The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1874-12-24

" OVA
w ORLEANS, THURSI
places shall have been canvassed and COM
piled" "That the returning officers shall
then proceed to investigate the statements of
riots, tumult, ETC., and if from the evidence
of such statements they shall be convinced
that such riots, etc., did not materially inter-
fere with the freedom and purity, etc., then,
and not otherwise, said returning officers shall
canvass and compile the votes Of such poll,
but that on satisfaction of the truth Of the
facts alleged the board must decide finally,
but "shall not canvass or compile the state
of votes Of such polls or voting place, but shall
exclude it from the returns"
has the cases of all parishes Of the State except
DeSoto, already actually canvassed
and compiled the statements Of
votes, which the law provides it shall
not do, if there be proper protest, before
investigation and satisfaction that the pro-
test is not well founded, all the parishes hav-
ing been canvassed and compiled o. if the
protests were diregarded, according to law,
the board must promulgate result; the wise
provision of the law, prohibiting the COM
piling and canvassing in advance of passing
upon the protests, for the evident reason that
party exigencies should not be allowed to
control in deciding them, which it presumes
would be the case if the vote Of the parish
were compiled and canvassed and the result
thus known in advance of the decision, SO
that the knowledge of how the parish had
gone would influence the determination Of
the protest. The process of deciding on the
protests in all the parishes contested in a
lump after they had al been canvassed and
compiled, as the board has decided to do,
is in direct opposition to the spirit and let
ter of the law, and defeats the evident
intention Of the statute, by furnishing to the
board the knowledge of how all the parishes
had gone in advance Of the decision of any
one case; thus the result in one parish or the
remainder would control each case, instead Of
irrespective Of the vote Of the other parishes.
By the second clause of the oath which each
member of the board has taken on assuming
his seat, he swore "tbat will carefully and
honestly canvass and compile the statement
Of the votes, and make true and correct re-
turn of the election. So help me God" So
that the board is bound by oath to make the
return Of the canvassing and compiling.
clause of the same section says
''the board shall continue in session until
such returns have been compiled" and after
filing one copy of the computation with the
Secretary of State, land of one copy they
shall make public proclamation by printing
in the official journal and such other news
papers as they may deem proper" The duty
of canvassing and compiling according to
oath has been performed. The sworn 0biga-
ton remains to make true and correct re-
turn Of the election" and to '.make public
proclamation" thereof according to the re-
quirements of the law. All of these duties
are required under the sanctity Of an oath,
and the obligation to promulgate is as bind
ing and sacramental as any other and the
board cannot evade its responsibility. 70,
By these returns, already canvassed and
compiled by the beard and verified by this
committee; the result is ind;sputable that
John c. Moncure and Antoine Dubuclet have
received as candidates for Treasurer 70, 400
and 69, 4S3 respectively, excluding the par
ishes Of Carroll and DeSoto, while Messrs.
Ellis, Gibson, Spencer, Levy, Democrats, and
Nessrs. Nash and Darrall, Republicans, Con-
cressional candidates, 10 Democrats and s
Republican candidates for the Stale Senate,
6S Democrats and 80 Republicans for the
House of Representatives have been elected
by various majorities, their votes canvassed
and compiled, ETC., and only remains for this
board to perform their sworn duty under the
law, and promulgate the result.
9. There il no warrant in law for this Re-
turning Board to evade the duty of passing
upou the returns for the members of the Sem
ate House of Representatives, or any State
or parish officers, other than those for Gov
ernor and Lieutenant Governor; nor has any
returning board, or pretended returning
board, in this State, ever acted in such man
ner. Even in 1872, with all the irregularities
connected with their proceedings, each board
decided on the returns for members of the
Legislature, rejecting, excluding or admit
ting the votes of parishes as they thought
proper, and only referring the decision of
contested cases for Governor or Lieutenant
Governor to the General Assembly, where
the power to decide resides, by article 48 of
the Constitution of the State, by which the
General Assembly is made Returning Board
for those officers.
The Office of Governor and Lieut. Covert
nor not being in question in the presen
election, there is no valid excuse for such
reference of any parish in the State by the
board. The action Of this board, therefore,
in SO referring contested cases, is unwar-
ranted by law, and unprecedented even in
the shameful and aisgraceful proceeding OF
the Lynch Board.
The law is not complied with, nor has this
board performed its duty unless it shall have
decided finally to accept or reject the vote Of
every parish from which it has returns full
enough to show tho tual vote of the parishes
In no parish of the State is it contended ex-
cept DeSoto, which has been rejected, that
the returns are insufficient, and upon all
these the board must pass to accept OF reject
To do otherwise, is not to act upon the cleo
ton, but to pass upon only part thereof
The Forman Board only refused to decide
when in its judgment it did not have before
it sufficient returns to show actual vote. But
even were it conceded for argument sake that
under the power of the Legislature to decide
on the qualification Of its own members, it
could act as returning board, which it can
not, it possesses no power to pass upon the
returns for Treasurer, Congressman and
parish officers, nor upon the returns for