The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1878-01-25

Maryland Legislature Memorial Ask
ing Congress TO Judicialiy Investigate
the Result Of the Late Presidential Eiec-
ton.
ANNAPOLIS, Nd, January Sion. Mont
gomery Blair, In the House OF Delegates to-
day, submitted the following:
Resoired, by the House Of Delegates, the
senate concuiring, that the following memo.
rial be signed by the President of the senate
and speaker Of the House Of Representatives,
and that copies thereof be transmitted 20 the
President ~ the United states senate and 70
the speaker Of the House.
Resoired. ,. That our senator's IN Congress
be and are hereby instructed, and our Repre-
scntativcs be and q. hereby requested % fa-
les Of the same be forwarded tothcnl.
The following Il the memorial
TO me Senate and House u Representatives. IA
Congress assembled;
Your memorialists, the General Assembly Of
the state Of Maryland. represent that by the
terms Of the act of the Forty fourth Con-
gress establishing the Electoral Commission
y was provided that no decision OF the Prc-i-
idcntial election, under that act. should pre-
clude judicial decision OF the question; that
the obvious intent Of this provision was 10
assure the people that IL should be dctermin.
ed on is merits by proper judicial tribunal
In the event that the commission should hold
itself Incompetent 10 render such dccision
that by IL proceedings y nliy appears ,nat
10 inquire whether the formal re-
turns Of the several States which
submitted TO II were true
or falls, that IN consequence of this decision
the present incumbent of the Presidential
chair was seated in virtue Of the returns.
which were VIGOROUSLY false and fraudulent
and 50 In effect admitted by Mr.. Justice
StrOng, whose vote seated him, and also by
the incumbent himself In di-regarding those
returns AS respects state officers whose titles
10 ONCE were also based upon them, and were
I'm every respect identical with his own. that
whilst arcpudiation OF these returns by the
ncumbent for all purposes save his own cleo
a Int "A IN \
them for that purpose, the motives winch IN
duced this partial reputation greatly ag.
gravate his ofcnse; that by the published
statement Of Mr.. John Young Brown which
has remained uncontradicted since April,
1877, il appears that this liquidation
was a condition imposed by said Brown and
his associates, then holding the balance OF
power in the House of Representatives,
upon which alone the incumbent would be
allowed 20 be counted into Office upon these
false returns that this condition Wa accept
ed for the incumbent by Mcssrs. stanley Mat
thcws and Charles Foster, then and since his
closest friends and most authoritative repre-
Sentatiyes: that said Brown and his a~So-
ciates had been elected a. adyersaries OF the
incumbent but separated from the great
body of their political associates in the House
of Representatives 10 carry into effect said
arrangement. that az the time OF entering
into IL they were leading advocates OF a bill
then pending IN said House 20 grant 4 large
subsidy to the Texas Pacific Ralroad Com
pany, 20 which the Prcsidcnt-elcct was
known 20 he opposed. and IL u "A Just infer
enCt from AL circumstances tnut Whilst tLtN
were willing 10 defeat his Inauguration for
this reason. they could not venture 10 act
with their political opponents for that OBJ
iect II such corporation involved also the
surrender Of the local governments OF
the states i'm question a. well a. of
their electoral votes 10 their political oppo-
ncnts that 20 remove obstacles y WAS riipn.
lated in cfiett that the incumbent snoulu
treat the returns fraudulent 20 far n they
affected the local governments of said states
bv withdra wing the United states troops the
frsly a.
them any force; that IL thus appears that the
constitutional question so gravcly and elnb-
oratcly debated IN Congress, before the Elec-
torsll Commission and I'm the public press
the question upon which the presidential
contest hinged, and with which the public
mind was 80 long exercised, has no part what.
ever IN determining the contest, but that IL
was in fact determined by body OF men
elected By one party, but openly acting with
their opponents in the interest uf a certain
railroad corporation at the decisive mo
ment that every interest 81 the country -
greatly prrjudiced and its most vital interests
are putin jeopardy BY suffering the people
to be superseded as the political power and
substituting for them such moneyed orgnfd
cations A. viii pay for defrauding them; that
in the opinion Of your memofialists the con.
finued proSfration Of business of the country
T. largely due 10 the fact that the confidence
of the people in the conduct ~ public officers
j. shaken: that an irresponsible executive
administration has been Installed which has
not the support OF the country or either OF its
great political parties. that this i in conflict
with the whole theory 81 our INSTITUTIONS anu
OF those OF the mother country whence they
were derived that 10 carry on--a- 20 get pos
session Of the Government-the incumbent
must secx support from Those elected a. his
opponents tint this relation Is In itself cor
rupting l. shown BY reason as well ~ by cx
pericnce: that no useful public service can DC
rendered by an Administration whose title
60 power rests upon fraudulent election re-
turns manufactured by its own par1isans and
made ehcctnal by AN agreement by sc-idy
and iobbing men OF an opposing party, that
the Indispensable first step 20 any reform
of public service Is 10 restore the Govern
menf 20 the people. that IL Is only by men
who have been elected by the people. and
who are free from all entangling alliances
with jobbing interests, from which all the
great abuses have sprung, that any reform
can be elected
Your mcmorialists therefore pray that
nccdfnl Legislation may be adopted 70 as
certain jndicialv who was elected President
AT the recent election. and 10 give effect a.
the will Of the people we will ever pray, etc.
Mr.. Blair advocated his memorial, urging
1 it, adoption and reviewing generally Presi-
dent IIayes's title 10 Office.
Mr.. Loeb (RepubIican) moved to lay the
memorial on the table, and called for the
yeas and nays, which resulted-ayes, IL;
nays, ~.
II was then referred to the Committee on
\ Federal Relations.