New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1864-10-31
TuE FORGED VOTES.

vote poes far tn confirm the suspicion, which
there is much in the evidence to excite, that
tbcso frauds wcro committed with the knowl-
edge of the Democratic leaders in tins STATE
aud with the assistance of high Democrauc
officials. The Eorld and other papers denounce
t,o discovery as q "Lincoln plot" and clam
that the witnesses are false and perjured. Mr.
Judge. Adyocate-General Waterbury seems TO
have some suspicion that the matter cannot DC
ignored, and talks Of "thc conspiracy by when
young man from Albany was decoyed py t"o
Abolition stool-pigcons at baltimore INTO
SHINING the name of fictitious officer 70
the afrdayits Of somo soldiers IN the
bospitals." while The Albany hgns pro-
claims that Gov. Seymour will demand the
return Of the ballots signed and the release OF
the culprts, % course, by the way,quite different
from that which the dispatch of Mr.. Inspector
Gen. Miller informs Us the Coyern6 has pursued.
The fact is, the Democratic organs performed
the operation known as 'going of at half cock
When Friday mornings kilograms gave us apor-
ton OF the evidence of these frauds, the Copper
head journals assumed that there was no more
to come and decided TO pooh-pooh the whole
matter. If they had waited ill the next day
their course would have been different ind
wiser one.
Let US see what the evidence of these frauds
is and whether il is not sufficient not only To
prove them beyond doubt, but TO convict even
in capital case. 1t appears that MI ofEihe
/ X. Wood, who was sent by the Union Commit
tee Of Clinton County to the Army to procure
the votes Of the soldiers from that county, was
led to suspect. by the statement OF captain IN
the Ninety first Regiment, and by what he 50"
in one Of the hospitals, that some mischief was
| brewing. He thcreupon went 10 the agency oi
the State OF New-York in Baltimore, and sue
cecded in getting into the confidence OF Mr..
Ferry, tho agent appointed by Gov Seymour To
care for sick and wounded soldiers. Ferry soon
told him that "whcn Union votes came into that
Office they were all right when they went out
adding that they were doing more here than
| he Wood thought Of" Heproceededto prove
this latter assertion by showing him how they
were forging the names OF soldiers 10 voting
papers, aud completing their fraud by
adding the names of q witness and OF an officer,
| before whom the soldiers are alleged 10 have
sworn to the necessary aitdaslts. Mr. "ood
met at FERRIS Office Edward Donohue and a MT
Newcomb of Albany, who were engaged WIN
Ferry in this innocent recreation; and he de-
scribes in detail the whole operation. Ito also
syoars that one of the party stated that there
we're twenty men similarly engaged In wash
inpIon; that they were sending oil The iraudu-
lent votes in dry-goods boxes, and that partlcu-
/ lar reference was made TO package oil these
which were TO be- sent to Gen. Farrell OF Column
bin County, Gov. SEYMOUR Commis'ary
General Of Subsistence. Mr.. Wood also states
that in two cases, where soldiers came to
Perry. office and voted the Union ticket, their
ballots were changed.
All hi, and more Is positively sworn to by
Mr.. Wood. Ii there were no further evidence,
| in the absence of any proof that Mr.. Wood If
unworthy of belief. case would seem 10 he
made out But there Is much more. Perry
1 finding himself under arrest, makes II confession
! in which he confirms Woods statement III every
particular. This was the state OF the ease on
Friday morning, when our Democratic ifends
hastily decided to try and whistle the matter 10
\ the winds. But tho next day. Donohuc, whose
comma ion from Gov. Seymour was produced
while protesting against the jurisdiction to Try
him. and fighting as best lac could, admitted
/ that be- signed false names, and that he took a
| large number of these fraudulent votes To New
York, but insisted upon IT that lie bad commit
! ted no crime, because there Was 10 such officer
a. that whose name he had signed, and, there
fore. no Judge Of election would receive the
votes! In other words, he had manufactured a
quantity OF votes for soldiers who appeared TO
! have made the necessary oath before an officer,
/ but as every inspector of election in the State
was presumed to know that there was no
officer of that name among the four or hyo
thousand officers from this State, he had COM
mitted no crime, hut had INDUCED in little
! harmless amusement! So far, then, wo
have the evidence of Wood and the confessions
of Ferry aud Donohue. case could hardly
DO more completely made out, evidence could
hardly be more overwhelming. But, finally, the
fourth actor in this interesting drama. II. New
comb. "a lawyer of Albany, who states that he
was sent by Gov. Seymour "to assist in taking
/ the votes of the soldiers of NewYork, comes
on the stand and confirms the whole story from
beginning to end, and admits his own partcipe-