The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1859-10-01


city of Mexico.
Since "an evil and adulterous generation''
sought IN sign" there has been nothing equal
ling, in audacious duplicity, the demand of Mr.
SWAMI for Illegal proof of the frauds committed
in this city on the 18th of October, 1858. The
degree of intelligence which enables any one bare
~ to understand the advantage of seeking shelter
when it rains, is a state of profound and absolute
wisdom compared with the mental condition of
him who having witnessed, what all Baltimore
saw on that day, does not know of his own knowl-
edge that fraud and outrage were the rule, and
legal voting was the exception in the election, by
virtue which alone Mr.. THOMAS SWAMI has at this
time any claim to the title of Honorable If the
Committee who wrote the letter which drew
from "his Honor the Mayor this demand
had asked him why there was no illegal
proof" of the crimes-no prosecution, convic-
ton, and punishment of the criminals of that car
nlval of disorder and shame what could he have
answered? That those who offered and those who
received the thousands of fraudulent votes. then
counted, and the police which stood by and
saw great city dsfranchsed of the most elemen
tary, yet most sacred right of freemen, without
raising hand in defence of the people whose bread
they were eating end whose uniform they wore.
have never been even censured much less arraign-
ed, condemned, and punished on the illegal
"proof" which existed here in an amount that
could only be ascertained by census-were sure
ly disgrace enough, were it all. The police how
ever, has not only been UNPUBLISHED but lauded,-
the judges not only re-apponted TO a great
extent, but commended; and the rufians who
took the contract for carrying the election,
and fulfilled all the specifications, with con-
fdence in their own resources which caused
them to look with indifference if not with
jealousy even on the legal votes of their own
side, have since basked in the sunshine of
official smiles This it is, more than all things
else, that has covered Mr.. SWAMI all over. with
the Reproduction of honest men. IF he wishes
illegal proof" let him indct the city govern
ment, and summon the town, and the facts which
have consigned his memory to shame will be
established by such a cloud of witnesses as have
never before testified, save to some great historic
fact, like national defeat, or a convulsion of
nature. But even subterfuge so unworthy, vet
so characteristic of ''his Honor" shall not avail
by which he has sought to cover up its traces,
such deeds as he shared in could not be done
without leaving their mark, impershable as mon
uments of granite Abundant and conclusive
proofs exist of the truth of the allegation of the
Committee, "that many Judges of Election have
'been re-nominated, who at the last Election,
'received and recorded large numbers of illegal
''votes." These are proofs which, perhaps, are
not "legaP' in that sense, to which we have
no doubt Mr.. SWAMI would limit his mean
ing, if pressed on the point-namely, proofs which
have actually been received in Court of Justice;
but they are proofs which no Court would exclude
on an issue made up on the statement of the Com
mittee, and which no jury would fail to sanction
by their verdict. We now refer to the returns of
the last election-some of which we propose briefly
to notice The Fourth Ward is well known as
entirely within the heart of the city. Its
population, ifit increases at ALL increases so slowly
as to make the advance of its vote almost imper-
ceptible. This is proved by the returns for a
number of years, when there was no pretence of
fraud. In l848, in the exciting presidential cleo
ton between TAYLOR and CAss, the total vote of
this ward was 1893. In the election of 1850, it
between
SCOTT and PIERCE, in 1852, it was ,l33 Up to
that time the vote of the Fourth Ward had never
reached 1,2OO-about the outside number of legal
voters which its whole white population of 6,6ll
returned in the census of 1850 would authorize us
to expect. In 1856, which was the commencement
of Mr.. SWANS political career, this ward gave
him 900 votes and his opponent, Mr. WRIGHT
2S9. The judges who presided at that election
were of the appointment of Mr.. Kinks, and have
never been charged, to our knowledge with re-
jecting American votes ON that OCCASION The
vote, therefore, of 1885, under circumstances as well
calculated to bring it out as ever existed before or
since, was, altogether, 1,197 or only four more
than the same ward had cast in the election be-
tween CAss and TAYLOR in l848. Under the fos-
tering of Mr.. SWAMI, but single year elapsed
before vast change was effected In 1857, we
had GOVERNORS election, in which the
Fourth Ward gave vote, which Mr. SwANN's
judges recorded and returned, of 1879 polls
6s2 more than it had cast only the year before.
In 1853, such were the improvements and facilities
afforded by Mr. SWAMI and Mr.. SWAMI judges and
Mr.. SwANNs police, thatths ward gotin total vote
of 1885, of which Mr.. SHUT received but Al, show
ing another advance in ano Their single year of TO
votes. 1t thus appears that under such MAYORS
as Providence dispensed to us, in the eight years
preceding Mr. SWANS first election, the vote of
the Fourth Ward increased but the beeparly num-
Der, which man may count on the finoers of one
hand, while under two years of active administra-
ton and manipulation by the model MAYOR, there
was added to it the handsome accession of 1892
votes making a sum total considerably larger
than double the number at the start. Mr. SWAMI
has re-apponted one of the judges of
Election in this ward who conducted the
election of 1853. Why he has Disseminated
in this manner he may explain for himself
but this we will say, that if the Judges re-
moved are alleged by him to be in any degree
more unworthy or unfit, as Judges, than the
Judge retained, they are slandered men, let their
previous character have been what it may 1t is
not worth while to 60 farther. In the Eighth
ward, where the frauds were only less glaring
tnan In, perhaps, one or two others, and may be
estaolshed as concusively as we have proved those
in the Fourth, two OF the old Judges-a majority
ARE retained. In the Second Ward ,vbaro a
majority for WRIGHT in 1856 of SEA vote, !, 80,
verted by 1858 into majority for swANu of
1882 two of the old Judges are retained. pn.
it is useless to exhaust the list The organ which
salutes "hs Honor Eat the rising ofthe sum-" and
the other organ which salutes him Sat the going
"down of the same" have both declared that the
Judges of Election lately nominated by the
MAYOR, are substantially the same as those of