The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1877-02-22

ouAl0O LILO oASoiAAOAU, CoAtouQlnS bHdC tu0 COAI-
stitution of the United States forbade confer
ring judicial power upon the Returning Board
of the United States, and that the law of the
State which attempted to confer such power
was void. The Returning Board, had it pos
sessed Judicial powers, had gone outside its
privilege. The statute requires duplicate returns
to be made within twenty-four hours, and such
returns were not made within fifteen days. He
denounced in bitter terms the members of
the Returning Board, and said careful and
thorough examination of the case by the COM
mission would do more to restore peace in
Louisiana than regiment of soldiers. at the
conclusion OF Mr. Carpenters argument, propo-
si6ons were introduced to discuss the admissi-
bility of evidence in the Louisiana case, and to
debate the whole case. The former prevailed,
the latter being rejected. After a short recess,
Lyman Trumbull took the floor and proceeded
with his argument, saying that they were
brought face to face with the question whether
President of the United States is to be made
through fraud and villainy on the part of Off
Gals whose duty it was to issue the certificates.
There was no other other tribunal to which APP
pication could be made except this tribunal. He
spoke of the tribunal as the tribunal of the two
houses of Congress. Could it be, he asked, that
the constitution had made no provision against
the inauguration of a President by forgery and
fraud, and by conspiracy between the men
who certify to his election? He felt Inundated
that as citizen of the republic he was called
upon to argue this question before a national
tribunal. Mr.. Trumbull agreed that it was not
only the right but the duty of the commission
to go to the very bottom facts in the
case, and ascertain who were the legally
elected electors in Louisiana. He went
into a general review of Louisiana affairs and
made what is claimed to be the ablest argu-
ment in behalf of Tlden yet delivered before
the commission. He was followed by E. w.
Stoughton on the Republican side, who argued
that the Returning Board was a legal body,
and had power to apportion the vote and finally
certify it. It seemed to him that the decision
of the commission in the Florida case deter
mined the entire question here raised as to the
of the Returning Board, and he could not
perceive that any question (much
less the main question: was now
open for argument In conclusion
he said: "Talk to me about outrage, frauds
and Acknowledgement of voters There are
two sides of the question, and if you sit here
to 60 back and canvass votes you sit here to
administer the laws Of Louisiana, and you must
administer them by learning who have been
disfranchised and what was the lawful vote of
that State in harmony with her laws,
and not in harmony with the will of
party" Mr.. Shellabarger next addressed
the commission on the same side. He argued
that Kellogg was the rightful Governor of
Louisiana, that the Returning Board was a
legal body, that the electors objected to were
not ineligible, and that it is not competent for
the commission to go behind the action of the
Returning Board for the purpose of finding
out what happened in its exercise of jurisdic-
ton bestowed by the statute.
THURSDAY, Feb. 15.-Argument on the admis-
sibility of evidence in the Louisiana case was
resumed. William M. Evarts, of Republican
counsel, spoke against the admission of EVIL
dence, and Judge John A. Campbell closed on
the Democratic side in favor of receiving testi-
mony. At the conclusion of the speeches the
court went into secret session, and, after an
hours debate, adjourned
FRIDAY, Feb. 16.-The following is brief
minute of the secret deliberations of the COM
mission upon the question of admitting evil
dence in the Louisiana case Mr.. Hoar moved
that the evidence be not received. Mr.. Abbott
moved, as a substitute, that evidence be re-
ceived to show that the act of Lou
isiana establishing a Returning Board for
that State is unconstitutional, and the
acts of said Returning Board are void.
This was rejected byAthe following vote /:
Peas-;AIbbott, Bayard, Clifford, Field, Hunton,
Payne, Thurman. Ndys-Bradley, Edmunds,
Frelinghuysen, Garfield, Hoar, Miller, Morton,
Stong-8. A number of other propositions for
the admission of evidence were presented and
voted down. the vote in each instance standing
to 8, as recorded above. The vote on Mr..
Hoar's original motion, that evidence be not re-
ceived, was then adopted by the following vote:
Yeds-Bradley, Edmunds, Frelnghuysen, Gar
field, Hoar Miller, Morton, Strong-8. Mays
Abbott, Bayard, Clifford, Field, Hunton, Payne,
Thurman. The following resolution was
then offered by Senator Morton, and adopted
by the same vote Resolued, That the persons
named as electors in certificate No. were the
lawful electors of the State of Louisi-
ana, and that their votes are the votes
provided by the constitution of the United
States, and should be counted for President and
Vice President. Justices Miller and Bradley
and Representative Hoar were then appointeda
committee to draft the report Of the decision,
with brief statement of the reasons therefor.
A recess of about one hour was then taken to
afford time for drafting the report, which,
upon the reassembhng Of the commission, was
presented, and after being read was signed by
Messrs. Miller, Strong, Bradley, Edmunds,
Morton, Frelinghuysen, Garfield and Hoar.
The report is to the following effect:
The Electoral Commission, having received GER
tain certificates and papers purporting to be certi
Gates of electoral votes of the State of Louisiana,
and certain papers accompanying the same and OBJ
econs thereto, report that it has duly considered
the same, and has decided, and does hereby decide,
that the votes Of William Pitt Kellogg, O. H. Brewster,
A. B. Levisee. Oscar Jaffrain, Peter Joseph j. II.
Birch, L. A. Sheldon and Morris Marks, named in
the certificate of William P. Kellogg, Governor Of
said State, which votes are certified by said per-
sons, appears by certificates submitted to the
commission, as aforesaid, and marked No. by
said commission and herewith returned, the
votes provided for by the constitution of the United
States, and that the lawfully to be counted
as therein certified, namely, eight votes for Ruther-
ford B. Hayes, of the State of Ohio, for President
A Whpolo of fhn afQ
of New York, for Vice President
The commission also decides and reports that the
eight persons first before-named were duly appoint
ed electors in and by the State of Louisiana.
The ground of this decision, stated briefly, Isl
substantially as follows:
That it is not competent to go into the evidence
0lSude as to the papers opened by the President of
the Senate in the presence of the two houses to prove
that other persons than those regularly certified by
the Governor of the State of Louisiana in and &C
cording to the determination and declaration of
their appointment in other words to go behind the
certificate of the Governor, far as it is founded
fha M 10