New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-12-27
NEW WORK DAILY TRIBUNE THURSDAY, DECEMBER S7 1877.

there il very little risk iii Saying tnat thc
writer has in one OF two instances mdiiged III
sarcasm. When, however nc says;
you baye assumed when canyassing against my pro
test) iudlcal power denied you, ana not even reoy
contemplated by the law constituting your boafu '"nioh
is ministerial only in its functions by assuming
15 votes for Mr. Robertson which were thrown OUT ny
e I,snectot, o Election as defective. in not conform
ING 70 the statute the same defect being confirmed az
illegal votes by the County Canyassing Board dueso'
OF that judicial character being left by the Legislature
and the usage I'm such cases the decisions OF the COURTS
where testimony can be taken to the legislative Douy
itself which, by the Constitution Is made the Judge Vi
the election and qualification OF Its own mehDers-
he seems to be quite serious though 1t Is dill
ficut to say what it il all about Inc languages
is positive too and there's great deal Oh IL f;
but somehow it isn't easy to follow. linen
he says-or asks-we don't quite make out
whether it is an assertion or c0nundrum:
Where did you derive any power to depart from 'ne
staements made by the County Canyassersf where you
are directed by the statute to determine and declare
p,nisteriay upon such statement, instead OF which you
ignored the statement of the Board OF County Canvassers
of Westchester, which refused TO count the LOO hegal
votes for Mr. Robertson because they were not IN ac
cordance with the requirements OF the STATUTE ana you
assumed judicial powers to count them as legal votes ior
him without extrlnsic testimony, which no court OF
record would have been warranted in attempting with
out obtaining cx;rnsc testimony as to the fact OF the
usage.
If this is a cOnundrum, the Attorney-Gen-
eral must give it up if 1t is an assertion, we
don't see how we can deny it. Either way
Lathers seems like Fitz Altamont, the crushed
tragedian, to have "got him again."
Later on he quotes Webster and Blackstone;
tells what De LOlme says about the practice
of Roman Prgtors relates the classic story
about "Aexander the Great and the Cor
"dan knot ;" quotes distinguished English
"Chancellor;r gives the story about Peri
"clesD consulting "Alcibmdes" when ne
wished to become member of the &" AreOpa-
"gus," and winds up in a blaze OF glory.
1t is not, strictly speaking, an intel
isib!e letter, but there's great deal of it, and
it's full of lore We suspect that Lathers him.
self understands it, or at least that he knows
what he is driving at. He has that advantage
over Mr.. Fairchld and the general public.
And that is no small thing in a controversy,
if we are right in assuming that this is a con-
troversy. Until we hear further from Lathers we
shall continue in the belief that Lathers thinks
he was elected Senator, and that the letter Is
actually intended to raise an issue with the
Attomey-Gencral as to something that tunc-
tiOnary has been doing about 1t. It's g0Od
letter, of c0urse--a first rate letter-but then
how much easier to have secured favorable
opinion from the Attorney-General, in the
same way he obtained the nomination at
Nyack, by sending Puroy up to Albany to
break Fairchild's jaw. And perhaps Farchild
would have preferred that to reading the
letter.