The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1877-03-07

Hoadley, Of Ohio, Judge Ashbel Green, Of New
Jersey, and Richard 7. Merrick, of Washington.
Judge Hoadley insisted that the question Of
Humphreys eligibility turns upon the accep-
lance of his resignation by Judge Woods Of the
United States circuit court for the district of
Florida. Humphreys asserts that he resigned
Oh the fifth Of October, and that Judge Woods
accepted his resignation, and designated the
collector of the port of Pensacola as the proper
person to fulfill the duties of the Office until his
SUCCESSOR should be appointed. At the time
Humphreys resignation WAS sent to Judge
Woods, the latter was in Newark, Ohio, and
from that point wrote to Humphreys. acknowl-
cdging the receipt of his resignation, and trans
hitting to him his acccptation of the same.
The point made by Democratic counsel il that
the appointment of shipping commissions is
made by the circuit court that Judge Woods
is not the circuit court that the court is not
ignation and the acceptation thereof hos never
been spread upon tho record of the court, and
that the successor Of Humphreys has never
been appointed by the court. The other coun-
sci on the same side discussed generally the
value as evidence Of the three different ccrtif-
Gates made by the Republican and Democratic
electors, and dwelt at some length upon the
decision of the supreme court of that State on
. mandamus case brought by Drew against
Stearns, and also the quo marranto proceedings
instituted by the Democratic electors.
Judge Shellabarger and Mr.. Evarts followed
for the Republicans, and Mr.. Merrick closed for
the democrats. Judge Shellabarger observed
that the electors exercised an act Of govern
mcnt which necessarily terminated on the day
when they cast their votes. Mr.. Evarts dis
cussed the eligibility question and the question
of validity in the Tilden electors.
The discussion by the members Of the COM
mission in secret session is said to have been
very spirited, and two or three times a great
deel of feeling was manifested. The Republican
members desired to have the decision of the
commission so drawn as to cover all the ques-
tions which might arise i'll the Louisiana and
Oregon cases, and thus practically settle those
cases before they were referred by the joint
convention of the two houses. 1t was against
this proposition that the Democrats made their
desperate opposition.
There was no direct vote upon the question
of the eligibility of Humphreys, as Thurman,
Bayard and Clifford indicated their belief that
his resignation was effected by his tender of it
and the acceptance thereof by the judge of the
United States circuit court.
The first resolution on which the commission
ruled was offered by Gen. Hunton, and simply
resolved that the ilden electors (naming them)
had been legally chosen, and that their votes
should be counted for Samuel j. Tildcn and
Thomas H. Hendricks. This was voted down,
the vote being as follows:
Yeas-Messrs. Abbott, Bayard, Clifford, Field,
Hunton, Payne and Thurman.
Nays-Mcssrs. Bradley, Edmunds, Freling-
huysen, Garfield, Hoar, Miller, Morton and
Strong.
Then Mr.. Garfield offered q resolution to the
effect that the Hayes electors (naming them
had been legally chosen, and that their votes
and William A. Wheeler, and that Senator Ed
munds, Justice Miller and Justice Bradley be n
committee to prepare the decision of the COM
mission to be communicated to the joint con-
yention of the two houses. h resolution was
adopted by a vote of eight to seven, the eight
Republicans voting aye and the seven Demo-
Gratis nay.
The commission then took q recess for one
hour, and Oh reassembling the decision WAS
read and signed by the eight commissioners
who voted for Garicld's resolution. The seven
require them to do 80. The decision Of the
commission sets forth the resolution of Garfield,
and 4 brief statement of the reasons therefor,
which in substance are as follows:
F~irst-That the commission cannot entertain
evidence outside of the certificate of the COVER
nor rs founded upon the determination of the
board of State canvassers.
SecOnd-That the action of q State by it's leg
~islaturc or court, taken after the electors had
cast their votes, canno be considered Gs deter
mining who were appointed electors.
Third-Thc evidence presented docs not
show that Humphreys was q United States ship
ping commissioner on the seventh Of November.
In considering the case Of Louisiana, referred
to the Electoral commission by the joint con-
%yention, Justice Clifford announced the three
certificates that were before the commission
under objection. For convenience, he said,
they had been numbered one, two and three,
and objcctorS to numbers one and three would
first be heard.
The opening argument ON the part of the
Democratic DIRECTORS against the reception OF
the Kellogg certificates was made by Senator
Mcdonald. 1t was an analysis Of the laws OF
Louisiana, having or claimed to have q bearing
on the powers of the returning board.
Following Senator Mcdonald, Representative
jerks made an argument on the same side. He
illuminated the important points and presented
all analysis of the action of the returning board
coudcmning them for excluding the vote Of
twenty-five polling places in order that the vote
of that State might be returned for Hayes.
Mcssrs. Hurlbut and Howe, on the part OF
the Republican electors. claimed that the gov
u n IL LA SuSSJ 40 - Veo
upon the action of the returning Loard, was
conclusive, Just al had been held in the Florida
case. They said the Kellogg government had
been recognized by the Executive and Legisla-
two departments of the general government,
and therefore they claimed that John Mem
cry's certificate to the return Of the Tilden cleo
tors had no more w light than if it purportcd
to come from an antcdiluvian monarch.
Ex-senator Carpenter, of Wisconsin, opened
for the Democratic electors, in arguing for the
whole case. He protested as he opened that
he did not appear as counsel for Samuel J.
Tilden. He had voted against him once. and
if this commission decided that there had been
10 election, should vote against him again.
But he was here as the counsel for ten thousand
voters who had been disfranchised by fraud in
Louisiana and whose case had been referred to
this tribunal to inquire who and what persons
had been duly appointed electors in that State.
This tribunal he argued, was in the nature of q
legislative commission Of investigation and
had neither judicial nor executive functions,
for its conclusions were all subject to the re-
visionary action Of Congress. 1t was created
like those commissions out Of which British
legislation had grown to correct such frauds as
was pceping out of the ballot box i'll England
and were appealing for triumph in this tribunal.
He made all analysis of the ~collusivc acts Of
Louisiana and declared that the State had
failed to provide the requisite law and its
electoral vote must, therefore, be blotted out
of the electoral college. Mr.. Carpenter said
that Congress ignored the board four years
ago and declared if it was n fraud then it was
a fraud now which this tribunal could not
~vitalize.
Mr.. Carpenter spoke some minutes in support
of the proposition laid down by him that the
Presidential electors are Federal and not State
officers. He read from the State constitution of
Louisiana several sections asserting that they
clearly limit all judicial power to the courts
tine judicial powcr-conferred upon the return
ing board must be regarded as fully unconsti-
tutional. Mr.. Carpenter said they would show,
if allowed by the commission, that not n single
parish in Louisiana sent to the returning board
any evidence in the form prescribed by law for
the purpose of throwing out votes on the
ground of intimidation and violence. He read
from the report OH Louisiana signed by Messrs.
Hoar, Wheeler and Frye. certain passages. He
said that Mr.. Wheeler would be, he thought,
very much surprised to find himself counted in
by n board which he had joined in condcmning
for doing a precisely similar thing: Mr.. Car
pentcr's closing appeal to I'D commission was
DO not attempt to stauncli blood with fraud,
and invite the overthrow of our institutions"
Mr.. Trumbull then offered the evidence on
fbo nouncrafic si1o.