Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1879-12-19
Shs Daily 3ress asA 4atstaiau
sANKlOh DAKOTA.
DAKOTA.
Friday Evening, Dec. 10, 1879
THE MAINE MIDDLE.


lion. f.. r. Piilsbury Explains 10 the
Chicago Daily News How the Thtpx
Was Done.
Chicago, Dec. ls.-The Daily News las
ne following from the Hon. +. I.
%Pillsbury:
Augusta. Maine, Dec. ls.-Th+ .pparen,
republican majority for members Of the
legislature was obtained BY wholesale .yste.
matte bribery, bulldozing and fraud. There
vas Z popular majority for governor in OPP
Posltion to the republicans. In many
districts, giving . fusion majority for gov
ernor, the republicans succeeded in getting
2 majority for members of the Legislature
BY trickery and other frauds. The cover.
nor and counsel have not based their action
On these frauds in any instance. not giving
JariHdiction, but they have strictly followed
the constitution and thrown out such re.
turns As we're fatally defective, whether re.
Publicsne or democratic. In some counties
more democratic than republican returns
nave thus been rejected. The republicans
have been in the habit for years Of secretly
returning defective republican returns to
town officers for correction, but took advan.
tage OF defects in democratic returns. Dur.
ing twenty-three years of republican rule
they have never lost an Office by reason Of
such defects, while the democrats have
lost more or less nearly every
year. This has served 10
make democratic town officers more careful
aud re .ublicans more careless. The pres
ent governor and council have held the re-
publ,cans to the strict letter of the const,lu
ton and laws. and the result il an anti-re-
publican majority 10 both branches. They
have To no case :rAyeled outside of prece-
dents established blythe republicans them.
selves, and In NJ Of the Cases thelr
action was based on opinions given
by Judges OF the supreme court
For instance. the judges gave an opinion in
1870 that the governor and council could
not count the votes returned for William
II. Smith and w. H. Smith for the same
Office as having been given for one and the
same person. Applying this rule this year
changes the result in a large number OF
districts. In 1877, the judges gave an opinion
that returns could not be counted where the
signature of the officers were written by
other hands than their own Several cases
of this class were found this year. In the
same opinion the judges decided that
returns could not be counted where the
town clerk had failed to attest them. This
lule changes several cases also. The re-
turn from the city Of Portland was fatally
defective in not complying with the cons,i,
tuition in giving names of persons voted fol
with the number Of votes against each
name. Some IA votes were returned
as scattering. This changes
the result on three senator.
aud leaves five vacancies in the house. Ii
Lewiston, Ssco, Bath and Rockland the re
turns were signed by a minority only of the
aldermen. The law requires the whole
number Of ballots to be given 10 returns
and there are abundant republican prece-
dents for rejecting them where they fail il
that respect. So. too, when there is a ma
terial difference between the whole numbe,
of ballots and the votes stated. Severa
changes have resulted from these defects
Ia all doubtful cases the governor and coun
Gil have consulted eminent counsel before
coming to a conclusion, and in every 10.
stance the action of the board has beer
unanimous with one exception only, and
IN that instance the question at issue did
not effect the character ofthe result.
lSigned.] q. T. PILLsBURY.