The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1878-01-09
Maryland Legislature
Montgomery BIair's Bill TO Over.
haul the Electoral Decision.
He HufIs a Fire Brand into the
Maryland Legislature.
His Bill Referred to Committee on
Federal Relations.

Federal Relations.
ANNAPOLIS, Nh, January s.-The
Hon. Montgomery Blair, in the House Of
Delegates to-day, submitted the following:
Resolved, By the House-of Delegates,
the Senate concurring, that the following
memorial be signed by the President OF
the Senate, and The Speaker Of the House,
| and that copies thereof be transmitted TO
| the President Of the United States and TO
the Speaker OF the House of Representa-
tives.
Rs,ofpsd, That cur Senators in Con.
gress be and hereby are requested 10 favor
the object Of the memorial; that copies oil
the same be forwarded to them. l.. !.
The following 10 the memorial:
TO dc Senate and Rope Of Representatives.
in Congress dsstmbed:
Your memorialists to the General As.
sembly'of the State of.Mary land, represent
that by the terms Of tie act Of she 4i'h
Congress, establishing the Electoral Com.
mission, it was provided that no decision
OF the President's election under that act
should preclude judicial decision Of the
auestion, that the obvious intent Of this
provision waa TO assure the people it
would be determined on lie merit by the
proper tribunal in the event the Commits.
sion should hold itself incompetent to. .ren.
der such decision; that by its proceedings
II fully appears that said Commission held
that Il was incompetent to inquire wheih'
er the formal returns "t the several
States, which were submitted TO u were
true or false, that in consequence OF this
decision the present incumbent oil the
Presidential chair was seated in virtue Of
the returns which were notorionsly
false and fraudulent, and so in effect
was admitted by Mr.. Juslice Strong,
whose vote seated him, aud also
by the incumbent himself in disre.
gard OF those returns as resrects the State
officers whose titles to office we're also
based upon them, and were in every re
spect identical with his own, that whilst
the reputation Of those returns by
incumbent for all purposes, save his own
election, il an a,lmission that IL waa a
fraud to ,lse ,hcm Tor that purpose, tue
motives which induced this partial re.
pudiation greatly aygravate his oilense;
that by the publiahed statement OF Mr.
John Young Brown, which has remained
uncon,radictcd since April, 1877, 1t ap
pears that thi. rcpudislion was u condi'
ton imposed Ly said Brown and hit as
sociatcs, then holding The balance Of
power In the House Of Representatives,
upon which alone an incumbent would
be allowed to be counted into the office
upon these f4lse returns. that this cOndi-
tion was accepted for incumbent by
Stanley Matthews and Charles Foster,
then and since his closest friends and most
authoritative Representatives; that said
Brown and his associates had been elect
ed as adversaries Of incumbent, but sepa'
rated from the great body OF their politi.
cal associates In the House OF Represent.
atiyes to carry into effect said arrange
ment; that at the time Of entering into 1t
they were advocates Of bill then pending
In said House 10 grant large subsidy 10
the Texas Pacific Railroad Company, to
which the President elect was known TO
be opposed, and 1t is as just an inference,
from all the circumstances, that whilst
they were willing to defeat his
Inauguration for this reason they
could not venture TO act with po-
litical opponents for that object,
| il such CO operation involved also the
surrender Of the local governments Of the
States in question, as we'll as Of their
electoral votts to their political oppo.
nents; that to remove the obstacles 1t was
stipulated In effect that the incumbent
should treat the returns rs fraudulent so
far as they affected the local governments
Of said States by Withdrawing the United
States troops, the presence Of which
alone, 1t was known, gave them any force;
that Il thus appears that the constitu.
tional question, so gravely and elabor.
ately debated In Congress before the
Electoral Commission and in the public
press as question on which the
Presidential contest hinged, and
with which the public mind was
90 long exercised, hyAno part what.
ever 10 determining the contest but was
in fact determined by q body Of men,
elected by one party, but openly acting
with their opponents In the interest OF
certain railroad corporations at the de-
cisiye moment; that every interest Of the
country Is greatly pfejudiced and Its
most vital interests are put In jeopardy
by suffering the people to be superseded
as the political power, and substituting
for them such moneyed organizations as
will pay for delrauding them; that In the
opinion Of your 'memoralists, the con.
tinued prostration Of the business
Of the country Is largely due to the
fact that the confidence Of the peo.
pie in the conduct Of public oficera
| Is shaken, that an irresponsible executive
administration has been installed, which
has not the support iof the country, or
either OF the political parties; that this
conflicts with the theory oil republican in.
stitutions, and that Of the mother coun-
try whence they were" derived, that TO
10 carry on and to get possession OF the
Government, the incumbent must seek
support from those selected as his oppo.
neni; that this relation is in itself corrupt.
Ing, fs shown by all experience that no
useful public service can be rendered by
an administration whose title to power
rests on fraudulent election returns.
manufactured by liz own paftiSans and
made effective by an agreement
with subsidy and jobbing men Of the
opposing party, and that the indis-
pensable frat step 10 any reform
Of the public service is TO restore the
Government to the people; that Il is only
by men who have been elected by the
people and who are free from all entan.
Cling alliances with the jobbing interests,
from which all the great abuses have
sprung, that any reform can be effected.
Your memorialists therefore pray that
needful legislation may be adopted to as
certain judicially who wAs elected Pfesi-
dent at the recent election, and To give
effect to the will Of the people, and will
ever pray, &c.
Mr.. Blair advocated his memorial,
urging its adoption, and reyiewinggene
ally President Hayes title to Office.
Mr. Lord, Republican. moved to lay