Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1866-11-08
RUTLAND HERALD.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1866.


moval by Gov, Swami of the old polio,
comm Ssioners aud the appointment II
their place Of new ones with full a force
ofpolice in the city. But, though this /.
deemed the settlement of the troubles by
Swami and his rebel friends, the polio,
commissioners Go not view it in tn,
same light. They claim, as they un
doubtedly have, the authority of the con
stitution of the State of Maryland on
their side, and have signifed their de,
termination to retain possession of their
offices and papers, as well as the station,
houses, marshal's office, and other ap.
purtenances over which they have con.
troll in the city. But then, Gov. Swami
is backed in his course by Federal bay
onets, sent to Baltimore for his protec-
ton in his arbitrary course, by the &C
cidental President, and resort to arms
and the consequent shedding of blood is
feared by the friends of law and order
the city.
The Tribune of yesterday comments
as follows upon the situation
The trouble in Baltimore is not of re-
cent origin. 1t began with the rebellion,
and dates as far back as the Spring of
1861, when the rebels of Baltimore fired
upon Massachusetts, regiment march
ing to the defense of Washington. A
large number of the people of Maryland
were rebels, and Maryland regiments
fought in the ranks of Lee and John
ston. Fortunately the geographical DO.
sition Of the State placed it., from the
first, under the protection Of the Govern
ment and the courage of its loyal peo-
pie prevented it from being dragged into
secession. After the war, in self-protec-
tion and simple justice, the loyal men
of Maryland amended the State Con-
Stitution to prevent returned rebels from
voting, and by strict registry law they
have thus far succeeded in saving the
State from the rule of it's worst enemies.
Since Andrew Johnson adopted the pol
icy of placing the whole South under the
rule of the rebel leaders, the men who
sympathized and aided the rebellion
in Maryland have made bold effort to
regain the power they had forfeited by
treason, and Gov. Swami, elected as a
Union man in 1864, has done his best to
sustain it. Baltimore, the headquarters
OF all the rebels north of Richmond, was
the point of attack. The laws of the
State strictly enforced by the police
commissioners, enabled only Union men
to vote, and at all the recent elections,
including that of Gov. Swami, thousands
of known rebels were disfranchised. SO
long as the police commissioners re-
manned in office it was certain that the
laws would be honestly administered,
and that the barriers erected by the 10y
al community for its protection would
not be broken down or evaded by the
men who sought to join Maryland to
the ConfederaCy. This did not suit Gov
Swami, whose change of politics COM
PEELED him to depend on rebel votes for
political advancement. He determined
to remove the commissioners and replace
them with men less devoted in their
Unionism; for this purpose the charges
were preferred which have been inyeSti-
gated before the Governor at Annapolis,
and upon which he has removed the
commissioners.
We have carefully examined the evil
dence on the side Of the Governor, and
compared it with that for the defense,
and cannot see how any respectable law
yer could couscientiously say that the
charges had been proved. The wit
nesses for the prosecution, OF whom Sc
were summoned, testified that only rad
ical judges Of elections were appointed
in certain wards; that in some cases
there were RIO boxes used TO deposit re-
jected votes to preserve them for future
that legal votes were re-
fused that the police force was used to
inttmtdste voters by violence; that
Commissioner Wood had been seen
drums a the streets--in short, that the
receu election was illegally and unjust
ly conducted. Every particle of this
testimUny--so far as the charges against
the commissioners are sustained by it
mas been rebutted by the evidence for |
the defense. 1t is true, no doubt, that |
there were abuses and Irregularities at |
the polls, for these are inevitable in all |
large cities, but it has not been shown |
that in a single instance the commits |
sioners were responsible. They, on the |
contrary, appear to have done all in |
their power to secure full and fair and |
legal vote, without respect to party in
terests; the good character OF the judges |
Of elections was fully proved, and their |
'radicalism" seems to mean that they |
were Union men and not rebel sympa- |
thizers the ballot-boxes were proven to |
be those always in use, and used in the |
election of Governor Swami in 1864 in |
several cases the use of rejected boxes |
was proved when witnesses for the pros
scution had sworn they saw none; the |
of the special police was
established; the charge of drunkenness |
against Commissioner Wood fell to the |
and is not even cited in the |
Governors decision; while in many
cases the witnesses for the prosecution |
we're proved to be men Of immoral char.
lcter, graduates of the prison, or candi-
lates for it's honors. The credibility of
he main points of the testimony in sup
BORT of the charges is destroyed by the
evidence in behalf of the
accused.
But all this evidence had no effect