New-York tribune., 1878-04-26
THE CONFESSION OF FRAUD.
N,IIX's STORY AND THOSE OF THE OFFICERS VI
BAKER AND OTHER COUNTIES.

THE CONFESSION OF FRAUD.
MINIS STORY AND THOSE OF THE OFFICERS VI
BAKER AND OTHER COUNTIES.
lBY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRInUSE.l
wAsH1SGToN. April 25.-The paper signed by
Samuel b. McLin, late a member OF the floriua
Board of State Canvassers, begins win
statement that he entered the canvass WIN u
firm conviction that it was bls duty 10 give the
benefit of every doubt TO the Republican party lie
relates the story of the excitement that reigheo a'ci
the election aud speaks of the telegramS the aIIi'
Of men from the North etc., and says:
Iconnot say how far my action may have been infu,
enced Inv the intense excitement that pevalleu arona
how far my partisan zea NV uS Ear INV course was
inauonced by the promise made by Moves tha' a
If Mr. Hayes became President snonu @ DC ron con-
Certainly these influences must nave hta s1toiiE
troll over my judgment and action. ReyiiWlntg t
my action at TINS mstaAee ond S 'anG anG NV pai.
tisan zeal chilled by the President VINO a nas
baseiy BETRAYED and merCiles,y destroyed the Repnn
ican party Of the South and crushed the very men VIC
(d so much FOR his election. am pisuautu VI, lt ~ to
Florida canvass not conducted with that cooli Sah
Judgment and honest unbiased decision that should nave
chaIacerizcd proceeding involving such vast ana i-
The work Of thc cauyass with the conviction tna'
they were invested with large discretionary poH H.
dc!a the political largely predomnailng Partisan zeai
and strong political ties had pOWcLn! nmuence @ III ,o
nni6lty OF the board the cGnyass was largely g
ilcig favor the result proved IL t9e posru nae
SoI f bc stale dcfaug the powers and duties OF The
board in reference TO throwing Gut Pr'chcis' iin
drred there Is question of the iaCt tha MI luch
Tould have been entitled 10 the vote Of Florida
Mr.. McLin specifies that the Baker County
return was manufactured; that 2l0 votes
were added to the returns by the inspector
and clerk in Archer Precinct; that n ke-
publican votes had been stuffed into the
boxes in Leon County; and that 100 votes were
surcptitiouslv added in jefferson County and That
this addition of 393 votes gave the state to Mr.
Hayes.
The McLin confession closes with a political
attack upOn President Hayes.
Afidaylts are made by Sheriff \. A. Allen. Justice
William Green. and Clerk VI. /. Coke. OF Baker
County, The Baker County story Is suhtclently
given in the affidavit Of the former, as follows:
We rot posscssion Of the Clerks Office after
dark that night, and IN COMPANY WIN Gig'], ] ioOGD@
over the precinct returns We iound at Nv ti1o"'s M
cincis, which both gave Democratic malJr!ucs WOMB
give the county othc Republican Ifesiden,iai dsSIts
from unety-lve Democratic m2ionHi wLl,h was t inf
iilese two precincts, obtained blank from
the Clerks office. and then proceeded TO the rest
dence OF George Canova aud there fled out ihe re
turn according to ou- Determination. signed IT,
and handed it TO said Dgiggers After the count
this deponent that "our return was recognized
ali right by the State Board of CanyaSsers."
ont arbitrarily without law or evidence shadow Of
richt and was done throw the county Rcpu 1can and
Changed tie vote of tic state about the same
in relative moIorties as it did the county OF Baker y
giving the true return, which wouid nclude the Two
Democratic precincts, the Democratic majority III the
state would be abont nnety.fve. By excluding ihese
precincts and by taking the false return signed by Org
gers Green and tIs dep,nent, the Republican majority
in the State would be about foryihree ON the ihce o'
the returns.
With reference to Leon County, the men III whose
possession the Florida papers are have an affidavit
III Clerk who
says:
know that prior TO the election BOwes Purman, and
others had gotten up diminuiye ballots wth ntAut
10 them auJueny in the election hv stunng boxes,
etc. ard protested against t. and urged that the design
OF using these tickets be dropped They told me
aud then believedl thatl they had abandoned the
Of the Of seventy four of these small TICKETS ~
told me that he managed to get eeyeniy
four tickets into the box, and fxed the poll list
tration list. This addition OF names done in
such bungiing manner that atterwnlo' when
in Florida crnsnTed Bowes for il. and told him that be
had gotten the party into trouble by his bungng lie
Carried the state for Hayes, and made him President
These seyentyfour fraudulent votes were canyassed by
both the County and state Board oi ana IN
the for the Hayes electors for the state
III the Archer Precinct, in Alachua County, it is
said that name were added TO the pOl-list, and as
many votes the To this story there Is an
affidavit by L. G. Dennis member of the Republi-
can Central Committee, who says
was at Gainesville the day Of election, and that
night and the day following my residence waE the
Headquarters of the Republican party, and our
ing the night preceding tho election oil lnfOrina
ton brOugh 10 me there. Some time after
midnight OF that night Inspector Black came 10
nv house and reported to me that the result OF
the election Box No for Presidential Electors
follows the HAYES electors $50 for the Tldeu elrc
tors 1856 little later Mr. Vance, the CLERK ut said Box
No. g came and made the same report. subsequently
Black and Vance 10 me ana said they had the
returns from Archer Precinct Box No signed 10 blank
by the inspectors and that they would make out the
meet the expectations of their own party
two or hours ana then informed that they had
and had increased the Republican vote TO that
tent and afterward learned that they had added 2l9
namcs TO the poll list. j entered the room
willie they were employed there. ana them
copying names from the county registration
let upon which those had actually voted at
Archer Precinct Box No q were checked of, and the
now selected from the names OF Republican
voters who had not already voted at that precinct
After completing the returns In tins manner, they filed
them, with the belot-bOX, with the County Clerk.
These additional votes were counted, it is said, by
the State Canvassers.
There are other afidavits and a number of letters
accompanying the McLin document, but they are
not of special value.
A COMPETENT EXPERT
A MAN WHO KNEW HOW IT WAS HIMSELF HAVING