The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1877-02-23

Rhode Island, where the governor
could blow his horn in the door OF the
executive mansion and summon his
legislature, but II would not do for
the great State of Oregon.
MIR. Merrick rose to close the argu-
ment, He said in his own mind be
had the same view that he held when
he opened the argument in the case Of
Florida, but he owed ii to his clients
aud to the tribunal to conform his ar
gument to the decisions which had
been made, and he should oontine
himself to asking that the decision in
the case OF Florida and Louisiana
Should be applied to Oregon. He had,
in the case of Florida, asked that they
go behind the certificate OF the Gov
ernor; had asked that the voice of
Florida, which had been simulated,
should be heard through her legislative
and judicial departments. The other
side had taken issue and claimed that
there could be no going behind the
certificates of the governor based on
the canvass, that he was at a loss 10
know where II had been shown that
there ever was u canvass OF the votes
OF Florida, except electors was based.
Were they to assume that there was
anything 80 sacred in the act of the
returning board, ~ to prevent an in
quiry into their actsr No; the answer
was, that when their acts were con-
firmed In accordance with the laws of
the State, the inquiry was checked in
Louisiana and Florida. They had pass
ed beyond the certificate Of the gov.
ernor, and reached the certificates of
the returning board; they stopped
there, not through a sanctity of the
returning board or the virtue of Wells
and Casanave, but because they
reached the great. seal OF the State. To
fix tho line between the State and
Federal government had been one OF
the most difficult tasks of the fathers,
and they had fixed them 30 that there
could be no internal strife IL each ad-
hered to the line the fathers had
drawn. The decision OF this tribunal
must rest in the confidence of the PEG.
pie, If II rested in their confidence ut
all, on some great principle OF the
State rights as compared with Federal
authority. If it rested upon technical
grounds the people would not receive
II in confidence, and the wound which
this commission was organized to heal
would continue to bleed for the next
four years.
Mr.. Merrick said the law required
secretary OF State to prepare two lists
of the electors not those who had re-
ceived the highest number of votes,
but those elected. Who was to deter
mine who were elected, but the parties
engaged in this transaction They
must determine who were elected. In
the Florida case 1t was claimed that
the power to determine rested in the
returning board. In Oregon he claimed
the power to issue the certificate car.
red with it the perquisite of deter
mining to whom they should be issued.
To withhold the certificate from
party deemed to be disqualified was,
he submitted, the legitimate execution
Of an executive trust. In the other
cases 1t was claimed the only
time when an error could
be reached was between the
counting OF the votes and the time
when the electors entered upon their
duties. 1t was ut precisely this time
that this much abused governor at
tempted to preserve the State from the
odium OF charge OF having violated
the constitution of the United States.
Referring to Mr.. Matthew's allusion to
q conspiracy, and the cypher kilograms
between Gramacy park and Oregon,
Mr.. Merrick said no such evidence was
offered, and had IL been offered they
would not have objected. They wanted
the truth, and nothing but the truth.
Mr.. Merrick continued his remarks
in reference to this defiance of the
act Of the governor, and said
his certificate was conclusive until
otherwise decided by legal tribunal.
He maintained that by the position
of the certificates which the governor
had placed in his hands Cronin was
de fdcto an elector. Which AS the
elector, Cronin or Watts? What had
Watts? Nothing; the abstract which
was certified in certificate number one
was not, he maintained, canvass
OF the votes. 1t was the result of the
votes cast at the election, and not a
statement Of the canvass made accord
ing to the law by the secretary Of State
In the presence Of the governor.
Judge Miller asked II there were
other papers in the possession of the
secretary Of State, what other papers
could be made?
Mr.. Merrick said IL had been shown
in the other States, that other and
very remarkable papers were made.
He understood that the canvass
and the abstract were very different
papers, and II II had been intended as
the canvass, the certificate should have
certified that II was a canvass.
Justice Miller asked what Mr.. Mer-