The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-12-27
Statement Of The CCmmIties on Election
Returns 10 The aOvsrnOfS Council
How a Republican hSlOrlly was
0vtrSlOuUhUd BY 4 Democratic
alnOrlty-FuSIOHlstt Sell.
lag Arms Belonging
10 The Stats.

I
SIituOion regulates the manner Of eleClin
Senators aud Representatives to the legI
Iature, and also the process Of tranSmI
tiag 10 tho Governor and council the ey
dence by which they arc 10 determine VII
have been elected.
| This section provides that in case
towns and plantations, municipal oillCel
shall 10 open town and plantation NEE
Ing, ut the close Ot An election day, BOT
count and declare the votes cast and iorl
list ol all the persons voted Tor, and ate
the name Of each person thus voted Ia
shall write the number Of votes receive
by him. This list shall BIZ recorded |
open meeting by clerk, and a copy q
this recorded list shall bU signed by seler
men, and attested by the clerk aud seaL,
up In open meeting. This copy OF the n
corded list thus Infested Il TO hO depOsitG
10 the office Of the Secretary OF State with
in thirty days thereafter. RI I.IlfI
A section of the Revised Statutes II
lnircs, In addition to the foregoing spt
rifle and mandatory provisions ot III
Constitution, that the returns shall stat
the whOle number Of ballots cast At I'll
election. f....,...'-..
The same section Of the Constitution
requires that the Governor and Counci
shall open and compare the returns thu
tFansnIttedaud from them determine VIII
appears to be elected, and the Goveruo
Is to issue to such persons az thus appea
70 he elected summons to take their seat
In the Legislature.
TAKING rHE FOUND OF FLESH.
OF course the first requirement is tia
the returns shall he made and sealed ~
in open town or plantation meetings. VI
understand this Ia required in order lha
the electors may be present and see tha
The returns are made in accordance will
the facts; and We are IOi the opinion tht
returns not made in the open meeting ar,
not legal returns and cannot be counted
and We have acted on this belief in max
ing our tabulAtiOn. Several protests, nc
conpaniGd with an affidavit to Suppor
them, against the counting Of the returns
specified therein, have been considered
by us. These protests Rllege that said re
turns should not be counted RA they WerI
not made up in an open town meetinI
but were made alter tbs meeting closed d
some private office or store, where no ont
but q portion Of the municipal officer,
were present, and in some cases only
clerk. This condition Of things, in seven
cases, has been proven TO our satisfaction
and We have rejected returns thus in oui
tabulation. In the case Of the town o.
Stoneham an affidavit signed by two seleC
men, establishes tho fact that they signel
the returns. in blank and the town ClerE
took them home and filed them up ant
the select men have no knowledge o.
what the returns contain,
For the foregoing reasons We have le
iected in our calculations the representa-
tive returns from the towns Of jay, Stone
ham, Lisbon, Webster and Pennington
Tho return from the town OF Searspor
has also been rejected because II was moi
sealed in open town meeting. BY mean
Of these rejectlons few persons will re
ceive seats in the Legislature wht
would have not thus been seated had III,
returns from the aforesaid towns beer
made up as the Constitution requires
These are James o. White, Jay district
Louis Eate, Pennington district; n. Brad
burg, Stoneham district; Joshua c. JOr
dan, Searsport district, and Leonard II
Beale, Derham district.
SUPREME COURT DECISIONS.
The Supreme Court have held that mrr
nicIpal officers shall sign returns with thei
own hands or make their marks, other
wise the returns cannot be counted. W,
have found several returns fatally deiec
tive In this particular, and have accord
tngly rejected them. ny this rule lait
down by the court, the New Sharon returr
has been rejected. This rejection oGsetl
the election Of one Representative. W,
found several returns fatally defective be
capso they were not attested by towr
clerks. Iha bnpTGmn Court held thR
such are not legll rctnFng, and NO hay,
rejected them. They are quite numerous
but we shall specify only suCh az afIec
the resultiof the election, The Represen
tAlive returns from the town OF Lebanon
IL one oI them. It's rejection affects the
election OF Representative, VIZ, Stephen
d. Lord. Na6ceborO and Albany are like
SS'b $500 hhS AClttNlOA vi lub IVtutNi
IRON tEtsa TOWNS affects the election o.
two Representatives.
The Republican districts In most casct
are composed OF several towns. In somt
OF the towns the full Christian names oI
candidates seem 10 have been used; In
others only the initials, and we hesita,cd
rs 10 whether We could count the initial
names with the full names. On exAmInu
ton Of the law We found that the Supreme
Court vol. VI, page 500, has held that The
Governor aud Council must count them
as distinct and separate persons. lIy
adopting this rule laid down by the Couf,
the election Of five Republicans seem l.
ba effected. viz: +. ". Hill, Of Exeter
Aaron II. WoOdcock, OF DAuiorth district
James II, Clark, Of New Castle; John Ii
Brown, Of HOdgdon district, and james
W. Leighton, Of - district.
MORE TECHSIcAurtEs.
Tho revised statutes require that In case
Of plantations, in addition to the forms re-
Qnired by towns, list OF voters on The
plantations be sent into the Secretary oil
Stat. n,lh nr,,t,n 49, -I.,