The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1877-04-27
FRIDAY, P r 81, 1877.
NOW AND THEN.

Vl0uB, Jne uemOCrhLlC governor anu COunCu
had made a sweeping removal of republican
office holders and it was feared that the re-
turn of the republicans to power would be
a signal for a general system Of retaliation,
and 30 it was determined, if possible, to
prevent a republican control in both
branches of the legislature-the election of
a republican governor being inevitable. The
retiring governor and council, therefore,
set their wits to work, and finding that the
constitution and laws required votes to be
inscribed with the full christian names of
candidates, determined to find a way out OF
the difficulty by a forced construction Of
this clause.
1t appeared that in one of the senatorial
districts "Natt" Head had received a ma
jority of all the votes, whereas, as was
claimed and was the fact, his actual name
was Nathaniel" although he wa never
known by any other name than Matt"
and never, himself, used or wrote his name
otherwise. In another district, there were
a score or two of votes given for a clergy
man who had resided within the state less
than a year and was, therefore, ineligible;
but counting these votes as valid the result
would have been no choice, leaving the
senate, when organized, to fill the vacancy.
With the votes for "Natt" Head treated as
blanks and the riext highest candidate
"counted in" and the votes for the ineligi-
BILE candidate, also, rejected and the demo-
crat having the largest number of votes
for with these votes not counted at all, the
democratic candidate would have a MAORI
ty over all-also counted iD," the demo-
Gratis would have a majority of the elected
members of the senate, would control the
organization of that body, and fill all va
cancies where there was no choice of a
senator.
Two years before-in 1S73-the supreme
court of New Hampshire had decided that
the governor and council, in counting the
votes and determining the result, had only
a ministerial duty to perform and ''could
" not go behind the returns of the town
" clerks" And prior to that time, in an
other case, had used the following lam
guage: "The constitution has indeed pro-
" vided that the governor and council
" shall examine the returns of the votes
q" and summon such as appear to be elected
I" to attend and take their seats. But the
/" examination is merely for the purpose Of
"providing for the organization of the
" government by the attendance of such
90 persons as from the inspection of the re-
" turns appear to have been elected. The
I" governor and council never presumed
" upon an inquiry into the validity of q
/" senatorial election, nor could such an in
g quiry, were it to be instituted by that
"body, have any binding effect" The
decisions of the courts in nearly every
other state in the Union, where there has
been any decision, as well as the invariable
practice; has been the same way; but, how
ever it may have been in other states, these
two decisions ought to have been conclus-
i've in New Hampshire.
Notwithstanding this authoritative con-
struction of the constitution and laws by
the highest judicial tribunal of the state,
the democratic governor and council as
sumed to themselves judicial powers, decid-
ed that there was no such person as 'Natt"
Head, treated the votes given him as null
tiles, declared his democratic competitor
elected, and issued to him a 10 at
tend and take his seat as a senator. They
pursued the same course in the other dis
tiict, rejecting the vtoes cast for the al
legged ineligible candidate, declaring the
democratic candidate elected, and issuing a
summons to him to attend and take his
seat in the senate. The court was appealed
to for a construction of the powers of the
governor and council, but the court, being
also democratic, waited until after the SEN
ate was fully organized and the vacancies
filled, and then declined to answer the
questions because the senate, being in ses-
sion, was by the constitution the sole judge
of the election and qualification of mem
bers.
JNdAo Pooo anu, L II 1Ot Is 4NCH Ildlnp-
shire has a republican governor and coun-
Gil and a republican supreme court. An
election for representatives in congress was
holden, all the other states having previ-
ously had their elections, and on account
of the nearly equal division of political
parties in congress, it wa important, to
both parties, TO secure as many representa-
tives as possible. In the first district, it
appeared that one Crank" Jones, demo-
crat, had received a majority of the votes
and was, therefore, elected, but it is
c~laimed-and the claim is apparently we'll
founded-that there is no such person as
" Franz" Jones, but that Franklin F."
Jones wal the name of the democratic can
didate and was the person for whom the
voters intended to vote. Application was,
thereupon, made to the governor and coun-
Gil to apply the rule established in the
"Natt" Head case, treat the Frank =
Jones votes as utilities, count in his repub-
lican opponent, and give him the certificate
of election.
Instead of following a bad democratic
precedent, when it would do the party
good, as is too often the case, the governor
and council referred the matter to the SUI
preme court and, as under the constitution
they had the right to do, asked their
opinion as to their power and duty. The
court replies as follows;
1t is settled by the decisions of the court
in % N. II. 473, GAL, that the constitution
of New Hampshire requires the governor
and council to ascertain, not who are
chosen, but who appear, by the returns, to
be chosen state senators to find the ap-
parent result of the election, not by acting
as judges Of the election, but, 30 far as the
result appears in the returns, to find it by
arithmetici to make q computation, NOT Of
the votes that would have been cast in a
fair election, nor Of the legal votes that
xuara oaaf NOR Of tho yOtaa lauol - ~