The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1876-12-16
Politieal Notes.

ndppcucu uuu ~ tuIedtcutu. III u NiiheSh
opinion, marked by even moro than his
usual yigor and acumen, he scouts the
idea that the people have no legal and
peaceable remedy against the conspiratofs
who have undertaken to count'in Hayes.
He finds tho remedy in the constitutional
power of the House, acting by and for
itself, to scrutinize papers purporting to
be the votes, and to rsiect any that may
be proved to be fraudulent. The power
exists, he says, whether the twenty.sec-
ond joint rule is still in force or not, and
it is ample for the purpose. A fraud
ulent electoral certificate, no matter how
attested, is nullity, piece of blank
paper, and is to be treated as such. Ex-
aiming the law under which the LOuisi-
ana returning board acted, Judge Black
finds their procedure as illegal as it was
shameless. He is of the opinion that an
indictment for forgery would hold, ana is
clear that the House must throw out the
bogus votes. The power to choose q
President when there has been no consti
tutional election by the people necessarily
implies and includes the power to ascertain
whether there has or not been such cleo
ton. This the House must do for itself
If it decides there has been no election, and
proceeds to choose President, the Senate
cannot interfere. If the Senate decides
that Mr.. Wheeler has been elected Vice
President, aud accepts him as such, the
House cannot interfere. The claim that
the presiding officer of the Senate has the
power to count the votes as well as open
them Judge Black characterizes as sheer
impudence.
George Ticknor Curtis has written an
able letter to Senators Conkling and Ker-
nan in reference to the duties of the
Senate in the counting Of the electoral
vote, in which he says that "the more he
reflects upon this subject the more he is
convinced that this monstrous assumption
of power by the Legislature of Louisiana
must receive decisive check, or the evil
that has begun there will spread through
the union, until in every state the choice
of President will be devolvcd upon an
oligarchy of Office holders, clothed with
power to perpetuate themselves. Let the
dominant party in any state retain the
control Of its legislative power long enough
to pass similar laws, and it will remain
indefinitely in their power to cause the
electoral votes in their state to be cast in
any way that they may choose to have
them. The virtue of parties will not be
superior to the temptation. No man can
ever thereafter become President without
the assent Of the most corrupt and unprin-
cipled leaders of the dominant faction.
The people will be utterly poweyless to
prevent the perpetual reign of n successful
state oligarchy under the forms of law, and
no relief will remain but revolution. 1t
is now possible to stay the pro gress of this
mischief by treating the Louisiana electoral
certificate as void.
WHAT CANADIANS THINK ABOUT IT.
The Toronto Telegraph says 1t is
easy to see that a President, whose cleo
ton is decided by such men and such
means as these, must enter his Office sus-
pected, if not despised. He can never
throw off the control of the bad men who
have counted him in, because he has al
lowed them to overcome his sense of right
in advance, He is condemned in advance
by the moral sense of his own party.
Were the vote for President to be taken
again tomorrow, Mr.. Tilden would be
elected by an overwhelming majority.
The reasons for this are simple. A great
mass of independent, right thinking men
voted for Mr.. Hayes because they believed
the better prospect for reform in public
affairs was through his election. The rev.
Citations of the past few weeks have shown
them the futility of their hopes. The dis
closure of the effects of misgovernme1t in
Louisiana have been no less effective
The country is reaping in bitterness and
modification the full fruition of its eight
years Of Grantism, and is beginning to
realize, for the. first time, how near to de-
struction that system has broughtit. The
Republican party has reached its grave,
and the inauguration of Hayes will be the
solemnization Of its funeral.
The House Committee on the Louisiana
election met Tuesday in New Orleans, MIR.
Morrison presiding. Mr.. Hurlbut gave
notice that he would file protest against
the jurisdiction of the Committee in the
matter of examining election returns.
Charles S. Abel, Secretary of the Return
ing Board, presented communication
from the members of the Board denying
the authority of the United States House
OF Representatives to review the decision
of the Returning, Board until they deliver
their documents to the General Assembly
refusing to surrender those documents, but
stating that they would furnish copies if
the committees would pay the expense,
said copies to be made when the Board
should be 9Th rough with the documents.
The chairma OF the Committee gave
notice that the presence of the members
of the Board would be expected on We'd
nesday morning. Another communication
was read from Abel, the Secretary of the
Board, In answer to subpoena, declining
to furnish documents, as he had been in
structod not to do so.
Judge Bond has discharged the South
Carolina board of State canvassers, which
were in State custody, under process of
the Supreme Court, on the ground that the
Supreme Court of the State had no iuris-
diction. Judge Bond has not explained
where he obtained his Jurisdiction to re.
lease them. We hope that the matter
may be brought before the Supreme Court
of the United States. A more lawless de.
cision never has been rendered in a United
States court-except, perhaps, that of
Judge Durell. Judge Bond has distin.
guished himself and endeared himself to
Grant by his services to Chamberlain and
his pack of swindlers. If Grant were to
postpone the Inauguration of his successor
and hold over, he would use Judge Bond
to issue the writs and give color Of law to
all his usurpations. Bond knows as well
as anybody that he has prostituted his