Daily Los Angeles herald., 1879-12-27
Maine's Official Count.
Tho First Time for Years that the Law has
been 0bsysd.


been 0bsysd.
PORTLAND, Dec. 17th.-Mr.
Blaine's journey to Washington is
postponed until after the meeting
of the new Legislature of this
State, a week from next Wednes-
day. The Senator is badly needed
at home.
BY the action to-day of Gov.
Garcelon and Council in throwing
out the returns of about fifty cities
and towns, where Irregularities of
form were sufficiently grave to in
validate them under the law, the
Republican party in Maine find
the result of the late election eX-
actIy reversed. Instead of being
in a majority Of seven in the
Senate, twenty-nine in the House,
and thirty-seven on joint ballot,
with power to elect a Governor and
State officers, the Republicans are
thrust into a minority of nine in
the Senate, seventeen in the House,
and twenty-six on joint ballot,
without the remotest possibility
Of controlling the State admins
tration for the coming year. The
| party leaders have not yet recover
| ed from the shock of this unex-
pscted calamity. Their condition
to-day should be described as one Of
stupefaction rather than of indig-
| nation.
Counsels of an opposite character
prevail in different parts OF the
fnk ha
where the stalwart element is
strongest, there is talk of captur-
ing the State House by force at the
beginning of the year, or of setting
up a rival Legislature in Granite
Hall, Augusta, simultaneously
with the assembling of "Dr. Gar.
celon's Legislature" Here in
Portland the general feeling among
Republicans is that nothing can be
done. They admit that Governor
Garcelon and Council have acted
strictly within the letter of the
law. While they condemn the
canvass as an outrage and delib-
crate employment of the statutes
to further the ends of wicked par
tissnship. they confine their de-
nunciations to general terms, The
entire party, therefore, is looking
to Mr.. Blaine, either to invent some
counter sensation or to turn the
Republican wrath of the next few
weeks to the best account.
The law under which the Cover
nor and Council acted in rejecting
"fatally defective returnsn Is as
old as the Constitution itself. A
return, to be legal, must Ee in q
prescribed form. 1t must give the
whole number of ballots, the
names of all the candidates, with
out Jumping any as Scattering
aud the number of votes for each
written out in words. 1t must be
signed by a majority of the select
men and the town clerk, in the
case Of towns, or by the City Clerk
and o majority of the Aldermen, In
the case of cities, and it must be
properly sealed. A candidate is
elected on the face of the returns
only when these constitutional re-
quirements are observed. The
Governor and Council cannot lie.
gally count votes reported in de-
fective returns. THIS year they
have obeyed the law to that effect;
but statute of 1877, the constitu-
tionality of which has been ques-
toned, gives them a certain dis,re-
tion in substituting the record for
detective returns. Some members
Of the Council made a point of that;
others held that this statute Is per-
missive and not mandatory, and
say that they simply decline to
take the responsibility in a doubt.
full matter.
Strange as it may seem, in every
one of the fifty towns and cities
thrown out, the returns showed de-
feots which were more than mere
clerical errors. These defects are
various, and some of them are as
tonishing. In many instances the
total number of votes for the sew
eral candidates foot up more than
the total number of ballots report
ed as cast. Returns where several
candidates were Jumped as "scat-
tering" were thrown out; also where
names were incorrectly report
ed. In several returns from
Cumberland and York counties
the number of votes for Senator
was omitted, numbers being put
opposite one name and "dttoesn
opposite the rest. The dittoes
could not be legally counted. In four
Important cities-Rockland, Bath,
Lewiston and Saco-the law requir-
ing the signatures of majority of
the Aldermen was not observed.
The returns were not counted.
The following instances will il
lustrate the variety of the other
violations of the law: Searsport's
returns were unsealed, Lebanon's
lacked the town clerks signature,
Stoneman's was not made up in
town meeting, and the two select
men make affidavit that they sign
ed it in blank, the town clerk after
wards filling it up in the intervals
of business ut his grocery; in Web
ster's all the signatures, purport-
ing to be autographs of the select
men, are in one handwriting; In
Lisbon's the town clerk signed for
two of the selectmen. One return,
purporting TO be that of Corinth,
has nothing TO indicate that that is
really the case. Another purports
to be from Muscle Ridge, place
which has no existence. The most