Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1876-12-15

unite and cling to the party to whose prin-
ciples they owed freedom and protection;
and this seems to have marked their polit-
ical course from the time they were given
the elective franchise, and their history in
Louisiana has but illustrated this whenever
they have been left free TO vote as they
pleased. Until radical change could be
effected in the nature and purpose of those
who had been their owners and who repu-
dated the idea Of being placed upon terms
Of civil equality with them, it was evident
that fair election could not be held in
parishes containing any considerable ma
jority of colored voters, and hence the act
of 1870, acquiesced in by both political
parties and amended in 1872, was passed,
creating Returning Board authorized to
sit IN New Orleans, having supreme au-
thority to canvass the votes cast through
ont the entire State, and having authority,
if convinced that riot, tumult, acts Of vio-
lence, intimidation, armed disturbance,
bribery, or corrupt influences had prevent
ed voters from registering, or had materi
ally interfered with the purity or freedom
of an election at any poll or voting place,
or had materially changed the result of the
election, to exclude the vote cast at such
polls or voting places from the final count.
This law, with some amendment not mate
rally changing its nature, is that under
which the present Returning Board of
Louisiana is organized and sits. That some
such Independent tribunal was necessary
for the protection of the legal voter, and as
check upon the violence and intimidation
which had bofore prevailed throughout
the State, no one can deny. 1t will be seen,
when the statute organizing this board and
defining its duties, is examined, how mad
eguate are its provisions to afford full re-
lief against the wrongs it was designed to
prevent. Thus, the powers of the board
are limited to the rejection of votes polled,
for the causes stated, whilst it eannotiin
any case add to the returns. votes which
would have been polled but for intimida-
ton, violence, etc. To illustrate, the un-
derslgned will refer to the five parishes of
East and West Feliciana, East Baton
Rouge, Morehouse and 0uachita, which
appear, as the evidence discloses, to have
been especially selected for the perpetra-
tion of such violence and intimidation as
should be necessary to prevent the Repub-
licans from casting any considerable vote
in either. In each and all of these there is
a large Republican majority In all of
them the white voters registered for this
year numbered 5, 1874; the colored, I4,244--
a majority If 8,110. If by intimidation
and violence. the Democrats could secure
in each of these parishes a majority, an
immense gain would thus be achieved; for
if the board should upon canvass reject the
vote of all, it would be powerless to ad-
minister that complete Justice which would
consist only in declaring for the Republi
cans such majority in each parish as, but
for intimidation and violence, would have
been cast for their candidates. The law
therefore, in this but provides a partial
and inadequate remedy for grave wrongs,
from which the colored people and white
Republicans of Louisiana have long suffer-
ed and when proof taken by the BOARD is
examined and weighed it will be found, as
we believe, that the returns by it excluded,
for causes mentioned, are generally from
polling places which, but for intimidation,
violence, outrage and murder, would have
given Republican majorities, thereby great
" increasing that declared by the board.
In considering its powers and duties, this
important feature of the law should be
borne constantly in mind, for whilst that
tribunal may, upon proof, and in the exer-
else of Judicial discretion, reject votes for
the causes mentioned, it cannot upon so
doing return any actual cast. 1t will there
fore readily occur to any one that careful
selection by the political managers OF GER
tain parishes known to have large Republi-
can majorities for scenes of intimidation
and violence, in the belief that the other
parishes in the State would enable them to
carry it for their party, even should their
/ majorities in the parishes thus selected be
rejected, might well be a favorite method
| for achieving success; and as we proceed it
| will be apparent that such was the mode
/ olor1taI fO Ion tho IhoOnn-
| cratic party, whilst from the very nature
| of the mischief to be remedied the law
/ could but partially repair it. The statute
under which the board acts is so framed
as to prohibit the rejection of votes cast at
| any poll or voting places, unless solemn
| formalities are first complied with, which
must be supplemented by the testimony of
! witnesses. The statute organizing the
| board declared in substance that whenever
! from any poll OF voting place there shall
be received by the board the statement of
| anF supervisor of registration, or commits
| siOner Of election, confirmed by affidavits
| of three or more citizens, of any riot, tu-
multi, acts of violence, intimidation, armed
i disturbance, bribery, or current influences,
which prevent, or tend to prevent, a fair
free and peaceable vote of all the qualified
electors entitled to vote at such polls, the
/ board shall proceed to investigate the facts,
and if from such statements and afidavitS
| they shall be convinced that such causes
did not materially interfere with the purity
and freedom of such election or prevent
sufficient number of the qualified voters
| from voting to materially change the re-
fsult of the election, then such vote shall be
canYassed and compiled, but if they are
not thus fully convinced, it shall be their
duty to examine further testimony IN re-
| gard thereto, to that end shall have power
| to send for persons and papers, and If after
/ examination the board shall be convinced
that such, acts Of violence, intimldation,
| etc, did materially interfere with the
| purity and freedom of the election at such
| poll, or did prevent a sufficient number of
| Qualified voters from registering or voting
/ to materially change the result OF the cleo
tion, then the board shall not canvass or
compile the votes of such poll, but shall
/ exclude it from their returns. Nothing can
| be! more simple, more just than these pro-
4 visions. They are, for the reason before
stated, Inadequate to secure the admins
tration of a complete remedy, for it may be
fairly said that, If by reason of violence and
Intimidation committed in the interests OF
| one political party, the adherents of anoth-
| er are restrained from voting through fear,
an equitable remedy, it practicable, for
the outrage would be to count in favor OF
the injured every vote they lost. The as
certainment of this being, however, diff
cult, the statute of Louisiana has provided
only for the rejection of votes, and 1t IS
worthy of remark that the most fragrant
| cases submitted to the board have, as
! proven, occurred in parishes where the Re
publican registered vote, which would un-
/ doubtedly have been cast but for intimida-
ton and violence, largely exceeded the reg
istered vote of the Democratic party.
We have thus alluded to some of the
causes which led to the creation of this
board, and have also called attention to its
duties and the proof upon which it is au-
thorized to act. 1t is tribunal established
by the laws of Louisiana, independent OF
the laws of any other State or Of the Unit
ed States. 1t is empowered, among Other
things, to canvass and finally determine
the number Of votes legally cast for Elec'
tors of President and Vice President of the
United States, but in the discharge Of that
duty it acts exclusively under the authoIr
ty of the laws of the United States, th'
Constitution of the United States having
declared that each State shall appoint, II
such manner as the Legislature Thereof
NAV direct, number of Electors equal tC
/ the whole number Of Senators and Repre-
sentatiyes to which the State may be en-
titled in the Congress. Not only is the 40
tion of this board independent of State o.
| National laws, other than those of Louis
iaha, but its determination as to the vote
cast and the candidates elected is final anC
substantially conclusive, as appears from