The daily gazette., 1879-12-20
The Count IN Maine.
HON. E. r. PILLsBURY pKYENDs THE
ACTION OF THE FUSION COUNCIL.

HON. E. r. PILLsBURY DEIENDs THE
ACTION OF THE FUSION COUNCIL.
Hon. E. F. Pillsbury Of Maine, in a
dispatch from Augusta to the Daily
Netcs of Chicago, justifies the action OF
the State Canvassing Board, and charges
that the majority claimed for the Repub-
dublicans and disallowed by the Coun-
Gil was secured by Wholesale bribery and
fraud in the local count. The dispatch
Is as follows:
AUGUSTA, Me-, Dec. 1s.-The appar-
ent Republican majority for members of
the Legislature was occasiOned by
wholesale systematic bribery, bulldozing
and fraud. There was popular MAORI
ty tor Governor iE opposition to the Re-
publicans In many districts, giving fu-
sion majority for Governor. The Re-
publicans succeeded In getting MAORI
ly of the members of the Legislature by
trickery and other frauds. The Govern
or and Council have not based their &C
tion on these frauds In any instance, not
having Jurisdiction, but they have strict
ly followed the Constitution, and thrown
out such returns as were fatally defect
i've, whether Republican or Democratic.
In some counties more Democratic than
Republican returns have thus been re-
jected. The Republicans have been In
| the habit for years of secretly returning
defective Republican returns to county
officers for correction, but took advant-
age of defects in the Democratic returns.
During twenty-three years of Republi-
can rule they have never lost an officer
by means OF such defects, while the
Democrats have lost more or less every
year. This has served TO make the
Democratic town officers more careful
and the Republicans more careless.
The present Governor and Council
have held the Republicans to the strict
letter of the Constitution and laws, and
the result is an anti-Republican majority
in both branches. They have in no case
travelled outside OF the precedents es-
tablished by the Republicans themselves
and in most Of the cases their action
was based on the opinions given by
the judges of the Supreme Court. For
instance, the Judges gave an opinion In
1875 that the Governor and Council
could not count the votes returned for
William ii. Smith AID w. ii. Smith for
the same Office as having been given fol
one and the same pc son.
Applying this rule this year changes
the result In large number Of district.
In 1877 the Judges gave an opinion
that returns could not h- counted wbeI
the signatures of the officers we're writ
ten by other h. nds than their own. II
The same opinion the Judges decide,
tha, returns could not be- counted wher,
, the Town Clerk had failsd 10 attes
them. This rule changes several case
also. The return from the City of Port
land was fatally detective in not comply
I ing with the Constitution in ri wing tn,
p names of persons voted for, with vote
Il the numser of votes sgaius' each name
some l4e votes were r turned AZ scat
e tering." This cAanRes the result o
J. three Senator, and leaves five vacancis
Il in the Hou-e. In the cities of lie wi.
town, Saco, Bath and Rockland the r,
turns were sigued by u minority only {
= the Aldermen.
= The Law requires the whole oumber {
: ballots - be gwen in the returns, an
here are abundant Republican prec,
, dents Tor rejecting them where they fa
y In that respect. So, too, where there
" a material di ifference between the who
:, number of ballots and votes. Sever
=" changes have resulted from these defec
;, In all doubtful cases the Governor AT
II Council have consulted eminent couns
A before coming TO a conclusion, aud
every instance the action of the Boar
l. has been unanimous, with one exec
y ton only. In that instance the quest tit
al At issue did not affect the character
). the result. X. II. PILLsBURY.