The daily gazette., 1877-02-20
February go. 1877.
The Electoral con.,,.issio,..

The Electoral Commission.
The count of the electoral votes BY th,
Electoral Commission has inflicted a blow
npon our free institutions and republican
government that it will be hard to re-
cover from. 1t is aimed directly at that
great feature for which our country
has been lifted so high in the worlds es
timation by our success-i. e., the capacit,
of man for self-government. That Com
mission is not formed of ordinary men
they are intelligent, highly educated
accomplished, learned in history and pro
found in ia,o-all lawyers except one
when such body of men, for temporary
success, viii deceive and cheat the people
and even perjure themselves to defeat the
wishes Of the majority of the people OF
their country in such an important mat
ter as their right to change their rulers,
and place in the hands of brace or two
OF rogues and robbers, the power to con-
summate this yillainy, and TO enslave
with bayonets sovereign States, there is
great cause to fear that the world will re-
coil from government in which men are
elevated to honorable places who will
dare stoop to such an outrage. Indeed
this decision will give cause to republi-
cans all over the world to trenble for the
fate of the Republic. And this is the
work too of American trained lawyers.
1t was a sad day for this country when it
gave up purity and honesty of character
for supposed smartness in law, and sought
such for elevation, instead of palmer.
purer men-men who held high aloft the
grand old christian virtues and practieed
them. This evil is one of the fruits Of
the war, which "blood-letting" Chandler
so conspicuously helped to hurry the
country into.
The decision Of the Electoral Commits
sion is awaking the people to the enormi-
ties OF the outrages which those who made
1t are sustaining. Men who heretofore be-
heved the Republican leaders were hon.
est are heard to denounce the whole
party as rotten and reeking with dishon-
esty; and journals that heretofore held
aloit the measures of Grant and his fell
lows, now see what arrant Snayes thew
nave been supporting and consortino
win. As conspicuous instance of this
we ask our readers to peruse an able and
concise article from the Pbiladelnb;a
Ledger, of Monday, under the caption Of
COUNTING THE ELECTORAL Vorr ,,
which we publish in another column
MI A. j. Drexel, the owner Of that paner
IS not Democrat, his name stood at tbe
mead OF the list of names fayorino tho
reelection of Mayor Stokely; and Mr..
geo. W. Childs, the publisher, is know,
10 be Republican and personal friend ot
Grant and to have endorsed many of his
ioihes' yet the Ledger plainly and torci-
NY expresses the opinion that the ma
Jorl'y OF the Commission hare abdicated
me Gerry jurisdiction and action the,,
.cere Drought into eristence to exercise !,
mus they have dared to do just what if
was supposed they were sworn not to do
tried the case without weighing the testi.
mony' and given verdict without seek
ing Tor the very truth and right in the
case a party that will do what the ma
Joflty OF this Commission has done wonld
not hesitate to commit felony did thew
not fear the laws, or were there no no..
aity' as is the case with the law control
ing The Commission under which tbev
have just acted. - '''e'