Litchfield enquirer., 1876-12-21

Ing Board commenced the canvass of the electoral vote, the candidates for electors on the Democratic ticket presented pro. test against it's jurisdiction over the sub. ject, or is canvass of the votes relating to the sa'p.'. This protest was snmmarily overruieu by tue board, without affordine an opportunity for argument. No legal proposition in our opinion is clearer than that the board was mistaken as to its pow. CTS, and that it had nothing whatever to do with the electoral vote. The Consti. tuition of the United States declares:
 ''Each State shall appoint, in such man. ner as the Legislature thereof may di. rect, number of electors equal to the whole number of Senators and Repre-. sentatives to which the State may be en titled in the Congress, but no Senator ol flee of trust or profit under the United States, shall appointed an elector."
 The Legislature of Louisiana has either directed the manner in which the cleo tors in that State shall be appointed or Ii has not. The Election law of 1872 and amendments, under which the Returning Board Is created and acts, makes no pro vision as to the manner of appointing electors of President and Vice-President, whether by the Legislature or by vote of the people, nor whether by the State at large or by Congressional districts, nor does 1t contain any provisions as to the qualifications of electors, the place where they are to meet, nor for filling vacances. Section Il of that act declares as fol- lows:
 ''That this act shall take effect from and after its passage, and that all others on the subject of election laws be and the same are hereby repealed"
 The report then gives extracts from the law of 1870 which provides for the can. wasting of the vote for presidential elec- tors by the governor in presence of other State officers. It then proceeds as fol lows:l -s. ..-a rr-~e--, T. .-.-..
 It is immaterial, so far as affects the jurisdiction of the Returning Board whether the act of 1870, relating to the appointment of Presidential electors, is repealed or not. If repealed, there is no law in Louisiana for the appointment of Presidential electors; if not repealed, then the canvass of the returns cast for such electors must be made by the Governor, in the presence of the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, judge of the dis trict in which the seat of government may be established, or any two of them, as re- quired by the act of 1870. and in making such canvass they would be confined to an entertainment of the persons elected, according to the retnrns, without author lty to reject votes. In no event can the Returning Board have jurisdiction of the returns of the electors of President and Vice-President, and their canvass of the same is therefore nullity and entitled to no respect from any one. In another as- pect it may be important to determine whether the act of 1870 is repealed, for if it Is, the statutes of the State provide no mode of filling vacancies in the Electoral College, ana it is understood that two of the electoral candidates on the Republi- can ticket held offices of trust or profit under the United States at the time of the election; and, could not, therefore, be appointed electors.
 Other objections were made to the in. risdiction of the Returning Board; that it was anti-repnblican: that it was in con. fiict with the Constitu ion of that State, in that it undertook to exercise judicial functions, and in that, with only four members, it was not legally constituted
 The Election law declares that five per- sons, to be elected by the Senate from all political parties, shall be the returning officers for all elections in the State, Q majority of whom shall constitute quo- rum and have power to make the returns of all elections. In case of any vacancy by death, resignation or otherwise, by either of the board, the vacancy sIaU be filled by the residue of the Board of Re. turning Officers.
 The present board consists of only four members, to wit. J. Madison Wells T. c. Anderson, G. Casanave and Louls M Ken ner, one of whom, T. c. Anderson, was a candidate for the State Senate at the re- cent election on the Republican ticket All are members of the Republican party. They are the same persons who constitu- ted the Returning Board in 1874, and can- vassed the election returns of that year, and of whom a committee of the House of Representatives of the United States, composed of Messrs Hoar, Wheeler, Fry, Foster, Phelps, Marshall and Potter, af. ter careful investigation of it's action, said:
 "We are constrained to declare that the action of the Returning Board, on the whole, was arbitrary, unjust, and in our opinion illegal"
 The vacancy in the board, occasioned by the resignation of Oscar Arroyo, in December, 1874, has never been filled, although repeated applications by the of the Democratic Con- party of the State and it's candi- dates have been made to the board to fill the same. The foregoing committee of the House of Representatives, comment ing on the failure of the board to fill the vacancy in 1874. when It occurred. said:
 " our committee think the law as to the of the board was not com piled with"
 If this view be correct, the board is not so constituted as to have authority to act at all
 The entire clerical force appointed by the board at it's present session to com. pile the votes cast is also Republican, and the board refused an application to ap- point any clerk or to allow any person of the opposite party to be present to wit ness the compilation, and even excluded the United States supervisors of election under the act of Congress.
 The Election law of Louisiana is here set forth in detail, and the report pro- ceeds:]
 Under section of the foregoing pro- visions. it will be seen that the board of returning officers is similar to that of State canvassing boards in most of the other States of the Unlon- simply "to and compile the statements of the of eIection," and proclaim the result; and thls is the whole duty of the Returning Board, unless the commis. sioners of election or the supervisor of some parish imposes upon it further du- ty. as provided in sections 26 and 43. In commenting upon the powers of the Returning Board, we avail ourselves of the able argument of Judge Spoford, made before it.
 No one has the right to attack the re- turns from any poll, ward or parish in the State on account of undue influence, or other acts of violence, un- less the foundation therefore be first laid by the statement of the Commissioners of Election at tue particular poll, if the acts occurred on eIrction day, or of the Super visor of Registration of the parish if they occurred during registration, as provided in sections 26 and 43 The board has no egal authority to receive or give effect to "a 1f l.. n II :.