The Portland daily press., 1880-04-09

share of the burden which rests and must for
years rest upon all the men who were engaged
in the attempt to overturn the result of a pop
ular election and to seize upon the Govern
ment of the State.
public and private where he has been round
iince the election ,asseverated not only his own
snnocence, but the legality and fairness of the
work of his council. He has made that work
a subject of boastful comment up to a time
within the last month. But he plainly left
your committee in another mood. When he
was confronted with the returns, and the tab
ulations, and the final lists, and when the
suppressions, and erasures and forgeries were
brought to his notice, and when he was shown
case after case where the rules of law, which
he had vauntingly asserted to have been his
guide, had been applied in one way when they
would count in a member of his own party,
and in the opposite way when they would
count out Republican, he made no further
defence or excuse for, or denial of, the wrong
done, but leaving it with the Council which
had TUNED the final "lists" over to him, he
passionately asserted his own innocence, and
declared that Judas among the number
had done the villainy.
CONCLUSIONS.
Your committee present to the Legislature
all the testimony which has been taken up to
the present time, and ask that it may be
printed, as we'll as this report.
This testimony, in the judgment of your
committee, justifes the following conclusions:
The returns from the cities, towns and
plantations in the State were, contrary to
from all inspection or scrutiny by candidates,
their counsel or any parties legitimately in
them.
During such time as the returns were so kept
many alterations, erasures and forgeries were
made upon them, for the purpose Of changing
the r1SuIf. and in all which how hoo
discovered, such improper treatment of the
returns resulted against Republican candi-
dates, and in favor of the fusion candidates.
During the same time, from information
which must in nearly all cases have come
from the officials who were examining and
tabulating the returns, or who had the custody
of them, defects in fusion towns were being
cured by substituting new and correct returns
or by affidavits taken ex parte for the purpose
of curing such defects. In addition to this,
and by reason of information furnished in the
manner stated, afidavits were being taken
and cases were gotten up for the purpose of
throwing out Republican towns.
In all cases affected by such causes the re-
suits invariably counted out Republican candi-
dates and counted in fusion candidates and
this to the extent that the majority in each
house OF the legislature was Illegally changed
from the Republican side to the fusion side.
In reaching this result the Governor and
Council refused to allow Republican errors in
the returns to be corrected by the records,
although such correction was offered re-
peatedly by Republican candidates or their
counsel.
The different rules of law laid down by the
Governor and Council as their guide in tabu-
lating the returns, and in certifcating from
such tabulations, were applied in different
ways, as they were enforced where they would
throw out Republican candidate but not en-
forced where they would throw out a fusion
candidate.
Many of these rules were contrary to law
and must have been made solely for the pur-
pose OF securing a fusion quorum in each
branch of the legislature.
The illegal and fraudulent acts before refer
red to were part of premeditated plan, and
the conspiracy, the object of which was to Sc
cure quorum of fusion members in each
branch Of the legislature, embraced the mem
bers of the Executive Council, and the Cover
nor of the State must have been in some de-
gree in completely with them.
Both Governor and Council must then he
held accountable for the fraudulent practices
under which the election returns were changed
SO that the will of the people was set aside and
illegal certificates issued to Senators and Rep
resentatives in sufficient numbers to change
the political complexion of both branches Of
the legislature.
Misappropriations of the public moneys.
Your committee conclude.
That the different appropriations by the leg
islature have been diverted from their legiti-
mate purposes and in many cases have been
overdrawn and exhausted.
That the punlic funds have been Withdrawn
from the treasury of the state by Gov. Garce-
lon and his Council without warrant of law.
and have been applied to unauthorized uses
and for unlawful purposes.
That large sum of money belonging to the
state remains in the hands Of Gov Garcelon
and other officials of last year which should be
recovered and put back into the treasury.
That the recklessness of management dis
closed in the transactions of the past year,
tends to destroy public confidence, undermine
the public credit and introduces practices
which if unrebuked, will prove fatal to the
future progress and prosperity of the state.
ANDREW HAYES, On the part of
AUSTIN HARRIS, the Senate.