The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1876-12-16
A CONCLUSIVE CASE.

board, was published IN inc aiSc ualIy pa
pers on Monday. Its length makes its repro
duction in our columns incoDvenent, but We
need only give It's substance to show that i
makes out perfectly conclusive case agains
the board, if not against the body OF the re-
publican leaders, of one of the most trea, on
able and wicked frauds ever attempted agains
a free people.
The case, as stated by the committee, IN
brief is thls The constitution of the L. 5
SAYS: Each state shall appoint, IN such
manner as the Legislature thereof may direct
number of electors equal to the whole mum
Der of senators and representatives TO which
the state may be entitled in the congress
Under this provision the Legislature of Louisi
ana, in 1863 passed a law, directing that cleo
tors shall be voted for by general ticket, las
in this and other States and that the vote fOI
such electors shall be canvasscd by the Gov.
ernor, Secretary of State and Attorney Gen
eral In 1870 the legislature passed another
law, establishing the famous returning board
which has since then made itself so Infamous
and repeating ali other election laws then in
| force, including the above in reference to
presidential electors, and enactng no pew
law on the subject Of electors; SO that, in
point of fact, there is no law of the state now
in force under which presidential electors
can be elected. But supposing tine sections
of the law of 1868 on that subject not TO have
been repealed, then the only law IN the state
on the subject makes the Governor, Secretary
of State and Attorney General the only re-
turning board so far as electors are Concern
ed and supposing the law of 1868 to be re.
pealet, then there is no returning board in
the state that can either take cOgnzanee of or
pass upon the vote for electors.
But setting ash lie entirely these fatal legal
defects, and supposing the Infamous return
ing board created in 1870 to have full jars.
dIcton of the case, what are the provisions OF
the law by which they are to be governed :
The report sets out the law IN full, but it is
sufficient to say, that itrequires the rdurning
board to consist of five members, selected fr0m
all polU5cal parties; and il "A vacancy occurs
in the board, that vacancy must be filed be-
fore the board can proceed TO act. The board
Is TO meet ten days after the election, DR. soon
er if the returns are all in, and then are to OPP.
en- the returns and canvass the vote Now
the elections must be conducted in ills way
There is in each parish, appointed by the
governor, supervisor Of registration, under
J 4 a.,
istered. On election day, there are in each
election precinct, commissioners, also ap.
pointed by the governor, who cOndlct the
election, receive the votes, &c. AT tn, close
of the polls, the votes are counted, and then
the counted ballots are put back INTO tie box
and the box, tally sheets, and fOOtings are
sent to the parish supervisor, also appointed
| by the governor, who ioots up the returns
from all the voting places IN his parish, and
then carefully puts up his footing together
with all the tally sheets of his parish,ln pack.
age securely tied up and sealed and sends 1t by
mail to the state returning board Ii thae
has been any intimidation or lawessncss N
any precinct or voting place, the commission.
ers, after footing up the tally sheets and stat
ing the result of the vote are TO annex a STATE
mcnt of the nature and extent of such intim-
datlon, attaching such statement to the returr +;
and if there has been any intimidation Or
bulldozing IN the parish, not mentioned y
any Of the precinct commissioners, the parish
supervisor adds a statement of the facts to his
a.,
These returns, thus duly made up by tie
parish supervisors, are sent 10 the returning
board by mail, and the board, when convened
Pursuant to law, are TO proceed to opcr, aid
make up, first, the footings of ali returnsto
which no statement of intimidation or "bul-
doing is attached, and these are compile
and no further to be touched; and then, Sc
Onuly, they are TO examine those to whrh
statements of Intimidation and rioting ae
attached, and in reference to these they areto
take evidence and get at the facts and decile
pretty much as they please.
Now the strong points in the case are, thlt,
/. The board did not consist of five membe's,
made up from all political parties, but of fpr
members only, made up from one politid.l
party, the board fatty refusing to fill tie
vacancy.
. The returns were not sealed up by tie
parish supervisors and sent 10 the board m
mediaely by mail; but many of them wee
brought by the supervisors themselves or on
er persons, and kept for days in the city pf
New Orleans and tempered with before beiIg
entrusted To the hoard
3. To not one of the returns, either precint
or parish, from any of the five alleged bull.
dozed parishes, was there a line or scratchpf
the pen attached, l,gng intimidation; aid
to SO few others were such statements attadl-
ed that had all of them been thrown out, tie
tact would not have changed the result asio
"a single officer voted for On tins poin, tie
committee are perfectly positive, for THY
=.