ple had brought in a number of aged members residing in the village to insure an adverse majority. Had the resolution been put to vote at this time it would have lost overwhelmingly. The spirited discussion was terminated, however, by adjournment until seven in the evening so that participants might attend the college commencement.
The most flagrant maneuvering of the week occurred at the adjourned evening session of the Society. During the day the Removalists had learned that Jacob Knapp and others intended to present their bond guaranteeing that $50,000 would be raised. To insure that the aged members present in the morning should not outvote the friends of Rochester, about thirty Removalists and a few of their opposers, who suspected sharp practice, assembled in the chapel fifteen minutes before the session was scheduled to begin. Their watches set and in their hands, the Removalists ratified without discussion and in great excitement the Board’s resolution for removal, defeated a motion to reconsider, agreed to refund the membership fees of those whose votes had been rejected the day before, empowered the Society’s Board to handle all future questions relating to relocation, and adjourned. Amid applause from students in the gallery and the general confusion of dispersal someone reminded Dr. Tucker, the moderator, that it was customary to close with a prayer, whereupon he made one, his final “amen”
blending with the sounds of the village clock striking seven, the announced meeting time. The friends of Rochester had, of course, over-reached themselves and the motions were illegal.
During these proceedings a few Removalists stationed at the doors of West Hall, where the chapel was located, had purposely detained in conversation the friends of Hamilton as they arrived. By the scheduled meeting-time at least a hundred were in front of the building or were making their way up the Hill. Astonished at being too late, they attempted to organize their own meeting, but were forced to adjourn because of the disturbance made by students. When they returned to the village, a large and excited group of Hamilton citizens gathered at the Eagle Hotel to learn what had happened and speculate on new measures to retain Madison University.
Since resort to the courts seemed the only alternative left, the villagers, gathering in the Baptist Church the evening following then last session of the Society, appointed a committee for that purpose. Its members included the two local lawyers, Charles Mason and James W.