Nashville daily patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1855-1857, 1856-10-23
From the Philadelphia News.
The Great Fraud.

Tuesday last will long he remembered as
The dan of the Great Fraud Driven to des-
pair by the fact that an immense majority was
known to exist IN this State and city, against
the Democrrtic party, its leaders devised gi-
gantic system of frand, which extended
throughout the who Commonwealth. Gangs
of scoundrels were organized 10 this city to
vote in every precinct, and more than ten thou
sand illegal votes were polled in this way alone.
Others, after having voted in the country,
came to the city for the same purpose. Some
six or eight thousand naturalization papers
were issued to men who had no legal right to
them; and the clerks of the Courts are again
hard at work, manufacturing thousands more
of these patent American citizens for the Pre-
sdeltial election. Watchers were refused ad-
mittance, in defence of the law, in many pre-
cincts, that the Loco Foco offc rs might per-
petrate fraud without the chance of detection,
and every possible stratagem was resOrted to
to defeat the legitimate expression Of the will
of the people.
Men who claim to be respectable citizens,
were the chief conspirators in this atrocous
scheme of viainy, and they hired an army of
b8llot-box suffers and adopts in crime TO do
the deeds which they originated. The unscru-
pulous Mayor of this city had appointed come
of the most notorious ruifians of Moyamensing
on his police, who Co operated in the execution
of this outrage. In some of the wards they
! covered the extra assessment lists with false
names, by vouching for persons who they knew
were not entitled to vote. They interfered in
every way with the assessment of the legal
voters, and even attempted to overawe the cit
liens from the free exercise of the dearest
right of American freemen. With the SCENTS
of the law against them, and surrounded by
al overwhelming FRAUD, 1t is a matter of sur
prise that so many votes were polled against
the conspirators.
And all this was done by the party which
processes such a tender regard for the oonsti-
:utioD-such jealous apprehension of the du-
ration of our institutions! What consummate
hypocrisy, for such party to talk of the Con-
situation and the Union, when they engage in
acts like these, which sap the very foundations
of the government.
If the people are to be deprived of the privilege
of expressing their will through the ballot box,
then the government will fail into the hands OF a
political oligarehy, who will rule the country by
frauds ia the great cities which determine the vote
OF the leading States. Unless new guards
thrown around the balot-box, il will altogether
cease to be an exponent Of public opinion.
Ii is easy to thai institutions cannot long
stand such things. But will the people quietly
submit 10 be thus sWindled out OF their most pre-
cious rightsS viii an outraged community calmly
submit TO be thus cheated by clique Of nominaly
decent men, bot who really lost to all seRti-
ments OF honor, TO all conscientious rectitude Of
conduct!
Arouse then, Americana Bring the seoundrels
to condigB punishment Citizens, assemble IN
town meeting, and adopt measures to prevent a
repetition Of fraud by Furnishing its present per-
petrators, and let the country you are determ
tned to defend the purity the ballot box at eve.
ry hazard.