National Republican., 1876-11-24
DIFFICULTIES OF CROOKED PATHS.

Once more the rebel Democracy have
been foiled. They evidently had obtained
control of two members of the Supreme
Court of South Carolina, Moses and Will
lard. The rulings of the court for several
days past have shown this plainly. The
Democratic lawyers first asked that the
court direct the board to act ministerially,
and count the returns as they were made
out by the county csnvassers. The order
was made, Judge Wright dissenting. Tle
Democrats believed that on this count as
returned by the county boards they had
carried the State. The board obeyed the
order of the court, and acted simply as
clerks, adding up the returns as they came
from the counties. Notwithstanding all
the intimidation that had been practiced,
these returns showed that the Republican
electors had received majority of the
votes. They also showed that all the Re-
publican candidates for State Offices had
been elected except two. and that the Dem
ocrais had majority of one in the Legisla-
ture if the fraudulent returns from E ige-
field and Laurens counties were admitted.
The board having been ordered to do so,
reported these facts to the court with q
statement that there were discrepancies
between the counts made at the precincts
and the returns made by the county boards.
The court had under consideration the
question whether the Returning Board had
judicial powers. There was no possible
reason why the court should want to know
how the ministerial count resulted to en-
able it to decide question OF lew, unless the
court proposed to proceed corruptly and
allow the result of the count to influence
its decision. The facts prove that it did
not intend to do 80. When the board made
its return the Democratic lawyers at once
moved that the court direct the issuance of
certificates to the State officers and mem
bers of the Legislature shown to be elected
by the ministerial count and that the board
be restrained from issuing certificates to
the. Presidential electors shown to be
elected by the same count The impudence
of this proposition is indescribable. But
that was not all. The court was asked to
OHCCl TIC DOdlu W CAClCloC JullOLh4 pO"O
which they had heretofore been forbidden
to do, and to examine into the discrepan.
cies between the count by precincts and
the returns by counties. The Democrats
knew their men, and the court was pro-
ceeding to issue the orders asked for, when
the board issued certificates to the Repub-
ican electors, to the Republican candidates
for State offices, and to all the members of
the Legislature except those claiming to
be elected from Edgeield and Lsurens
counties. In other words the board
threw out the returns from these
two counties, which were so man
ifestly fraudulent that even John Goode,
jr., would have some qualms Of conscience
before accepting an Office based upon such
an outrageous claim. This is the whole
story of the South Carolina election. That
the Chief Justice (Moses) was influenced
corruptly by the Democrats or by his hatred
of Chamberlain does not admit Of doubt.
His acts prove it His previous life proves
it. The Democrats knew him to be cor
rupt. They have denounced him in every
tone of the gamut for years past They
have exhausted "Roget's Thessurus,"
"Crabbe's Synonyms" and "Webster's
Unabridged" in seeking epithets to de-
nounce him. They knew him and thus
secured him. Their acquisition availed
nothing, and one more of their devilIsh
attempts to defeat the will Of the people
has been foiled. The people of the country
owe debt of gratitude to the Returning
Board of South Carolina for its action.
Judge Wright, the colored member of the
Supreme Court, acted the part Of an honest
man. The Democrats thought they had
Moses" who would lead them out of the
wilderness, but his efforts proved fruitless,
and they are still foundering in the slough
of despond.