The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1875-01-30

THE RETURNING BOARD.

THE RETURNING BOARD.
The law provides that the board shall con
# sist of five persons representing all parties
1t consisted at the opening of their last session
of five Republicans, upon the resignation OF
one of whom General Lengstreetl Mr. AFRO
a yo, conservative, was taken to fill the va
cancy After protesting against the action OF
: the board in secret session, Mr.. Arroyo re-
signed before the conclusion of the labors OF
> the board, and his place was not filled, SO
that, as your committee think, the law as to
the constitution Of the board was not com
o piled with.
= TEE REGISTRATION AND ELECTION LAWS.
The election laws of Louisiana provide for
/, a Supervisor of Registration, who appoints
\ his own deputies for each ward in New Or
leans, and for one Supervisor of Registration
for each parish in the state. The officers
i, were all appointed by Governor Kellogg. In
; addition to these Supervisors, the Police Ju-
rors, the local authorities of the parishes APP
= pointed three Commissioners of Election for
, each poll in the parish, and there were also
two United States Supervisors, appointed by
the District Judge of the United States for
each poll. The law further provided that in
: case of such violence, intimidation, or cOrrup.
ton, at or near either poll, either during reg
istration or election, preventing fair, free,
peaceable and full vote, the Commissioners
+ of Election If the occurrence was on election
l day, the Supervisors of Registration if on the
4 day of registration, should make full veri'
! fed statement of the occurrence, forward the
same with and annexed to the returns; and
] further provided that when the returning
board in canvassing the returns should come
! to any poll where the returns were accom-.
panied by such protest they should not can
mr. milo tho ato NJ va
tiers from suca poll until the statements from
all other polls had been canvassed and com
piled. The conservative counsel objected
that the board on reaching the returns from
such protested polls read and became in
formed of those returns before laying them
aside to take up the other polls. They insis.
ted that the purpose Of the law was to prevent
! the Commissioners from knowing what the
results at the polls protested against were, in
order that when they came TO examine the
polls protested against, they might do so with
out being biased by knowing what was the
result returned; and they objected that in
these cases of protest the board had proceed.
ed to read the returns, add up and compile
them, and thea defer their determination of
the case until after having acquired knowl-
edge OF how the returns protested against
would affect the elections. On the other hand,
the Republican counsel insisted tina. such u
course was impracticabe; that the object of
! the law in d.icrrlng any determination of the
results of the polls protested against until the
returns from the other polls were canvassed,
was merely to enable the board to ascertain
whether the result of the disputed returns
would affect the election, however decided, so
that ifthcy would not the board might be
spared the labor of considering this protest.
Your committee have not found il necessary
to come to any determination upon that ques-
ton.
TIE ELECTION ANDTIE COUNT.
The election embraced but one state Off.
Ger. The chief struggle was over the election
of members of the state legislature and par
ish officers, and IN these elections local and
I personal considerations, as well as national
and state politics, entered. The returns 10y
! Commissioners OF Election, compiled and for
warded by the Supervisors of Registration,
{ gave the conservatives majority of twenty
nine members out OF a total of one hundred
and eleven members. In only three instun-
CcS were there any protests accompany ing
the returns The returning Board was in
session for many weeks, As finally announc.
Cd, their findings gave as Governor Kellogg
reckoncd il, tiity-hree members to the Re
pubicanS and fifty members to the democrats,
of whom, however one was regarded as not n
I SlullllH ttLlOCIut. 1HC Dbdltl nlduC no Ut
cision as to the remaining five seats. The
public sit,ings of the Returning Board were
attended by the counsel of the Republican
and conservative state committees. Objec-
/ tons were received from the counsel of the
respective parties TO the returns from differ
ent polls. The obicctng parry was general
/ ~ allowed To produce evidence TO support the
r. objection, and the other party TO reply by at
hdavits y day was fixed for these proofs to
be closed. After these public sessions the
board went into private, or, as they were call
cd, executive sessions, where the proofs and
matters III dispute were discussed and de-
cision arrived at The minutes OF the board
are very mcagre. They contain little more
than record of its meeting, going into exc
cutivc session and its adiourning, and some
formal public orders They contain no min.
utes whatever Of the proceedings in execu-
tive session, and furnish therefore little light
upon the findings of the board
. THE R\PIDEs PARISH DECISION.
The parish of Rapides chose three members
to the legislature. The returns elected all
three conservatives. When the polls closed
/ the only paper filed with the Returning Board
was the affidavit of the United States Super
visor that the election was in all respects full,
fair aLd free. Ii was not known in the par
/ sh that any contest existed against those
members. They left their homes and pro-
cGfded To New OrlcaRS TO be present at the
opening of The legislature, no intimation of
}. contesting their seats or objection to their
election having been given by their opponents.
: At one of their last sessions the Returning
4. Board were produced bcinIc your committee
=. there were inusd among them an affidavit by
r Mr.. Wells, the president pi the board. declar.
/ ing that intimidation had existed at certain
; polls in that parish, and that the returns from
those polls should therefore, be rejected
The counsel for the democratic committee
? testified that they had no opportunity TO con.
tradict the statements of this paper that they
had never seen or known Of IL before, and
/, that upon an examination of the papers be.
, fore the board when The proofs clvsed il was
!. not smong them. The counsel :oI the Re
publican committee pescrvea he right to