The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1877-01-30
FLORIDA INVESTIGATION.
The Committee Report at Length, Giving
Details and Claiming the Voc for Hayes.

/ DosaAH ehu SAAAhAhb tuo w lOT hh1eb'
WASHINGTON, Jan. 20.
The report Of the senate Florida com
mitee submitted to-day, is signed by all
the republican members. 1t discusses the
action of the state clnvassing board, show
ing that 1t made preliminary canvass of
the returns on their face, giving to the
Hayes electors forty-fve majority. The
board then commenced to hear contests,
holding its sessions In public. The COM
mittee say that the course subsequently
pursued by the board was exactly In &C.
cordance with its practice in 1874, when
by the advice OF the democratic attorney
general and Of democratic lawyers 1t went
behind the returns for the benefit of the
democratic party. The result of this can
vass was $50 majority for the Hayes elect
ors. TIE committee argue at length that
this count was legal and constitutional and
that the board had right to seek the true
vote behind the returns under the
statute that created it. They say
that a statute enacted pro bono pu5licO
to prevent election frauds should be bene-
| flcially construed. The report then goes
on to argue that the finding of the board is
conclusive and caunot be revised by a re-
canvass or reached by writ of quo warranto,
"because the electors are functto ofieio, "
or reversed by congress because the consti-
tuition lodges the whole power in the state
A great many authorities are cited to sus-
tain these positions. A distinctions drawn
however in case of a ministerial certificate
OF governor, who has no'power to decide
anything 1t is argued that congress may
look behind his certificate to ascertain the
facts, as court may go behind ministerial
certificate of a clerk purporliDg to verify
judgment to see what tic judgment
really is. But if congress can revise the
action of the board it must go to the bot
tom of the poll and ascertain the true vote
in all contested counties. 1t would have
to go as far as a court in quo parrdnt9
proceedings. Such an attempt would not
be made for there is not time and anything
less would be unjust, for going to the bot
tom of the poll the committee say would
show according to the evidence taken by
them that Hayes electors had more than
$50 majority.
The report then proceeds to discuss the
testimony in detail in Archer county. TIE
committee examined the individual votes
at both Archer No. and No. 3 precincts,
and the report asserts that instead of re-
publican fraud there was a democratic
fraud of over 100 votes in those precincts
The committee quote largely from testlmo-
| ny and prestn: a considerable amount of
argument in support of this assertion.
They also present evidence to show that a
| railroad train of passengers voted the Til
| den ticket in Waldo precinct, although
| citizens of other states Ia regard to Baker
| and Duvall counties the committee say it is
| shown that the state board decided that the
only legal return before them from iker
| county was tina. of the county judge aud
his associates; that they 80 decided
the first day, and simply adhered to
that decision in the recanvass made under
the order of the supreme court. They, how
ever, previous to that order went to the
precinct returns for the true vote but when
the court made its order they REQUIRED to
the return which they had firss adjudge1 to
be the only legal return. The committee
claim to show that the county clerks pa
| per was in no sense a return and had not at
any time been treated as such, and that 1t
| could not be so treated because the persons
necessary to make legal canvass were not
present, as they were in Ddval county,
which tho democrats insist ia a
parallel case. The committee, how
ever claim to make it very apparent thai
there is a vital difference between
the two cases and say "If the face of re-
turns is to rule, it should rule in Baker
county, where at most there was misguided
zeal, as well as in Jackson where there was
premeditated rascality. Counting all re-
turns on their face and taking even the
pretended return made by the county
clerk of Baker county, will still leave
Hayes small majority" The commit
tee say they carefully examined into the
election in Duvall and found it honest, but
in Jackson county they found evidence OF
$50 fraudulent democratic votes. They
found many indications of fraud and much
intimidation of voters at precinct No. 8,
Key West, Monroe county. In Man
aztec county they cay the election was
democratic farce. In Hamilton county
the returns of the electoral vote were
interlined into the returns of one precinct
several days after they were signed and de-
livered to the county clerk, and unauthor-
lied persons made the lnvass in another
precinct, the officers signing returns hav-
ing no personal knowledge of their correct
ness. In jefferson and Columbia counties
there was intimidation of colored voters,
and social and business proscri. ton in
many counties The system of marked
tickets was employed to compel colored
men to vote the democratic ticket in various
counties.