The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1879-12-18

details we shall be better informed, hereafter.
For the present it is sufficient to know that by
a careful selection of returns the result of the
election has been reversed.
There is no excuse for this transaction plausi-
BILE enough to deceive anybody for moment.
Not Democrat in the State or the country
believes that what has been done is rightly
done. 1t is simply incredible that the returns
from so many Republican towns and cities are
fatally defective, and that the Democratic re-
turns were all in proper form and correct.
Everybody knows before any evidence is taken
that there is trickery of the most deliberate
and systematic character behind all this busi-
ness. Even if the whole proceeding were
technically legal no party with the smallest
shred of self-respeet would take advantage OF
it. The persons not elected, who receive GER
tificates, would do as Mr.. Graves to his great
honor, has done in our county Of ESSeX-refuse
to serve. The members who are in majority
by the grace of the Governor and Council
would delay all decisive action until after the
Legislature, really elected by the people, had
been installed. OF course nothing OF the kind
will happen. There is not one of the Senators
or Representatives elect, so-called, who has
been counted in, who will refuse to take his
seat and participate in the further execution OF
the plot. Nor will the Democrats, elected or
not, who viii be summoned to Augusta, take
any astion that will restore the control OF
affairs to the rightful possessors of it.
Let us leave for the future the reckoning
with these conspirators, and look for moment
at what must happen while they are IN the
enjoyment of their stolen power A Leg
islature will meet at Augusta three weeks
from to-day 1t will organize itself, elect
Governor and other State officers, and in due
time will proceed to what the French call the
verification of powers. In both brapches there
will be numerous contested seats. Persons
who have really been elected from places where
the returns have been thrown out and a Vacan-
CIV declared, will appear and demand their
seats. Others who have been counted out VIII
claim the places occupied by intruders. what
course will the two Houses pursue? Take the
case of Bath. The Republicans carried the
city by more than two to one. Mr.. Goss was
undoubtedly elected to the House. WIN the
House exclude him? In other cases an alleged
defective return from some Republican town
has been thrown out and Democrat declared
elected by the remaining towns OF the class:
Will the House refuse to allow the votes OF
such towns or to admit evidence what the
vote really was? We venture to answer Doth
questions in the affirmative. But see where
the decision will lead. The Democrats can
base their support of the action OF the Govern
or and Council only on the assertion that the
defective returns are no returns at all, ana tnat
therefore the Council must throw them out.
But each House of the Legislature has the
right to go behind the returns and learn VINO
was really elected If it refuses to do this It is
guilty of a gross and palpable act OF usurpation
more outrageous and inexcusable even than
that which the sixpenny politicians, who were
thrown to the surface by the events OF 1877,
have perpetrated.
We trust the Republicans will not behave in
the childish way suggested by hasty advisers.
The only digniied or reasonable thing. for
them to do is to submit and bide their time
Nothing could be more absurd than for them
to set up Legislature of their own. The
State House is not in their possession, the State
officers are all against them. DR.. Garcelon IS
the legal Governor, and the Legislature with
which he communicates will be, for the time
being, the legal Legislature. Tho Republican
members will have no returns to examine.
They cannot declare that there has been no
choice of Governor and proceed to elect one
In short, there is nothing they can do except as
members of the Legislature which Mr.. Pills.
bury has by his will and pleasure created, IL
they swallow their vexation, and join with the
Democrats elected by the people and by Mr..
Pillsbury, they can make matters very uncom-
Portable to the majority if that isany satisfac-
ton, and will be at the point where they can
take advantage of every opportunity to expose
the infamy of the transaction by which the
will of the people has been overturned.