, 1876-12-21
THE PR1MA FAc1g CASE OREGON.

a good many people OF Democratic pro-
olivities are now seeking to cajole themselves
into the belief TINT, II tie Presidential con.
trovoTsy is to DO settled on tho prin,a f,cts
case as 1t Is presented to the President Of the
Senate, Mr. TnpEN has 1t, because the single
bogus vote in Oregon, II counted, would give
him l85 Electoral vote8, Tho reasoning Is
fairly yreprcsentedin the following gcommunica-
ton:
~ .as Edttor af Tas Trtauns.
Cn1cAao, Dos 1o.-Plcasc explain how. taking
the priHa (1efs case a. It atands, HAYES has 1856
yotes, 81 TuE TRIBUNE asserts editorlnIly this
morning. is not tho certificate Of the Governor Of
Oregon as much part Of the pr4Ha dcis case "a Is
that Of tho Governor Of Louisiana! To bo sure It IL
alleged that the law grossly violated n Oregon
mud tboro 10 tho same allegation as 10 Loutsana.
uut It Is = prItna faclt case we are aso talking
about, and how can you correct Or look into an nj.
gediFregulnEty or illcEality In ono case better
than III the Other, without going behind the primo
| Jaels casc?
| lam Republican; but think thu time has come
for Republicans to exercise candor and patriotism
| Instead Of prejudice and pastisanshtp. The pco.
pls nre Intelligent and fair; ttey will not be de-
| ccIvel by special pleading and nonsense. 1Ionesk
Rcpubilcans like Hayes md tho purity, but they
like fait play aud tho country better. Yours truly
ACossrAHT READER.
If the writer of the above Is Republican,
he Is throwing his caso away before he has
/ considered It; II he Is Democrat. his wish
has simply fathered thought that will not
stand the test Of analyzation under the 1aw.
He will admit there cannot be two prinla
JtIeis cases, even In as primitive COMMUNE
ty as Oregon. The Governor Of the State
issued three certificates, two to ODxLL and
OAarwn1onr, regularly elected by tue Re.
publicans, the other to CRos1s, the Demo-
orat, In place Of Watts, whom he (the Gov
ernor) declared ineligible. IIo therefore as-
sumed ~ topass on the eligbilityof Cnox1a
and (2) to fill q vacancy, neither Of which
thtnga he Ind any authority to do. But
there was no excuse for refusing certificates
to ODE1n aud CARTWRIGHT, aud thoy wore is
sued. They were majority Of tho Electors
and found d vacancy, Watts laying resigned,
as we'll aa having been refused o certificate
by the Governor. Under tho laws Of Oregon
(Chap. IA, Title 0, Sec. Roy, vacancy In the
Electoral College is flllod rs follows:
II there should be any vacancy Iu the Office OF an
Elcetor, oceasloned by death, refusal 10 sct neg
lect to attend. or o&htrtss, the Electors proaent
shall Immediately procced to dil, by rira soee aud
plurality OF votes. such vacancy In tho Electoral
co,lege. and when ali tho Electors shal appear or
tho yacapces II any, shall hava been llod az aboye
provided, such Electors shall proeecd to perform
tho dutIos required Of tlom by the Constitution and
the laws Of tho United statet,
The tet1nB Of this law aro unmistakable,
and thetwo Electors, ODE11 aul CARTWRIGHT,
proceeded strictly according to 1t. II any
further confirmation Of It IL needed, 1t may
be found in the following opinion Of the
Chief-Justice OF the Stats Of Oregon, which
he telegraphed to hls brother, who resides In
Rochester, N. Y:
PORTLAND, Oregon Dec. 0, 1s70.-[By Tale.
grsn.l-AT q. 4. Ltpton, RocatsstF, NJ r: In
reply to your questions, tho statute of this Stats
authorized CAnrwiIouT and onELL to nll yaean.
ctcs. ThclF votes are cast for nAYEs aud attached
to the State canynps certified under State seal Of
Of Oregon The Constitution prohibits Executive
exercising judicial functions ps pasatn2 on Wars
disqualification. 0aoyza only hoped to throw cut
whole vote. lie failed. ". ". Urrox.
Then here We have tho frima jaek case.
OAa7vR1onr and OnEL1, two Electors who
hold certificates from the Governor, find q
vacancy by the resignation Of Warts, and
they proceed to fill 1t according to law.
OaoNN, one Eleetor holding certificate
from the Governor, proceeds to fill two
vacancies, The pria1a facis case rests with
the two Electors holding certificates a.
against one, and their votes certified to the
President Of the Senate are the ones he Is
compelled by every precedent to receive.
OF course this prinaa .Jacls case, or color Of
law, is sustained BY all the facts. Even
Democrats do not deny this. OAarwn1our,
0pEL1, and WATTS received majority
OF the votes OF the State; the Gov
ernor had no authority for passing
upon the question Of WArra' eligibility, nor
for deciaring vacancy, nor for filing
vacancy, The single certificate hs gave the
bogus Elector ORoala can scarcely bs
recognized ~ pr&ma Jacis case as against
the two certificates he issued to the two
genuine Electors, OAATwR1oar aud OpxL1.
When "Ooussant neadsr" compares the
Oregon case with the Louisiana case, he siu.