The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1878-04-26
FLOkIDA'S ELECTORAL VOTE.
Statements of McLin and Ten.
mis-.
FLORIDA REALLY VOTED FOR
HAYES,
But Tildan Got the Face Of the
Returns.

NEW YORK, April 25.-The Florida matter
occupies considerable attention in the news.
papers here. The following is McLin's state.
ment:
AS member of the late state board of can.
vassers of the state of Florida, 1 feel impelled
by sense OF duty to myself and justice to 9TH
ers, to make the following statemept:-A At
the time the canvass was made, was not at
any time conscious of acting otherwise than
right and proper, and entered upon the can
vass with the conviction that it was my privil-
ege and duty in political sense to give the
can party. felt thatswhen the question could
be decided either way without doing violence to
the public sense of JUSTICE it was fairly allowa-
BILE in politics that should always lean to my
own party and give my decision in its favor,
even at the hazard of straining a point At no
time did feel that occupied the position of a
judge charged with the duty of strict and nice
weighing and balancing of all the evidence pre-
scented.
Looking back now to that time, feel that
there was combination OF influences that
must have Operated most powerfully in blind
ing my judgment and swaying my action.
had been for many years, aud was at the time
OF the canvass, very active partisan. Tele-
grams came from those to whom had been
accustomed to defer. The chairman of the ma
tiOnal committee and the man who was the
nearest personal friend of Hayes, had conduct
ed the canvass. The kilograms also gave the
assurance of the forthcoming of money and
troops if necessary, in securing victory for
Hayes. Following these kilograms, trusted
Northern Republican leaders and personal
friends of Hayes arrived in Florida rapidly
as the railroads could bring them Twas sur
rounded ny these men, who were ardent Re-
publcans. and especially by the friends of
Hayes. One gentleman particularly, Governor
Noyes OF Oho) was understood to represent
him and speak with the authority of warm
personal friend commissioned with power to
act in his behalf These men referred to the
general destruction should Tilden be elected,
the intense anxiety of the Republican party of
the North and their full sympathy with us. 1
cannot say how far may have been influenced
by the intense excitement that prevailed
around me, or how far nv partisan zeal may
have led me into error Neither can say how
far my course was influenced by the promise
made by Noyes, that if Hayes became Presi-
dent Lshould be rewarded. Certainly, these
Influences must have had streng control over
my judgment and action. 1 surely thought our
state and nation would suffer irreparable in
jury it the Democratic party were to obtain the
Presidency, and the policy of hatred to the ne.
gro and those who had been friends of the
negro should obtain control at Washington. 1t
was common and unanimous talk; also that
the very existence of the men who in the South
had upheld the ReDublican party. depended
upon the election of Hayes Mr.. Hayes would
sustain them throughout the South, while
Tilden would crush them. l was shown num-
erOus kilograms addressed to Governor Stearns
and others. from trusted leaders of the Repub-
lican party in the North, insisting that the sal
walton of the country depended upon the vote
of Florida being cast for Hayes.
Reviewing my action at~this distance of time
with all GOODNESS, with my ardor cooled and my
partizan zeal chilled by a 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,
l am persuaded that the canvass was not con-
Quoted with that cool calm judgment and
honest, unbiased decision that should have
characterized proceedings involving such vast
and Important interests. Instead of this
now see that partisan feeling stimulated to the
utmost by the most powerful agencies, usurped
reason and sound Judgment, and political ex-
pediency ruled the hour.
A large number of precincts were either Con-
tested by the Democratic or Republican party,
and voluminous testimony filed and the lawyers
Of both sides presented their arguments. 1t
was decided that the board had a quasi judicial
power, and had the right to exclude precincts
from the count If the returns were shown to be
so irregular or false or fraudulent as to prevent
the board from ascertaining from them the true
vote. With this view of their duties, the board
entered upon the canvass with conviction that
they were invested with large discretionary
powers of mixed character, political and judi
clal-Ghe political largely predominating If
the board had acted in accordance with the
decision of the Supreme Court of the state,
defining the powers and duties of the board in
reference to throwing out precincts, there is no
question but that Tilden would have been en-
titled to the vote of Florida.
Excluding the return from Baker county,
which was counted and which, have since
learned from the parties who made it, was a
falsely manufactured return, and including the
true return which correspondent with the pre-
cinct returns, would have given the state to
q AIaohua
ty, was included in the count The fraud COM
mitted in this precinct was not shown to the
board by the Democratic lawyer, although a
contest was made. But have recently learned
from Republican leader of that county that
twenty-nine votes we're added, to the returns
by the inspectors aud the clerk of the precinct
In Leon county, "a small Republican ballots
were stuffed into the ballot-box at precinct No.
9. Yet it was made to appear, even to the
satisfaction of the Democra ic member of the
board, that these were not false ballots. A
sub .equent confession shows that they were
stuffed into the box. In Jefferson county, in a
certain precinct at which j. Bell was inspector,
100 votes were surrepttiously added to the
ballots aud counted. No charge was made as
to this feet before the board.
The confession of Bell, since made to me dis
closes the fack that he had the 219 votes
fraudulently added to the Archer return, and
"a votes stuffed into the box in Leon county,
and 100 votes surreptitiouslv added in Jeffsr-
son county, aggregasing 1893 votes. Had these
been rejected aud the Democratic rejected
PRECINCTS, which were excluded for irregularl-
ty and illegallty contrary to the decision of the
Supreme court, been retained and counted, Mr..
Tilden would have carried the State. The con-
clusiOn is irresistible that Tildel was entitled
to the electoral vote of Florida, and not Hayes
In making this statement, my motives will
doubtless be questioned by many, but the facts
will stand alone as truth without any more to
sustain them. am free to admit that viewing
things as 1 now do, and remembering that
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 Louisiana, aud believing it to have
been conscious wrong on his part. done with
the knowledge that he had not been elected
as his subsequent reputation of Governor
Packard, whose title was bound no in his own,
very men who contributed SO largely to his
election, has shown-my contempt for the
pltiable 1ittleness of the man is beyond my
power OF expression. Hayes has denied the
validity of bis own title in denying Packard's.
he has ignored his Florida friends, showing
with fraud, yet he holds on to. the Presidency
which in his own opinion, was secured by this
very fraud. He has cowardly abandoned and
betrayed his Southern Republican friends
through fear of being ousted from an office
that he believed he never was elected to by the
people.
Whatever may be the opinion OF men in
regard to my motives, / give them facts and
leave my motives to higher tribunal.
(Sgned) SAMUEL B. MCLIN.
The above was signed and sworn to before
the clerk of Thomas Comfy, Ga.
Statement of Dennis.
Captain Dennis last night at Jacksonville,
in reply to question as to what he knew or
had stated with regard to any election frauds
in Alachua county, said he had reason to be-
lieve there were frauds committed in that coun-
ty in the interest of the Democratic party,
which were especially apparent 10 the precinct
of Archer. The Democrats had at no time
ever polled more than A votes, and in 1876
they claimed 226 votes, 200 of which he be-
lieved then and now to be fraudulent. He also
said:
l was not an officer of election, handled no
ballots, made no returns and in no way con-
tributed to the result of the election, except by
my own individual vote, and therefore have
nothing to confess. There is foundation for
the rumors in circulation based upon converse
tions held with gentlemen in Washington,
which understood were strictly confidential
The result of these interviews was to the effect
that certain things were done by the Republ-
cans in the state to offset the frauds by the
Democrats. The names of those parties 1
have never divulged. l believe as matter of
abstract justice that the state belongs to Hayes,
but believe it can be proved by the face of the
returns that it belongs to Ti,doD.