The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1878-06-13
The "Contemptible Farce.

The Contemplate Farce
The Washington correspondent Of the
Baltimore AmericaB of the 10th, gives the
following interesting statement of facts
The Democrats of the Potter Committee
have suddenly changed their tactics, aud
are now playing the role of small pettifog-
gers. They are quibbline over triiling tech
ncalties, and persist in following up a
scent that can lead to no result. Yesterday
they thought that Che Irregularities in con-
uection with the Louisiana certificates would
lead to startling disclosures, and placed on
the stand Mr.. McKenny, the Secretary OF
| the Electoral Commission, and Acting Vice
| President Ferry, who received all the cleo
| toral returns and presided over the con-
| vention OF the two Houses which counted
! the electoral vote. Judge Levisee also APP
peared, and corrected the printed copy of
| his testimony last Saturday, and gave some
| additional evidence respecting the proceed
| ings in the Electoral College of Louisiana
when the vote Of the State was cast for
| Hayes and Wheeler. 1t has already been
explained in The Amerscae's dispatches
that the outside of the first package re-
ceiyed from Louisiana did not have the sig
natures of the Electors to the outside en-
! dorsement, and for lack Of this formality
| the package was carried back to Louisiana
| by the messenger of the Electoral College.
| This omission, which the Democrats have
been disposed to regard as fatal to the in
| tegrity OF the returns. was very usual Oc-
currence, as Senator Ferry testified. The
packages received from large number Of
| States did not contain the required endorse
ment outside, and in the case of Arkansas
the names of all the Electors were written
BY the same hand. If this outside certificate
affects the integrity of the returns inclosed
and sealed in the package, then the returns
| from Arkansas are fraudulent.
| The evidence of Senator FERRY shows that
a large number of the packages from the
several States, these received from the mes
sengers as we'll as those received by mail.
were irregular, so far as the outside certif-
| Gates were concerned.
| They following statement is copied from
| the memoranda kept by Mr.. Moses, Secreta-
| nv to the ce-President, who receipted for
| all the packages received by mail containing
the electoral votes of the State, and who as
sisted Acting Vice-President Ferry in the
care and custody of all the packages prior to
| their presentation to the two Houses in
joint convention.
| The packages received by mail from the
| following named States did not contain on
|
law, nor the signatures Of Electors-namely
Tennessee, Maine, Virginia, Pennsylvania,
North Carolina, Wisconsin, Vermont, Cali
fornia, Arkansas, Massachusetts, Oregon,
Florida and Louisiana. In the case of Mas
sachusetts, the package was properly sealed
and endorsed, and was then placed in an.
outside envelope or jacket to preserve the
seals and superscription. This was eA--
planned to Senator Ferry by the messenger,
when the outside covering was removed,
and the package was found to be strictly in
accordance with the requirements of law.
In the case of Florida, on one of the pack
ages the postmark was not distinguishable,
but it was subsequently, traced to Tallahas-
see through the registered receipt.
1 The first package received from Louisiana
was sealed in wax, which was impressed
with the words ''Crescent City Bank, and
the fly of the envelope was endorsed with
the words 6 William P. Kellogg, Governor
of Louisiana The Arkansas package was
postmarkcd Little Rock, but was not sealed
with wax. The names of the six Electors
were written on the package IN the same
handwriting, but there was no declaration
that the package contained the electoral
vote OF that State. The Oregon package
was simply endorsed 81. N. L. Miler.''
OF the packages received by messengers,
the following were not endorsed on the out
side by the Electors, namely, Tennessee,
Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Florida.
The Tennessee package was not sealed with
wax, an d the appointment of the messenger
was signed by five Electors as ga majority
of the Electors The Governors certiti
cate as to the election of Electors was
placed outside of the sealed returns, The
Pennsylvania package did not contain the
required endorsement nor the signatures OF
the Electors.
The following facts are supplied by Sena-
tor Ferry in connection with the receipt of
packages by messengers from the States =.
The package from Maine contained the ap-
pointment Of the messenger sealed up with
| the returns. This fact was learned by tele-
graph from the Secretary of State, and a
duplicate commission for the messenger was
subsequently supplied This was also true
of the Vermont package. The seal of the
Mississippi package was broken and the
Governors certificate was outside OF the
sealed returns. The New York package
was sealed with an ordinary coin seal at
tached to the fly of the envelope, which was
not entirely closed. In the Oregon package
the appointment OF the messenger was seal
ed up with the returns. This was also true
of the Iowa and Kansas packages. In the
| case of Missouri the name of the messenger
was not signed with the names OF the other
| Electors as messenger.
The North Carolina package did not have
the outside certificate and signatures of
electors, and upon attention being called to
the omission the messenger took the package
back to North Carolina, where he ascertain ed
that,as in the case of the Massachusetts, pack
age, an outside covering had been placed on
package to preserve the seals aud certificate.
This package package was returned by the
same messenger.
The Democratic members Of the commit
tee were considerably surprised to learn
that many of the packages from States about
whose vote there was no dispute were more
irregular in form so far as the outside re-
quirements are concerned than was the
Louisiana package, and they will now be
forced to abandon the stand they were pre-
pairing to make on that point. The testi-
mony OF Mr.. Mckinney was equally disap-
pointing to them. That gentleman pro-
duced the printed copies of the several GER
tificates and the formal objections thereto
which were used by the respective members
of the Electoral Commission is determining
the vote of Louisiana, and showed that the
omission of certificate No. 3 from the vol
ume OF printed proceedings, and the substi-
tuition of certificate No. in lieu of it, was
an error of his own, caused by the printed
copies getting mixed in the paper box COW
ers in which they were filed after the disso-