Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1877-11-28
THE ELECTORAL FRAUD
JUDGE BLACKS REPLY TO MIR.
r.. w. sToUGHTON.
Defense ofMr. Buchanan's Administration.
THE sTouGHToN ARTICLE IN THE "NoRTE
AMERICAN REVIEW 'FoR OCTOBER
PLAINLY DEALT WITH.

AMERICAN REVIEW FOR OCTOBER
PLAINLY DEALT WITH.
[Coneluded from last reek.1
| am told, and incline TO believe,
that you did not write this part of the
article which passes for yours. Some
smart carpet.bagger put 1t together,
and gave it to you, to try how much
ho could make you disgrace yourself
for his amusement or his malice, and
yon put your name to it without know.
ing whether it was right or wrong.
This relieves you from the imputation
of deliberate ialschood but why, oh !
why were you silly enough to become
the catspaw OF such a miscbievous
monkey?
| have spoken mainly of the Louis
lana case, because that is the one of
which you ought to have some special
knowledge. You have, however, gone
into Florida, and tried to defend the
decision 10 favor Of that fraud. As
might have been expected, you make
bungle of it. will re.state the points
as held by the commission so tar as
you attempt TO indicate them.
Processing to vindicate the great
principle Of State rights, the commits
sioners forced upon Florida electors
whom the State had rejected when she
made her own choice, and against
whom all the departments other gov
ernment had protested. The fraudulent
nullity manufactured by two canvass
ing officers was allowed to outweigh
the will OF the State as expressed by
her executive, her Legislature and her
courts, as well as the solemn voice of
the people in their primary capacity.
The commission invested the can
vassing officers with Judicial authority,
and held that their certificate was the
decree of q tribunal. 1t is perfectly
certain that by the law of the State
the canvassing officers have no such
power. The act Of the Legislature
does not give it to them, and the Su-
preme Court Of the State had decided
In the most emphatic manner that
their duties were purely ministerial.
Tbecommissioners went tanotherstep.
Two clerks being metamorphosed into
judges contrary to the law of the
State, it was next maintained that
their fraudulent act was as good as an
honest judgment, and this was against
the law of the whole civilized world,
All the questions flaw and fact con-
troverted before the commissioners,
with reference to the vote of Florida,
had been adjudicated by State court
Of competent jurisdiction in cause be-
tween the same parties. 1t was not
open TO another hearing. But the
eight commissioners, reckless of their
plain duty, or not understanding it,
though warned by their brethren,
made decision Numerically opposite,
and the fraud that had been legally
crushed was restored TO another life.
1t might be possible for very inge-
nious man to gloss over these anon
alous rulings with some appearance Of
plausibility. But your argument only
sets them in worse light. Your weak
and awkward defense Of them will con-
vince any intelligent man who reads
il that they are wholly indefensible.
the commissioners were not asham-
ed of their errors before, they must
have blushed when they saw them
by such twaddle as yours.
You are naturally offended by my
reference TO the conduct Of Mr.. Sher-
mans visiting committee, of which you
were one. You. call it an attack but !
| meant it for the best defense wasable
to fui nish; and will not now be pro.
voked to utter one harsh word about
them. ! am willing to admit that
when ] said they saided and abetted
By euery mednsm their pouer, the per.
petration of the Great Fraud / used
too strong an expression.
Their case is too serious TO be dealt
with lightly. So far as depends on
me, | will not suffer them to be preju.
diced by your bludering advocacy.
But they have hurt themselves very
much by declaring insincerely and un-
truly that they went 10 Louisiana on
ly 10 icitness the count of the electoral
vote by the returning board, Nobody
believes that they would drop their ai-
fairs at home, start Immediately after
the election travel all the way 10 Lou
isiana and stay,there, at great expense,
for month, merely that they might be
present as spectators when Wells, An
derson and the two mulattocs would
cipher up the returns. No; they
meant business Of some kind, good or
evil, and evil is always suspected Of
that which covcrsitself under a sham,
Another pretcnce Of theirs fails to
bear examination. They said they
could not advise IN honest count or
rcprobate o false one without fear Of
offence TO the returning officers. This
extreme dclicacy Is all simulated.
Nothing could be more ridiculous than
the idea that the committee was re-
strained by polteness from interfering
to stop the fraud, If they wanted II
stopped. They could have crushed Il
with a word, If they had simply said
that an honest count must be made Of
all the legal votes actually cast, and
that no man should, with their con
sent, bc recognized, protected or re-
warded for falsiiying or fraudulently
returns, the conspiracy would
have dissolved that instant, Their re-
Iusal to do this or something equiva-
lent, when pressed and solicited by
The Democratic committee, needs to
be vindicated by some better reason
than any that has yet been given,
They not only did not prevent the
Great Fraud when they might have
done il SO easily, but they encouraged
Il, Intentionally or uninteptionally by
telling the copspirators that power 10
the citizens Of the State
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