, 1876-11-24

HALE, OF MA1he. lH o pfUWlAoAt WosAoek W
Congrcss, and, aa tho particular fHend OF
BLAINE, Inns no personal interest in tho
election Of a man who got tho nomt-
nation he wanted BLAINE to havn.
Mr.. SrouuHToN, Of Now York, In m eminent
constitutional lawyer, not politician, and
fnlly competent to take IN impartial, legal
Wow Of tho proceedings. Gen. GARFIELD is
man WHO enjoys about tho sano respect
nnong tho Southern people as LAMAR enjoys
among the Northern people; that is, he is
regarded as exceptionally fair and won-dis-
posed toward tho opposing section. hrr.
KELLEY, tho Pennsylvania member Of Con-
gress, has boon distinguished on tho Repnb-
lican sido Of tho House for his uniform gen.
crosity In tho treatment Of the South over
since the War, mud 1o Ia not at MI In hnr-
mony with HAYES on the currency question;
Democratic Administration would DO moro
to his liking in TINT respect. All these gen.
ttcn,en are abla lawyers and mon of affairs,
and not ono Of them would DO disposed to,
or could afFord to, give his sanction to any
procedure that was not fair, honest, and
lawful. II they shall testify Of tho con-
o1usion TINT tue Returning Board count
ed tho vote honestly under the Inv,
the American people will be satisfied,
however much disgruntled politicians may
growl at the law and the result. II, on the
other hand. they ahall testify that the Re-
turning Board exceeded It's functions, and so
conducted the canvass ns to defraud the
Democrats, tho Returning Doard win hive
forfeited all weight md influence with the
Amoriceu people; It will stand alone as
| monument to It's own infamy, and popular
sentiment will repudiate it's action.
There Is ono point in the Louisiana law
! that hns boon generally ignored. It is com-
monty supposed that tho Returning Board,
| in determining frauls by hearing witnesses
on both sides, either counts, amenas, or re-
fusos to count by parishes, or counties, aa 80
many units. This is IN error. The
count Is made by precincts, OF which
there may be dozen Or hundred
in each parish. THUS, proof Of such fraud
or intimidation as would vittate the vote
of certain precinct and warrant its re-
| ioction would not Justify or enable the re-
| lection Of tho entire vote OF the county in
which that prooinot is located. In East
Felioiaua County, for instance, where the
Republicans pollcd only Tires votes, though
they had pollod ,700 ut tho previous cleo
tion, this may not have been the result Of
intimidation and violence throughout the
entire county. Tho law Of the State au-
thorizes tho voter to cast his ballot in any
precinct Of tho county In which he lives.
The negroes, In East Feliciana County, fear-
ing thoy would not be permitted to vote in
their various precincts, arc said to have
flocked to certain voting-place On tho river,
and there they were prevented en- aaasse from
| voting, whi1o the whites throughout the
county quietly voted ut their several pro.
cincts. II this is true. then that precinct
alone would be rejected where tho actual in.
timidation occurred, and tho Democrats
would, under tho law, get tho benefit Of thoi1
vote in the other precincts, though their ma,
iority, or rather unanimity. In the county
would bo mono tho 1ess the result Of intimi.
dation md fraud.
But we venture to say that Judge TnuM
NULL Is correct in his personal conviction
that no great iniquity can be committed II
the presence Of the Committees. Where the
Louisiana law is favorable to the Demoorats,
md assuros to them the benefit Of intimida.
ton md fraud, as It does in the instance We
havo cited, VIC are certain TINT the Repub
lican Committee, aa we'll as the Democratic
Committee, will insist upon tho strict OBJ
servanco Of tho law, aud where tho law au
thorizcs correction Of the roturns to maks
them conform to tho honest and FREQ vote o
the precinct, no partisan protest on the par
! nf f1,a nernhcrata will mail f,nft,ra tha cnt,n