New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-04-14
The CASE OF MoREY VS., SPENCER.

The dispatches inform US tina the ma.
jority of the House Subcommittee on
Elections will report in favor of Mr..
Spencer's right to the conte sted seat 70,
the Fifth District Of Louisiana, though
there will be dissenting minority report.
As a sort of plaster to the wounded feel
ings Of the Republicans consequent upon
the prospective loss Of mem Der of Con-
gress, it is added: at is claimed that
Morey has the equities Of the case, but
has had it badly prepared, and that Spen-
Ger beats him on technicalities. We do
| not find much consolatio in this unim-
portant son dit" It is no compliment to
the Republicans of the Fifth District that
they have failed, with clear majority Of
five or six thousand votes, to elect their
member Of Congress. The loss of one Re-
publican vote in the present House, with
its seventy-fve or eighty Democratic ma
jority, is trifing in comparison with other
evils growing out of this unfor tunate de-
feat Of Mr.. Mercy. When the dominant
party in a section or district fails to elect
its candidate, there is always something
wrong with the party itself or its candi-
date. We do not know by what process
Of reasoning the House committee reached
a conclusion which discredits the certif-
cate Of election given Mr.. Morey by the
Governor Of the State; but We do know
that there were dissensions among the
Republicans themselves in 1874, in con-
sequence of dispute about the nomina-
ton of Mr.. Morey, and as result large
falling off in the Republican vote of the
four river parishes embraced within the
district. One parish in particular, which
gave more than 260O majority for Dubu-
clet, gave Morey only 1864 votes all told,
and there was an average falling off Of the
congressional vote in the other three river
parishes of at least twenty-five per cent,
as compared with that received by Mr..
Dubuclet.
If MIR. Morey has had his case GLADLY |
before the committee, it may
be regarded as nal misfortune,
which does not reflect upon the good |
character of his constituents. They are
only blamable SO far as they permitted
aspiring candidates to divide them into
two factions and expose themselves to
possible defeat by the enemy. They
could as easily have given five thousand
majority for their candidate for Congress
as they did that much or more for the
Treasurer.
There is little or no doubt that the ma
jority report of the subcommittee will be
adopted by the whole committee, and
hy the House, and MIR. Spen-
GER be seated at an early day. The Re-
oublicans can only blame themselves for
hus giving their enemies technical ad-
vantage which will be improved to deprive
Mr. Morey of his equity. It is specially
appropriate at this time to remind our
riends in North Louisiana of this mishap.
There are evidences that something Of the
I'D inharmonious element still remains in
he fifth district, though we have every
assurance from the leading Republicans
# that section that they will be removed
nd made to disappear before the next
lection. There is much more involved
n the vote of that district than one seat
n the House of Representatives. The
'arty expects to draw on the fifth district
lext fall for six thousand votes, and we
ope there will be no dishonor to the
raft.