The New Orleans Democrat., 1876-06-22
SPEECH OF HON. E. JNO. ELLIS,
ON TIE SPENCER-N NOREY CONTESTED
ELECTION CASE.


ON THE sPENCER- -MOREY CONTESTED
ELECTION CASE.
House Of Representatives. wednesday,
May "a, 1870.
report of the Committee of Il ections in the case
Of Spencer VS.. Morey, from the Fifth District OF
Louisiana
Mr.. Ellis said:
Mr.. Speaker admit that any speech
or argument which / may make upon
the case now at the bar Of this House
will seem to be almost a work OF su-
The gentlemen OF the
who are to follow me,
as lawyers and statesmen, will
give this House a most thorough COM
prehensiOn OF the case before the debate
closes. But the contestant himself is
absent, and he asked me before leaving
to represent him here in the debate upon
his contest, and this / purpose to do as
briefly as can.
1t has been said here to-day that he
relied solely upon the technicalities OF
the law, which are 30 often used to
pierce the breast q justice. And now
to that party to which these gcntlemen
belong who have presented the majority
report; appeal to each and every one
to rise above the partisan and, II they
find no more in this contest than these
mere technicalities, then on contestants 8
behalf, with full power to speak for him,
ask you to send him back home and
deny his right to sit here.
Mr.. Speaker, as has been stated by
the two gentlemen who preceded me,
the gentleman from Tennessee Mr..
Housed and the gentleman from Missis-
sippi, Mr. WeIls.l this contest is mar
rowed down to four wards; one ward In
the parish of Concordia and three wards
OF the parish of Carroll, and in consid-
ering them, sir, / shall take them up in
the order ia which the chairman OF the
subcommittee who submitted the ma
jority report has presented them. Ihe
fifth ward, parish OF Concordia, return
ed a majority OF 404 for the sitting mem
Der. 1t is contended by the contestant
because certain provisions Of the law
which he deems mandatory In their
character were ruthlessly and drecklessly
disregarded by the commissioners who
presided at that poll, but by the minori-
ty report that these provisions OF law SO
utterly violated and set at naught are
not mandatory; that they are in their
merely directory provisions Of law, they
might bend to the whims, and conve-
nience, and caprice Of the commission
ers.
Let US see, sir, what is mandatory
provision Of law. Is it not provision
of law which goes to the very essence
Of the subject-matter ? Is 1t not pro-
vision of law which, being violated or
disregarded, the whole subject-matter
is vitiated aud tainted? What is an
election The deposit OF the votes and
the count of the votes. That constitutes
an election.
Mr.. Speaker, the provisions OF law
that affect and control the deposit and
counting OF votes are mandatory. be-
cause they directly affect the two essen.
tials OF an election. In the method ol
receiving and counting the votes the law
is peremptory, and no discretion Is al
| lowed the officers charged with the con
duct Of the election in regard to these
essentials.
But the gentleman from Mississippi
/ [Mr. WellsJ says that these provisions
of the election law Of Louisiana have
already been construed by the Supreme
Court of Louisiana. 1t is not the 1ir5l
time in the Congress OF the United
States that the decisions of the Supreme
Court of Louisiana has been invoked tC
sustain an enormity. Sir, reverence FOL
the bench / learned as among the frs
of my lessons as u lawyer. 1t was taught
by my father, himself lawyer ano
Judge, and it was taught me, too
by those learned and venerable mel
under whose ministrations i sa
and learned what little / know O
law. Ignorance may preside on the
bench, eccentricity may be illustrated
and idiosyncracies be developed OF
the bench, but 30 long as purity
is there bow my head in reverence be
fore the judicial tribunals OF my coun
try. But the Supreme Court OF Louis
lana is not beyond reprOach. Its Chic
Justice is smarting to-day under tn
CALLING and singing lash OF the gu
Dreme Court OF the United States In ina
sad decree in which the member OF ou
most illustrious court decided that ~
had been guilty Of fraud and dupllclt.
unworthy man, mucn less luoge. ~
1879. in the third session OF the Forty
second Congress, the decision OF tn
Louisiana Supreme Court was invoket
to sustain an enormous usurpat1On Il
the Senate Of the United States, and
was then that the committee OF tn
Senate. Mr.. Carpenter at Its head, Sc
aside that decision and adopted the dis
sentinp opinion Of Judge Wyly as thei
view Of the law Of the case. refer Z
} the case OF the State Of Louisiana ex rel
Attorney General VS.. Jack Wharton
ct al.
Sir. gentlemen may invoke the deci @
sion OF that tribunal; gentlemen ma
call them judges. But the men consul
tuting the majority OF that court. place.
by the most sacred shrine OF liberty
temple to administer tine solemn an
beautiful rites of the Constitution
straightway robed themselves In tn
dark vestments Of partisan priesthood
and have sacrificed their sense Of trut
and JUSTICE tnelF ~ papy not0s and apo Of ss sef
afl the sad and blackened history OF tina
: once proud and ever-beautiful State
| which in part represent, and whicl
: holds and bounds all that | love an
r hope, the blackest feature has been tn /.
t character and bearing Of its highest. ju
l diciaI tribunal. When partisan aim
vs~h avya