Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1876-11-17

voting to materially change the result OF
election, then, and not otherwise, said re-
turning officers shall canvass and compile
the vote of such poll or voting place with
those previously canvassed and compiled.
But if the said returning officers shall not
be fully satisfied thereof it shall be their
duty to examine further testimony in regard
thereto, and to this end they shall have
power to send for persons and papers. 1t,
after such examination, the said returning
officers shall be convinced that said riot,
tumult, acts of violence, intimidation,
armed disturbance, bribery or corrupt
influences did not materially interfere with
the purity and freedom of the election at
such poll or voting place or did prevent
sufficient number of the qualified Electors
therest from registering and voting to
materially change the result of the elec-
ton, the said returning officers shall not
canvass or compile the statement of the
vote of such poll or voting place, but
shall exclude from their returns, provided
that any person interested in said election
by reason of being a candidate for office
shall be allowed a hearing before said re-
turning officers upon making application
within the time allowed for the forwarding
of the returns Of said election. Hence, if
there were any facts requiring the judg-
ment of the board upon the validity of
any election or returning as affected by
such frauds or violence, it would be a mani
fest interference with State rights and To-
cal government for persons like our
selves, without official rights, to attempt to
influence or control its judicial election.
Had a corresponding board in the State of
New York in 1868 been authorized to pass
upon the fraudulent return of votes of
= ~ ce NJ VOL hat op1 n
delegation Of citizens of Louisiana, how
ever respectable, attempted to influence
its judicial action upon the facts presented
to it under laws of that State, such at
tempt would have been uni
versaily condemned If the duties
of the cauvassing board Of
Louisiana are merely ministerial or clerical
as in the case Of any officer charged by
law with the duty of verifying and declar-
ing the result Of any election or investiga- !
ton with no discretion, and when the
President of the Senate counts and de- |
clares the votes of the electors of the sew
erai States in the election of President and |
Vice President under the Constitution of
the United States, different case would be I
presented.
1t is, in our judgment, vital to the pre-
servation of the Constitution and liberty |
that the habit of obedience to the forms of |
law should be s9dulously inculcated and |
and that the resort TO extra con-
,titutional modes of redress for even actual
grievances should be avoided and con-
lemned as revolutionary, disorganizing
md tending to disorder aud anarchy.
To reduce the whole question therefore
o the mere clerical duty of counting the
Totes actually cast, as proposed by you, iH
distinction from votes legally cast and
'eturned, irrespective of the question
whether they are fraudulently or violently
.ast or otherwise vitiated, involved
notification of the provisions of the laws
# Louisiana, which have already been ad-
as valid by the Supreme Court,
nd would be wholly unjustiiable here as
veil as in any other State of the Union
which had provided laws to protect the
lights of voters and the purity of the bal
7our proposition for conf8rehco a..
,asis. Very respectfully,
John Sherman, Stanley Matthews, J. A.
Garfield, VIM. d. Kelly, J. A. KassOn, E.
". Stouehton, Q. living Ditty, J. II. Van
Allen, Eugene Hale, Nj. S. Quay, VIII.
Crumback, Edward f. Noyes, Job E. stew
enson, John Coburn, Lew Wallace, J. NJ.
futile, w. A. McGrew, J. W. Chapman,
W. r. Smith, A. Taylor, s. Z, Haven, J.
NJ. Beardsley, G. B. Farwell, Sidney Clarke,
and J. G. Hilson.
To the Honorable John NJ. Palmer,
Lewis V. Bogy, Lyman TrumbuIl, JAS. o.
W. r. Morrison, and others,
present at the request of the Chairman of
the National Democratic Committee.
MISCELLANEOUS.
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. l6.-The Secretary /
Of State of Oregon will count the vote and |
issue commission to Postmaster Watts |
unless restrained by the Supreme Court of |
the State. If necessary a writ will be |
asked for.