The Portland daily press., 1879-12-18
RY TELEGRAPH.
THE GREAT FRAUD.
THE COUNCIL TRYING TO
DEFEND ITS ACT.
F|imSy PrGtGXE for Cheating
the People.
HOW FOUR REPUBLICAN
CITIES WE'RE TRAPPED.
Did Cove and Pillsbury Set the
Trap?
Republicans Intensely Excited
Over the Steal.
GREENBACK LEADERS MAKING
THE DEMOCRATS THE SCAPE-
GOATS.
Especial Despatch to the Press.l

Especial Despatch to the Press.l
AUGUSTA, Dec. 17.-To-day has been quiet
one at the State House. The Governor left
for home yesterday afternoon and the Council
have simply attended to mere clerical duties.
The committee of election are preparing
statement Of the reasons for the changes to be
added to their reports. Below will be found
all of the statement that had been completed
prior to the adjournment of the Council to-
night. AS there are to be hearings in several
counties regarding county officers, the Council
have as yet made no report. I am able, how
ever, to say that in Penobscot there will be no
changes made, and in York certificates will be
issued to Allen, clerk of courts; Goodwin,
county commissioner, and Wild, treasurer.
The following is the Councils defense:
The committee on elections submit the fol-
lowing statement as a part OF their report of
Senators and Representatives which was ac-
cepted and approved on the 18th inst. In ar
irving at the result as shown in the report
your committee threw out and did not count
the vote from the following towns, first for
Representatives:
ARoosTooK COUNTY.
Crystal plantation-No list of votes returned.
Portage Lake-Return not signed by clerk.
PENoBsCoT COUNTY.
Newburg-The name of the town not on the
return, can only be recognized by the name on
the outside.
Carmel-Material discrepancy between the
ballots and votes; more ballots than votes
Corinth-Name of town not OH the return.
Prentiss-No whole number of ballots stated.
Winn-Discrepancy between ballots and
votes, more ballots than votes.
M ,1o1o ,1ar Nf haJ1
stated
Greenfeld-O Only one selectman signed the
return.
Medway-Return not signed by the select
men, but evidently by some one person.
SOMERSET COUNTY.
Fairfield-Two returns from the same Off
GERS contradicting each other.
Skowhegan-The return was made and
signed subject to objection by the voters of
the town as to the legality of certain ballots as
being in violation of chapter and section 29of
the RevisedStatutes in that the form and made
statement is attached to the return with
sample Of the ballot. The Council is of the
opinion that the objection was well taken and
threw out this class of votes only.
Carratunk Plantation-More ballots than
votes
Dead River Plantation-More ballots than
votes.
WALDO COUNTY.
Searsport-The return not sealed and con-
elusive evidence that, it never had been
sealed.
Jael,son-No whole number of ballots.
Isleboro-No whole number of ballots.
WASHINGTON COUNTY.
Cherryfeld-The opposing candidate pro-
tested against the counting of the returns
from this town on the ground that one of the
selectmen, Samuel Ray, was an alien at the
time of the election and produced evidence of
tha frnth of the statement the form of
record of the court wherein he, the said Ray,
states under oath that he was born in New
Brunswick and was subject OF the Queen as
late as September 5, 1879. The law requires
that every town shall elect board of select
men consisting of three, five or seven, and it
was the opinion of the Council that there
could have been no legal board OF selectmen,
and that those who signed were not selectmen
of the town legally and that the return could
not be legal return in the view of the court
as given. in the 5Sth of Maine page 58S. In
deed the power of the Governor and Council
in relation to proof upon which they are au-
thoriZed to act is confined to legal returns
duly transmitted except in the special cases
where enlarged powers have been conferred
by statutes.
East Machias-No whole number of ballots.
'Whitney-No whole number of ballots.
Baring-No whole number of ballots
Vanceboro-Signed by clerk pro tenn.
YORK.
LeDan0n--N0 clerk signed.
Kennebunkport-W Whole number of ballots
not given.
Saco-Signed by minority of the Alder
men.
CUMBERLAND.
Port land-The constitution requires that
list of all persons voted for shall be returned,
with the number of votes for each person
against his name. This was not done, but the
return shows 143 votes without giving. the
names of the person Oh persons receiving them.
ITO the Associated Press.
Angus Ia, Dec. lit is not practicable to
give in full detail tonight the reasons assigned
for counting out in all the seventeen districts,
but member of the Republican advisory
committee, now present, desires to have it
stated that in no single instance has it appear
ed before the Governor and Council that a
false or fraudulent Republican vote was cast
in any city or town, or that any vote was re-
turned differently from the intention and de-
sire of the voter, or that the returns did not on
the whole and in detail represent the precise
result as it was counted and declared in open
town meetings throughout the state. The re-
iections and changes were wholly on technical
grounds every one of which could have been
readily corrected according to the uniform
practice of the state administration of all par
ties in the past, and according to the precise
direction ofthe statute. Gov. Garcelon and
Council disregarded the precedents and set the
law aside as unconstitutional.
The following letter is self-eXplanatory:
AUGUSTA, Me-, Dec. 18th, 1879.
To the Republican Adoisory Committee:
Accompanied by the Mayor of Bath called
at the State House this morning to see the re-
turn of the city of Bath deprived from repre-
sentation in the Legislature because her re-
turn was signed by only three Aldermen. Sec
rotary Cove showed us the return made on a
blank sent out from his office. Upon my
inquiring he admitted that the blank was
printed under his supervision. The blank con-
tanned a ruled space for the Mayors signature,
three ruled spaces for the signatures of Alder
men, these three. being enclosed by a brace and
then following ruled space for The clerks
signature close up to the Aldermen. Thus
here the printer can in sert five horizontal lines
with the word "Mayor" at the end of first
line, the next three with brace and the word
aldermen at the end, and city clerk at the
end of the last line. The envelope in which
the return was enclosed was spaced in the
same manner. No person in looking at the
blank could possibly suppose that more than
then called for an election blank of last year
and there found clean open space for the
signatures Of Aldermen large enough for all
the Aldermen of city to.sign, not lined off or
limited in any way. All previous years evil
IDENTIFY had the same form Of blank as last
year.
Mr.. Cove gave no satisfactory reason for the
change in the form of the blank but thought
it was the taste of the printer The printer
understand was Eben F. Pllsbury. AS twelve
out of the thirteen cities of the state gave Re-
publican majorities the motive for attempting
to mislead the Aldermen in making up the re-
turns is very apparent. Bath, Portland, Lew
istou and Saco fell victims to the snare so skill
fully laid. The counting out conspiracy was
evidently planned before the election was held.
Very respectfully,
j. w. WAKEFIELD.
The subjoined diagram shows the trick at
glance
-|Arp ALDERMEN.