Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1856-05-19

facts--or II IL mean anything but the knowledge
of tho facts / ask every gentleman In this House
whether the maxim does not always hold good,
that er faci0 oritar jas--that from the facts the
law draws its consequences the law, with re-
ference to civil proceedings, appends to the knowl.
edge Of the fact the legal consequences deduced
from it, Therefore, In this bill, they must either
use the word knowingly with reference TO
knowledge OF the facts from which the partys
right grows, or they use il Ia a sense that Is IN
known TO any criminal statute. But, If this be So
then to make the fac of excluding vote, or o.
admitting vote, which the courts may deem ought
20 have been admitted or ought 10 have been ex-
cl0ded, penal offence, without reference TO the
question whether the commissioner ala or did not
think the party who offered TO vote really entitled
TO vote--to punish judicial officer because lie
knew certain facts and drew legal conclusion
from then, difctont from that drawn by another
judicial oficer-s at variance with every principle
OF Law or justice.
say. sir, there ID no such principle 10 be found
n the laws Of Virginia, In tue laws Of Maryland
ia those Lave from which the laws of the District
are made up, which are In accordance with the
feelings of the people of this part of the country
aud which are entitled TO be considered by Con-
gress in its legislation. have before me gen
tIemen from Virginia who win say that there Is no
penalty provided in their laws for such case. i
myself and other members from Maryland, can
cay that there is none such provided in the laws
Of Maryland. There is no indictment of judge o!
elections because he happens to draw wrong con-
clusion from facts. He Is responsible for nothing
ut the exercise Of his judgment; and it Is an
unheard Of thing is gross, fragrant outrage
TO control the freedom Of Judgment of such
Judge, by imposing upon him penalty which
follows from the mere knowledge of the facts
az Il he were n prophet and infalliblc, or that
error aud sin were inseparabe. That is the mean
inc of the law. If the gentleman had inserted
the word " wilfuly,' il would not even have
met the case. They must use language to con
fine the penalty to the case Of commissioner OF
election, who shall exclude person from the polls
whose qualification to vote he knows and believes
1t must como up to this: you must show that the
commissioner exercised his judgment and excluded
the vote agains. his Judgment, and with an intent
to do wrong. Not merely that he ksiep the facts,
from which another tribunal might infer that the
party Is entitled. The inHiction of the penalty
ought to require forits infection at least the ground
of an action for damages, for excluding the party
entitled to vote.
According to the settled law of England and the
settled common law, damages can be adjudged
only where the commissioner rejects the vote of
party corrnptiy with an intent to deprive party |
Of a k,,orn right, Of right which he, the cop |
niittee 6eliepes ne has. To say that party takes
the goods Of another party knowingly is no ground
on which to charge him with criminal offence.
1t is nothing but \ trespass. You must pm in the
intent, covered by the word "feloniously," before
you make it crime If party claim right to |
the goods, however firnsy that right may be- the |
taking them is not an indictabe offence. And yet
parties have no right under this law, II 1t passes
10 say before tribunal that they thought they |
were doing right. They are punished, whatever
may DO their own judgment OF the matter, for tho
simple fact of the difference between themselves
and tho court The word "wilfnlly' does not meet |
tho case You must put in the word " coiruptlyn |
If gentlemen think that law which ought to |
IL - 81.
gentlemen pass It,
But when corrnpfly shall be inserted, maintain
the bill is unfit pass It is not tho habit of this
part Of the country to appoint judicial officers and
then hold them to the performance Of their duties
by penalties. We appoint men who are to be con- |
trolled by their conscience, their Judgment, and |
their oath And if gentlemen seek now to change
this law which has rested here unchanged for !
many years--so far as this point is concerned |
from 1920 dosn--let them say that any commits |
soner Of election has, n this District corruptly
wfully, and intcntionaty, deprived any one man |
of right to vote after knowing that no was emit !
tied 10 vote, and then they will have found what |
has not hitherto been found--a pretcxt for this |
slur, this insult, this stigma, cast upon the judges
of the last election. Sir, the great crime of that
election was, thar the Administration were pros.
tratsd in the dust under il. Sir this measure Is |
fling OF vanquished party against the characters
of the victors--it is a poisoned Parthaon arrow |
shot by the flying foe, whose scratch will be dead |
IL, and may avenge the defeat il could not avert
Then, after the government required its official |
menias to vote after they were driven TO the polls
required them to vote an open ticket, subject to |
Official overseers Stationed to spy them out: after
the control of all the foreign votes was bought |
and every stonecutter who refused to support the
government was hunted out and marked, and driv- |
en- from the city by dcpriviHg him Of his employ
ment; after all these acts had proved unequal to |
&ba fooL IF aiuu tpftI
people here, they ask now to he alowed--through |
the instrumentaity of the tribunal where the |
President has the appointment of the marshal |
where the marshal has the appointment Of the |
iary where the jury the judges of the evidence
where the passions Of political strife are to hold
the scales which weigh that evidence--to revolu- |
tionire the city, by indirectly revolutionizng the
law through the fears of the persons appointed to |
execute, not according to the dictates Of their !
fears but Of their judgments and all that in order
that you may reverse decision of the people,
where it was made fairly and without any imputa-
ton on the regularity Of the election or the hon.
esty Of any one of the commissioners. If this is
the bill that gentlemen Of the Democratic party
want to pass, let them pass IL.
Well, sir, there is another thing resting on it.
The Law of this city is distinct a law can well
be- II says that the textbooks, the poll-books,
containing the names Of the voters registered prior
20 the 3lst of December shall not be changed.
Yet sir, the same court in the same proceeding
In which they refused mandamus because of the
Judicial character of the judges, took occasion to
give utterance to the opinion that party, other
wise qualified to vote should be registered and al
lowed TO vote, notwithstanding the fact that his
name was not recorded upon the register prior TO
tho slst of December. Yet sir, with that decision
staring them in the face, contrary as Il Is to the
express letter of the written law of which there
can be no reasonable doubt the honorable gentle
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