Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1877-03-17

sye may ueLect ms crime, when the
returning board Of Louisiana deter
mine TO give that State to Hayes and
Wheeler, no friend Of Tilden is al
lowed to be present to witness the
count or participate in the proceedings.
let the honest masses of this country
never be allowed to forget that eleven |
chosen friends of Rutherford B. Hayes /
stood by without protest aud without /
- blush and saw the jugglers enter |
their den aud bar the door to the en-
trance of democrat.
| am fully aware of the fact that |
those distinguished visitors IN their |
report parade the fact that the board
threw open their doors sua Sp0Rte and
invited five republicans and five demo-
Gratis to witness their proceedings.
This was intended to produce the i'm
preston upon the public mind that
nothing was done in Il corner, and that
everything that was done by the board
was witnessed by the FIVE distinguished
democrats who were invited to be
present at the public sessions of the
board. Every one acquainted with
the facts knows this to be untrue. In
their public sessions they merely
opened the packages, read off the total
vote from the consolidated statements,
aud but hasty examination was made
of the returns. In their secret sessions
the returns were finally canvassed, or
compiled, or passed upon by the
board, and no democrat was allowed
TO be present then. The judgments
then rendered, the conclusions then
reached, and the reasons therefor,
still remain an undeveloped mystery.
1t was never intended that what took
place in those secret sessions should be
made known.
The committee of this House that
went to Louisiana to investigate the
late election called the members of
the returning board before them and
asked for the production OF the origi-
nal record Of these proceedings. The
board refused to produce them even
for a short time that the committee
might inspect them, giving as reason
that they we're engaged in making
their report to the legislature. They
we're reported to this house as being
in contempt and were arrested and
brought to Washington. They still
refused to produce the papers, giving
as a reason that after they finished
their report to the legislature they re-
turned the papers to the proper Gus
todian provided by law to keep them,
and it was out of their power to pro-
duce them; in all which quibbling and
evasion and eontumacy they have re-
ceived the countenance and sympathy
of their republican friends at this
Capitol, and to-day they are regarded
by their party friends upon this floor
L a. =, h.
devotion to the party And when at
last the case of Louisiana reached the
high tribunal created by Congress to
try these grave questions, the demo-
Gratis there proposed to unmask the
iniquity OF the board and to show the
violations of law and outrage upon JUS
tice by which the voice OF Louisiana
had been stiRed and silenced by this
board. and majority of that tribunal
held that although every step taken
by that board might be stained with
fraud; although they may have manu-
featured votes that were never cast
and illegally refused to count those
that were, and thus substituted their
own voice for that of the people of
Louisiana, their acts should not be in
vestigated and their fraud should not
be exposed.
Following this whole sickening affair
from the time the infamy began in
New Orleans in the presence of eleven
chosen friends Of Hayes, to its culmi-
nation in the decision of eight Of his
political friends on the high tribunal,
and the country will behold the title
by which he proposes to occupy the
highest office in the world. The four
men who IN utter defiance of the law
refused TO ill that vacancy are all
republicans. The eleven men who
stood by and witnessed the outrage
without a protest and atterward eulo-
gized the men who committed it are all
republicans. Those who here stood
by the board and defended them in
their refusal to obey the orders Of this
house and disclose their acts in secret
session are all republicans. The eight
men who shielded that board by their
decision are all republicans. The
party that gathers the fruit of all this
fraud is the republican party; and the
two men who shall take their seats,
the one rs President and the other as
Vice President, on this title, are both
republicans.
Mr.. Speaker, as much as | desire
the inauguration Of Tilden and Hen,
bricks. If to-day | had it in my power
TO pass them into office on such title
| would not do it; and | trust the day
will never come in the history of the
democratic party when its leaders and
members shall be called on to hang
their heads in shame over such a VIC.
tory. The plan was deliberately laid
1T New Orleans to suppress the truth
that fraud might triumph. The mem
hers Of the returning board have per
sistently refused to disclose theil
action in secret session, that the truth
might not see the light. The ables
lawyers in the republican party have
been summoned to Washington to eX
haust all the ingenuity, eloquence anc
learning that could be brought to beal
To furnish the eight partisan friends Of
Mr.. Hayes on the commission with {
decent pretext, If possible, for smoth
ering investigation and keeping the
tricks and chicauery of dishonest meI
ont of sight. Has the history of tht
world ever furnished an instance where
men who had truth and justice or
their side made such Herculeau efforts
to suppress the plain facts of the case
and where those who believed they
were right were willing to pass through
such a qualification of the soul t.
accomplish their ends? No, sir; tn,
Judgment of the country and the yer
Wet of posterity may be summed up il
the language of Holy Writ: The
preferred darkness to light because
their deeds were evil.
Hereafter let no thOughtless anC
unreasonable democrat twIt the vie
torious party with their admiration o.
she returning board or their fOndness
for Wells. Whenever the republican
marty shall cease to stand by j. Madl
son Wells, its right hand ought to for
gets its cunning and its tongue cleaTt
TO the roof of its mouth. The achiev
ments of the board over which he pre-
sided with such distinguished honor
will live in history as shining illustra
tiou- of the beauties of reconstruction
and form the brightest page IN the
volume which shall record the glorie,
of the republican party. Sir, 1t would
take the arithmetical powers OF the
returning board itself to accurately
compute the debt which the republican
party owes to J. Madison Wells. Jet