The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1877-07-14

should be expressed Then the Returning
Board was invented
This was machine entirely new, with pow
ers never before given 10 any tribunal in any
State. It's object was not TO return, but To
suppress, the votes of the qualified electors,
or change them TO suit the occasion. By the
terms of the law il can exclude, suppress, an.
nhilate all the votes of parish for violence,
intimidation, or fraud, which it finds to have
been committed and adjudges to have mate
rally influenced the result Of the poll, This
is judicial authority so broad that no court
would consent to exercise it--inilicting the
fearful penalty Of disfranchisement upon
thousands at once, without a hearing and
without legal evidence, not for any offence Of
their own, but for the supposed sin Of others
over whom they coniessedly have no control
OF course it is in direct conflict with the State
Constitution, which declares that all judicial
power shall be vested in certain ordained and
established courts, and forbids it TO be used
even by them, except upon trial before a jury,
and conviction on the testimony Of credible
witnesses confronted by the accused and cross
examined by counsel. 1t is besides, a most
insolent aiiront to the fundamental principles
of all elective government, for it makes the
poll of the people mere mockery, which
decides nothing except what the Returning
!
body whom the Returning Board does not
graciously favor. Its power to veto popu'
lar vote extends to all elections, for every
class of officers, judicial, legislative, ministe.
rial and executive, including electors OF
! President and Vice President.
| The board consisted of five persons. They
were originally appointed by carpetbag
Senate, without end OF their tenure and with
power TO fill vacancies, which made them a
close corporation and gave them perpetual
succession. To put on some show OF fairness
! the law required that all parties should be
| represented. This was al first thought to be
met by the appointment Of one Democrat,
but when deed of more than common base
ness was to be done, the Democrat was got
rid OF, and the other four, desiring to work in
secret, refused to fill his place.
This suppressing board did its work thor.
oughly from the start. II was never known
to ialter. Since its first organization in 1870
the majority of the whole people has been de-
cidedly against the carpet.baggers at every
election. But the board always intercepted
the returns, and so altered them as to make
a majority the other way. Kellogg was .
! candidate for Governor; he was largely de
feated, but the board certified him elected.
The certificate was so glarngly false that car
pet baggers themselves would not help to
install him, and Democrats determined to as
sert their rights 1t was then that General
Grant, to the unspeakablc shame of the ma.
ton, lifted him into office on the bayonets of
the army. Aiterward the outraged people
rose in revolutionary wrath, drove him to
shelter in the Custom House, and inaugurated
the man they had lawfully elected. Again
the President made war on the State, and re.
stored the usnrper to the phce which did not
belong to him. The Democrats regularly
elected q majority OF the Legislature; as reg
u.arly as the Retaining Board certified ma.
jority Of their seats to carpet.baggers or seal
awags or negroes not chosenj and when the
true members met to organize for business
the army was punctually on hand to tumble
them out of their hall.
The election came of on the proper day
supervised aud controlled at every polling
place by officers OF the carpet-bag interest
According to their own count, the result was
majority of 1853 for the Tilden electors
1t has never yet been denied that this majority
was made up Of ballots cast by citizens legally
qualified. The vote was regularly taken and
properly counted, and true record of it made
IN perpetudm rel memOridm. These facts
being undisputed, it follows that the Tilden
electors were duly appointed, if the people
of the State have the appointing power, which
they certainly have, unless the Constitution
and the statute books are not TO be relied on.
But the opponents of Tilden and Hendricks
determined that the record of the ap-
pOintment made by the people should be mu.
tilated and changed so as to make it appear
as If electors for Hayes and Wheeler had been
chosen. They pretended to believe that VIC.
lence and intimidation had frightened the
African Hayes men from the polls, and that
THAR rnxVarltnn nnUbf IN hs yfgitad IN, tba
form of dstranchisement, on the heads of
others who had intrepidity enough to perform
their political duty. The allegation was ut.
terly false. 1t was made not only without
evidence to sustain it, but in the face of over.
whelming proof to the contrary. All the
places Of registration and voting were guard.
ed by the creatures of the Federal aud State
administrations, s,superintendents, commission.
ers, deputy marshals, and soldiers, and all Of
these with one voice said that the elections
were peaceable and free. Indeed, il is liter.
ally impossible that any intimidation or vic
lence could have been practised. No sensible
person ever gave credit to it for a moment
Notwithstanding much mental anxiety about
the result various reasons combined to make
the election in Louisiana probably the most
quiet and undisturbed in the Union.
The personnel of the board justified the
faith of the carpet baggers and their allies
II the evidence concerning its members be
rightly reported by the investigating commit.
tee, they were marked out by the history of
their previous lives, noted and signed to do
any deed of shame which might be required
at their hands. Wells was Custom House
officer at New Orleans, and one of the worst
OF that bad lott detaulter to the State of
long standing, without character for integrity
.or yeraeity, and for thirty years regarded as
unworthy to be trusted. Andersons charac.
ter for honesty was equally bad he had
earned 1t in part by aiding while he was "A
Senator TO put mp a fraudulent job upon the
State, and taking the iniquitous proceeds to
himself, Of the two mulattoes, one was in.
dieted for larceny, and, after admitting his
guilt, was allowed to escape punishment, and
promptly taken into the board. The other
was too ignorant to know his duty, but his
testimony showed such indifference to the OBJ
legations of an oath that he was deemed as
safe for the carpet baggers as either of his
colleagues.
They comprehended the situation, saw the
difficulty of the work before them, and resol
we'd to make il pay in something better than
mere promises Of recognition however
generous and ample" Wells, who was
their spokesman in private as in public, wrote
IN strict confidence to carpet-bag Senator
then at Washington letter which, being con
densed into plain English, means this T.
There's millions in it. See our friends and
act promptly. Buy us Immediately or we will
sell out to the other side. Talk freely to the
gentleman who presents this; he knows the
moves. To the bearer Of the letter he ex
planned that il was very hard work to count
IN the Republican candidate-the Democratic
majority was too large TO handle--he wanted
TO serve his party, but he would not take this
Job without compensation he must have
'S2OO,0O0 apiece for himself and Anderson,
and a smaller sum for the niggers." On this
basis he authorized his ambassador at Wash
ington to negotiate with the Republican man.
ayers. At the same time he was offering
himself at New Orleans to the Democrats al
irst for half q million, but afterward propos.
ed that he would leave in enough votes 10
elect Mr.. Nichols democratic candidate for
Governor) il S200,OO0 cash were first placed
in his hands,
The action Of the returning officers in this
whole business was unsupported by legal au
thority. The Legislature Of the State did not,
because II could not, give them power to dis.
franchise qualified electors. They lacked.