The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1877-03-07

Mr.. Carpenter spoke some minutes in support
of the proposition laid down by him that the
Presidential electors are Federal and not State
officers. He read from the State constitution of
Louisiana several sections asserting that they
clearly limit all judicial power to the courts
the judicial powcr-conferred upon the return
ing board must be regarded as fully unconstl-
%tutional. Mr.. Carpenter said they would show,
if allowed by the commission, that not q single
parish in Louisiana sent to the returning board
any evidence in the form prescribed by law for
the purpose of throwing out votes on the
ground of intimidation and violence. He read
from the report OH Louisiana signed by Messrs.
Hoar, Wheeler and Frye. certain passages. He
said that Mr.. Wheeler would be, he thought,
very much surprised to find himself counted in
bv a board which he lad joined in condcmning
for doing a precisely similar thing: Mr.. Car
peItcr's closing appeal to tFO commission was
DO not attempt to stauncli blood with fraud,
and invite the overthrow of our institutions
Mr.. Trumbull then offered the evidence on
the Democratic side:
First-That William p. Kellogg, who appears
as n Hayes ~clcctor, is the same person who
was dc fdrf0 governor of Louisiana.
Sccond-That William p. Kellogg was not
appOintcd one of the electors of Louisiana in
1876, and that the certificate was untrue in
facts; and to show this certified copies Of the
lists Of the commissioners Of election.
InlrU-luaC the names bl tliC slfclNlSOrS Ol
registration were fully and fraltdu!ently omit
ted to the return part OF the votes in several
parishes, and that 2,267 votes against Kellogg
were thus omitted.
Fourth-That by the consolidated statement
of the supervisors of the registration it mp
pears that the said Kellogg received 3,459
votes less than each of the lilden electors.
F%ifth-That tho returning board wilfully and
fraudulcntly estimated and counted 234 votes.
which were not given in any precinct of the
State.
Sixth-That the votes cast on the seventh of
November as shown by the commissioners
have never been compiled nor canvasscd, and
that said returning board never even pretended
to canvass these returns, and only canvassed
the returns made by the supervisors.
Seyenth-That the votes given for electors
have never been opened by the governor Of the
State in presence Of the secretary of State, the
Encouragement Of the State and a district
judge at the seat of government nor has he
examined the returns and ascertaincd whether
any one was elected, but that he knew when he
executed the certificates to himself and others
that he and they had not received within 5000
of as many votes as had been cast for the Tilden
electors.
He proposed fourth to show that in Septem-
Der, 1876, Kellogg and othersin the city of New
Orleans, including the members Of the return
ing board, entered into an unlawful and crini-
al combination and conspiracy to cause it to
be certified and returned to tho secretary Of
State by the returning board upon their pre-
tended canvass, that Kellogg and Others had re-
ccived n majority of all votes cast at that cleo
ton for electors, whether such should be the
fact or not, and that the returning board, in
violation of the law of the State, OH the twen-
tieth of November, 1872. refused t" compile n
statement of votes made by the commissioner
of election in regard to the election Of electors,