislature reconvened in Cassville a week later there were only 11 senators and between 35 and 44 representatives, far below quorum requirements. There may not have been many more than that in Neosho.

958 posted on 07/01/2003 4:00:06 AM PDT by Non-Sequitur
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To: Non-Sequitur
Other accounts state that a quorum did not exist

The only first hand account I have read of that says it did not exist is from a legislator who had been there a few weeks earlier, seen that they did not have a quorum at the time, and departed before the vote. I've read that the records of procedings survived from one of the chambers and list a quorum. The other chamber has not been found, though reports exist that it had one as well.

I've never seen an actual vote count out of the Neosho session. I've read accounts that when the Missouri legislature reconvened in Cassville a week later there were only 11 senators and between 35 and 44 representatives, far below quorum requirements. There may not have been many more than that in Neosho.

The Charleston Mercury's report on Nov. 25, 1861 gives the vote as follows:

"The meeting of the Missouri State Legislature, which passed the ordinance of secession at Neosho on the 2d inst. Was well attended - a full quorum being present, including 23 members of the Upper and 77 of the Lower House; 19 of the former and 68 of the latter constitute a quorum."

This is the only period newspaper report I have found so far that gives numbers, but it doesn't provide any further information on them.

996 posted on 07/01/2003 9:22:21 AM PDT by GOPcapitalist
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