Feliciana sentinel. [volume] (St. Francisville, La.) 1877-1892, 1877-12-15

crimes. To infi;ct it is an exercise of tn,
highest legal authority. The judicia
power In Louisiana Is exclusively con
fined by the Stats constitution to certain
enumerated courts, and the Returning
Board is not one Of them. Therefore, a,
act of the Legislature which gives tt
such board any judicial power to pun
ish any person tor any offence, is clearly
void But in addition to this, it is pro
vided by the fundamental law Of all free
Sta 'es, including Louisiana, that even
the ceurts OF magistrates capabls df hol.
ding this power shall never exercise il
except OIL formal accusation and due con.
~lction, at Regular trial before an i'm.
partial jury. Now, tho legislative act
| which you assert to DO constitutional
gives the power to punish by disfran-
| chisemeut to the Returning Board, which
is not court,:. and authorizes it to pro-
nounce sentence of Acknowledgement up-
on all the citizens of parish at once, for
an act of violence not committed by
themselves or by any Of them, but by
somebody else whom they may never
have seen or heard Of Even the fact
that violence was committed by other
parties is to be ascertaine6, not by a
trial, but by an inquiry conducted in Sc
secret, behind tile back of che parties, on
ex parte statements Of their political enc
mics. The sentencc is 60 be carried re-
nlorselessly out though it have tho etf ect
of remanding the whole people OF the
whole State back to hopeless bondage
tom which they are struggling to be
free.
Such law you declare to be constitu-
tional and valid! There is not a half.
grown hoy in the country of average I'M
Outstanding that does not know better.
c''i1not help but belle We that little re-
Election would have saved even you from
the shame and folly of making an asser-
ton 80 destitute of all sense and reason.
But you go further. You hot only aver
that the power of the Legislature to pass
such law cannot be doubted, but You
declare that the supreme Court of Louis
lana has adjudged it to Re valid, that is
to say, consistent with the constitution.
This is extremely INJURIOUS to that court,
and, if believed, it would destroy all conf
dence in the Integrity of its judgments.
Knowing something of its members, take
leave to say tina. they are utterly incapa.
Die of making q decision ct once so false
and % absurd. In fact, they did not.
No case ever came before them involving
the question, and no dctum
ever fell from either Of them which
could give the Returning Board or it's
owners the least hope of being sustained
rs Il constitutional body.
TALsIFIED DECISION.
This Justification of a judicial decision
to uphold the power of the Returning
Board in fabricating election returns has
Il curious history. In November last,
Mr. Stanley Mathews, in a published let
ter, said that the Supreme Court Of the
State had decided the Returning Board
statute to be constitutional. He was
immediately picked up by nine Louisiana
lawyers, who told him in printed pani-
with great politeness to correct tie error.
He was silent. but the visiting commits
zee reasscrted in its report substantial
y the same thing. Again it was met
With loud and emphatic contradiction.
Nsverthe less, Mr.. Sherman IN the SEN
tie afterward reaffirmed it. and
lad the temerity to hold up u book of
louisiana reports, in which he said the
lecision would be found. Those who,
or want of time or interest in the sub
ect, did not examine the report, were
II some sort compelled to believe what
vas affirmed about it by @ Senator who
'rofessed to have carefully read it, and
II consequence the reputation of the
louisiana court suffered severely for a
ecame known for what it really was,
nd it was again thoroughly exposed as
ou. very well known. Now, after all
his, here are you at the same work
gain, pare ding anew the citation prov
d to be false halc 4 dozen times. The
atient pertinacity of Pope's spider, re-
onstructing its web as often as it was
wept away, is the figure that fits your
ase. l will not quote the lines lest
hey offend you by their coarseness.
You transcribe passage in which +
on tell us thaU the court has decided the :
ability of the statute; but you are Care 6
IL not to mention the case OF the Look ,
ON which you take it g.; it is found, how =,
YER, in tie case of Bonner VS.. Lynch, OH q
age 29S of the 18th Annual, There is G
OF in that passage, OF in that case, or in Il
lat book, one word that alludes in the T
,motest manner to the constitutional 8,
nestion or the power of the Legislature a
pass such a Law. The case being ex. h
mined shows thst no such point was f;