Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1878-05-04

DcTs SnOulu DeIOng TO different political |
parties, they Were republicans. and two
OF them officers in the cuStnm-huuse at
New Orleans. The entire clerical force
OF the board was also composed of re-
publicans. who would. of course, be the
ready Instruments OF their employers.
Its members We're the same men who
sat upon ii in 1874, and after the election
IN that year, took the ajorily Of votes
from one side and gave it 10 the other
by unjust, arbitrary, and illegal acts"
AS admitted by republican congress
ional committee. The president OF the
board had branded himself as perjurcr
in the testimony he had given re-
spectlng the state election OF that year.
and had disgraced himself by his pDit-
ical rascaiity and disregard ot law while
holding his gubernatorial Office in 1861.
The board had been characterized by |
Hon William A. Wheeler as "a disgrace
to civilization, and was covered with |
universal suspicion. And yet, John
Sherman, Stanley Matthews, James A.
Gartield,and their republican associates.
in rejecting the proposition for a JOINT
political conference, declared that they |
had no reason to doubt that :, perfectly |
honest and just declaration Of the re-
suits of the election in Louisiana would
be made by its members, while Mr..
Sherman pronounced Mr.. Wells 1.-The
peer of any man in the senate
The belief that these Republican lead !
ers had united with the returning board |
in its conspiracy to cheat the people OF
the United States received further con |
tirmation in It's action while cauvAssing
the votes. The board persistcntlv |
trampled upon the law under which it
acted, by refusing to fill the vacancy in
its membership and supply the political
element which was wanting. 1t wrap
ped itself in tho mantle of darkness
while pretending to discharge it duties,
by excluding from its sessions the pub
lie, the general press reporters, the SUI
pervisors and registrars OF elections.
| and the candidates for office and their
| attorneys. In number OF instances the
sealed returns from distant parishes
were clandes,inely opened, and the pa
pers tampered with. after they had been
| received by the board, as was shown by
inspection on the canvass OF the return.
1t was simply impossible to attend its
daily sessions and scrutiuiZe its action
without realizing that forgery, perjury.
and fraud, were libcrally woven INTO
| their work. 1t iiagrantly violated the
| law from which it derived its authority
| by throwing out the ballots of seven or
eight thousand lcgaily-qualitied Demo-
cratic voters, in order 10 secure Il rc-
, publican victory. Inerc WAS np charge
of repeating, buIot->tutliug, or fraud
! ulent returns. and their action was
| founded solely on the compliant OF i'll
| tmitation; ami with that they had moth
! ing whatever to DO. unless the CuInni--
slouer of clctlon or supervisors OF reg
istratlon hai laid the foundation Tor 1t
by their atiidavits, setting forth the facts
OF auy riot. unult, acts ut violence, in
tlmidation. armed disturbance. or cor
rupt influences, which prevented or
tended to prevent :, tair. free and peace
able election, and showing the number
OF qualified electors deferred by such
proceedings from voting or registering
These statements must be made out
within tweuty-iour hours after the re-
ceipt OF all the returns for the different
polling places. and must he forwarded
in duplicate to the supervisor of regis
tra,ion of the parish II this iuunIa-
ton was not laid. the board had no .ju-
risdictiuu whatever, except 10 cp"Ai Mc
denied and undcniable that no such
foundation was laid, the action oI the
board in counting the vote o. the state
for Hayes and Wheeler was an utter de-
fiance of its laws. Il ilagrant outrage.
and hideous mockery of representative
government.
But the line OF argument we are pur-
suing does not end here. Tiidcn anh
I L. \ I
lana, but the nation was not yet cheated.
The house of representatives was III the
hands OF the democrats. and, il the
concurring action OF both houses of con-
gress was required in counting the cleo
toriai vote. the triumph OF Hayes and
Wheeler was not yet assured. The
grand conspiracy might tail after all
tor the right OF the vicc-prcsldcnt 10
count the vote and declare the result
had been denied by nearly all the lead
ing men OF the country. OF whatever
party. Indeed, according to an un.
broken chain OF precedents beginning
l with the election of Washington, and
reaching down to the year 1876, the
" counting OF the electoral vote is right
fully done by congress, or under its au
y thority and direction; while the right o
the vice president to count or canvass i
u has never been claimed by any presi
- ding officer Of the Senate,at any time O
under any circumstances. The twenty
. second Joint rules. adopted in 1860 by
republican congress. was an express re
cogntion OF the right of the two house
of congress to determine the question
To this rule and the principle it recog
/ nized nearly all the leading republican
} in the senate stood committed, and thei
= decided opinions on the subject had bee
l. recorded in its debates within the pre-
i ceding ten or twelve months. Nha
l. was to be done? How could the demc
u Gratis be kept out of power, and tn
+ reign of republicanism be prolonged.
these precedcnts were to be conSIdcre
le as binding? The difficulty was not ii
II surmountablc. "Whcre there is 4 wi
Il there is way" and the case was
IL plain one in the minds of the leaders, VIII
D. regarded new lease OF republican pow
:! er as a toreordained necessity, and ha
- never faltered in their pursuit OF it sine
W they had been summoned To their tas
20 by the telegram OF William + Chandler
y The republican party was stretched @
IT, its bed OF death. and gaspmg ont il
III PRAYER for deliverance from the lui4
e ment to come; AMI If any nostrun
u would save it they must be a1mnistr
y ed. The inauguration of Hayes an
II, Wheeler was a toregone conclusion, an
"a as this could only be done through I'll
,u canvass and count OF the electoral vo
IL, by the vice-president, preceaen,s mu
III be disregarded. and that officer mu
IN face the duty. Accordingly, Senate
Eli Morton. always ready to sacrifice elth'
IS, principle or consistency i'll the service
" his party. announced that the presider
r. of the senate would count the elect"r
81 vote and declare the result. ard that.
d. necessary. it would he enforced by t!
st army and navy. A decided majority
II his party friends were ready to JOIN hi
us in this somcrsault, and the pres
IN dent, who, as we have said, believe
e. the vote of Louisiana should not |
n counted, proceeded to mass his trool
le in the capital. Whether this revolution
t. AIRY conspiracy would have been attemp
10 ed. il the democrats had been ready
Id stand by their constitutional rights. ca
IL never be certainly known; but the spir
IT and aim of the republican leaders WEI
H. perfectly developed, and worked OF
to the desired result.
II ITO he continued.
g There were tramps IN the old Grecia
1t dayS and thew were lust as unwilling |