Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1879-12-27
BY Republicans Not Gone Into But
RELOCATED to the Legislature.
EY-GOV. MORRlLL's PROPOSITIO]
''oe. Garcelon Asks for Specifications
Petitions and Conferences
GENERAL SITUATION YESTERDAY
Arms Seized by Fusionists-Republi-
can n-MiscellaneOus.

BosroN, Dec. pa special to the Herald
from Augusta says the following is an alb
stract from the report of the committee on
the Milne election returns made in the coun-
Oil:
Your committee, in submitting this report,
deem it necessary to state specifically certain
facts connected with the returns from many
of the towns, cities and plantations which
have materially affected the result. In can
wasting the votes returned there many
returns which, owing to fatal defects, cannot
be counted; but We shall specify only those
which have affected tho result.
CONSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENTS.
article 4, part I; section 5, of the constitu-
tioti regulates the manner of electing sena-
tors and representatives to the legislatures
and also the process of transmitting to the
governor and council, the process by which
they are to determine who have been elected.
This section provides that in case of
towns and plantations, municipal officers
shall in open town and plantation meeting
at the close of election day, sort, count and
declare the votes cast, and form list of all
persons voted for, and after the name of
each person thus voted for shall write he
nimbsr cf votes recei7ed by him. This list
shall be recorded in open meeting BY a clerk
and copy of this recorded list shall be
signed by the selectmen and attested by the
clerk and sealed up in open meeting. This
copy of the reported list, thus att6sted, is to
be deposited in the Office of the secretary
of state within thirty days thereafter.
THE LAW OF IT.
A section of the revised statutes requires
that in addition to the foregoing specific and
mandatory provisions of the constitution,
the return sbal state the whole number of
ballots cast at the election. The same Sec
ton Of the constitution requires that the gov
ernor and council shall open and compare
the returns thus transmitted and from them
determine who appears to be elected, the
governor to issue to such persons as thus
appear to be elected summons to take seats
In the legislature.
THE FIRST REQUIREMENT.
OF course the first requirement is that the
returns shall be made aad sealed up IN an open
town or plantation meeting. We understand
that this is required in order that the eiec-
tors may be present and see that the returns
arc made in accordance with the facts, and
We are of the OPT MON that returns not made
up in open meeting not legal returns
aud cannot be counted, and We have acted
upon this belief in making our tabulations.
Several protests, accompanied with affidavits
to support them, against the counting of re-
turns specified therein have been considered
by US. These protests allege that said re-
turns should not be counted because they
were not made up in open town meeting,
but were made after the meeting closed in
some private Office or store where no one
but portion of the municipal officers were
present, and in some cases only the clerk.
This condition of things, in several cases,
has been proven to our entire satisfaction,
and we have rejected the returns thus defec-
tive in our tabulations.
RETURNS SIGNED IN BLANK.
In the case of Stonehann an affidavit
signed by two selectmen establishes the fact
that they signed the returns in blank and
the town clerk took this home and filled
them up, and the selectlnen have no knowl-
edge of what the returns contain. For the
foregoing reasons we have rejected in our
tabulations the representative returns from
the towns of Jay, Stoneham, Lisbon, Web.
ster and Pennington. The returns from the
town of Seaport have also been rejected be-
cause it was not sealed up in open town
meeting. By the means of these reflections
five persons will receive seats in the legisla-
ture who would not have been thus seated
had the returns from the aforesaid towns
been made up as the constitution requires.
These are James o. White, of the Jay dis
trict; Louis Voter, of the Pennington dis
trict; N. Bradbury, of the Stoneham dis
trict; Joshua E. Gordon, of the Seaport dis
trict, and Leonard H. Beale, of the Deerham
district.
SUPREME COURT RULING.
The supreme court has held that munich
pal officers shall sign the returns with their
own hands or make their marks, other
wise the returns cannot be counted. We
have found several returns fatally defective
in this particular, and have accordingly re-
jected them. By this rule laid down by the
court the New Sharon returns have been by
us rejected; This rejection affects the cleo
ton of one representative.
We found several returns fatally defective
because they were not attested by the town
clerk. The supreme court has held such are
not legal returns, and we have rejected them.
They are quite numerous, but we shall specify
only such as affect the result of the election.