The Portland daily press., 1866-10-25
The Maryland Trouble.
DnFKNoE OF THE POLICE COMMISSIONERS.

DEFRNCE OF THE POLICE COMMISSIONERS
The memorial presented to Gov. Swami
last Monday recites that the Baltimore Police
Commissioners have abused their trust by the
removal of police officers on political grounds,
by the appointment ofmen who were manifest
ly incompetent, and who had no other qualit-
cations than inscriptions partisan subservien-
cy, by their orders to police magistrates to de-
tain persons arrested until the close of the
election without q hearing or opportunity to
give bail, by their orders in regard to ballot
boxes for the deposit of rejected ballots, by
their eonniving at the refusal of the judges TO
receive ballots from persons entitled to vote, by
their appointment as extra policemen for the
municipal election of men whose personal and
partisan character untitled them for such duty,
and by numerous other acts of official miscon-
duct not specified This memorial was present.
ed by Mr.. Geo. w. Herring, who with adinira-
BILE tact and taste said to the Governor, "We
represent here men who were perhaps, as they
were called, Southern sympathizers, Of ,chom
Ihappen to be one" The list of signatures to
the petition which accompanied the memorial
is notoriously made up OF the names of return
ed Rebels and of fictitious names which can
not be found in the city directory. Upon such
grounds Gov. Swami proceeded. We give here
with the most important part of the response
which, "from adecent regard for the opinion of
mankind" the Commissioners have seen fit to
make to the charges Alter detailing the facts
in regard to the appointment of judges and
clerks of election, showing that no recommend
alton of candidates for those offices was made
| by the opposition until the 18th of September
after all the commissions had been sent out
they say tiy -1ua F.- la. :. Isis
The board was not bound to make selections
of judges or clerks by distribution among poll
| tical parties, the only requirement Of the law
| being that we should select discreet persons
| being qualified voters. In our view of the law,
| we were confined in our choice to the register
| ed voters of 1865, and we selected the judges
| carefully, and in the same manner as at the
election Of the present Governor of the State
many of them being the same persons who
served at that election. Many of them served
| reluctantly and only because of sense of pub
lie duty. We respectfully insist that in select
ing discreet persons We are not subject to re-
view, nor to any rule Of political distribution,
| that we have appointed men of good character
| and OF undoubted loyalty, and that until the
| said memorial we had not received single
| complaint against any judge Of elections, and
1t has not been purpose ON our part to select
only judges who agreed with our private views
| on matters really OF partisan politics. -.--.-
The memorial contains an equally unfound-
| ed statement about the boxes for registered
ballots. These boxes with the envelopes for re-
| jected ballots were at the late election, as at
1 all previous elections, sent by the board to ev-
| cry precinct, and the boxes 30 sent at the
late election have all been properly returned to
| the board. The board had heard of no deter
4 mination of any of the judges not to use the
boxes. The judges and not the board had the
right to decide what ballots should be placed in
| those boxes. We hear for the first time, from
this memorial, that any of the judges refused to
use the boxes. 1t is a fact that many of the
| boxes did contain rejected ballots. The board
has been aware, since the election, that some
| of the judges declined to place in those boxes
| the ballots of persons whose names were not
found on the list of registry for 1865. The
| board is advisec that those judges acted on the
sons were not to be taken or placed in any. boz,
but that the registry law forbade them either
to receive or deposit the. ballot of any person
until they had first found his name ON the
register and checked it thereon, and that there
was difference of opinion among the
judges, some of them placing such bal
lots in the boxes and some declining
to do SO, and that the refusal of those
judges who did decline was done on their
Judgment of the meaning of the law
i The board has no power to control the
judges in their judgment on the law. The board
would not have removed judge for exercising
an honest though erroneous Judgment, but in
fact the board has been and is advised by
counsel that the decision of those judges who
decline to place the ballots ofunregistered per-
sons in the boxes for registered votes was {
proper compliance with the express provisions
Of the registry law.
The statement of the memorial that tn
board ordered the police justices to release M
person committed on election day till after 81,
o'clock in the evening, 10 absolutely untrue :
The marshal of police, had, without the knowl
edge of the board, issued such an order to hi
officers, but the board at an early hour of th
day and as soon as they learned it, revoked III
order, but we would add that the order Of tb
marshal was made by him in conformity, as h
understood, with previous usage on the part q
his predecessors under the old board of police
The assertion that the board has appointed
and removed officers exclusively on politica
grounds Is not true. The peace ofthe city pre-
served unbroken during the war with all its ex
cltements, by the force under the orders OF th'
board, speaks for the fitness of the members
the force. No unfit man has been knowingly
appointed, and no one removed Wienout cause
The hoard has appointed none but loyal men
| which they suppose none but those who have
been endeayoring for four years to overthrow
| the government Will resaru as appointment
| on politica1 grounds. ..r
The. only other charge in the memorial de-
serving any notice is that in regard to the lists
of registered voters used by the judge. 1t is nc
part of the duty of the board to furnish the
Judges any lists of the voters, 1t is hard to see
how their action in furnishing them can be
official misconduct. Authentic copies from
the records ofthe Superior Court were obtained
and furnished, and for the greater convenience
| of reference the board had lists printed from
these copies, and the printed lists also furnish
ed to the judges, and the board is not aware
of any errors in their printed lists, nor that any
person lost his vote by any inaccuracy in such