The Portland daily press., 1868-03-14
The E,.c.,ou !, che Fret Ward.

The following letter from Mr.. B. +. Kinds
appeared in yesterdays Argus, in reply to the
statement of Mr.. VIM. Curtis, republished in
the Press yesterday. We showed yesterday on
what a slight and unsubstantial foundation
Mr.. Curtls's suspicious rest Mr. Kinds re-
inforces our argument, with a fuller statement
of the circumstances, which throws still more
doubt upon the accuracy of the checks, ana
confirms all that has been said about the pro-
liability of double voting. He denies positive
ly that there was any agreement to deviate
from the usual custom of beginning the count
few minutes before the close of the polls. On
this point no one who knows Mr. Kinds will
d ,ubt that he is to be believed without hesita-
tion, SO far as he speaks for himself It's pos
s.ble, at the same time. tina: Mr.. Curtis may
I'VE allowed himself, without suhcieh' rea-
son, to suppose that such an UNDERSTANDING eA-
listed. Such misgpprehensions are not unIre-
ouent and in view of their frequency it would
b,va baen more seemly if Mr.. Curtis had con-
sn,tod the Warden before accusing him pub
| civ Of violating his word. He has chosen his
own course, however, and here is Mr.. Hinds's
reply
Mr., EDTroR,-My attention has been called
to statement in to-day's Argus by Mr. VIM
Curtis, relating to the election in Ward on
Saturday last, Two points of which desire,
with your permission, to controvert. The first,
in which he states that there was an agree
ment with the Warden that the box should
not be turned nor the votes counted until the
closing of the polls, deny most emphatically.
No such agreement UdS made either on S0tua'-
day or at any oftte previous elections on Thurs
day or Monday, and nothing aods sad an reid
IN fh0 huTIa hans fhoPf lrn n - i m
very much surprised that man OF Mr.. Cur
tis's standing in society, and member of the
church, should be carried away by party
feeling and so far forget his regard for truth
and veracity as TO make such an assertion as
| that; it surely cannot benefit either his party
or himself. -
The second point, in which he states that
there were sixteen more votes ON the table
than there were names checked on the list, l
do not preteud to decay, neither do admit, for
the simple reason that know nothing about
it. Mr.. Curtis alone made the count, and after
what has already occurred, think his veraci-
ty may well be doubted. But suppose there
were more votes found in the box than names
| found checked; the list that was used on
| Saturday was the same one that was used on
Thursday and Monday previous, and contain
ed three different check marks as follows: On
Monday straight horizontal line, on Thurs
day cross, and Saturday an o. NOao az seems
to me that amid the turmoil and general confa-
that day at the Ward room on Saturday, it
lUould hdUe been miracle if no more than sir
teen names out of eight hundred had been check
ed nth straight ttae or cross instead Of an D.
There may have been double voting; Idoubt
not there was. For Instance, ON Thursday
four men were detected depositing two Demo-
cratic votes each. IT they had been success
ful Mr.. Curtis would have been elected, he
having lacked just that number.
The ,nsinuatlon that the tlerE, Mr.. G. or. e
F. dyer, added to the number of votes in The
boz after ats removal from the desk, is, I think,
gerry mean one. and acithout a particle o.
foundation. He must have been smart man
indeed who could have eluded the vigilance OF
the hundred Argus eyes that were watching
every motion of the inmates OF that desk from
ten o'clock until halt past four, when the vote
was declared.
have said this much, Mr.. Editor, in justifi-
cation of myself and the party to which L be-
loug, and Mr.. Curtis will understand that this
ends the controversy on my part.
B. f. Kinds Warden