The Van Buren press., 1876-11-28
Total, A.Al4 6.la5

At the election in 1874 these parishes
gave a Republican majority for State
Treasurer OF 1851, They now give q
Democratic majority of 4,4l7, which ex
ceeds the Democratic vote cast in 1874.
The Democrats admit that had the Re
publican vote been polled, the Republi-
cans would have had y large majority
Now the controversy stands: On the ono
hand the Democrats insist OH the vote
being counted In exact accordance with
the number Of tickets cast; on the other
baud, there are two propositions !.
That the vote Of the parishes be wholly
disregarded and thrown out on the
grounds OF intimidation, by the c nvass.
ing Board. 2. That the vote polled be
counted, but that the Canyassing Beard
reckon also AS pollcd the votes Of those
absenting themselves from fear OF bodi
" harm The average Northern voter
has no precedent for such n condition of
things as this In the first place, deadly
intimidation is not known at the North,
and in the next place it will be difficult
for Northern man of any party to un
,lerstand how 1000 voters OF one party
in u county can be 80 successfully "in
Inundated" by ]. 900 as to be unable to
approach the polls. though the latter
were protected. or supposed to be, BY
the United States Supervisors. 1t will
be difficult to persuade the people of any
Northern county that the minority, mum.
bering 900 voters, could SO intlmidate
the majority In East Feliciana. number.
4 ~. . Ne kn lats do IN
show themselves at the polls. Nevcrthe.
less, it is certain that the negroes did not
vote for some reason. We assume that
those who did vote were legal voters,
and know Of no right recognized by any
law Of any State where the votes Of legal
voters. lawfully polled, can be rejected
and they disfranchised We do not be
lieve, therefore. that the moral sense OF
tile American people will consent to Or
tolerate that the election Of President
of the United States shall be determined
aud decided by throwing out the votes
OF several thousand Of legal voters. le
gally polled in any State Of tho Union,
We take it. therefore. that the votes net
ually polled in these five " bulldozered 7"
parishes Of ofLouisian will be counted, no
matter what may be the result produced
upon the election by so doing.
lfthc facts he IA stated. and We have
tried to collate them fairly from the state
ments Of both sides, the Republicans OF
Louisiana and of the country have to bear
the consed liences OF the panic, which
seems to have SO stricken the colorel
voters n these five districts. We look
upon it AS n calamity, because we know
Of no legal remedy There Is no prece
dent known to any election law that we
ever heard Of where the votes OF persons
not voting. aud not offering to vote, C, n
be counted. no matter how strong may
be the presumption that il such votes had
been polled they would have changed III G
result. In 1874, the Democrats elected
At least ffty members to Congress in Re-
publican districts because Republicans
stayed away and did not vote. For the
same reason the Democrats elected the
Governors OF several States, and a major.
ity Of the Legislature in several States
in 1874. No such thing as ofrsetting the
vote actually polled, by that not polled
has ever been recognized at any election
In any State in this country. Even In
the desperate conflict In Louisiana four
years ago Doth parties claimed the elec.
tion. but both parties assumed the vote
counted to have been polled.
1t 10 claimed by the Democrats that
their party will have = majority Of the
whole vote OF the State, over and above
their vote in these parishes; bit. while
this ought to settle the matter, it may not
do So, If the counting OF the on. polled
vote lie insisted upon by tho other side.
II, however, the Democratic do not have
a majority except by counting the votes
IN these i've parishes. and the result in
the State depend on their being counted
or not counted, then the issue will be q
direct one. and one upon which the conn-
try will promptly reach . judgment, and
no Cauvassing Board will dars attempt
to put the Judgment Of the nation at de.
! tance: and the American people will
never engage IN civil war to uphold the
counting of votes never cast or offered to
! be cast, or to reject lawful votes legally
cast and recorded on the poll lists.