The New Orleans daily Democrat., 1877-11-17
THE ELECTORAL FRAUD.
JUDGE BLACKS REPLY TO MR. n. w.
sTOUGHTON.
The steHwhton Article In the north
American Review for october
Plainly Dealt with.

American Review for october
Plainly Dealt with.
To tho Hon. u. W. Stoughton:
II do not reply to your article In the last
number Of the North american Repteg you will
remain under tho delusion that your argument
is Irresistible will try to correct that mistake
by showing that II there be q defense for the
Great Fraud you decidedly are not the person
to make IT, Doing this mainly for your own
ed6eation, address you directly. sspnrata
| your personal invsctive from your discussion
of the case, though they are so mixed as TO make
separation difficult, and will consider your
| objections to my Wow Of the subject as IL they
had been expressed in becoming and decent
language.
You think. hs your political friends In gen-
eral think, that aftsr the decision of the Eleo-
toral Commission against rs, we ought 10
submit In silence and not veg the victorious
party with on appeal to the tribunal Of public
opinion. We have submitted. The proper reps
| resebtatives OF both parties agreed TO leave tho
dispute 10 u body which they constituted for the
purpose Of settling 1t. We could not refuse to
abide by the award without being guilty of bad
faith. We do not now assert the Injustice of ii
with any view 10 reverse or modify IL. You need
not fear the stability o., thut award however
| iniduitous You may know Ii 10 be. You can
| the people, will, on our part, perform the vows
which We have vowed befors The Lord how-
ever much 1t may bs TO our own hurt"
| But to hequiesee without protest-to confess
| taeitly that tho wrong is right and the evil d
good-ttat is out Of the question. In discussing
the whole subject with great ptainness Of speeeh.
we not only obey mn impulse, but perform q
dusy. For this will give some reasons, and
take The chances Of making you comprehend
them.
WHY TT CANNOT BE CoNDoNED
In the first place, 1t concerns the regulations
Of nearly all tho public men Of the present day.
You and I hre too obscure to be noticed ty hiy-
tory. but the great characters Of our time on
both sides will go down to posterity clothed with
honor or covered with infatny according ag
they have beon trying to further the fraud or
stop IT, Rsmembsr. there was q fraud and o.
very gross one. committed by one party or the
other. II Tho State OF Louisiana chose Kellogg
and the other candidates on the Hayes ticket for
Presidential Electors, and the Democratic polf-
ticians. knowing this. did nevertheless, deny
the truth and fabricated q false return for Til-
den. which they persisted to the last in trying
to pass for true one. they were q combination
Of most redemptoness rogues: and 1t will be-
recorded as an agera vntion Of their crime, that
hen ss reatsohs stsbsa ama9rty @ t q shs Esg
turned about and. with ealupnious accusations,
charged their e. own guilt upon their innocent
sso as hs II ss TdsS q sors es asss as
chosen By the people. and the Republican Lead
ers IN and out OF the State altered the returns.
fsit Electoral College. Whereby the psopls of te
State and the Union we're cheated out Of the
large maority, then % L @ Is only i1g ancpaa leaiga Rs.
tory to spy that oil who aided, abetted and en-
eoaraged A. that offsnse ought e bs eIaased
ing the great interest that hangs on This atles-
i9n, is il not fairly worth CUR while to give ita
fqll examination while the facts are yet fresh In
Another Consideration there Is. which makes
. public appeal % upon the subject not only
proper but absolutely nee ssary. IL our eonvjc-
tions are not founded In total mistake. The
candidate to whom You are opposed was. as we
twenty three in tho Electoral College. But you
s y mssns WI Il ass The sssas 1ss
and divers c2vin2ns practices. contrary to tho
law and TA against the moral sense of al honest
by making the fraud perfectly successful. In
vites repetition Of it. and you undoubtedly
tered Now. The nation viii not submit to ari- an
interests, as well ag ours Il We, prevent you
trying this Kind of foul play over again. To
that end the best. as well as the kindest. means
itself, and free criticism Of the commission,
which should have rebnked it. but did not.
NOT A JUDICIAL TRIBUNAL.
You deprecate every expression from any
dencss g Of the public in the judicial authorities.
and think. therefore, that the Electoral Com
sa q yerH d n n m
denee. was the virtue OF all true citizens Of re-
public. Without stopping to consider whether
GERS, ! answer you by saying that he Elec-
toral commiss,on na s;d was ,na not judicial tri-
was political body organized for special
occasion. to determine q particular question
according 70 the best Of It's preipdces" and It
performed the function aesigBe ed to it by di9re-
| garding the law q the case and shutting it's
eyes to the facts; The less confidence we have
able regard for the safety Of our most important
public rights requires that we should have none
You are welcome to the admission If you
think i will do you any good that look not
only with contempt, but with abhorrence, upon
the history of our race on both sides Of the At
lantfc, including the Star Chamber, the Court Of
High Commission. all military and all ecelesi-
political purposes. II / could revive fn this
generation the stern hatred which our fathers
justice. would be great public benefaetor.
ana yo4 W9uid . meyer get another commission
cutfon or to opDress the innocent.
CASE FOR PLAIN SPEAKING.
You take violent exception to my use Of the
T3rd as apped to those nnag
Ttldens large majority. OF course you prefer
your own enDhemistic phrase, and call ittaking
"a political advantage" But / cannot see
wherein my term is wrong. Your objection is
like that Of ancient Pistol to the word 'steal,'
for which hs wished to substitute convey"
| To say conspiracy, fraud. or anything else
which implies that your friends Ia Louisiana
and their allies were guilty of crime. Ia, In your
opinion, coarse and brutal. Your refined taste
| has been deeply offended In this way, not only
| BY me, but by the whole emocracy. wherever
| they have written Or spoken the subject.
| either In CONGRESS-. before the commission or
elsewhere. The impoliteness II making the
accusation has been uniformly heightened by
the rough boldness with which it was proved
| to be true, and by the "blistering words" In
which it was denounced. Perhaps all the DEM
ocrats We're wrong TO some extent. 1t may be
| that we ought not to have spoken out in harsh
| terms OF censnre. or said ANYTHING 70 disturb