National Republican., 1876-11-20
Tha Returning Board.

CEron the st, Louis GlObe-Democrat.7
AS determined and general effort has been
made to misrepresent the returning board of
Louisiana, and to exalt the functions of the
distinguished citizens who have focked to New
Orleans to relieve the legal authorities Of all
responsibility in the discharge of their duties,
it is well to bear in mind the contrast between
the two bodies, and not to fall into the mis-
take Of supposing that their powers are co ordi-
nate, their authority equal, and their decision
equally final and binding.
The returning board is legal body, called
into existence by the laws of Louisiana, prop
erly organized, and assembled to discharge
function which is clearly defined by statute.
They may be incompetent men, they may be
corrupt men, they may be even as vile as the
gamblers and mercenaries who have managed
the Tilden campaign, but they are the only
body known to the law in this matter. Their
action can be set aside only by an appeal to
the law, and no citizen of this country has any
more right to insult them beforehand, by the
declaration of what their course will be, or to
attempt to bully or coerce them by any means,
than he has to walk into q court of law and
insult the judge by announcing what his de-
cision will be on case he hasn not heard.
The distinguished citizens ,on the other hand,
are merely q miscellaneous excursion party,
some of whom are decent men, some of whom
are bummers, but all of whom, bummers and
decent men, are equally devoid of authority.
Their pretense that they have come there to
see fair play is as insolent as if bully had
staggered into court to tell the judge that he
was going to see just decisions rendered. They
have as much right to visit New Orleans as any
other citizen has, but when they advertise that
their super-serviceable celerity In travelling
endows them with an authority to revise and
reverse the action of the legal authorities they
not only commit an impertinence which stamps
them as ridiculous, but they become mere
bummers, threatening tribunal they cannot
control.
The very fact of their going down there at
the invitation OF partisan committee shows
that they are not impartial, but that they have
q deep interest in the decisi on they wish to
bring about. They have shown their fitness
to sit as impartial arbitrators by openly charg-
ing the returning board with an intention to
commit infamous frauds, and we presume that
if they find the Republicans reluctant to stul-
tify themselves by sending an amateur joint
committee they will divert their vile charges
and dishonest insnuations against the whole
Republican party. We are quite certain that
there is no stretch Of insolence beyond their
reach, and we only hope that the prominent
Republicans who have made the mistake of
BOiLS ~ pEcccuCC hdb
not at all wanted will hare the sense to see
that any assumption by them of an official or
representative character will merely expose
them to ridicule.
There need be no mistake as to which body
is authorized TO count the vote of Louisiana
nor need there be any mistake as to how the
vote of Louisiana is to be counted by the only
body appointed by law for that purpose.
There is no room for a legal argument, or for
a Constitutional question. The law says
clearly that the returning board shall hear
testimony and arguments relating to the votes
which they are TO canvass; it gives them full
authority to set aside results which represent
intimidation, armed resistance, bribery, cor
ruption or improper influences of any kind.
We think that the power conferred on them
is excessive, and even dangerous, but we do
not propose to substitute lynch law in its
stead, and we ask our readers to remember
that, if this power is exceptional, the circum-
stances which called it into existence are ex-
ceptional, and it is probably as good q way as
could be found Of correcting that subversion
of law which has marked the election in the
South. But be 1t as it may, we must be
prepared to accept the decision of the legal
authorities, and we advise the other body, the
distinguished citizens who are cooling their
heels outside of the Office of the returning
board, to constitute themselves into a return
ing board by returning home, that, like
Polonius, they may play the fool nowhere but
in their own house.