New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1861-04-11

Mr. M. e. route having been at the late election
| elected Judge of the Third District Court by a
majority of three votes over his chief competitor
Judge DuVigneaud, the present incumbent, the lat
ter has through his counsel fled the following petit
| ton in the Fifth District Court:
| To the Honorable the Judge of the
Ihe petition OF Louis DGvigneaud, a resident and
duly qualified voter under the laws of Louisiana of
| the city and parish of New Orleans, respectfully
represents:
| That at the election held at the city of New
| Orleans, on the first of April 1851, your petitioner
| was a candidate for the office of Judge of the
| Third District Court of New Orleans and was run
for said office together with NJ A. Foute, Esq., also
| OF New Orleans, the opposing candidate.
That the votes cast were almost equally divided
between the two candidates. and that on the eve
ning of the election, diately after the count
ing and summing up of the certificates or process
| verbals OF the officers who had presided at the
| several precincts where polls had been opened,
| your petitioner was publicly proclaimed by the
sheriff as having carried the election by majority
| OF eight votes over his opponent
Ihat on the next morning, to-wit: on the morn
ing OF the I'd April, for causes unknown to your
petitioner and to his great surprise, it deemed
necessary to count anew the returns made from
the several precincts of election so far as the cleo
ton of Judge of the Third District Court of New
Orleans was concerned, and so far only; and this
new counting resulted in transferring the election
from this petitioner his competitor by majority
of three votes.
Impressed with sense of some hidden wrong at
the strange transformation which had interviewed
in the result of the election within less than a
night, and moved besides by various reports in
circulation, your petitioner was induced to can
vass closely the circumstances and the manner in
which the election had been conducted and soon
came to detect Irregularities frauds and miscounts
which, IT redressed and corrected, give the elec.
ton to your petitioner Or render it necessary that
| it should go back to the people.
Your petitioner ayers that:
l. AT poll No. of the seventh precinct. the GER
| tifcate process-verbal of election gave to NJ A.
Foute, Esq, 81 votes, against At in petitioner s
| favor, while the tallies, exhibited by the same
would only allow said NJ A. Foute 50 votes. The
39 votes which constitute the difference were never
counted If cast at all they were never exhibited
to the judges nor proclaimed their character was
never properly ascertaned, aud they were wrongly
assigned to said NJ. A. Foute.
2. At poll No. J. of the tenth precinct, the num-
ber Of the votes counted short by of the bal
lots cast, and all of the ballots not counted had the
name Of this petitioner upon them as Judge of the
Third District Court of New Orleans.
3. James A. Brown, whose name had not been
registered as required by law, voted at poll No.
of the seventh precinct as Alfred Brown, whose
name was on the registry list This vote was cast
for NJ. 4. Foute and counted in the returns.
4. Frank Losberg, duly qualified voter, pre-
sented himself at poll No. Of the twentieth pre-
cinct and offered his vote. He was told that
he had already voted; He became angry, and
protested with threats that he had not voted and
could not be deprived of his right to cast his suf-
frage. His vote was received, and thus vote
was cast twice under one and the same name, and
said vote was cast illegally for Foute.
s. B. Durand and F. Galois, also duly qualified
voters, under whose names two votes were cast at
poll No. of the tenth precinct, did not vote at
all, and the votes cast cast by other persons
than the said Durand and Galos, in fraud, and are
null and void. These votes were cast for NJ. A.
Foute.
6. Joseph Zngle and Frederick Schonstein duly
qualified voters, presented themselves at poll No.
of the twentieth precinct where tkey were
authorized by law to vote, and offered to vote
tickets bearing your petitioners name as Judge of
the Third District Court of New Orleans. Their
votes were refused, on the ground that they ha
already voted.
7. At poll No. of sixth precinct the clerks were
not qualified and had no capacity to as such.
| 8. at poll No. | of second precinct-tbe nclls
| had been closed, and tickets were already being
| taken out and put in the hats to be couuted-Mr
Grivot presented himself, and allowed to vote
| his ballot being received in one of the hats but
| two qualified voters, who stood by at the same
time and offered likewise to cast their ballots were
refused, and could not vote. The said Grivot voted
| for NJ. A. Foute, as Judge Of the Third District
| Court of New Orleans and the two other persons
would have voted for petitioner to fill that office.
Your petitioner, therefore, reserVing the right of
setting forth hereafter such other frauds irregu-
| larities or errors may be disclosed, now comes
into Court and, laying before your honor the facts
above stated, prays that they be considered, and
that he be recognized the Judge elect of the Third
| District Court Of New Orleans, in lieu and place
of NJ. A. Foute Esq, the illegally returned cand
date; or, this failing, that the election of Judge of
! said Court be declared null and void, aud sent
back to the people.
| Your petitioner prays for process of citation on
the said NJ. A. Foute, Esq, and for such special
and general relief as the nature and equity Of the
| case may require or admit OF.
| (signeO PIERRE sOULE