The Ottawa free trader., 1876-11-18
ACCORDING TO LAW"

Grant says the Louisiana returning ooarc
shall be protected in performing their dui,
according to law exclaims the Ottawa he
DuJlican, and all the republican organs, lead
ers and trancheOn.fourishers exclaim, W.
ask only that the Louisiana count snail b
according to law" What is the law unde
which the Louisiana returning board are t.
act? 1t IS published In all the large city ps
pers, and may be found In yesterdays Chica
90 Tribiue. In q few words, this is the sub
stance of the claw" Said returning boarC
is to be appointed by the governor, and is t'
consist of five members, taken from both
political parties" The present returning
board consists of but four members and al
are red.hot republicans. Kellogg, though
Earnestly implored to do so, persislently and
fatty refuses to I'll the vacancy in The board
by tue appointment of democrat as the law
reouires he shall do. This is one way of max
ing the count according to law Then the
| law proceeds to prescribe the duties OF the
board. They are to take up the returns parish
by parish. If IN any parish charges OF fraud
or intimidation are alleged, they are to ex-
anime into the facts, calling and examining
witnesses, If they choose, and such as they
cho0se, and then, if their decision is that there
has been fraud or intimidation in such parish
or any voting precinct therein, the vote OF
such parish or voting precinct may be
thrown out
That Is the whole of the law. or course,
nothing is easier than to trump up charges OF
fraud in any parish in Louisiana, ana remem.
bering who constitute this returning board,
nothing is easier to them than to manufacture
legal reasons for throwing out the vote OF any
parish or precinct they please. 1t was under
this law that the famous Lynch board can
vassed the election in 1872, when McEnery
was counted out, though elected governor by
a fair majority of $4,000. When the senate
committee investigated that fraud in January
1878, this occurred, according to the official
report of that investigation:
arpenter-Then under the powG Of this
board they could declare any peBon they
chose to be electedg
Packard-It would amount to that.
Carpenter-(To Lynch.) How did the
board proceed?
Mr.. Lynch-We took all the evidence be-
fore us and our knowledge of the parishes
and their political complexion, and then we
decided.
Senator Carpenter-You estimated 1t, then,
upon the basis of what you thought the vote
ought to have been?
Mr. Lynch-Yes, sir: that is Just he fact
This is The "law" according to which the
republicans insist the vote of Louisiana shall
be counted and decision shall be made
whether popular majority of 100000 voters
of this great nation shall be cheated out OF
the president of their choice!
But there IS another law OF louisiana
which ovcrtops and outranks this ViIlainous
election law BY this election "lav'' the re-
board IN 1879 unseated majority
of 81 democrats elected to the legislature in
Louisiana and gave their seats to republicans,
many of whom had not even been candidates;
and again in 1874 a majority of 20 democrats
in the legislature were unseated 6nd their
seats gwen, at the point OF Grants oayonets,
to as many republicans But the ooNsTITU-
TIoN of Louisiana says "The members of
each house of the Legislature shall be the sole
judges of the election and qualification of its
own members" The law" Is squarely ia
the teeth of that section of the constitution.
The same constitution provides that "All ju-
dicial powers of the state shall benvesied In
a Supreme Court and such inierio courts as
the legislature shall establish" The return
board is neither supreme or inferDr court
vet under this vilainous law the return
board exercises judicial powers at every
stage of its proceedings. 1t is fom begin
ming to end bold, daring, shameless scheme
of villainy, without cOnstitutionalwarrant or
the sanction of one grain of commn sense or
common honesty. Such is the LAw' to
which the Grant Hayes electiorswindlers
and ballotbOx suffers appeal TO fair
count IN Louisiana!