New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-02-11

att ach
state had right under the law TO make any cer I'M
cate on the subject unless for the Information OF tnc
Governor. and has certificate constitutes no et breIn
named. The Lynch Board in making the az, cPun ~
sa hioSe them aSy Of the Official returns OF
the election NJ made ont by the officers OF the election
under the laws Of the state. and had no e t use
before them at all upon which they could count uo
votes; but their couBt was made upon S araeteT
having no ie.ai validity aud which could not IN roe
nature Of things form The basis oi an a fetIou 'N
Trustworthy declaration Of the result OF INC e'o0'
Tur cu,RHc1rR or ruE EVIDENCE BEFORE THE LYNCH
| BOARD
On the 18th OF November. after the Lynch Boaru hau
hoep by The election Of Longstreet ana HAWK
t,s IN nm the vacancies of Pfnchback ana Anderson
Iongstreet, on behalf of said Board and desighariuk
! himself "a Deputy-Supervisor, demanded OF Gov war
moth that he should bring the official returns o. ~,
election before said Board to be connIeG RE fcoWing
SrATs LOGrssSa Gs5STI1ys N Sr' a. s1I
sR In epl, to your Letter received nS11s me ss' Sc ia
R;Taou % see that ssa Son piased IN possession Of sd
Board P1s ss siS ., h 'ns .r deliver the SINE to
NJ hS vpos preden, Boa have to SAY iha 90 so 20
sgs1' ,0I 1 sS C,Ss s1,eScs body @ presided
over By John Lynch ne election + I Sp he pos,
cn Of fse ,sPrden Of the STATE Bcsr Of 81 od
open them VERY ePeeua' w.SsoTs Governor of LOaAssA
f' SS Canned on behalf Of this Board that by the de-
and b pon the o"si returns Of the election ana
refusal to do a foundation was laid for the INTRODUCE
non OF secondary evidence 10 prove the contents ana
character of said official returns upon which secondary
evidence the Court might be made without entering
into the discussion OF the legal question whether sui
ciept foundation had thus been laid for the inroduc
ton OF secondary evidence as TO the character OF me
returns il is sufficient 10 saw II such foundation had
been laid IL could only Justify the introduction OF second
airy evidence TO the actual character and con
tents of the returns aud the testimony before the Com
mitee shows the evidence which the Lynch Return
ing Board had before them went to contradict the
face Of the returns, TO show fraud and what the Voe
should have been; and that IN making ther count tne
Board did not rely so much upon the evidence as 20
what the official returns showed but upon t9e SVuehce
winch In many cOntradctcd and Denied their cor
reetness Among ot9s evidences the Lynch 6Oap9
electors state officers, and members OF the Legislature
These afhdavs purported TO have been made Gy per
sons mostly persons Of color who had been denied the
right of registration, and whose votes mad been refused
the polls In many Of them IL was stated these gns
had been denied them because vi race cOtOl, W Pao
viOus condition Of seryitude," ana many VI lDein
contained no such statements ne conrieo T Y6Ies
under the provisions OF the act of Congress OF 1870
to enforce the XVIII Amendment to the Constitution.
