The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-03-07

| ierfed 10 the C0n1nftteS on the judiciary.
| Mr.. Robertson in the chair
| Mr.. Dument observation-disclosures consent to
submit at this time the minority report Of the
| Committee ON Elections in the contested case
of WALES VS.. Wakefield,
| The report was received and ordered To he
printed in the journal
| COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS !
New Orleans. March l. 1878. 4
To the Honorable President and Members of
the Senate
Of the majority. and respectfully submit the
| following In the case of Hteorge Wales cosa-
| testant, VS.. Samuel Wakefield. contestea
| in the Senate of the General Assembly Of The
| State Of Louisiana:
| The undersigned members OF the committee
Iappointed by your honorahle body to investi-
gate and report to the Senate the result Of
their Investigations beg leave to state that
they are unable to concur in the report Of the
| ma jority of said committee The reasons for
1 their non concurrence therein are sci forth in
the argument of counsel representing Hon.
Sam. Wakefield. contestee. which was sub
united in writing before the committee. The
authorities cited by the counsel of Hon
| George WALES, contestant, were therein care
fully considered, reviewed and shown to hn
inappicable to the case under investigation
! We find that they arose under the laws Of
| Congress, or under those of STATES whose CON
stit,ltions and laws were entirely different
| from those of Louisiana. In proof Of this we
| respectfully direct ynsr attention to article /,
section >. OF The constitution Of the United
| States which declares that Each house
shall be the Judge of the elections returns
and qualifications If its own members"
| We next invite your attention to article
| thirty4fnur Of the constitution Of Louisiana
| which read as follows:
| each house of the General Assembly shall
Judge Of the qualifications. election and rc-
turns Of its members: but n contested election
shaH be determined in such manner as may
! be prescribed by law,
| glance. that under the constitution of the
| United States. Congress. as a Legislative body.
| would not possibly enact any law of a tnanda-
| tory character which would take from each
house the constitutional and absolute right, to
Judge for itself of the elections. returns and
whereas Under the state Constitution
| each house Of the General Assembly
| is to Judge of the election. qualification and
| returns Of its members only in such manner
| as has been prescribed by law, The law. then,
under the State constitution Is erncfIv az
| mandatory as the constitution ITSELF In fact
| it. in subthnee, IS part of the constitution
| SO far rs it is necessary to direct your honpra-
| bic body in all Investigations of contested
| election cases We beg leave to report that
the evidence brought before the committee
shows clearly that the Hon. George Wales
has failed to comply with the provisions of
sections 14}1 and '14s5 ofo Rays Revised
Statutes of Louisiana. =. 2Sl, or either of
them. His petition was signed by no one but
himself. nor was presented within the time
prescribed by law. ItshouId have been signed
BY Ten duly qualified electors residing in the
| senatorial district. and sllouol have been pre-
scented to the Senate within thirty days after
the election of November 6. 1876
We are not able to find that anything of the
kind was done. and are unable to understand
why the laws relating to elections should be
so strictly and rigidly construed in questions
affecting the rights Of the contestee when they
are SO openly disrgarded and set ut naught
in all matters affecting those of the contest
ant II the authorities on which the major
ity of your committee rely are such as have
reference to constitutions and laws entirely
unlike our own. and we cannot see that they
are at all applicable in this case. One of the
polls IN the parish OF Iherville, 1t is urged.
should be thrown out because it was held q
mile away from the place designated by the
Supervisor Of Registration. This affords no
reason for such course. 1t Is in evidence
that no one was prevented thereby from vot-
ing. 1t was shown that a fall vote was cast
that there was no violence. The authorities
cited to show that the vote cast at that poll
should be thrown aside are based on cases
which arose under laws fixing the polling
places. There is no law in Louisiana fixing the
polling places ii must be apparent, then. that
the authorities cited are not pertinent. We 4
are unable to understand by what system Of
logic and right those who did vote in good faith
is not made to appear that others were de-
prived of that right We fail to understand
why they should lose their votes because
they were not polled at the spot designated
by the Supervisor of Registration. Had
fraud been shown on their part. or had it |
been shown that others had been prevented
from voting by the removal, we could better
understand why such n course might be re- |
commended. We invite the attention of the
Senate to an impartial consideration of the
written argument made by Meesrs. Culom
and Castellanos as showing that Hon Samuel
Wakefield, now sitting. to be permanently
entitled to n seat in the Senate as the duly
elected. returned and qualified member from
the Fourteenth Senatorial District of Lou
isiana.
To this end we submit the following pre-
oamhle and resolutions. and ask for their
adoption Il
all the evidence brought before the committee
appointed by your honorable body. and of
the arguments made pro and con, in the
matter of the contested election of Hon. Sam.
Wakefield by the Hon. George Wales. for II
seat in the Senate of Louisiana. MS represent
ing the Fourteenth Senatorial t'icto'f
Whereas. We arc unable to give our con
Il majority of the committee, a,clieoing.
as we firmly do, that Hon. George Wales has
not brought himself within the mandatory
provisions of article 81 Of the constitution OF
Louisiana. nor within the equally mandatory
provisions of sections 1881 and l433 of Rays
Revised Statutes. to be found on page i81
thereof; and believing further that the Hon.
Samuel Wakefield, the present seated mem
Der from the Fourteenth Senatorial District
of Louisiana, was duly and legally elected in
his stead and that he was III all respects
qualified;
BE il resolved bV the Senate Of the State Of
Louisiana IN General Assembly conrcned, That
Hon. Samuel Wakefield, now sitting and
ram in he Fnnrtnpnth Senatorial
trct of Louisiana be and he is hereby de-
clared the rightful Senator. duly elected. re-
turned and qualified as such. and justly en-
titled to his seat in thisbody, for the full term
of State Senator.
Respectfully submitted.
A. DUMONT,
THEOPHILE T.. ALLAN,
"a. j. BRYANT.
Mr. Ogden obtained unanimous consent to
call np at this time the