The New York herald., 1879-03-03
THE ELECTORAL COUNT.
Majority Report ofthe Potter
Committee.
THE LOUISIANA AND FLORIDA Vote.
Frauds by Which the Will Of the
People Was Defeated.
FORGED ELECTORAL CERTIFICATES.
A Fraudulent Outrageous and Desperate
. Returning Board.
VISITING STATESMEN CONDEMNED.
Tilden and Hendricks the Choice
Of the People.
FORGED ELECTORAL CERTIFICATES,
VISITING STATESMEN CONDEMNED.
Tilden and Hendricks the Choice
Of the People.
WASHINGTON. Feb. 2, 1879.

On Saturday Mr.. Potter, the Chairman of tho In
vestigating Committee. submitted the report which
he had prepared to the committee and adopted
by the vote of democrats republicans General
Butler being absent. The three republicans pres
ent-Messrs. Hiscock. Cox and Reed-will prepare a
minority report, and General Butler will draw
up separate statement. giving his views
in reference to the bargain with tho
Hayes party by which tho democrats recovered
tho States of South Carolina and Louisiana Mr.
Stenger, democratic member of the committee. who
was chairman OF the subcommittee in Louisiana.
will not present separate report. but will add an
expression of his views upon certain points in
the testimony to Mr.. Potter's report. The repub-
lican members of the committee have declined to
make any part Of their report public until after the
meeting of the committee tomorrow morning.
THE MAJORITY REPORT.
Mr.. Potters report is necessarily long, as it deals
with all the points that have been before the CON-
mittee. except the cipher dispatches. which will be
made the subject OF separate report and will be
presented to the committee tomorrow Mr.. Potter's
report is regarded by the democrats who have perused
it sngularly impartial and Judicial. It
is entirely devoid both of rhetorical orna-
mentation and vituperative denunciation, and
derives its force solely from close logical de-
ductions of the facts presented to the
mittee. Some Of the democrats regard it wanting
in color or not SO strongly expressed as the facts
warrant, and it is not unlikely that some members
of the committee belonging TO the party will present
additional expression Of their views moro vgor-
ously.
Mr.. Potters report opens with an introduction
which sets forth what it proper for Congress to
investigate and what not, and the difficulty of con-
ducting investigation into conspracies which
have been successfully carried out while the
successful party remain in power. 1t admits the
confessions Of conspirators who have become
dissatisfied is worth little. but points to the
fact not generally understood that about
the essential features OF the election and in
Florida and Louisiana there is substantial dispute
before the committee. the republicans having called
no witnesses in Florida and few in Louisiana except
to the conduct of the visiting statesmen Incl
dentally about intimidation 1t dismisses entirely
the testimony of Anderson, jerks Mrs. jerks,
Weber aud that class OF witnesses, and deals with
the case upon the general and controlling facts
alono.
The report is divided into three parts. the first Of
which refers to Florida, the second to Louisiana and
the thirdto the forged electoral certificate.
THE FLORIDA VOTE.
Beginning with Florida it cites the law directing
the Presidential electors to be appointed by the
cast and the Canvassing Board to canvass the
votes cast. and claims that the Tilden electors,
having received majority of the votes
cast in this State. were thereby necessarily
entitled to be declared elected. and that
the Canyassing Board by rejecting, without warrant
OF law, portion of the votes, to show the ma
jority for Hayes. unlawfully counted Tden ont. 1t
states that the canvasscrs delayed their announce
ment until the morning of the day the electors were
to meet and vote, so that. although action in
stanty taken oust the Hayes electors no decision
could be had until the Hayes electors had met
that day at noon and voted. The report
then rccitcs the judgment of the Supreme Court,
electors not elected entitled 70 cast the
or the State and that the Tlden electors were and
also the Judgment of the Court in the action brought
by Drew. the democratic candidate for Governor.
obtain o recanyass where the Court directed
vsss and decided that the canvassers, in refusing
TO count the votes cast had defraudcd Drew and
unlawfully seated steans the republican, The Legis-
laturc of the State thercupon directed a l.canvass
OF the electoral vote in accordance with this ocsion
OF the supreme Court tho judges of which were
pubcans, anu the rccanvass showed the Tilden eiec
tors chosen. The Governor then issued his ccrtif-
cate to the Tdcn electors as the true electors, but
the Electoral Commission refused to consider the
judgment of the Court the action OF the Legislature
the Tden electors and held that it could not take
notice of any action by the State after the 9th OF De-
cembcr.
AN OPEN DOOR ron FRAUD.
The report draws attention 10 the fact that such
wrong might. be repeated in any State at any Prcsi
dental election by the canvassers withholding the
announcement of the result OF the election until the
day fixed For tho meeting OF the Electoral College aud
thea declaring persons who had never been voted for
at all to bc electors, whcn according to this decision,
such electors would bc entitled rrevocably to
cast the vote OF the State. 1t therefore
recommends law providing that where there
dispute to who the real electors of any State.
the Judgment of its court of resort. II certified to
Congress TO receive and count the electoral vote.
shall be conclusive as to the right of the dsputing
electors, and Of which vote from the State shall be
counted unless the two houses OF Congress shall
otherwise agree.
The report then argues that the action Of the can
vassing boards not only Illegal and fraudulent.
and the instance in which they rejected demo-
cratic votes unwnrrcnted grounds and refused 10
reject fraudulent republican votes. as Illustrating
this. IL deals at length with the claims the
puhiicans. that they were entitled to the
vote of the state on the face of the
by which bogus return from Baker county fur
nshcd the Canvassing Board which they at first
the cast they fraudulcntly took In place of
II then deals with the conduct Of the visiting
statesmen and particularly that of Mr.. Noycs
conrasted with that of General Francis g. Barlow,
whose fidelity to all his obligations. and integrity,
Independence. fairness and truth tho report cspc-
ciaaly commcnds.
THE LOUISIANA CASE.
In regard to Louisiana the report begins with
reference to the anomalous power possessed by tho
Returning Board. which II says never before existed
elsewhere Under IL the electors and the returning
the receiving and counting OF votes. Under tho pre-
text that the color line divided the political parties
ey % tho TINS .o n% hs nc
posed by the republican committee of the
forty-third. Congress. which had rcpoSted that the
whites and blacks of the state being cdual and some
the blacks and oil the whites having voted for tho
democrats I'm 1874 the State had necessarily been
ricd by them. though counted for the republicans
Hercupon the republicans set about false census.
in which they made II appear that there
5000 more black voters in the state than
whites, and illustrating the fraudulent nature OF
this the report refers to the fact that while
this census reported but 5000 colorcd men. women
aud children in New Orleans IL made out of them
nearly twenty five thousand voters Of these. IL then
instances the fraudulent registration that based
upon this fraudulent census. whereby 10 was made
to appear that the registered republican voters
ccedcd the white voters in the State more than
tweuty-throe thousand while actually there were
more, aud tho refusal OF the authorities to correct
this false registration in where it's false
pointed out. From this the report
rccites the direction by the republican authorities 10
the supervisors OF parishes. requiring them to re-
turn the votes according to the census, that is stat
ing that the colorcd adults by that in Their
parishes were many. and that thcyswerc expected
to return republican vote according TO that. If they
ever expected any reward prefcrmcnt. Not
withstanding this organized franu, says tho rcport.
when the elections were over the democrats had