Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1876-12-23

IS Such a statement so annexed and
IT sent BY mail is the only kind Of state
: meut the board can notice at all SO as
}, to institute an inquiry into intimida-
: ton, etc. The intent of the law is
e plain and indisputable that all the su-
J. pervisors should be engaged simultan-
: eously in their several parishes in COM
s pleting their returns and statements on
t, the spot where the election was held,
: without communication with each
r other or with persons beyond the par
4 ish, and before they can obtain infor-
g nation of what has been done in other
j, parishes or of the general result.
q And the reason for these minute,
J, mandatory and imperative provisions
l is equally obvious. 1t was precisely to
t shut out from consideration by the
Returning Board all such e1 post ftIcto
complaints as have been trumped up
and illegally thrust in there at the last
moment by Mr.. Kellogg, Mr.. Packard,
Mr.. Brewster, and even by some of the
Z supervisors themselves. The law has
6 not been complied with; most of the
supervisors who have put in complaints
have not written them at the proper
time and In the proper parish; they
have not annexed them to their returns
sealed and sent by mail; they have
brought down their returns to this
city with no statement so annexed, but
have patched up statements here at an
improper time and place. They could
onlyfulfill their duties according to law
by finishing their returns, attached
statements and all, and mailing them,
sealedup in one envelope, at one oftheir
parish post-ofices within the time re-
quired by law.
1t is appalling to think that state
ments thus made contrary to law, af- |
ter the result of the election through
out the State was known with approx
innate accuracy, made as an after |
thought by disappointed candidates |
and their friends, with an evident view |
to cast q drag-net of suspicion over |
parishes enou1hto reverse the emphat-
ic verdict of the people, made, too, at
so late day and SO great distance /
from many of the parishes struck at,
that it is impossible to have any fair
investigation, shOHld receive consid-
Grafton.
Commenting upon the foregoingpro-
vision of the Louisiana statute, Messrs.
George f. Hoar, w. A. Wheeler and
w. 2. Frye, in their report, made
February %, 1875, said
Upon this statute we are all clearly
of the opinion that the Returning
Board has no right to do anything ex-
cept to canvass and compile the re-
them by local officers, except in cases
where they were accompanied by the
certificates of the supervisor or COM
missioner provided in the third Sec
! ton. In such cases, the last sentence
of that section shows that It was ex-
pected that they would ordinarily ex-
ercise the grave and delibate duty of
investigating charges of riot, tumult,
bribery, or corruption, on hearing of
the parties interested in the office. 1t
never could have been meant that this
board, of its own motion, sitting in
New Orleans, at distance from the
place of voting, and without notice,
could decide the right ofpersons claim
ing to be elected"
"There is no more dangerous form
of self-delusion than that which induce
men in high places of public trust to
violate law, to redress or prevent what
they deem public wrongs"
These references to the report of
the Congressional committee upon the
action Of this same Returning Board
in 1874, and its construction OF the
statute, are made that the public may
know how this board and its rulings
regarded by prominent gentlemen, one
Of them a candidate for vice president
at the recent election, at O time when
its decision did rot affect a piesidon-
tial election.
We regard it as indisputabIe that
the Returning Board has DO jurisdic-
tion to inquire into and reject the re-
turns for any voting place in the State
on account of intimidation, acts of
violence, or other cause mentioned in
the statute, unless the foundation for
such inquiry aud rejection is laid at the
time and in the manner provided by
the statute.
In no other case did the supervisor
of registration deliver to the clerk of
the court of his parish, as required by
section 26, duplicate statement, made
and sworn to by the commissioners of
election, and corroborated by three cit
izens, of any riot, tumult, acts of vio-
lence, intimidation and disturbance,
UIlUGII VI AnAuCulGaf Abh VI
the facts relating thereto, occurring on
the day Of election, nor any like state
ment of his own that any such acts oc-
Cured during the time of registration
or the revision of registration. When
the returns were opened by the Re-
turning Board such statements were
found among the papers in few in
stances, but not In relation to the par
- r. - n...ak,en Ml-.Lg..nu |
East Baton Rouge, East or West Fe-
liclana, aud such were the manifest eff
forts on the part of the officers of
election to conceal their acts and con-
fuse and mislead persons interested in
proper Investigation of the facts re-
lating to the election, that it was i'm
possible TO determine whether any
such statements had been made by the
commissioners of election or the su-
pervisor of registration, and attached
to the returns of the supervisor in any
parish in the State at the time and in ,
the manner required by section 70 and ,
43.
This fact leaves the Returning Board !
without jurisdiction to inquire into
acts of violence, &C., at the election or /
during registration, aud with no other
duty to perform except to canvass and
compile the votes returned as the re-
turning officers of any other State
would do (; and as the returns opened
by them show majority for the Til
den electors, it ought to be an end Of
all controversy on the subject. But
as the board, in the face of these facts,
has come to the extraordinary conclu-
sion to declare that the Hayes electors
have majority, it is proper TO look
further into its action. Ii
The first meeting of the board at ,
tended by us was held November 70,
at which an application 10 behalf OF
the candidates on the Democrats Con-
servative ticket that all the proceed
ings of the board should be made pub /
Iic' and that interested candidates
should have leave to be present, by
themselves or counsel, at the opening
of the returns, with the right to in
spect the same, was refused, and GER
tain rules were adopted, against several
of which protests were filed, and par
ticularly against rule nine, which de-
clared that:
"Ninth-No eD-pGrte afidavits or
statements shall be received in evil