The House Journal for 1875 is not very helpful.
The three-page minutes on the expulsion of Rep. J. Williams Thorne do not elaborate much on the debate that evening.
The matter first came up on Saturday, Feb. 20 (p. 465). The Committee on Privileges and Elections presented a report on Thorne to the full House recommending he be expelled.
After the jump, the rest of the report.
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The initial motion was offered by Rep. Hanson T. Hughes of Granville. It read:
Whereas, J.W. Thorne, the member from Warren county, has advocated and promulgated a most sacrilegious doctrine, subversive of the principles of the Constitution of the State of North Carolina and the Constitution of the United States. Therefore,
Resolved, That the said J.W. Thorne be, and he is hereby, expelled from a seat on this floor.
The words "and the Constitution of the United States" were then struck, and a substitute amendment proposed:
Whereas, It appears to the House of Representatives that J.W. Thorne, the member from Warren, denies the being of Almighty God, and entertains religious views at variance with those which should control the action of a representative, therefore,
Be it resolved, That J. William Thorne, the member from Warren, be expelled from this House.
The issue was then postponed until the following Tuesday.
The substitute amendment was later withdrawn, and another proposed on Tuesday (p. 500):
And whereas, the said J. William Thorne has written and published a pamphlet calculated to encourage infidelity and a want of confidence in the divine authenticity of the Holy Bible, thereby bringing it into contempt, and promoting vice and immorality.
That amendment failed too.
Finally, at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, a new resolution was put forward, and it failed. The House then voted on the original resolution, adding the words "of sound morality" after North Carolina and substituting "blasphemous" for "sacrilegious."
The final wording would then be:
Whereas, J.W. Thorne, the member from Warren county, has advocated and promulgated a most blasphemous doctrine, subversive of the principles of the Constitution of the State of North Carolina and of sound morality. Therefore,
Resolved, That the said J.W. Thorne be, and he is hereby, expelled from a seat on this floor.
The motion to expel passed 46-13.
