Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1855-06-13
zinc q Election Frauds.n

no A~tOcthoh Efuuuos
The organs Of the Kitchen Cabinet, since their
second defeat in this city by the American party,
have been dreajfuily exercised" to account 10
their friends abroad for a disastrous result which
has operated like wet blanket upon the Virginia
jubilee. As the most likely story, 10 make an i'm.
preston where the parties are not known, they
have raised the cry of FRAUD against the Commits
sioners appointed to hold the election, and have
terateda and reiterated it, over and over again, upon
the hypothesis that lie well stuck to is as good
AZ the truth"
Now, We propose TO state the case succinctly,
for the information of distant readers who are
not in the secret and who do not know the char
acters Of the accusers or accused.
The Kitchen Cabinet determined before the cleo
lion that every clerk, mechanic, and employee
under the government should vote the ticket set
up in opposition to the American ticket, upon pain
Of being dismissed from employment. To ensure
this object, 1t became necessary to compel them
by some scheme or device to vote an open ticket
So gross an outrage as this, upon the indepen-
dence Of the electors required some pretext to ex-
cuse justify it. and, therefore, hints and inuen
does we're given out that this proceeding was ne
cessary to defend the ballot-box from the concoct
cd plots Of the City Councils, the Commissioners
Of the Election, and tho American citizens gene
rally, to defraud the candidates of the pie-bald
party out Of their election.
The election was held. The ope,l-ticket scheme
did not work we'll Some few lackeys went up to
the polls with the labelled livery on-other citi.
zens thus insuted, who desired to vote the Amer
lean ticket refused to vote in opposition to 1t, and
kept away from the polls, while perhaps nine
tenths or more Of tho voters deposited their bal
lots in the usual way. The result was triumph
Of the American party in Eve out of the seven
wards, and majority OF 433 on the tast candidate
in the general result.
A number Of foreigners, who had been natural
lied for the occasion, presented themselves at the
polls, but the Judges Of Election refused their
votes, as the city charter only authorized citizens
of the United States to vote who had resided one
year in the city, and who had paid a school tax
assessed on or before the 3lst of December, pre-
ceding the election.
A few days before the election, an application
was made to the Circuit Court, by the Kitchen
Cabinet, TO issue mandamus to the Register to
compel him to place tho name of one Of these
newly-fedged citizens upon the tax list, and re-
ceive his school tax. The object was 10 secure
this one case, and then the Register would have
registered all who had been naturalized, received
their tax, and each would have claimed right to
vote. The court decided that, as the tax list had
passed from the Register to the Commissioners of
Election, the court had no Jurisdiction Of the
the Judges of Election being the legally constituted
tribunal alone to decide upon the qualification Of
the voters.
When the result of the election, and rout Of tho
Kitchen Cabinet, was ascertained, their chagrin
and disappointment knew no bounds and having
nothing more tangible upon which to fabricate an
excuse for tho little influence they had over the
citizen voters, they seized upon the rejection of
the foreign votes, and trumpeted it forth, as
great fraud on the part Of the Commissioners Of
the Election, alleging the Circuit Court had de.
cided that these foreigners perc entitled 10 uote.
word on this subject: The Circuit Court made
no decision at ALL touching the right Of any one to
vote, because the judges neither 80 stupid nor
indiscreet, az 10 vohxer an ertrajudicial opinion
on any subject not judicially before them Had
they ventured 80 far beyond their proper sphere,
their opinion would have had no more binding force,
legally, than the opinion Of any other citizen The
Judges OF the Circuit Court had no more to do with
deciding the qualification Of voters before an cleo
ton, than in deciding any legal question before 1t
Is judicially brought to their attention The Com
missoners Of the Election are the legally constiu
ted tribunal to pass upon the qualification Of vo-
tiers, to which even the judges Of the Circuit Court
submit like good citizens in the first instanee. The
question Of mans right TO be put upon the tax.
lat and to pay his tar, and his right to vote, arc
very different questions No one ia entitled 10 vote
without paying taxes, but II does not follow, that
every one bound to pay taxes is entitled to vote.
IT, therefore, the mandsmus In the case referred to
had issued, il might have put dollar In the trea-
sury without right TO put a ballot in the box.
The court would not do, indirectly Whist they
TO the Commissioners Of the Election TO receive
an offered vote. But the same object was sought,
in an indirect way, by asking the court to compel
the Register 10 enrol the name Of the applicant on
tho tax list Now 1t 10 rather a novelty, 20 SEQ a
debtor 90 into court and ask a mandamus TO
compel his creditor to receive his debt, or a col.
lector TO receive taI-tho latter IL bound at all
times 10 receive taxes that arc due, or TO assess
and receive them when offered. But had tho
court ordered the Register to enrol the applicant,
Il would not have entitled him to vote, if other.
wise disqualified. The tar list does not import alb
solute verty-it is only pri,nd acis evidence, aud
may be controverted; otherwise, dishonest Reg.
ster might crowd II with illegal voters.
The application to the judges Of the court for
nandsmus In this case TO extort from them an
ertra judicial opinion for the purpose Of controlling
the officers legally constituted to decide upon the
qualifications Of voters-tho Wanting threat Of
counsel In the discussion Of tho question, and in
presence Of the court that the Commissioners Of
the Election should be prosecuted 70 the "latest
breath, were alike dscreditable. The judges were
100 prudent and circumspect to offer evon dictum