Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-05-04

The Connecticut Question.


The Inauguration of the new state government
of Connecticut is attended with much excitement
and controversy. The facts of the situation
have been previously stated in our columns, but
II NAV not be amiss to mention them again. AT
the election last month the number of votes re-
turned for English exceeded those returned for
Jewell by about forty, and there were also a few
scattering votes, but not enough to offset Gov
eruor English's plurality. The law of Connecti-
cut requires that the town authorities shall
count the votes received for the various candi-
dates, and make returns of the same to the state
board of canvassers within ten days after the
election, the ballots having been placed again
in the ballot boxes, and there sealed up for six
months, unless they shall in the meantime be
opened and examined by lawful authority.
AT the expiration of the ten days
the board Of canvassers met; but
before that time notice had been given them by
the moderator of the town meeting in New
Haven Of a probable error in counting the vote
of that town. The returns of the vote for gov
ernor in one ward showed just one hundred more
votes than the number Of names checked on the
voting list, and the number of votes returned for
English exceeded by one hundred the number
cast for any of the democratic candidates for
other officers voted for in that ward From
Cheshire also the board of canvassers had notict
that twenty three votes for Governor Jewell hat
been rejected by the moderator, because he be
heved that twenty-three republican voters hat
been illegally registered. From Enfield ais
there was information of a mistake deprivIns
Jewell of several votes.
The canvassers held their meeting, made the
list of persons voted for and the number o
votes cast for each, according to the returns re
ceived by them from the town authorities, AND
made their report for transmission to the legis'
lature. enclosing with il the supplementary in
formation they had received in regard TO alleged
errors and irregularities in the returns from
different towns. The legislature met yesterday.
A resolution was introduced and carried by a
strict party vote, the republicans having a
majority in each house, authorizing the
committee on the canvass of votes for
state officers, TO send for persons and
papers, and to fully investigate the facts in
regard to the returns claimed TO be erroneous
The democrats, under the lead of Mr.. Eaton,
vehemently opposed this proceeding, and de
nounced it as unprecedented and revolutionary.
1t appears to be conceded that an inquiry will
show that Mr.. Jewell has a legal majority of not
much less than hundred votes. The democrats
claim that the legislature cannot go behind the
report of The board of canvassers, but must de
clare those persons elected whom the repor
shows TO have majority of the votes
In fba nv
legislature has been a mere formality, as III
democrats would make it now; but this wa
owing to the fact that the majority has Away
been so considerable that, as any possible erro
could not change the result, nobody was inter
ested in making an investigation. In this cast
the question is all important. If the errors were
made and can be corrected, Mr.. Jewell is gov.
ernor, fairly elected by the people; if they can
not be corrected, Mr.. English may be the gov
ernor in fact, but he will owe his place to mis-
take or fraud, and to the defect of the law which
does not efficiently guarantee to the people thu
free expression of their will at the polls
The republicans claim that the law is no
thus defective; that in directing the can
vassers to make a list of the persons voteC
for, and the number of votes received by each
it entrusts TO them only the ministerial duty o
compiling the returns, and that in directing the
legislature to declare the person whom they FIND
to be legally elected, it necessarily implies an
inquiry whose result shall satisfy them that
this or that candidate is legally elected. 1t
seems reasonable that such a power should exist
somewhere, and the legislature, the representa-
tiyes of the people, seems the most suitable re
pository of it. There cannot be the least doubt
that if the situation were reversed, the demo-
Gratis would do, as matter of course, what they
now denounee as partizan and revolutionary
act