The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1877-01-25
The Situation in Columbia.

Ine paCleQt WOrK OI Tue OemOCIatiC
leaders has nowhere been more fruitful
than in the proceedings before Referee
Wilkes, in Columbia. Every precinct
return in the entire State has been criti-
cally examined and compared with the
statements of the County Canvassers, the
-lerical errors have been noted, and the
statement of the entire vote put in such
a shape as to enable the Supreme Court
to make an intelligent decision upon the
questions submitted to it. These proceed
ings by mandamus, as to the State officers,
began Immediately after the election, but
lay in abeyance until the questions con-
nected with the Electoral vote and the
vote for members of the Legislature could
be settled. The prayer of the mandamus
was, that the Board of State Canvassers
be required to compare the returns of the
precinct managers with the, statements of
the County Canvassers, which they had
failed to do. This, by order of the Court,
has been done before Referee Wilkes,
whose report will be ready shortly.
The general result of the reference,
when the first scrutiny ended, was the
election of the Democratic candidates for
Acknowledgement and Treasurer, and the
defeat of the Democratic candidates for
Secretary of State, Adjutant-Gen and
Superintendent of Education. This was
obtained by correcting an error of 1877
votes at McMillan's, in Marion, and of
223 votes at Graham, in Barnwell, where
these votes for the Democratic candidate
for Attorney-General were counted for
the Democratic candidate for Comptroll-
er, and the same number of votes counted
for Attorney-Gen that should have
been counted for Comptroller. The Rol-
lins box is not taken into account; nor
is the disputed Abbeville box. The ex-
clusion Of this last named box, which
gave the Republicans about 400 majority,
is confidently expected, and will elect all
the Democratic candidates. Without
this exclusion only the Democratic can
didates for Attorney-General and Treas
urer were shown to be elected. A second
examination Of the returns was made
which brought to light the fact that there
was difference of fifty votes between the
total vote cast for Comptroller General,
as reported by the County Canvasser of
Horny and the total vote shown by the
returns of the Precinct Managers. 1t
was ascertained that these fifty votes were
accounted for by an apparent alteration
OF the figures IN the returns from Simp-
sons Creek and Dogwood Neck. The
Precinct Managers were sent for, and
these have made affidavit that the figures
had been altered; the vote for Dunn, the
Republican candidate for Comptroller,
having been changed 10 the Simpsons
Mill return from to 80, and at Dogwood
Neck from 10 to 80. The original re-
turns were at once called for, but they
were missing; and it is a noteworthy
coincidence that these same returns were
not to be found when the Congressional
Committee called for them. They were
lost and were found, and are lost again.
Fortunately, their places can besupplied.
Mr.. Dunn will not gain anything should
they never be recovered. The Secretary
of State is their custodian, and if be do
moi find them suspicious will fall upon
him. Meantime the change of fifty votes
givee Gen. Hagood, the Democratic can
didate for Comptroller, forty-nine major
ity. The fraud in the Horny returns was
artistic. Dunn ran, for instance, at
Simpsons Mill, just 80 votes behind the
other Republican candidates; and the
change from 2 to 80 had very natural
appearance, as it put Dunn on the same
footing as his associates. Only the fact
that the apparent alterations accounted
for The exact difference between the Pre-
cinct returns and the County statement
put the Democratic counsel on the trail.
Not word was said until the evidence
was forthcoming to establish the fact that
the returns had been doctored. Then
the stunning revelation came.
Chief Justice Moses will probably be
able to resume his seat on the bench in
about ten days, and before the full bench
the report of the Referee in the manda-
mas case will be heard. We have every
reason to believe, so strong is the Demo
cratic case, that the demand of the Court
will give the Democrats the Offices they
claim. There have been no noisy demon
strations, but the good work goes bravely
on.--Ne,us and Conrier, 18th INST