The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1878-01-16
THE PRESIDENTIAL FRAUD.
HIM pOrGant CFOvement.fn ahe Mary
land Leg1slat ure.

ANNAPOLIS, January S.-Hon. Montgom-
cry Blair, in the House of Delegates, to-day
submitted the following:
Resolved, By the House of Delegates, the
Senate concurring, that the following MEM
orial be signed by the President of the Sen
ate and the Speaker of the House, and copies
thereof transmitted to the President of the
Senate ard to the Speaker of the House of
Representatives.
Resolved, That our Senators in Congress
be and are hereby instructed, and R0prcsen-
tatives be and are hereby requested TO favor
the object of the memorial, and that copies
of the same be forwarded TO them. The
following is the memorial:
To the Senate and House of Representatives
in Congress assembled:
Your memorialists in general assem- bly,
of the State of Maryland represent that by
the terms of tie act of the Forty fourth
Congress, establishing an ELECTORAL COM
mission, it was proved that no decision OF
the Presidential election under that act
should preclude judicial decision of the
question; that the obvious intent of this
provision was to assure the people that it
should be determined on its merits by the
proper judicial tribunal, in the event that
the commission should hold itself incompe-
tent to render such d, cisiOn that by its pro-
ceedings it fully appears that the said COM
mission held that it was Incompetent to in
quire whether the formal returns ofthe sew
eral States, which were submitted to it, were
true or false; that in consequence OF this
decision the present Incum bent of the Pres
ldential chair was seated in virtue of re-
turns which were VIGOROUSLY false and
FRAUDULENT, and so in effect admitted by Mr..
Justice Strong, whose vote seated him, and
also by the incumbent himself, in disregard
ing those returns AS respects the State off,
GERS whose titles 20 office were also based
IN them and was in every respect identi-
cal with his own; that while reputation
of these returns by the Incumbent for all
purposes save his own election Is an admis-
sion that it was fraud to use them for that
purpose, the motives which Induced this
partial reputation greatly aggravate his
offense; that by the published statement OF
Mr.. john Young Brown, which has re-
manned uncontradicted since April, 1877, it
appears that this reputation was the con-
dition i'm posed by said Brown and his as
sociates, then holding the balance of power
in the House of Representatives, upon
which alone the Incumbent would be allow
ed to be counted into office on these false re-
turns: that this condition was accepted for
the incumbent by Messrs. Stanley Mathews
and Charles Foster then and since then his
closest friends and most authoritative repre-
sentatives; that said Brown and his associ-
ates had been elected as adyersaries of the
incumbent, but separated from the great
body of their political associates in the
House OF Representatives to carry into
effect such arrangement; that at the time of
entering into it they were leading advocates
of a bill then pending in said house to grant
a large subsidy to the Texas Pacific railroad
company, to which the President-elect was
known to be opposed, and it is a just infer
ence from all tile circumstances that while
they were willing to defeat his Inaugural
ton, for this reason they conld not venture
co act with their political opponents for
that object, if such cooperation involved
also the surrender of the local governments
of the States in questions, as well as of their
electoral votes to their political or ponents
that to remove the obstacles it was stipula-
ted in egect that incumbent should treat the
returns as FRAUDULENT, so far as they affected
the local governments of said States, by
withdrawing the United States troops, the
presence of which alone, it was known,
gave them any force; that it thus appears
that the constitutional question so gravely
and deliberately debated in Congress, before
the electoral commission. and ia the public
press as question on which the Presiden-
tial contest hinged and with which the pub
lie mind was SO long exercised, had no part
whatever in determining the contest but it
was in fact determined by a body of men
elected by one party, but openly acting with
their opponents in the interest of certain
railroad cooperation at the decisive mo-
ment; that every interest of the country is |
greatly prejudiced aud its most vital inter- |
ests are put in jeopardy by suffering the |
people to be superseded as the political |
power, and substituting for them such mon |
eyed organizations as will pay for defTaud- |
rialists the continued prostration of the |
business of the country is largely due to the |
fact that the confidence of the conduct |
of their public officers is shaken; that
an responsible executive of the admin.
istration has been installed which has |
not the support of the country, or either
of its great political parties; that this is
in conflict with the whole theory of our in
and of those of the mother coun.
try, whence they were derived; that to car
ry it on so as to get possession of the gov
the Incumbent must seek support
from those elected as his opponents; that
this relation is in itself corrupting Is shown
by r ason as we'll as by perience; that no
whose title to power rests on
election returns manufactured
Dy its own partisans, and made effectual by
An agreement with the subsidy and jobbing
men OF the opposing party; that an indis-
pensible first step to any reform of the pub
lie service is to restore the government to
he people; that is only by men who have
been electedAby the people, and who are free
rom all entangling alliances with the job
ping interests, from which all the great
lbases have sprung, that any reform can be
Effected. Your memorialists therefore pray
hat the needful legislation may be adopted
o ascertain, judicially, who was elected
President at the recent election, and to give
fleet to the will of the people, will ever
pray, etc.
Mr.. Blair advocated his memorial, urging
Is adoption and reviewing generally Pres
dent Hayes title to the Office.
Mr.. Loeb, Republican, moved to lay the
memorial on the table, and called for the
yes and noes, which resulted-ayes Is, noes
4 II was then rafprred To the c0mmftkQa