brief examination OF that act VIII snow TINS eli IS
unfounded. BY the third section OF that act II pro
vded that where person has oerga 70 ressler or 70
perform any act required DY Jaw preliminary 10 OsIg,
from the performance OF which he has been wrongiuIy
20 register o? TO perform tne pfehlAiF acL s'li "
taken as performance, and upon proof thereof 5uch
nary act had been performed But there provisoq
in law that if has been refused the right
to vote and has performed such preliminary ACT, OK
offered to perform the same. as provided IN the third
section his offer 10 vote shall be taken and counted as
/ "A
that If any person has been defeated IN obtaining an
Office by of such denial 70 any person or persons
OF the right vote OF race color previous
condition of seryitude such persons may bring snt 10
the courts of the United states to recover the Once But
the section expressly provides that ITS benefits shall not
extend to candidates Tor the StaIe Le LOT
dent The section clearly cOniempaes suit IN court
To which the person who il Is claimed has been fraudu
ently elected shall be made party, and that upon legal
proof that the plaintiff had been deprived OF his election
! by the exclusion of persons from voting on
seTyitIie ho shall be- entitled to recover the ONCE
The statute OF Louisiana authorizes the Supervisors OF
Registration in the Parishes, or the Commissioners OF
Election 10 make affidavit IN regard 10 any violence, tu
mutt fraud or bribery by which fair election has been
prevented, which shall be forwarded 10 the returning
Board along with the returns and upon which the Re
turning Board may reject the vote o. poll IN making
count and II the evidence OF the officers OF the election
is not sufficient 20 satisfy the minds Of the Returning
regard the matters charged, they author
lied 10 send Tor persons ana papers anu ahe in[,Sr
testimony upon the matter; hut they nave no authority
such Investigation unless the foundation IL first
laid by the testimony Of the officers OF the election
as before mentioned.
THE wARNoTH PARTY CHARGED Win ALL MANNER OF
FRAUD.
The Lynch Board In making their count, without
having the sworn statements of the officers Of election TO
give them Jurisdiction to investigate received aidavts
Of the statements of Supervisors OF Election appointed
under the act Congress- letters and verbal statements
upon which they assumed the authority in various cases
10 reject the entire votes Of parishes, and in
many instances to throw out the vote Of
particular polls and wards, and in others 10
estimate and fix the vote at about what they sup
posed IL might be from their knowledge OF the political
status Of the Parish or locality The evidence submitted
TO the Board and winch mas peeh desclIDeu 10 te tom
minds the election had been an organized fraud. Gov
WarmOh the act OF 1870 had the whole machinery
OF the electlon IN ms own hahus. IiS hdu we apon
of Supervisors Of Registration in the different
OF Election, aud those officers. with but
few exceptions were appointed from the ranks OF those
who we're opposed tO the Republican party, and we
think from the informal evidence before the Returning
Board and from what this Committee has learned IN the
I ..FVt ata arya fTyafA
those advantages were used TO the utmost ana every
resortod 10 IN order TO secure the triumph OF the
party Ih which Warmoth was acting. Great dincuties
PARISHES were nut To great NEON yeuience To md
the Registrar, ana in many Instances were unable 70 DO
30 I'd ar noints remote IRON the centers of popnl-
ton often without notice Of the place being gwen.
False registration papers, double voting, stu1g ballot
boTes and other frauds and Irregularities were charged
in majority of the parishes and there is not much
were of the opinion that upon a far election, the
RepnbIjcan parfy would have carried the State
and has been cheated aud hindered IN every way pos
sbe by the power that controlled the machinery OF the
election. But Notwithstanding all this the Lynch
Returning Board with the sort feyideDce which was
before them had power under the law Of the State 10
investigate these charges Of fraud and injury or 10 act
upon their convictions OF the wrongs that had been
s1fered The election Of the Greeley Electors certl
fed to by the Governor OF the State, but the official
returns of the election have not been counted
laws OF Louisiana purpose and the who
in fact made the examination and count mad no legal
certified by the Lynch Returning Board but that Board
did not nave the official returns before theln ana their
election not certified by the Governor OF the State as
required by the act Of Congress
The Committee OF the opinion that neither the
Senate of the United States, nor both Houses Jointly
have the power under the Constitution TO canvass the
return of an election and count the votes 10 determine
who have been elected Presidential Electors but that
the and OF choosing Electors are left eX
clnsively 70 the States, and il, by the law Of
the state, they to be elected by the peo-
pie. The method Of counting the vote and as
pertaining the result only be regulated by the
law OF the state. Whether II Is consistent for the two
Houses under 22d Joint Rule In regard 10 the cOns
utOnaiity of which the Committee give opinion, to
20 behind the certificate Of the Governor Of the state to
noure whether the votes for election have been
counted by legal Returning Board created by the
law Of the State or, whether IN making such count