The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1876-12-21
Auhtifal
Tim OREGON QUESTION.
LEGALOPINION
OF JUDGE GEORGE HOADLY,
Upon wHICHGovERNoR GRO
YER ACTED.

vVAp GIR-I should be glad 70 comply IL
IN INV power, with your request 70 coninnunIOa
nv opinion given TO the Governor OF oregon re,H
,I,a N bis duty In the matter OF the FTes'uen1a'
oIoct,on wrote three letters TO Colonel FeiVon,
Socreta ~ Of the Democratic National Execu'iVe
Cnromi,tee ON this subject, and forwarded copies
~ tbose letters TO Governor Grover Kep1' ho"'
over no copies myself, and cannot produce 'heln
nom memory in their original iorm moieo,e,,
tbe subject has been one OF constant Auuy on n'
rart since they were written so that II ID i'oo0
Ia fnr me TO produce them as originally prepaieu'
I will endeayor, however to present 10 you ui0
.,O,merts which have carried convictions 10 my
mind that Governor Grover has done MS exact
5rtv IN the premises. This will embrace the suo'
stonce of the letters referred to, with however,
Iorge additions the result of subsequent study l
am quite content 10 bear the odlum Which liaS W
the result of being considered TO nave auVlseu Wv
course he took, for believe he dld the rght 'l'ls
in the right way, at the right time ana the haPpi
est result, probably the result OF prevehuns
usurping administration, not chosen by the PeoPl9'
and possibly the result of having preVeh1eu ci'H
war. e.,.,. a,,,,ioot is
Nv examination of some parts OF TINS SUBJECT %
not recent. was a clerk in thelaw once oi oal,
mon p. Chase when the Legislature OF ONO paSscu
tho famous law of lS4S, dividing the county VI
Hamilton into two Representative dlsIllcs' !
hecame his Junior partner on the list oil feoluai!,
1slo during the heat of the contest Whieh arose
out of the notification of that law by tue peAiO
racy of Ohio 1t is within my personal hho"leuso
that Mr. Chase approved from the beginning, 'ne
coulse taken by Edward G. Roll, who as CleIA VI
the Court of Common Pleas OF Hamilton Ooui'!
was the returning board at that time, ana Who' III
obedience to his Judgment that the law IN question
violated the Constitution of Ohio, gave the cer'lil
ootes of election to George K. Pugh, Alex NJ
pierce Alex. Long, Henry Roedter and Edwin H.
Armstrong, who had been elected kepresen'S'm,,1o Nv
to the Assembly by the Democratlc parry Vi 'n'
county on general ticket in defiance Oh Ie s'~'uVo
dividing the county for representative purposes
As Is well known, Mr.. Pugh and his associates w
famed and held their seats in consequence Vi 'iIS
action of Clerk Roll John G. Breslln was elecIeu
Sneaker of the House Of representatives anu
Stanley Matthews, Clerk, as the first result sal
mon p. Chase was elected United states oehaVol'
and the Black Laws of Ohio were repealeu as the
next result, and therefore 1t was rendered la"lu,
ror,o oolored man TO live and testify in courts OF
Justice in Ohio For this act of independent JUG
,oont Nv Roll was afterward broughttO the bar OF
tbo Corrt of Common Pleas, then composed OF
three Wbig Judges and one Democratic Juuse anu
tried for malieasanCe in othce, but was acquleVeu
by the coneurring judgment of The FreSluenV
Judge Hart, with his Democratic, and one Oh ms
Wbig associates Since the happy result, IN 1919
of mylamented friend Rolls independent eonfse'
have never supposed that it was the duty OF
returning officer to violate the Constitution OF nh
conntrv. or that such violations could be other
wise than mischievous.
