The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1876-12-15

signed will refer 10 the five parish
IS of East and West Feliciana, East
Baton Rouge, Morehouse and
Ouachits. In each azd all Of
these there is large Republican
majority. Ia all their white
votes registered for this year
numbered 5,134, the colored vote
Is pa, a majority of s, ITO. If by
! intimidation and violence the Dem
oerats could secure in each of these
parishes q 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 administer that COM
plete justice, which would consist
only in declaring for the Republic
cans such q majority in each parish,
as, but for intimidation and vio-
lence, would have been cast for their
candidates. The laS, therefore, in
this but provides for partial and
inadequate remedy for the grave
wrongs from which the colored
people and white Republicans OF
Louisiana have long suffered, and
when proof taken by the Board is
examined and weighed 1t will be
| found, as we believe, that the re-
turns by it excluded for causes mem
toned, are generally from polling
| places which, but for intimidation,
| violence, outrage and murder,
wonld have given Republican ma
| jorities, thereby greatly increasing
that declared by the Board. Ia
considering it's powers and duties,
this important feature of the law
shenld bc borne constantly in mind,
for whilst that tribunal may upon
proof, and in the exercise OF judIc-
ial discretion, reject votes for the
causes mentioned, it cannot, upon
80 doing, return any vote actually
cast.
1t will, therefore, readily accur to
any one, that a careful selection oi
Political manag srs of certain parish
es known to have a large Repubii-
can majority, for scenes OF intini-
datien ana vfolence,in the belief that
other parishes in the State would
enable them to carry it for their par
~, even should their msjOrities in
the parishes thus selected be reiec-
ted, might well be faYOTite meth
cd of achieving success, and as we
proceed it will be apparent that
such was the mode adopted to carry
Louisiana for the Dem ocratic party,
whilst from the very nature of the
mischief to be remedied the law
could but partially repair it. The
statute under which the Beard acts
is SO framed rs to prohibit the re-
| lection of votes cast at any poll or
voting places unless certain soIsHn
form2lities are first complied with,
which must be supplemented by the
testimony of witnesses. The stat
ute organizing the Board declared,
in substance, that whenever from
any poll or voting place there shall
be received by the Board the state
| nent of any Supervisors of Regis
tration or Commissioner of election,
confirmed by affidSvits of three er
more citizens, of any riot, tumlt,
acts of violence, intimidation, arm
ed disturbance, bribery or corrupt
influences, which prevent, or tend
to prevent, fair, free Or peaceaDle
vote of all qualified electors, snti-
tied to vote ut such polls, the Board
shall proceed to investigate the
facts, and if from such statements
and affidavitS they shall be conYinc-
| ed that such causes did not m4teri-
ally interfere with the purity and
freedom of sach election, or pre-
vent q sufficient number of qualified
voters from voting to materially
change the result of the election,
then such vSte shall be canYassed
inc further testimony in re-
and compiled, but If they are
not thus fully convinced it
shall be their duty to exam
gard thereto to that end shall have
power to send for persons and pa
pers, and If after examination the
Board shall be convinced that such
acts of violence, Intimidation, etc,
did materially Interfere vita the
purity and freedom of election at
such poll, or did prevent . sufficient
number of qualified voters from
registering or voting to materially
change the result Of the election,
then the board shall not canvass or
compile the votes Of such poll, bat
shall exclude them from their re-
turns. NOthing can be mere sinple,
moro just thGn these provisionS.
| They are, for the reasOn before sta
| ted, inadequate to secure the admin
istraliOn of q complete remedy.
For it and intimidation committed
in the interest of one political party,
By which the adherents of another
are restrained from voting through
fear, an equitable remedy, if practi-
cable, for the outrage would be to
count in favor of the injured every
vote they lost. The ascertainnont
of this being, however, difficult, the
statute eft louisiana has provided
emily for the rejection of Votes, and
it is verify of remark that the
most fragrant caSes submitted to
the Beard have, as proven, occurred
in parishes where the Republican
registered Vete, which would M
d0ubtsdlY have been cast bat for in
timidati0n and violence, largely ex-
ceeded the registered 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 aud the proof upon which ii
is authorized to act. 1t ia q tribu-
nal established by the laws OF Loui-
siana, entirely independent of the
laws of any ether State or the UAi-
ted States. II is empowered, ameng
other lhiags, to canvass and finally
determine the number of votes le-
gally cast for Electors Of President
and Vice President of the United
States; but in the discharge of that
duty, it acts exclusively under au-
th0rity of the laws of that State,
the Constitution of the United
States having declared that each
State shall appoint in such manner
as the legislature thereof may di-
rect = number of Electors equal to
the whole number of Senators and
Representatives to which the State
may be entitled in Congress-. Not
only is the actisR Of this Board in
dependent nf the State or national
laws other than those of Louisiana,
but its determination as to the votes
cast and candidates elected is final
ARd substantially conclusive, as ap-
pears fr0m q decision of the Su-
promo Court of that State, report
ed in the Twenty-fifth Volams of
Louisiana Annual Reports, where