Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1877-05-05


2 tice Manning and his sassociates, who
were nominated by Governor Mich.
oils, and confirmed by his Senate
/ rests upon the same basis as the title
/ of Governor Nichols and his Sena-
} ate. The claim to legality of the
, Supreme Court composed of Chief
f Justice Ludeling and his associates,
rests either upon their right to hold
over in case the legality of the Kel-
logg-Packard Senate, which con-
firmed the judges upon the nomina-
ton of Governor kellogg, and while
it had Returing-board quorum.
"We have briefly sketched the ac-
|, tual position as we found it. We
will now state the legal question
upon which the right of these re-
spective governments depends. The
constitution of the State of LOuisi-
ana requires that the returns of all
elections for members of the Gener-
al Assembly shall be made TO the
Secretary of State. 1t also provides
that the qualified ElectOr shall vote
for Governor and for Lieutenant
Governor, at the time and place Of
voting for Representatives The
returns Of every election shall be
sealed up and transmitted by the
proper returning officers to the Sec
retary of State, who shall deliver
them to the Speaker of the House of
Representatives On the second
day of the General Assembly
then to be holden, the members
of the General Assembly shall meet
in the House of Representatives and
count the votes. twill be observed
that this provision of the cOnstitu-
/ tion requires the return of the votes
| for Governor and Lieutenant Cover
nor to be sealed up and transmitted
| by the proper returning officers to the
Secretary of State, ,and the same pro-
vision is made in substance as to
members of the General Assembly;
but in 1870 0the Legislature passed an
act, amended in 1872, which created
body called the Returning Board,
consisting of five members, to be
appointed by the State, and to be
the returning officers for all elections
in the State. The act provides that
the commissioners of election at
each poll or voting place shall count
the votes, making list of names of
all persons voted for, and the offices
for which the votes were given, the
number of votes received by each,
the number of ballots contained i'm
the box, and the number rejected,
and the reasons therefor, and make
duplicates of such list, and send one
to the Supervisor of Registration of
the Parish of Orleans, and one to the
Secretary of State. The law further
requires the Supervisors of Registra-
ton to consolidate the returns
received from the different poll
ing places and forward them with
the originals to this Returning
Board. The act further provides |
that if there shall be any riot, tu-
multi, acts of violence, intimidation,
disturbance, bribery, or corrupt influ-
ence at any place within said parish, |
at or near any polls or voting place, |
or place of registration, which riot, |
tumult, act of violence, intinlida- !
tion, or disturbance, bribery, and cor |
rupt influence, shall prevent, or tend |
to prevent, a fair, Tree, peaceable, I
and full vote of all the qualified elec~ |
tors, il shall be the duty of the Com I
missioner to make q statement of 4
such facts, and forward the same to /
the Supervision of Registration with
his returns of election; and the Su-
perVisOr of Registration shall for
ward the same to the Returning /
Board. The Returning Board is re-
quired to investigate the statements |
of intimidation, and to exclude from |
the returns which it makes TO the |
Secretary of State the returns re-
ceived by it from those polls or vot-
ing places where fair election has |
been prevented by the causes above
named. The same law further de-
clares: 'It shall be the duty of the
Secretary of State to transmit to the |
Clerk of the House of Representa-
tives and to the Secretary of State /
of the last General Assembly a list
of the names of such persons as, ac-
cording to the returns, shall have
been elected to either branch of the
General Assembly; and it shall be
the duty of the Clerk and Secretary
to place the names of the Represen-
tatiVes and Senators elect so furn-
ished upon the roll of House and of
the Senate respectively, and those
Representatives and Senator's whose
names are so placed by the Clerk
and Secretary respectively, in ac-
cordance with the foregoing pro-
visions, and none other, shall be
competent to organize the House
of Representatives or the Sen
ate.' 1t is claimed by the coun-
sci for the Nichols government that
this act, so far as it interposes a Re
turning Board exercising these pow
ers of exclusion between the parish
supervisors of registration, with his
consolidated returns, and the Secre-
tary of State, is when applied to the
election of members of the General
Assembly, of Governor and of Lieu
tenant Governor, is plain violation
of those provisions of the constitution
of Louisiana which say that the re-
turns of all elections for members of
the General Assembly ahall be made
to the SECRETARY of State, and i'm re-
ference to Governor and Lieutenant
Governor the returns Of every eloc-
ton shall be sealed up and trans
mitted by the proper returning Off
GERS to the Secretary of State, who
shall deliver them TO the Speaker Of
the House of Representatives. On
the other hand, it is insisted by cOun-
sci for the Packard government that
the Legislature has the power to
create this Returning Board and
give ii the authority with which the
act clothes it. 1t is also claimed by
them,thatt the constitutionality ofthe
act has been settled by the Supreme
Court of the State; but the Nichols
party denied that question was de-
cided by the Supreme Court in Il
manner that could be considered au-
thoritative.
SIT should he further stated that il
is not claimed by hecounsel for the
Nichols government that the Leg
islature could not createa Returning
Board and clothe II with these pow
ers I'm regard to the Appointment of
Presidential electors, since the pro-
visions of the State constitution on
which they rely relate only to elec-
ton of members of the Legislature,
of Governor and Lieutenant Cover
nor. We quote the following ex-
tracts from one of their printed ar
guments:
Indeed, as to the Presidential cleo
tors, the mode of their appointment
is left by the Constitution Of the I'm
tied States to the discretion of the
Legislature of the State, therefore
the General Assembly of Louisiana
I1nioht erpato any frihunal Whatpynr