The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1877-03-03
Decision in the Louisiana Case.

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A special dispatch to the Baltimore Sun,
dated Washing, February 16, says The
decision made by the Republican majority
Of the electoral commission this afternoon.
shutting out all evidence whatever in the
Louisiana case, either touching the ap-
pointment or the qualification Of electors,
viii lead most people TO inquire what the
electoral commission was created for2 Il
has done nothing but what the President
OF the Senate might have done. Il has
decided that it has no other means Of de-
Gliding than the President Of the Senate
possessed-that it can consider nothing,
look at nothing but the papers opened By
the President Of the Senate in the pres
ence Of the two houses, viz: the electoral
certificates. Appointed expressly to ex-
anime and consider and report which Of
the electoral certificates or returns receive
ed from the disputed States is the true
and lawful vote Of the StRte, it reports,
but declines to consider and examine.
Constituted with especial care, composed
OF live members Of each house specially
selected by the vote Of their fellow mem
bers for the purpose, all Of them jurists by
education and profession, and some Of
national reputation, and having associated
with them five justices of the Supreme
Court, the highest tribunal Of the land,
the conclusion arrived at is that the whole
body possesses no other or greater powers
OF inquiry than the presiding officer Of the
Senate would have had, or for the matter
of that, any doorkeeper could have exer-
cised. This is the outcome of the pro.
tracted three weeks labor which resulted
in the proposition Of the electoral bill; of
the all-night debate which preceded its
adoption; of the learned and able argu-
ments which have been addressed to the
commission by the most distinguished law
yers in the country. The practical result
is, of course, to award the eight electoral
votes Of Louisiana to Hayes and Wheeler
upon the certificate Of Kellogg, and the
declaration and determination Of j. Mad
isOn Wells and his associates. This is the
only evidence which the Republican ma
jority will look at. II is not the evidence,
however, which will satisfy the country.
1t was precisely because the country wan
ted better proof that Hayes and Wheeler
were entitled to the electoral votes Of Lou
isiana than Kellogg certificate or j. Mad
ison Wells declaration that it welcomed
the appointment of such commission as
the bill established, and was prepared to
accept and rest satisfied with its decision.
The refusal Of the commission to inquire
at all into the facts, or to look beyond the
certificate Of Kellogg and of Wells, is Of
course a disappointment to all fair-minded
people. Equally with the strict party vote
by which this action Of the commission is
decided, the decision is itself disappoint-
ing-grievously Disappointing. II is
failure to do justice, denial Of justice,
which might have been expected from ex-
treme partisans, but which was not expec-
ted from Supreme Court Judges. It
shows that judges may be as partisan as
Senators and Representatives. From first
to last, in fact, the judicial element, which
we expected to give weight and impartial
ity to the rulings Of the commission, has
only manifested itself in the substitution
of artificial and technical rules Of evidence
for honest inquiry and diligent investiga-
tion of the facts.