New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1877-02-28

Governor of State. The vote of an elector
must be contested in the State prior to the
time it was given, and unless 80 contested
it was good.
Mr.. Wallace, Democrat, of Pennsylvania,
said: The Senator from Ohio Mr.. ShermaD)
says no lawyer asserted the right to go be-
hind the returns, but the re cord shows that
he himself said that this bill gave that right,
when be resisted its passage; and two of
the commission, Messrs. Morton and Gar
field, in the debate opposed the bill because
it gave that right; the rejection of the proof
of fraud by the commission admitted its
truth. This is sound law, and the Repub
ican party can not now say that the facts
are not as we state them. Gross and palpable
fraud on the people of Louisiana, and
through them on the American people, have
been given voice and power to proclaim
lie, to nullify truth and to reverse the will
of majority of that people 1t is false
that majority of ths people of Louisiana
have appointed the Hayes electors, but this
decision prOclaims it to be true. 1t is true
that they did appoint the Tilden electors,
but that truth is nullifsd and crushed by
this DIT cision, and for the frat time the will
of a majority of the people is eyounged
and reversed by the votes of the Electoral
College The broad offer TO prove false
ht cd and forgery in the destruction of ten
thousand lawful vOtee, was rejected. and,
being rejected, the truth of the facts al
legged can not be denied, and this brings us
tn face the astounding legal declaration
that the equities which ought to accompa.
ny the power of the majority of the whole
people, the vitality which every govern
ment possesses for its own preservation
against force and fraud, ard the morality
which pertains to every Just system of
laws are utterly wanting In ours. Ii the
false and forged returns II Ade by four men,
OF whom one is too weak to be Enave;
another tricky, INSCRIPTIONS and default
er in public Office; third sharper who
cheats at keno and defrauds his State, and
the fourth confessedly guilty and indicted
for forging dead mems names on the pay
rolls of his city-it these returns,
certified by an executive whose only
title to his place is the Federal
bRyOnet are to be the conclusive proof OF
the title to the presidency, then a govern
ment of law is supplanted by one of force
and fraud. A majority of the people of the
United States whose rights are outraged
and denied by this decision, a system of
jurisprudence that finds a remedy for
every wrong, a government that has re-
PEELED force, and the Unborn vigOr to re-
sist corruption, and code of morals that
shtinks from the poisonous touch of false
hood and forgery, are here to-day in silent
but majestic protest against this Judgment
The laws of the people whom l represent
are based on common right, justice and
sense, and they believe that the end of
| legal proceedings is the attainment OF JUS.
tiee, They will not respect decision that
| refuses to hear the truth, that indOrses
tslsehood, sustains forgery, and places the
Federal government at the mercy of the
base. They will and they should agitate
for it's reversal The result bafore us is
| fitly reached It is q decree of party
wrung by party fealiy from judicial tri-
bunal upon purely legal question. May
we never look on its like again.
Mr.. Sargent, Republican, of California,
said his Judgment was deliberately made
| up and expressed against the passage of the
bill creating the Electoral Commission. At
that time every Democrat on the Dor ex-
cept one insisted that the bill should pass.
| 1t was passed. and by Democratic votes.
| During the debate upCl the DILL he stated
that it would be said that the decision of
| the commission was partisan, no matter
which way they decided, but the Demo-
| cratic Senator's secuted such an idea. Not
a Democratic member of the tribunal had
risen in the slightest degree above partisan
ship Every vote they had given was sat
urated with Democratic partisanship. Be
| cause in the election of the fifth Judge there
| happened to be one more Republican ON the
| commission than Democrat, and because
| those Republicans carried out the principles
| of their pacty, the Democratic Senators
|
on the commission were just as PARTISAN.
| 1t was easy to talk about frauul fraud!
| irauul The Democratic council went
before the commission and offered to
prove n long list of things which they
knew time would not allow. He argued
that the decision of the commission only
| sustained the right of the State in selecting
its electors. He did not cOncede for a mo
ment chat frauds were perpetrated by Re
| publicans in Louisiana Thousands of Re
| publicans in that State were taken by the
throat aud strapgled, aud thus prevented
from voting. By this means their opponents
got an apparent majority. The policy OF
tue law in Louisiana was that such fraudu
lent maiOTities should be cast out, and the
Returning Board did right in throwing
them out. lie defended the decision of the
commission at length, and said the con
domination Of the American people Woul(
be written on the Democratic party. Muir
der was not tair mode of el6ctiOneeClng
All the Republican party wanted was
fair vOico ct the people, fearless on thel
| part, and it would re needed. Frauds ha(
been committed in louisiana by the Demo
Gratis. and il waR by such means that the,
s&p. cIed to seize the Presidency, 1t wa
by such means that few days ago an as
sassin attempted in the State House 0
Louisiana to take the life of the man VIII
more than one-half of the people of tn
State had elected Governor. daughter O
the Democratic side,
MIR. Sargent (lookiRg towards Mr.. Will
ers, of virginia. said the Senator nigh
laugh at that fact. Did the Senator laug
at the fact that one of his party papers
this city yesterday counseled the &ssassint
ton of Governor Hayesi
Mr. Withers-No; l do not laugh at thai
Mr. Sargent-Does the Senator laugh a
the fact that his party is responsible tor tn
assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Doe
J the Senator deny that!
/ Mr.. Withers-Yes, sir. l deny it tairl
and squaroly.
Mr.. Sargent resuming said the Dem
, cratic party WAS stained all over with til
: crime of assassination. 1t had assassinateC
} from the best man God ever created, Abr
ham Lincoln, down to the poorest negro
} Mississippi.
7 TRADE of the Senator from California, /
f., | desired to state that ne supported the bi
: for the creation of the Electoral Commi
. sion in the hope that the members draw
g from the judicial department of the COVER
t ment would give the subject fsir judlc
e consideration, but he was mistaken. Ih
t decision had demonstrated the fact that Il
), members of the Supreme Court, the hlghe
+ tribunal in the land, could not rise abO'
Q party any more than pronounced pom
Q eiane. 1t would certainly strike the c1u
l. try as remarks able that one member of Il
IS court sitting on the commission should vo
It one way in regard to one State, and on Il
# same question in regard to another Sta
II should vote another way This decisi'
t, that Congress could not inquire into fral
o in the electoral vote of State was asset
g ing doctrine of State sovereignty new
s advocated by its widest adherents. !
Q then alluded to the charges made by N
Q Sargent and Mt Sherman, that the Den