Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1854-08-09
rae CERTIFICATE OF ELECTION.

The gross error Of the 9tRepubllcan," IN
counting as a voter for Mr. Cushwa, an indi-
vidual who was not allowed to vote, and did
not rote-- and who is generally believed to
have no right to vote,--and the pretensc for
for doing 50, that his name was put on the
back Of the poll, have been repudiatcd by
Mr.. Cushwa's better advisers. The other
error of desiring the Conductor Of the poll at
the Court House to falsify tie certificate Of
he Commissioners at tic OAK Groee pre-
cinct-we do not doubt will be made mani
fest upon more calm and mature reflection.
1t would DO a very absurd law to require
any but Commissioners and Conductors at
the precincts to examine the polls and certify
as to their correctness. They alone can
know. The officer at the Court House cam
not knox. Accordingly the law Imposes
that duty upon the Commissioners aud Con-
ductors If a person not present-if the
Conductor at the Court House ,wHo is mere
e6ecutire officer, to certify as to the correct
ness Of the poll he conducts, and to examine
the returns as sent him By the Commis-
sioners, &C., at the precincts, BY their GER
tiicates, could supervise these certificates,
it would nullify the plain purpose and provi-
sions Of the law, and might lead to mischief
Open the door in enc case, toa correction BY
any but the Court, and errors, &C., innumer-
able may be committed
Suppose a vote had been polled at pre-
cinet aud omitted to lie be recorded, and yet
the Commissioners had included it in their
enumeration. The officer at the Court
House not finding it on the list, might un-
dertale enormously 10 reject it in his count.
He might presume 70 count a voter who ac-
tually did not vote, but who was falsely or
incorrectly represented 10 lin, to hare voted.
lie might even make q uistabe IL his count.
lie might conclude the Clerks had noted a
vote in the column Of candidate f., whom
it had not been cast, and have 'oocn misin-
Of the fact--ap@. eice uersa. He
might find voters name recorded but his
vote not carried out, who may not have
voted, and yet he may believe he did vote.
lie p''ght see the vote CARRIED OFT, but the
voters name OMITTED, and from erroneous
information conclude he had voted when
such was not The fact.
There may be several voters Of the same
name, and thinking there was but one M ght
strike ont all but one. lie might think the
Commissioners had falsiied the poll and up
dertake to correct it, &c &c.
These, and other illustrations will, upon
reflection, readily accrue to any one They
show the ABSOLUTE NECESSITY OF an IyFLEx-
IBLE and uNvARYtNG RULE--to allow the
count of the Commissioners to be disturbed
IN NO CASE AT ALL--except by the proper
JUDICIAL tribunal upon careful
examination of witnesses, sc.
Iftherc is crror-ifa vote has been omit
ted TO be recorded, or one too many counted |
there is sure mode of correcting it-by |
proof before the Court and thus no rights
will be violated.
In correcting the error all others viii be
open to inquiry-aud questions as to the il .
legality of votes can be inquired into. Pro-
vded there was error in the Oak Grove poll, I
it will not De pretcnted that the Commission
ers could correct it, except in Court, Taeir
certificate had been made out, and the poll
book delivered It they were no longer orr
cEns-thcir duties had ceased, and they
could 10 more correct a mistake, than could
4 DISCHARGED JURY, AFTER VERDICT REM
DEUEp.
These views we conceive are conclusive.
To have declined, therefore, to certify Mr..
Newcomer to be elected would have been
direct violation Of Law and duty by the
Sheriff. Mr.. Cushwa should be the last
person to complain, indeed, as he received,
after the first election, certificate of cleo
ton from the Sherif,-who acted merely as
an INpTyIpUAL, in doing so, not having been
appointed Conductor of the poll at the
Court House, by the Court. Although lie
gal, it was done as an act of GRACE, with the
appreciation Of the contestant then, and his
counsel. Whether agreeable or not, Mr..