The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1877-07-05

notice ofthe atrocious frauds perpetrated
by them, but they excluded the proofs Of
their corruption which the Democratic
counsel held in their hands and offered
to exhibit. These Commissioners cho'
ked off the evidence, and smothered II as
remorselessly as Wells and his associates
suppressed Democratic returns, And
this they put on the express ground that
to them it was all one whether the action
of these boards was fraudulent or not,
They would suffer no proof of corruption
to invalidate the right claimed bya Hayes
man to put in the vote of a State for his
candidate.
This monstrous and uncomfortable out
rage was resisted to the utmost. All OF
the seven implored and protested against
it. Judge Clifford, the President OF the
Commission, laid ii down as maxim OF
common law that fraud vitiates whatever
it touches, and proved it undeniably. He
might have proved more. 1t is not only
maxim Of the common law; 1t belongs
TO all countries and all ages; no code can
claim it exclusively; it pervades all sys-
TENS of jurisprudence; il has its home in
every honest heart; it is the universal
sentiment of all just men; It applies to all
human dealings Judge Field looked in
the face of the majority, and told them
plainly that their disregard of this great
principle was as shocking in morals as
II was unsound in law" and added: 1T
is elementary knowledge that fraud viii
ates all proceedings, even the most sol.
emn, that no form of words, no amount oi
ceremony, no solemnity of proceeding,
can shield it from exposure, or protect
itsstructure from assault and destruction"
But the eight were as deaf as adders to
the voice of reason and justice. They
would not permit the fraud to be assault
ed, much less destroyed. They stood
over it to shield it, protect and save it,
interposing the broad egis of their au-
thority to cover it tagainst every attack.
The eight persistently denied their
power or that of Congress, to do what
they were commanded by the law to do
that is, decide who were duly appoint
ed. They would only decide that certain
persons were named as electors by Re-
turning Board.
Thlmble.Rlgging Florida Out.
They insisted that the Returning Board
certificate must be received with all the
honors; to question its verify would be
usurration upon State rights, which they
(the eight were most careful to preserve
intact and unimpaired, "But" said they
"if Returning Board behaves unfaith-
fully, the State herself, by her own au-
thorities, must see to it and correct this
wrong" Thereupon came Florida, and
showed that she had in fact made the
correction. All departments of her gov
ernment-her Legislature, Courts and
Executive-had at different times exam
ined ard revised the action of the Re-
turning Board pronounced it false, fraud
ulent and void; declared that the Tilden
electors were duly appointed, and left
the Hayes candidates without shred of
authority to vote for the State. There
stood the State herself upright before the
august commission, with all the evidence
in her hand, protesting against the fraud
and demanding that no vote should be
received except the vote of her own cleo
tors duly appointed by her people. But
the commission answered that under the
circumstances of this case she had no
right to defend herself against the fraud
of Returning Board any more than she
had to be defended by the Federal au-
thoritles. Whatever she might do, or
desire, or resolve upon, the great fraud
was her master, and she must submit. So
it appeared, after all the fine speeches
about State rights, that Florida had but
one right-the right to be cheated out of
her vote by the same knaves who had
already robbed her of her property. The
right was sacred and intangible, and the
commission promptly put her in posses
sion of il,