Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1878-05-03

|
while others name prominent Repub-
licans disaffected toward President
Hayes as those concerned.
NEW York, April 25.
The Times this morning prints Nc
Lin's confession in full, as follows:
AS member of the State Board of Can
vassers of the State of Florida, feel impeled
by sense of duty to myself and of justice to
Others to make the following statement:
At the time the canvass was made was not
at any time conscious of acting otherwise
than right and proper. | entered upon the
canvass with the conviction that it was my
privilege and duty, in political sense, to give
the benefit of every doubt in favor of the Re-
publican party. felt that when a question
could be decided either way without doing
violence to the public sense of justice it was
| fairly allowable i'll politics that | should al
ways lean to my own party and give my decis-
| ion in its favor, even at the hazard of strain
! ing point. At no time did feel that | oc
cupied the position OF Judge charged with
| the duty of strict and nice weighing and
! balancing of all the evidence presented.
Looking back now to that time, feel that
| there was a combination of influences that
must have operated most powerfully in blind
| ing my Judgment and swaying my action. |
had been for many years, and was at the time
of the canvass, very active partisan. / sin
cerely thought that our State and the nation
would suffer irreparable injury if the Demo-
| cratic party were to obtain the Presidency,
and the policy of hatred to the negro and
| those who had been friends of the negroes
| should obtain control at Washington.
1t was the common and unanimous talk,
| also, that 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.. Tilden would crush
them. was shown numerous kilograms, adj
dressed to Gov Stearns and others, from trusted
leaders of the Republican party in the North,
insisting that the salvation of the country de-
pended upon the vote of Florida being cast for
Hayes. Those kilograms came from those to
whom had been accustomed to defer-the
Chairman oft he National Committee and the
man who was the nearest personal friend of
MIR. Hayes, and had conducted the canvass
These kilograms also gave assurance of the
forthcoming of money and troops, If neces-
sary, in securing victory for Mr.. Hayes.
sohaii friends Of Mf fayGs arrived IN fTor1da
as rapidly as the railroads could bring them.
| was surrounded by these men, who were ar
dent Republicans and especially by the friends
of Gov. Hayes. One gentleman particularly,
Gov. Moves, OF Ohio, was understood to rep
resent him and speak with the authority OF
warm personal friend, commissioned with
power to act in his behalf
These men referred to the general destruc
tion of the country should Mr. Tilden be
elected, the intense anxiety of the Republican
party of the North, and their full sympathy
with u.s. l cannot say how far my action may
have been influenced by the intense excite
ment that prevailed around me, or how far
nv partisan zeal may have led me into error;
neither can | say how far my course was in
huenced by a promise made by Noyes that IL
Mr.. Hayes became President l should be re-
warded. Certainly these influences must have
had strong control over my Judgment and
action
Reviewing my action at this distance of
| time, with all GOODNESS, with my ardOr cooled
and my partisan zeal chilled by the President
who has basely outraged and mercllessly de-
| stroyed the Republican party OF the South and
| crushed the very men who did so much Tor
| his election, am persuaded that the Florida
canvass was not conducted with that cool,
| calm Judgment and honest, unbiased decision
that should have characterized the proceed
| ests. Instead of this | now see that the whole
proceedings went through upon the highest
| wave of political excitement; that partisan
! feeling, stimulated to the utmost by the most
| powerful agencies, usurped the place Of rea-
son and sound judgment, and political expe-
diency ruled the hour. large number OF
precincts were either contested by the Demo
cratic or Republican party; yoluminous testi-
mony was filed, and lawyers of both sides ar
| gued each for their side of the issue that 1t
was the duty Of the board to throw out and
not include in the count, or return and count,
precincts on the ground of illegality in the
conduct of the election, or fraud that was
charged to exist.
The Attorncy-General Of the State, and
member of the board, had decided that the
board had a uasi-judicial power, and had the
right to exclude precincts from the count of
the returns which were shown to be so irregu-
| lar, false or fraudulent as to prevent the
hoard from ascertaining from them the true
vote. With this 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 wee OF
mixed character, political and iudicial-the
political largely predominating. Partisan zeal
and strong political ties had powerful inilu-
ence in the exercise of these powers, aId, the
Republicans having the majOrity of the board,
the canvass was largely in their favor, as the
resnlt proved.
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, since
rendered, there is no question of the fact that
| MIR. Iilden would have been entitled to the
vote of Florida Excluding the returns from
Baker County, which was counted, and which
| have since learned from the parties who
made 1t was a falsely manufactured return,
and including the true returns which CORE
spond with the precinct returns of that
county, would certainly have given the State
to Tilden.
Archer Precinct, No. 2, Alachua County,
was included in the count. The fraud com
board by the Democratic lawyers, although a
contest was made and much attention was
given this precinct, but l have recently
learned from the Republican leader of that
county that after the returns had been
brought TO Gainesville, the county seat, 2l9
votes were added 10 the returns by the in
spector and clerk of said precinct.
In Leon County seventy-four small Repub-
lcan ballots were stuffed into the ballot-box
at Precinct No. @ yet 1t was made to appear,
even to the satisfaction of the Democratic
member Of the board, that these were not
false ballots. Subsequent confession shows
that they were stuffed into the box. had
seen Joseph Bowers, one of the Inspectors,
have tickets similar TO them a few days
before the election, and cautioned him against
their use unless they were generally used, and
| afterward learned he had given them,up.
In Jefferson County, In certain precinct at
which Mr.. j. Bell was inspector, 100 votes
were surreptitiOusly 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, diseloses the fact that had
the 2l0 votes fraudulently added TO the Archer
return, and the a. votes stuffed In the box In
Leon County, and the 100 votes suTreptitous-
ly added in jefferson County, aggregating 39S
votes, been rejected, and the Democratic re-
iected precincts, which were excluded for ir'
regularity and illegality contrary TO the de
CisiOn Of the Supreme Court, been retained
and counted, Mr.. Tilden would have carried
the State.
The conclusion, therefore, is irresistible