Tho Constitution of the United States Article z,
Section !, provides that each state snail apPoln',
in such manner as the Legislature thereol may
direct, number of Electors equal 70 the "noie
number of Senators and Representatives 10 "nich
the State may be entitled in the Congress- Du' no
Senator or Representative or person holding an
Office of trust or profit under the Uhlteu o'@'eS
shall be appointed an Elector'
The Revised Statutes of the United staleS, oec'
ton 1885, provides "That it shall be the duty OF the
Executive to cause three lists OF the names ol Hle
Electors of such State to be made and certlhel'
and to be delivered to the Electors on OF Deiore'
the day on which they are required by the pre-,
ceding section to meet" Section lSo provides Ina'
oThe Electors shall make and sign three ceruh'
Gates of all the votes given by them each Oh winch
certificates shall contain two distinct lists, one Oi
the votes for President and the other OF the Voes
for Vice President and shall annex TO each OF the
certificates one of the lists of Electors, which snail
have been furnished them by directions Ot the
Executive Of the State" Other provisions OF tne
Revised Statutes require the Electors to send one
OF these certificates by messenger, and another by
Of no
TO be delivered to the Judge Of the Federal Dis
trct Court for the district in which the Electors
had assembled. Section l42 is as follows: 'Coh'
gress shall be in session on the second wednesday
in February succeeding every meeting OF the Eiec-
tors, and the certificates, or so many soi them ah
have been received, shall be opened, the VoteS
counted, and the persons to fill the office OF Pres
dent and Vice President asCertained, and declared
agreeably to the Constitution"
understand these facts to be, that on the day OF
the Presidential election November lSl6-John
W. Watts, one of the candidates of the Republican
party for Presidential Eector in the state OF Ore
gon, was Postmaster at Lafayette, the county'seat
of Yamhill County, jim the State of Oregon that
he received larger number Of votes at the elec'
ton than his highest Democratic opponent, f. A.
Cronin, but that Lafayette Grover, Governor OIL
Oregon, delivered the lists provided for in Section
1876 of the Revised Statutes that the two Republi
can Electors, other than Watts, were named with
Cronin as Electors in such lists, and that Watts
was not named as Eector therein; that thereupon
the two Republican Electors whose names were
on the lists either refusing to act with CrOnin, or
not, in fact acting with him, accepted the reslg'
nation of Watts, elected Watts to fill the vacancy
caused by his own resignation, voted for Hayes
and Wheeler and forwarded their certificates
without having the necessary lists attached TO
them that Cronin elected two other persons 10
ill the vacancies caused by the nOn-aetion or re-
fusal to act with him Of the two Republican Elec-
tors and the College Of Electors thus created cast
two votes for Hayes and Wheeler and one vote for
Tilden and Hendricks, and have forwarded the
certificates, with the necessary lists furnished BY
the Executive of the State attached TO the Presi
dent of the Senate and the Federal District Judge
1t is also 70 be stated that John W. Watts resigned
his Office Of Postmaster on the 18th day OF Novem
Der, 1876. One Electoral vote has therefore, been
cast In the State Of Oregon, In accordance with
the forms of law, for Samuel ]. Tilden for Presi-
dent and Thomas A. Hendricks for Vice President
of the United States, thus securing them the lSA
votes necessary 10 elect Presuming that the prin-
ciple stated by John Sherman. Stanley Matthews,
j. A. Garfield and their associates. In their reply 70
the Democratic Committee on the 10th OF Novem-
ber 1865 in the following wordS-"It is, in our
Judgment vital to the preservation Of conStitu.
tonal liberty that the habit Of obedience to the
forms of law should be sedulOusly inculcated and
cultivated, and that the resort to extra-constltu'
tionSl means of redress for even actual grievances
should be void and condemned as revolutionary,
disorganiziHg, and tending TO disorder and an
arohy"-will not be disputed by any Republican in
the country, and least Iof all by John sherman,
whose name heads the list Of signatures to this
letter and who is TO be President Of the Senate as
is now understood, and thus open the Electoral
votes, and that therefore Samuel ], Tilden and
Thomas A. Hen bricks will be peaceably declared
elected and inaugurated. 1t is nevertheless amin
teresting historical question whether Governor
Grover did right in investing Cronin with the su.
thority exercised by him. That. Watts was within
the inhibition Of the Constitution and could not
therefore be appointed an Elector, needs no argu
ment Nevertheless as the subject has been once
brought before Congress, and passed upon by
some Of the greatest men Of the time, will take
the liberty Of adverting to the action then had
namely, III 1887. But first let me say that fur
ther question Is presented by Watts resignation
after the election which WAS considered by, Con