New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-01-02
me GOTERNOHS - ASTON.

The memorandum of QlN stlrnS tor the SUI
prcmr Court submitted to Go 'crnor Garcclon
by ex-senator Morrill, covrrr, all The import
ant points in the controversy rs to the equity
and legality of the action IF the Boa Of
CnnvasScrs. An answer to those questions
would At least have SWEPT away II great deal
oi the cloud of my>iifcaton and falS'!iood i'll
which Tie Maine traud ha> been cHvrlnpcd,
aud thodgh it might have actually settled
nothing, IT would have enabled I'LL pcor'c to
perceive y Inch party was III tie night Clearly
ha. is jn.t what Governor Care Ion d"> not
want He has me Mr. Mou;iHS proposal by
Il tick. The inquiries sGgg, stcd by the cX-
senator in reply TO The Governor invitation,
are all r, icctrd. The answers rcrhaps would
tell the Governor things that he does not want
20 know. He has prepared All entirely differ
rnt schedule Of questions, carefully framed for
the purpose OF extracting only replies suited
to his purpoSt, and without showing them to
Mr.. Morrill, has laid item before the Court.
Nothing could more completely illustrate tie
spirit of the whole conspiracy than this scandal.
Gus evasion.
Mr. MDrr1ls frat question went right to the
heart of the difficulty. He proposed to ak
the Court whether it is :" the duty Of tEr
"Govcrhor and Council, in canvassing the
"retulns Tor Senators and Representatives, ("
1.-The Legislature. to allow corrections therein
"by the record under the Constitution an0
Claws of the State" and "to what cases"
such corrections can extend or. III not their
"duty, have they then the tight or power to-
"allOw such corrections Mt their option T.
Here is the basis of the whole dispute. But
I.n
He declines to put any question substantially
like it. He studiOusly AVOIDS asking, i'll any
shape, about the right TO correct returns, and
confines himself all through his twelve queS-
tons, to inquiries as to the strict legal author
lty of the canvassers tt Ject returns on ac-
count of various infOrmallties-an authority
which in most of the instances cited nobody
has attempted to dispute. The difference be-
tween the two schedules can be expressed in
few words: Mr.. Nor i'll proposed to inquire
whether it was the privilege and duty OF the
Governor and Council to permit the correction
of technical defects in the returns so as To give
effect to the conceded result OF the voting ;
Governor Garcclon, on the contrary. inquiries
whether by strict construction OF the law he
has the power-0mitting all consideration Of
the moral richt-tO DO j,'.t the reverse OF this,
and avail himself Of technical irregularities to
rullify the result of the voting. Nobody asked
him to put questions of this preposter JUS char
acter
1t lis Just as we'll for the Republicans to look
nj the situation cOurageousy and calmly.
They have be N made the victims of stu
pendous political swndle, and the men who
planned it are resolved to carry it out to the
very end. Protests are of no use. Exposure
will not shame the wrong-dOers they made up
their minds to that before they began, and
they are not to be turned from their pur-
pose by fear Of public opinion, or by
care for the ultimate consequences of
such piece of rascality. They have
placed themselves, by series Of elaborate
tricks, in position to steal State, and, hap
pen what may. they mean to steal it. They
| know very well that the Republican party is
too sensible and too patriotic TO follow the
precedent which so many Democratic commu-
mites have established at the South, and re-
slst by force of arms the action of the civil
authorities. Our remedy must be sought by
other mean, and for the present. we fear, In
other States. We can have no better argu-
ment for the Republican party in future cleo
tons than this exhibition of Democratic con-
tempt for popular sovereignty and free bal
lot. There is likely to be no doubtful State
at the North after this.