The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1876-12-28
A PILE FOR REPUBLICANS TO
GNAW.
The Decision of Chief Justice Wilton
in the Wisconsin Case.

To As Editor Of the World.
SIR:-As of peculiar interest at the |
present moment-in view of the existing
status in Florida and Louisiana take
the liberty of sending you report of the
wisconsin case" alluded to in your
columns and in several other of the morn
ing dailies.
At the election held on the sixth day of
November, 1855, Coles bashford and
William A. Barstow were respectively the
Republican and Democratic candidates for
governor of the stats of Wisconsin The
voting was very close, and both candidates
claimed to have been elected. On the
fifteenth day of January, next ensuing,
Barstow, however, succeeded in being
regularly inaugurated at the capitol of the
state as governor, and on the same day
BashfOrd also took the oath of Office. At
that time the supreme bench of the state
was occupied by Edward Y. Wilton as
chief-justice, one of the most eminent
jurists who ever sat on any American
bench. Judge Wilton issued an informa-
ton in the nature of quo warranto, at
the instance of the attorney general, by +.
q. Ryan 1.-THE present chief Justice of Wis
consin, who appeared for Bashford), di-
rected to Barstow, who had then occupied
the gubernatorial chair for one day, COM
handing him to show cause why he occu-
pied such chair-this being the legal
method of bringing the question to test.
For Bashford appeared Jonathan E.
Arnold and the present Ex-senator Matt
Carpenter, at that time a Democrat in
politics and an ardent supporter of Bar
stow.
The arguments of counsel and opinion
of Judge Wilton occupy some two bund.
red and fifty closely printed octave pages
Of the fifth Wisconsin reports, of which
all but fourteen pages are compromised in
the opinion.
Judge Wilton rules principally ~ that
the Office of governor of state is a civil
Office, and an unlawful intrusion thereinto
may be tried, inquired into and corrected
by the supreme court of each state; ~
that while, as a coordinate branch of the
government. the judiciary "a. e. the sup
RENE COURT has no power over-to con-
troll or interfere with-the executive, yet
it has jurisdication over the citizens of
the state to entertain suit for the pos
session Of the Office Of executive, or
against a citizen for usurping that office;
and, 10 entertaining such a proceeding,
1t would have the right to protect the
executive against usurpation; (3) that
since 1t is the election and not any canvass
OF the votes cast, OF any certificate of
any canvassers as to those votes, which
determined the right of citizen to the
executive chair, the court, in the interest
OF the people and as cOnservator OF their
rights, may and will go'behind the certi6-
noNn ~ -. -
didate has been legally elected; that the
canvass and the statements or return of
oanvassers of an election are only pTiBaa
tdcie correct aud may be impeached by
testimony, or, upon quo I0GTTdntO, may
be otherwise judicially inquired into; (4)
that the duty of state canVassers is min
isterial only; it is their Office and duty to
count the vote 9 cast and returned and
to make statement Of the result in their
official capacity; they have no judicial
power to try and determine contest be-
tween disputing candidates or rival claim
ants to Office; neither have they authority
to inquire or 10 hear or receive any evil
dence Of the votes themselves; and finally
(5) that all supplemental returns of votes,
whether from county canvassers, clerks Of
the county, boards of supervisors or town
inspectors OF election, are illegal and in no
case permissible.
This is Tor was at that time) sound Re-
publican law, and Bashford, the Republi-
can candidate, was installed as governor
by the court need not make any ap-
phcation of the law to the present crisis.
But trust that the learned and equit-
able rulings of Chief-Justice Wilton will
still prevail, and that only peace and
goodwill, commercial prosperity, and
above all, justice and the union--a unior
j OF states, equal before the law, and no
occupying each other with bayonets-wil
come out of all this uncertainty and dis
may. JAMES APPLETON MoRoAN
80 Park place, New York. Nov, 20,