Daily globe., 1878-06-10


and I an confident the names of Hayes and
Wheeler were written on each Of them.
Levissee was at this point excused and the
chairman announced that the Vice President
pro TEN. of the Senate, Senator Ferry, could
not appear before the committee until later in
the day, and the committee took recess.
HON. THOMAS ". FERRY.
After recess, Hon. Thomas w. Ferry, who, as
president of the Senate, received the electoral
returns of the last Presidential election, ap-
peared before the committee and was sworn
and examined at great length in regard to the
manner in which the returns from different
States had reached him. The examination was
directed mainly, however, to the Louisiana re-
turns. He testified that when he received the
first return from Louisiana by messenger,
(Thos. G. Anderson), he did not accept it be-
cause it appeared to be informal.
@. Did you decline to receive the return?
A. did not decline. I asked him whether
he was familiar with the statute and whether
this was in compliance with it, and pointed him
to the statute, and upon that ne Withdrew with
the return.
Q. Without any further remark?
A. I could not say without further remark,
but there was nouhing that impressed itself on
my mind. I adopted the practice in all cases
where discovered any informality on the out
side of the package to call the attention Of the
messenger to it. If the messenger insisted on
my receiving it did 40, and in SUCH cases I
declined to part with it again for correction or
for any purpose until it was laid before the
two houses in joint convention.
Q. Did you at any time learn from any body
that the Louisiana return first presented was
defective in containing bnt one list Of voters
for President and Vice-president?
A. No, sir; knew nothing of it.
O. When did you first hear of that-at any
hofOr fho oil ion xUaa TOP
A. No, sir; not till quite recently except as
appeared in court. Of course I am cognizant
of that.
@. Do you recollect the fact of opening the
Louisiana returns-any present recollection of
which envelope you broached first?
A. Yes; l think the record will show
announced it was one received by mail with
no corresponding one by the messenger. When
l opened the returns l handed it to the teller
My present recollection is that the teller was
Senator Allison. 1t was either Senator Allison
or Senator Ingalls,.
@. Did he open the returns or did you?
A. used large shears and cut off the end of
the envelopes and pulled out the contents
and handed them to the tellers, SO that I did
not know in advance the contents of any of
them.
@. Speaking from present recollection, do
you rccollect cutting off the end of that re-
turn:
LII
off. There were some I tore open with my fin
gers, but [ found the paper tough I got
shears. My belief is that every return was
opened by myself, either with my fingers or
shears, without any exception.
In reply to further questions, witness testi-
fled that in receiving or objecting to receive
turns, and in opening returns, and in every
other respect, he had acted impartially, and
did not know the contents Of any returns until
they were opened in joint meeting.
@. Did you then know from anything that
had been suggested to you, or from anything
that was said in the meeting, that any Of the
signatures were not genuine?
! A. No. The only thing that can remem-
ber that was said in relation to the second
| Louisiana return, and l cannot now remember
| who said it, was an expression Of fear that in
the correction Of the returns, the time when
they met was put in instead of the time when
the college should have met.
@. That expression of fear must have been
! before the returns were opened because in
| opening them the fact must have disclosed
| itself?
| A. Yes, sir. l remember made the remark
that If any return correct, it would prob
! ably be the one that came by mail, and the
reason for this opinion was the fact that it was
made at the time.
Q. Did the messenger or anybody else say
anything to you about the manner in which the
corrected Kellogg return was made?
A. No, sir; knew nothing about that.
q. Then it was not till long after the cleo
tiOn you heard any doubt expressed in respect
| to the authenticity of that return?
A. l did not hear any doubt expressed until
four or five weeks ago. l think first heard il
from Gen. Garfield
By Cox-I desire you to state now distinctly
what rule you adopted with regard to giving
an opportunity for returns to go back for cor
rection where there was no apparent informality
and at what point you held fast to those which
| had once been received?
A. In every case, think, irrespective o1
the State from which returns came, if saw
| upon the face OF the package an infOrmality,
called the attention of the messenger to it, a.
I thought it my duty to do. I may have erred ir
that, but at any rate. / treated both sides alike
l have that justification. l called the attention
Of the messengers to the statute, and if they
| still insisted on handing the return to me, al
| they did IN one or two cases, I took it, ant
| when it was once in my hands 1 declined t
| give it up.
By McMahon-It was the same messenge
| that brought you the second Louisiana return
that brought you the first, and whose attention
you had called to informality in the first?
A. suppose SO, but cannot say. becaus
I did not know him.
.. Think about that whether it wouldn'
have struck you as little odd if another maj
| had come with the returns from Louisiana?
| A. No sir. 1 think now it was not tn
| same man.
@. Did he exhibit to you new appointment
as messenger?
A. He exhibited to me his authority to de
| liver the returns. l presume his authority il
among the papers.
Q. If the man who brought the second Kel
| logg return was not the same man that brough
you the first, didn't that excite some sus
picion?
A. No, sir, not so long as he exhibited
paper authorizing him to act as messenger.
q. Didn't that indicate to you that Their
had been second meeting of the electora
colleges?
A. That was not my matter. They NIGH
have authorized the same person to act as mes
| senger.
@. After you laid the returns before the tw
houses, did you ever, member Of one polit
ical party, at one time, take the trouble to lool
at the original returns from Louisiana?
A. No, sir, not until short time ago.
gathering OF men of your own party, at whicl
the respective contents Of these certificate
were discussed?
A. think not. don't recollect it.
Q. will now ask you for information, ant
/ do not wish you to understand that in tn
question may ask intend to make anythin
like a reflection upon you. Was the fact tina
paper Of this character was received secre
, with you. was it matter about which yo
talked freely?
A. talked about the different returns
| ol