The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1876-11-23


timony in regard thereto, and to this end
they shall have power to send for persons
aud papers. II, aiter such exam nations, said
officers shall be convinced that said riot
iumult, acts of violence, intimidation,
armed disturbance, bribery, or corrupt in
fuences, did materially interfere with
the purity and freedom of the election at
such poll or votirg place, or did prevent q
sufficient number of the qualified electors
thereat from registering and voting, to ma
terialiy change the result OF the election,
then the said returning officers shall not
canvass or complete the statement of the
votes Of such poll or voting place. but shall
exclude 1t from their returns; provided, any
person in ssid election, by reason of being a
| candidate for office, shall be allowed q
hearing before the said returning officers
upon making application within the time
allowed tor the forwarding of the returns
of said election" Hence, if there are any
facts requiring the Judgment of the board
upoI the validity of any election returned
as affected by such frauds or violence, it
would be manifest interference with State
rights and local self-government for per-
sons like ourselves, without official right,
10 attempt TO influence or control Its judi
cial action. Had corresponding board in
the State of New York, in 1868, been au-
thorized to pass upon the fraudulent re-
turns of the votes of the city of New York
for that year, and had delegation of
citizens of Louisiana, however respecta-
bic, attempted to influence its judicial
action upon the fActs presented to it
under the laws of that State or
such attempt would have been universally
condemned. If the duties of the canvass
ing board of Louisiana were merely minis
terial or clerical, as in the case of an officer
charged by the law with the duty OF veri-
flying and declaring the result of an cleo
ton, and invested with no discretion, as
where the President of the Senate counts
and declares the votes of the electors of
the several States in the election of presl-
dent aud vice president under the consti
tuition of the United States. different case
would be presented. 1t IS, in our juig-
ment, vital to the preservation of constitu-
tional liberty that the habit of obedience
to the forms and law should be Zealously
irculcated and cultivated and that the re-
sort to extra constitutional modes Of redress
for even actual grievances should be avoid
ed and condemned as revolutionary and
disorganiziug, tending to disorder and an
archy. To reduce the whole question,
therefore. to the mere clerical duty of
counting the votes actually cast as pro-
posed by you, in distinction from votes le-
/ gally cast and returned, irrespective Of the
question whether they are fraudulently ard
violently cast or otherwise violated, involves
a notification of the provisions of the laws
of Louisiana, which have already been ad-
Indicated as valid by the Supreme Court
and would be wholly unjustiiable here as
well as in any other State of the Union,
which has provided laws to protect the
rights of the voters and purity of the
ballot. We cannot. therefore, concur in
your proposition for q conference on that
basis. (SIgned) Very respectfully, John
Sherman. Stanley Matthews, j. A. Garfield,
of Ohio; VIM. D. Kelly, of Pennsylvania,
J. A. KassoD, of Iowa; E. w. Slengthy.
of New York; G. Irving Ditty, of IT.
diana: J. 81. Van Allen, OF New York,
Eugene Hall, of Maine; NJ. S. QUAY, of
Pennsylvania; William Cumback, of Indi-
ania; E. T. Noyes, of Ohio; Job. E.
Stevenson, of Ohio, John Couburn,
of Indiana, Lew Wallace, of Indiana;
j. M. futile, of Iowa, W. w. Nc
Grew, of Iowa, j. W. Chapman, of Iowa,
w. R. Smith, of Iowa, Abner Taylor, of
Illinois, j. r. Haven, of Illinois, j. NJ.
Bardslie, of Illinois, G. B. Farwell, of ILL.,
inois, Sidney Clarke, of Kansas, ]. c. Will
son. of Kansas. Lyman TrumbulI, Jas. o.
Broa1bead, w. r. Morrison and others are
present at the request of the chairman of
| the National Democratic Committee.
CHICAGO, November 1G.-The tenth an
nual session of the National Grange met
here to-day. John T. Jones, of Arkansas,
was called to the chair. Nearly every State
| is represented. Many ladies are IN attend
an;e.
NEW ORLEANS, November Ito the
Hons. John Sherman, Stanley Matthews, j,
| A. Garfield. w. u. Kelley and others ::
| GentlenleR-We are in receipt of your an
swer to cur letter of the fourteenth instant,
in which you inform us of your determine
ton not to confer with us for the purpose of
exertiDg such influence as we may possess
| in behalf of such a canvass of the votes &C.
tually cast at the recent election in Louisi-
ana, as 10y its fairness and impartlality shall
command the aCquiescence and respect of
all parties. We sincerely regret this failure
of our attempt to secure the cooperation of
all the citizens from other States in the
furtherance of the purpoes which, as we
supposed, had brought them hither at
this JunctuIe. We regret it all the more be-
Cause your refusal to confer and co-ope-
| rate with US appears to be based upon q
1 serious misrepresentation of the language,
no less than the spirit of our communica-
ton. 1t can barely have escaped your no.
| tice that our statement of the result to be
obtained by the cooperative action which
| we sought to bring about was a simple re-
production of the language of President
Grant, at whose request we understood you
are there. In his recent order to Gen. Shcr-
man that language WIS deliberately used,
no doubt, in view of the fact, about which
as we conceive there can be no dispute,
that the first and most essential prerequisite
to an honest and just declaration of the
results of the recent election in louisiana
is fair and impartial canvass,of the votes
| actually cast, and it seems to US that you do
the President great injustice in supposng
| that in speaking of ''votes actually cast
he meant to include votes Illegally cast, as
you certainly do us injustice by the imputa
| ton of desire to iusist upon so narrow
and vicious an Interpretation. In our
judgment, the EXPIRE ssion ''yotes actually
| cast" of necessity, 6esiguates the votes le-
gallY cast, and, as a cons6 quence of such
| votes. only did we desire TO secure S fair
and impartial canvass. We beg leave to
say, therefore, that you are mistaken in the
| belief that we sought undulY to narrow the
basis on which we invited your co-opera-
tive action, and you are no less in error in
attTibuting To us a purpose to Interfere with
the legally constituted authorities OF this
State in the discharge of their duties,
TO claim rights aud to arrogate to our
selves the powers which We do
not possess. In writing our let
ter We were fully aware that both
the organization aud the action whether
| III iicisl or ministerial of the re-
turning board of Louisiana were beyond
authoritative control from without and that
it would be the heighth of arrogance and
folly 10 attempt 10 alter the laws of Stale
OF which we are not citizens or to
obtrude our Interpretation of these laws
upon those whose duty it is to administer
shem, but We had supposed nevertheless
that there was an influence which might be
rghtfully exerted even by citizens of this
republic who arc strangers in this State and
we bad taken it for granted that your pres
ence an response to the suggestion of the
| nress was 8 racnonitinn of this fact we b "a