The daily gazette., 1879-03-04
The PreslAe entisl Fraud,

"u~ A0utStunu- PHdtny ana Deeper
alton Of the Returning Boards aat
their Mdndgers-7he Methods by mh,cJ
fuden ,ods Counted Out-Recommen
ddttons Of the Committee, dc.
WASHINGTON, March 2.-On Saturda,
Mr.. Potter, the chairman of the investi
eating committee, submitted the repor
which he had prepared to the committe,
and it was adopted by the vote of 81,
democrats to three republicans, Genera
Butler being absent. The three republi
cans present, Messrs. Hiscock, Cox ant
Reed, will prepare minority report, ant
General Butler will draw up separate
statement, giving his views in referenc.
to the bargain with the Hayes party b,
which the democrats recovered the State.
OF South Carolina and Louisiana. Mr.
Stenger, democratic member of the com
mittee, who was chairman of the sub.
committee In Louisiana, has also prepar.
| ed report.
MIR. Potter's report Is necessarily long
as 1t deals with all the points that have
been before the committee except the
cipher dispatches, which will be made
the subject OF separate report, and will
be presented to the committee tomorrow
MIR. Potter's report is regarded b, the
democrats who have perused it as singu-
larly impartial and judicial. 1t is entirely
devoid both of rhetorical ornamentation
aud vituperative denunciation, and de-
rives its force solely from close logical
deductions Of the fact presented to the
committee. Some Of the democrats re.
gard 1t as wanting In color or not so
strongly expressed as the facts warrant,
and II is not unlikely that some members
OF the committee belonging to the party
will present all additional expression of
their views.
The report opens with an introduction
which sets forth what 1t was proper for
Congress to investigate and what not,
and the difficulty of conducting an inves-
tigation into conspiracies which have
been successfully carried out willie the
successful party remain in power. 1t ad-
mits that the confessions of conspirators
who have become dissatisfied is worth
little, but points to the fact, not generally
understood, that about the essential fea-
lures OF the election and canvass in
Florida and Louisiana there is no sub
stantial dispute before the committee, the
republicans having called no witnesses in
Florida and few in Louisiana, except as
to the conduct of the visiting statesmen,
and incidentally about intimidation. 1t
dismisses entirely the testimony of An
derson, jerks, Mrs. jerks, Weber, and
that class of witnesses, and deals with
the case upon the general and controlling
facts alone.
The report is divided into three parts,
the first of which refers to Florida, the
second to Louisiana, and the third TO the
forged electoral certificate.
THE FLORIDA CASE.
Beginning with Florida, 1t cites the law
the presidential electors to be
appointed by the votes cast, and the can
vassing board to canvass the votes cast,
and claims that the Tilden electors, hav-
Ing received majority Of the votes cast
In that State, were thereby necessarily
entitled to be declared elected, and that
the canvassing board, by rejecting with
out warrant of law portion of the vote
30 as to show majority for Hayes, un-
lawfully counted Tilden out. 1t says
that the canvassers delayed their an
nouncement until the morning of the day
the electors were to meet and vote, so
that, although action was instantly taken
70 oust the Hayes electors, no decision
could be had until the Hayes electors
had met that same day at noon and voted
The report then recites the judgment of
the Supreme Court, which subsequently
decided that the Hayes electors were not
elected nor entitled to cast the vote of
the State, and that the Tilden electors
were, and also the judgment of the court
in the action brought by Drew, the demo-
N Infa t.... ~
a recanvass, where the court directed a
recanvass, and decided that the canvass
ers In refusing to count the votes cast had
Drew, and unlawfully seated
Stearns, the republican. The Legislature
of the State thereupon directed recan-
vass of the electoral vote in accordance
with the decision of the Supreme Court,
the judges of which were republican,
and the recanvass showed the Tilden
electors chosen. The Governor issued
his certificate to the Tilden electors as
the true electors, but the electoral COM
mission refused to consider the judgment
of the court, the action OF the Legisl a.
ture and the certificate given by the Gov
ernor in favor of the Tilden electors, and
held that it could not take notice of any
action by the State after the 9th OF De-
The report draws attention to the fact
that such a wrong might be repeated in
any State at any presidential election by
the canvassers Withholding the announce
ment of the result of the election until
the day fixed for the meeting of the cleo
toral college, and then declaring persons
who had never been voted for at all to be
electors, when, according to this decision,
such electors would be entitled irrevoca-
bly, to cast the vote of the State. 1t
therefore recommends a law providing
that where there was dispute as to who |
were the real electors of any State, the |
Judgment of It's court of last resort, if |
certified to Congress before the meeting |
Of the two houses of Congress to receive |
and count the electoral vote, shall be con-
elusive 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 canvassing board was not only il
legal but fraudulent, and cites the in
stance in which they rejected democratic
votes on anwarranted grounds and re-
fused to reject fraudulent republican
votes, as illustrating this. 1t deals at I
length with the claim of the republicans
that they were entitled to the vote of the