Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1877-11-21
TERMS S-S2 per annur- n Advance.
NEW SERIES--VOL. IS, NO. 46.

n constitutional body vested with all th
# power you claim for it, and also tina
? its certificate is conclusive. Does
n follow that its action is binding, if |
+ be fraudulent? No; n tribunal will
' jurisdiction has no more power to com
0 nit fraud than " private citizen. 4
0 Judgment of the Supreme Court of th,
; United States upon matter clearly
!, within its athority is utterly void !
i tainted with corruption. No paper o
0 any kind, no official certificate, n,
I deed, no record, can weigh q feather
j. in the scale Of justice, if it has beer
: concoctcd in willful falsehood or pro
Q cured by actual deception. Such a pa
per or record when produced in eyi
: dence has precisely the same proba
, tive force as forgery; neither more
nor less. In saying this VIC are back
I ed by the good sense and honesty oi
all mankind, and by rules of law that
are universally accepted. Nobody
} has yet dared TO deny this principle
, No Republican counsellor met IL in ar
gumcnt when tho Democratic counsel
set it forth none Of the eight respond
cd when all the seven presented it,
Even you, with all your strange alac.
/ rity in sinking" cannot get down low
enough to contradict it.
Any court, any legislative body, any
Commissioner or arbitrator, who re-
ceives paper known to have been
fraudulently made, and gives it the
effect Of . true one, or adopts it as the
foundation Of a judgment, or allows it
to prejudice any opposing right, com
mits a most scandalous outrage upon
law and justice. The principle which
excludes a document tainted with that
kind Of miquity is fundamental, axio.
matte and necessary to the safety of
all rights, public as well as private. 1t
IS Of universal application, impregna.
Bile, unassalable, without variableness,
or shadow Of turning. 1t stands now
as it has stood since the beginning of
the world,
/ "Wholc as the marble, founded as the rock,
As broad and general as The casing air.
Tho electoral commission was con-
stituted with authority clearly defined
TO determine certain controvertcd
matter of fact; to wit Whether Kcl-
logg and his seven associates had been
duly appointed electors by the peo-
pie Of Louisiana or not. To main
tain the affirmative side of that
issue the certificate Of the return
ing board was alone relied upon.
The eight commissioners, against
the solemn protest Of their seven
brethren, accepted that certificate and
held il TO be good nay conclusive,
proof Of the fact averred, although il
was, and they knew it to be, not only
tainted, but saturated through and
through with the most atrocious fraud,
and therefore as corrupt in morals and
rs void in law as the nakedest forgery
that ever was made.
Thus it came to pass that this great
cause, involving the title to the high
est Office in the republic, was deter
mined falsely upon evidence which no
justice Of the peace would receive in
suit for the price of two sheep In
one Of the regular courts of the coun-
Try upon trial for land or money,
the mere offer Of such evidence by
counsel knowing its real character
would be extremely dangerous 1t
would not only be rejected, but the
guilty counsellor would be punished,
not in the same way (for there is
technical difiercnce), but on the same
principle, that courts punish the utter
ancc of counterfeit money. To pol
lutte the administration OF justice by
passing false and fraudulent docu.
ments upon n court is indeed very
much worse than Showing the queer"
upon a shopSeeper.
OF course the wickedness Of all this
depends on the scientr Involuntary
ignorance would be an excuse. But
the corrupt character ofthis certificate
was known TO all the world, and be-
ing public fact, the commissioners as
well as every body else were bound to
know it, besides that, the evidence
was exhibited to thor eyes; their re.
lection of it assumed it to be true
and they expressly ruled, that no
proof OF fraud, however clear. would
diminish the value of the false paper
in their estimation. SO far as | am
informed they have never pretended
to be ignorant of the fact that this
vote was tho offspring of n fraudulent
conspiracy, nor have they denied the
law which makes il void for that roa.
son. There Is, therefore. nothing for
il but TO leave their rcputation for in.
dicial integrity, as Bacon left his ito
foreign countries TO future ages. and
10 mems charitable speeches"
Tho eiobt commissioners and the
connscl an ,beir siJe triod 70 ,,omo a
wools exense for tbis dereliction Of
dnrv bv REASONING Tins. Congrcss gave
tbe commission no mower hnf wbaf Tho
two houscs uirbi bavecxcrcised tbem
selycs thc fwo honscs Ma M onthor
ilv 70 rsv;se olcc,ion ro,nrns f.om ony
STAT c,oo tho commission n,ns, 80
ccive n faise fraudulent md void cer
GGcs,o as il il were n rcal rstnrn ,rno
md valid In tbis svllogism the nre.
misses major and minor are unsopnd
and The conclusion il hon scoufrr|
Coneress has mower clear md nm.
oncsiionable not 70 revise tbe action
Of the state authorities for Tho nnrnoso
If eorreeIing their mere errors bnt 10
ascertain whether n naper nre,cnd,ng
TO be return Is real return or n
fraud Ictbo two bonses arc ,o count
tho votes thew have The verifying
power which enables them to deter. |
mine what are votes and what arc