Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1878-04-25
Telegrams to The Star.
THE VOTE OF FLORIDA
McLIN'S CONFESSION IN FULL.
DENNIS ON DEMOCRATIC FRAUDS.
THE PRESIDENT IN PHILADELPHIA,
MAKING TO-DAY.
THE FLORIDA SENSATION.


JUDGE McLin's Confession in Full.
NEW YORK, April 25.-The Times prints the
following as Judge McLin's confession:
"As member of the late state board of can
bya sense of duty to myself and justice to
others, to make the following statement: At
dhe time the canvass was made was not at
Sigbt any tme me conscious Oh acting Otherwise than
with the conviction that it was my privilege
and duty, in a political sense, to give the ben
efit OF every doubt in favor of the republican
party felt that when question could be
decided either way without doing violence to
public sense of justice, it was fairly allow
able in politics, that should always lean to
favor, even at the hazard of straining point
At no time did l feel that 1 occupied the posi-
ton OF judge, charged with the duty of a
strict and nice weighing and balancing of all
TO that time feel that there was cOmbina
ton OF influences that must have operated
most powerfully in binding my Judgment aud
years, and was at the time of the canvass, a
very active partisan. l sincerely thought that
our state and the nation would suffer irrepar
obtain the presidency, and the policy of
hatred to the negro and those who had
been the friends of the negro should
ooslIo obtain control a at washington. 1t was the
very existence of the men who in the south had
upheld the republican party. depended upon
the election of Mr.. Hayes. Mr.. Hayes would
sustain them throughout the south, while Mr..
Iilden WOu crush them. Twas shown hume
rouS telegramS addressed to Gov. StearnS and
others from the trusted leaders of the republi-
can party IN the north, insisting that the sal
yati0n Of the country dependcd upon the vote
OF Florida being cast for Hayes. Those tele-
grams came from those to whom had been
accustomed to defer-the chairman of the
nearest personal friend of Mr.. Hayes, and
who had conducted the canvass. These tele-
grams also gave assurance of the forthcoming
VeSS G %P Hayes fbes
kilograms trusted northern republicans, party
leaders and personal friends of Mr.. Hayes, ar
rived in Florida as rapidly as the railroads
could bring them. l was surrounded by these
men who were ardent republicans, and
especially by friends of Gov. Hayes. One gen
teman particularly, Gov. NOyeS of Ohio, was
understood to represent him and speak with
the authority Of warm personal friend. com
missioned with power to act in his behalf
These men referred to the general destruction
of the country should Mr.. Tilden be elected,
the north, and their full sympathy with us.
cannot say how far my action may have
been Influenced by the intense excitement
that prevailed around me, or how far my par
tisan zeal may have led me into error. Nei sher
can l say how far my course was Influenced
by the promise made by NOyeS that if Mr.
Hayes became President should be rewarded.
Certainly these influences must have had a
StrOng control over my Judgment and action
Reviewing my action at this distance of time
with all camness, with my ardOr cooled and
my partisan zeal chilled by the President, who
has basely betrayed and mercileSSly destroyed
the republican party of the south, and crushed
the very men who did SO much for his election,
am persuaded that the Florida canvass was
not conducted with that cool, calm Judgment
and honest, unbiased decision that Should
have characterized a proceeding involving
such vast and important interests. Instead OF
this now see that the whole proceedings went
through upon the highest wave of political
eXcltement; that partisan feeling stimulated
10 the utmost by the most powerful agencies,
ment, and political eXpediency ruled the hour
large number of precincts were either con
tested by the democratic or republican party
Voluminous testimony was filed, and the law
yers of both sides argued, each for their side
of the issue, that it was the duty of the board
to threw out and not include in the count or
retain ret, and count precincts on the ground of
that was charged to exist The attorneygeneral
of the state, and member of the board had
decided that the board had quasi judicial
power, and had the right to exclude precincts
from the count, If the returns were shown to
be so irregular, false or fraudulent as to pre-
vent the board from aScertaining from them
the true vote. With the view of its duties the
board entered upon the work of the canvass
with the conviction that they were invested
with large discretionary powers, which were
OF mixed character political and judicial.
the political largely predominating. Partisan
zeal and strong political ties had a powerful
influence in the exercise of these powers. and
the republicans having majority of the board,
result proved. If the board had acted in ac
cordance with the decision of the supreme
court OF the state defining the powers and du-
ties OF the board in reference to throwing out
precincts since rendered, there is no question
OF the fact that MIR. Tilien would have been
entitled to the vote of Florida. Excluding the
return from Baker county, which was counted,
and which have since learned from the par
made man II nfaa atur
return. and including the true return, which
cOrresponded with the precinct returns of
that @ county. would % certainly have given the
Alachua county, was included in the count.
The fraud committed in this precinct was not
shown to the board by the democratic lawyers,
attention given to this precinct; but / have
recently learned from the republican
leader OF that county that after the re-
tpe turns had been DO brought to Gainesville
returns by the inspectors and clerk of said
precinct. In Leon county "A small republican
ballots were stuffed into the ballot box at pre-
to the satisfaction of the democratic member
OF the board, that these were false ballots.
Subsequent confession shows that they were
Bowes, one Of the inspectors, have have tiiSfs tickefts
similar to them few days before the election,
and cautioned him against their use unless
they were generally adopted, and afterward
county, in a certain precinct at which Mr. j.
Bell was inspector, 100 votes were surrep.
titiOusly added to the ballots and counted. No
charge was made as to this fact before the
board. The confession of j. Bell since made
to me, disclOses the fact that had the 2l9
votes fraudulently added to the Archer re-
turn, and the "a votes stuffed in the box in
Leon county, and the 100 votes surreptitiOusly
added in Jefferson county, aggregating 1893
votes, been rejected, and the democratic
rejected precincts, which were excluded for
irregularity and illegality contrary to the
decision OF the Supreme Court been retained
and counted. Mr.. Tilden would have carried
the state. The conclusion, therefore, is ire
SiStible that Mr.. Tilden was entitled to the
electoral vote of Florida, and not Mr. Hayes.
In making this statement my motives will
doubtless be questioned by many, but the facts
VIII stand alone as the truth, without any
mere motives to sustain them. l am free to
admit that viewing things as now do, and re-
membering that Mr.. Hayes was continually
inspiring his personal friends and trusted
agents by every means in his power to secure
for him the electoral vote of Florida and Louis
lana; and, believing it to have been a con-
SciOuS wrong on his part, done with knowl-
edge that he had not been elected as his subse-
whose title was bound up in his own, and his
willful and cowardly desertion of the very
men who contributed so largely to his election
has shown. My contempt for the pitiablelittle-
ness of the man is beyond my power of ex-
preston. Mr.. Hayes has denied the validity
OF his own title in denying Gov. Packard's. He
has ignored his Florida friends, showing he be-
lieved them unworthy and tainted with a
fraud, yet he holds on to the PreSidency