The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-01-30

the result. of the ballottings according to the
FretGrns Of the managers, and states express
ly that the; said election was contested for
illegality.@. CHARACTERIZATION made by the
board is, therefore, no declaration Of a legal
choice.
Says Mr.. Corbin: "The act says they shall
ssdeclare the election, and their decision
ssshall be binding" Aud here is the cloven
foot of this whole deviltry. The act says
the case shall be Investigated. What case !?
The question of the legality Of the conduct
of the managers and Of the mnjorities as
contested. "And their decision shall be
'binding." What decision? Plain common
sense replies: The decision for or against
the election. If against, they shall declare
that there has beer no election. If for the
claimants, then, and then only, shall they
declare the parties duly elected.
Says Mr.. Corbin: '.The Supreme Court
s'has said that was equivalent to saying that
'sthese persons were duly elected" The
Supreme Court expressly said, that in pro-
nouncing the certificate of the board sufi-
cient, and in refusing the motion for at
tachment for contempt, the court does not
intend to intimate any opinion as to the
claim Of Pillsbury by quo ,oarranto, nor as
to the right of the City Council
Says Mr.. Corbin: ''They reply, notwith-
ssatanding we declare you are elected, we
''refuse to give you the Offices" This is
untrue; the board have always refused to
declare Pillsbury and his ticket "elected,"
that is, chosen according to law.
Mr. Corbin admits: "We have got again
"to appeal to the courts" Shall the legis-
lative department violate the State Consti-
tuition and invade the province Of the judi
cial department for the sake Of Pillsbury
and his faction? Notrue patriot, no digni-
fed lawyer, no good citizen would propose
such thing. Shall senator be allowed
to carry such measure through the Legis-
lature?
Says Mr.. Corbin: ''There is no doubt
"whatever but that the claimants were
elected" Let him prove it. "The Board
'sof Aldermen settled that question" So
they did; but ogainst the claimants.
"But the Legislature is in session, and
''can say, according to law, these claimants
"are entitled to their seats" Mr.. Corhin
we'll knows that the Legislature has no
power, according to law, to say this thing.
If they do, they assume the judicial power
vested in the courts, and violate the Consti
tuition of the State.
Mr.. Cor bin undertakes to show precedents
for his bill, and quotes the act of the Gene
ral Assembly of 1866, entitled can act to
"declare valid the recent election of Inten-
sdant and Wardens in the Town Of Tim
ssmonsville."
In the Timmonsyille election there was
no question madc as to the legality of the
conduct of the managers; there was no con-
test of the maiorities; there was no conflict
ing claim of right; there were no illegali-
ties in the conduct of the election which
yitiated the election. There was, merely,
q technical flaw in the law under which the
election " 40 hold, which rendered the cleo
tion of doubtful authority. 1t was fully
competent for the Legislature to supply the
casus omissus and to remedy the technical
defect; but It would not have been compc-
tent for the Legislature to put candidates
in office who had not been chosst by the
people of Timmonsville, nor could "that
"wise Legislature" which preceded the
tsnew days in which," says Mr.. COrbio, 'we
"live," have been persuaded to do so iniqui-
tous thing.
Says Mr. Corbin: ave want to deprive
sthe Acting Board Of Aldermen of their i'll
"gotten positions. Docs Mr.. Corbin re-
member that almost ali of these positions
were gotten as Republican appointments
under the Reconstruction laws?
Mr.. Corbin quotes the case Of Tompkins,
"from Edgefeld: "That the end of popular
"elections is to discover which of the oandi-
'dates has the greatest number of votes
ofrom among the qualified voters" Has
this end been attained in the Pillsbury case?
Has Pillsbury been shown to have received
the greatest number of legal votes from
among the qualified voters? He did not
receive single legal vote from among the
qualified voters. The Acting Board of AL
dermen have so decided, and "their decis-
sion" mot Mr.. Corbin's), the act says,
"shall be binding upon the parties"
Nro Rcof