The Morning herald., 1877-02-14
WASHINGTON
THE ELECTORAL TRIBUNAL.

THE ELECTORAL TRIBUNAL.
The Florida Business-Den1al Of Mr..
Frye's CharSe-Corbins Creden.
t1als Presented to tho Senate
The Wh1skey Raids i'm the
SOuth-Over the Cable
Trouble In tho French
House of Deputies.
THE FLORIDA BUs1NEss-DENIAL OF MR..
FR1E's CHARGE By MANToN MARBLE.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 13.-Manton MARBLE
publishes card In the "Daily Union" of
this morning denying certain statements of
Representative Frye, made in the House of
Representatives. He ays.-Frst, there
were no New York politicians in Tallah asse
at the time mentioned by Mr.. Frye; sec ond
Attorney-Genera Cooke never agreed to
threw out the vote of Monroe county; third, :,
Attorney General Cooke never voted to
throw out the vote of Monroe county;
Fourth; nobody ever proposed, and no MEM
ber of the Canvassing Board ever agreed or
voted, to throw out the vote of Monroe
county. He says when tho two Re-
publican members of the State Canvassing
Board of Florida had completed their share
of the shameful partisan fraud which has
now reversed the vote of the people of
Florida-a fraud denounced by the Execu-
tive, the Legislature, and the judiciary Of
that State in every possible way, it was per.
ceived that the process Of fraud had besn
worked out mainly in four counties. They
took away1 500 votes from theTilden electors
and 500 votes from tho Hayes electors, q
net gain of about ], 1000 to the Hayes electors,
which was ten times more than enough to
overbalance the actual majority Of sc which
the lowest TilGen elector had over the
highest Hayes elector, as shown upon the
face of tho returns.
MEETING OF THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION
THIS MORNING.
The Electoral Commission met at II A.
M, all members present except Senator
Thurman.
Judge Clifford said that the objectors to
certificates Nos. aud 8, (the Hayes cleo
tors) would be heard for two hours, and
then the objectors to certificate No. 2
would be heard for two hours, and that the
commission was ready to hear the objectors
to the frst-named co certificates.
Senator Mcdonald said he observed o ne
Of the Commissioners (JHdgs Thurman)
was i'll, and he sug gested that there be q
little delay before going on, to allow him
time to come in, which was agreed to.
After = delay of fifteen minutes, Judge
Clifford announced that Senator Thurman's
clerk reported that he was suffering with
neuralgia, but would be down to-day.
The commission directed the argument to
proceed. (Senator Thurman came liz ten
minutes later.) Senator Mcdonald then
proceeded in support of the objections to
the Hayes Ger ;incates, recapitulating the
objections prese nted in the House yesterday.
He claimed th 1t the Hayes electors were
not legally elec led: ard quoted the statutss
of Louisiana, howing two sets Of electoral
laws, one kno wn as the 1858, which was
carried into the Revised Statutes of 1870,
and the session act Of 1868, which was
carried into tn e Revised Statutes Of 1870,
and the session act of 1870.
A grand que stion arose as to which of
these acts were In force at the close of the
session of 1870. If the provision named
stood as the act of the Legislature then
the act of 1865 was repealed by the act of
1870. 1t was commonly held that the latter
law, where two were in conflict, repealed
the other. Bat this case was peculiar, as
while the laws were being revised the Leg
islnture was going o with new enactInents,
and hence, the act tx at the Revised st atutes
should not interfere with the sessions act Of
although the Revis. ID Statutes went into
operation after the L legislature had adjourn
ed. He maintained hat this act retained
the act of 1868 in for ce.
He next rferred Il the act of 1872. To
regulate the conduc and to maintain the
freedom and purity o elections, to prescribe
the modes OF MAXI ng returns thereof, to
provide for the electit IN of returning officers
and defining their po wers and duties to pre-
scribe the mode of entering on the rolls
Of the Senate and Ho, lse of Representatives,
and to enforce Articl 103 of the Constitu-
lion.
This act, he claim led, providing for the
general elections, bit made DO provision
for Presidential e]e'. .tors. The repeating
clause of the act (section ~ emphatically
repealed the act .of 1870, and in neither the
.ct of 1869 nor the act of 1872 made any
provision for fill az vacancies in the Elector-
II College, exce) 1t by an election.
The law of l $40, he claimed, repealed
Ill prior laws, q ad the act OF 1879 repealed
he act of 1870. There were two vacancies
illed by the ele ,tion of the same per.ons In
his State, and this selection, he held, was
'oid.
Mr.. McDona' ID then turned to the alleged |
radulent char acter of the action of the Re-
urning Bosrt !, and referred to previous
action and the laws to show
hat the Retu rning Board had no power to
ook into IRE Eularities at an election unless
he proper oundation is laid by the state
nent Of the Supervisors of Registration or