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

! idation. These votes must be excluded per
tas dut netds, aud the Returning Board must
! do il; that was what the board was made for
| The returning officers went upon the principle
ant fHreaidm dut fdeiam. They made the
protests which they could not fnd; aiiidayits
which no creature in the parishes was base
enough TO back with his oath were fabricated
in the Custom House, aud used by the board
! with full knowledge that they were mere
counterteits. The exclusion Of returns on
the ground of intimidation was in every case
dishonest, for in none was there particle Of
| evidence TO Justify it, When nothing else
would serve the purpose, they did not scruple
resort TO plain forgery. OF the return from
Vernon parish every figure on the whole broa,l
sheet was altered with elaborate pains under
the special direction of Wells. Perjury and
subornatiOn of perjury entered largely into
| the business. There is hardly any species of
| the crimei fdlsi for which the law has pun.
ishment that did not become an elementary
part Of the great fraud which was committed
when the defeated electors and State officers
OF Louisiana were falsely certified as chosen
By the people.
Another question arises here, which the
| Muse of History may answer ut her leisure !:
| Is there any Justification of Gen Grants con
| duct in this business? Within two or three
huNh AlltE Nut tlttibH " Dtthult DtTlftLlN
well known TO the whole country that in Lou.
isiana there had been full poll, and large
majority for the lilden electors. No reason
was suggested by anybody for ialsifying this
result. The apprehension that it would be
falsiiied in the return arose solely out of the
fact that the election machinery Of the State
was in the hands of mere knayes who were
just base enough to do it; and these were Gen.
Grants own knayes, whom for years he had
kept in their places by lawless force. 1t was
then that he said no man could afford to be
President by fraud, and sent acommttee to
see that true count was made. This was
tair.seeming enough, but he did not row the
way he was looking Every one of his com
mittee favored the fraud, and their report,
which he endorsed and sent to Congress was
defence Of il from beginning TO end. He
had supported and enforced frauds of the
same kind several times before, and now his
troops were at New Orleans avowedly TO pro.
tect the carpet'baggers while they were re.
peating them on large scale. Besides,
when Chandler promised the fraudulent Gov.
eruor of Florida to send troops and money to
that State after the election-troops and
money TO count the votes-he declared in one
Of his dispatches that the President had been
consulted. Still further, while his party n
Congress were holding up the fraud, he an.
swered the arguments in favor Of Iilden's
right by ordering TO the capital all the cayal.
ry, artillery, and infantry within reach
Whether these circumstances be sufficient or
not TO convict him OF participation in the frand,
let the world Judge.
But how was the object Of the conspiracy
to be accomplished? The House of Repre-
sentatiyes was Democratic, and without its
consent, expressed or implied in some form
or another, the Senate could not give effect
to false count. The first intention was to
claim that the President Of the Senate had
power to determine absolutely and arbitrarily
what electoral votes should be counted and
what not. This was the great rallying point
until Mr.. Conkng took itup, and, in aspeech
OF surprising ability, utterly demolished and
reduced it to invisible atoms 1t became
settled therefore, that the two Houses must
count the votes, and this clearly implied the
power to inquire and determine what were
votes. II could not be denied that the voice
OF the House of Representatives was at least
as potential as that of the Senators; and it
was not supposed that the House would
suffer fraud so glaring as this to be thrust
down the throat of the country "against the
stomach of its sense But il the two bodies
wsnld declare inconsistent results Of the count
and proclaim the election Of different Presi.
dents, state of things might come which
would subject our institutions to strain
severe enough to endanger them greatly. 1t
was in these difficult circumstances that
mixed commission Of fifteen was proposed,
consisting of five Senators five Representa-.
tves, and five Judges Of the Supreme Court.
The mode Of appointing them made it certain
that fourteen would be equally divided be.
tween the parties; and as the fifth Judge
would be named by the consent Of his breth.
ren on both sides, he might be expected to
stand between them, like daysman, with
hand as heavy on one head as the other
The Democrats consented to this in the belief
that no seven Republicans could be taken
from the court or from Congress who would
swear to decide the truth and then uphold a
known fraud; if mistaken in that opinion of
their adversaries, honesty, they felt sure, at
all events, that the umpire would be fair.
minded man. They were bitterly disappoint.
ed; the commission went eight to seven for
the great fraud and all its branches; for fraud
in the detail and in the aggregate; for every
item of fraud that was necessary to make the
sum total big enough-eight 10 seven all the
time. ,t. .#.t
We must look at the state of the case as it
went before the commission. Tilden and
Hendricks had ls4 electoral votes clear and
free of all dispute, one less than n majority
Of the whole number. They also had in Lou
isiana eight, and in Florida four, appointed
by the people, but falsely certified to Hayes
and Wheeler by the Governors. In Oregon
they had one certified by the Governor, but
against whom popular majority had been
cast for an ineligible candidate. Toelect HAYES
it was necessary that each and every one of
these thirteen votes should be taken from
Tilden and given to Hayes. As this required
many distinct rulings based upon contradicto.
ry grounds, the path of the commission was
not only steep but crooked.
The great and important duty cast upon the
commission by special law and by a
special oath Of each member was to de.
eide, in the case of contested votes from
a State, whether any and what votes from
such State are the votes provided for by
the Constitution of the United States, and
how many and What persons were duly an.
pointed electors in such State.' II is not
denied that the sole power Of appointing
electors for the States of Louisiana and Flor
ida is in the people. 1t was then and still is
an admitted fact that the people had exercis.
ed the power of appointmentin In the prescribed
and proper way; they did duly make an
appointment Of electors, and the act was duly
recorded, and so made a perpetual memory.
lms thing was not done In a cOrner;n IL
was "seen and known Of all men," That
each Of the two States named had duly M.
pointed Tilden electors at regular election
called for that purpose on the seventh Of No.
yember, in pursuance Of law, was a part of
their history as much as the fact that
they were States Of the Union. AIlthe mem.
bers Of tho commission knew il as well as
they knew the geographical position Of Talla.
hassee or New Orleans II needed no proof,
but if specific evidence had been required'
there was the record, from which the truth
gared upon them as clear as the sun. They
shut their eyes upon the record, and refused
to see "how many and what persons were
duly appointed electors by the people, but
listened eagerly to the evidence laFfanie
though It wasl which showed chow many and
what persona had been designated by the
returning officers. Il was ultimately held
EIGHT toseven) that the appointees OF The Re.
turning Board were duly appointed, and The
appointment was vested by law in the Returning
Boards3 Did they think it was not vested
in the people? No, That Is impossible. But
they may have eonscientieusly believed Thai
the interest Of their faction would be we'll
served by Hayess election. They may ha,aN