The Portland daily press., 1880-04-09

1
words ana ngures were not written by him
nor oy any OF the assessors An inspection o
the return corroborated his testimony HI
further testified that the alteration was made
after the return left Perkins Plantation. The
attention of your committee was further at
tractedto the similarity of the added words in
this return, and the handwriting contained in
certain letters signed by Prince A. Sawyer the
Deputy Secretary OF State during the admins
tration OF Governor Garcelon. They also ex.
amined the council botter, much of which was
In the handwriting OF said Sawyer, and as a
consequence your committee summoned before
them William G. Holt, a very competent ex.
| pert in handwriting, and submitted to him the
| added words in the returns, and the letters and
| biotter Tor comparison. He testified that he
had carefully examined the several writings
and had no doubt that the words and figures
"twenty-seven27, were written by Sawyer. He
| gave his reasons for this conclusion before the
committee at length, and an inspection by
your committee corroborares his opinion.
WHERE AND WHEN THESE THINGS WERE DONE.
Your committee cannot avoid the conclusion,
that these suppressions and substitutions, eras-
| ures and forgeries were made in the chamber
| of the Governor and Council at Augusta 1t
| abundantly appears, that the blanks upon
| which the new and substituted returns were
| written, and the envelopes in which they were
| enclosed, were official and such as are kept in
the office OF the Secretary of State. The testi-
mony shows concluSively that the returns were
ScuI Dy Or u0ilVeIeu III person TO the Sec
retary OF State, from the several towns and
plantations, and were opened by him or his
assistants, and their contents must have been
known to the officials whose duty it was to
count the returns. The erasures are SO num-
erous and so connected with the tabulations
and were SO uniform in the result produced
by them that they disclosed a we'll defined plan
consistent in its details and in the manner of
Its execution. 1t is incredible that fraud and
wrongdoing could be carried ON so extensively
yuItI ft,non ..nl.
ter day came before various parties connected
with the executive department for their in
spection without the facts being known to ev-
cry official connected with the count and if
any one of them shut his eyes what was 60
ing on, in the midst of the public clamor and
and excitement which attended the counting
OF these returns, he must have been so negligent
OF his duty, that his apathy would make him re-
sponsble for the wrong But it will be very diff
cult to bring men OF common sense to believe
That these transactions were not known and
acquiesced in by all the parties concerned in the
counting and tabulation of the votes
WAS THE CoUNTING-oUT THE RESULT OF PRE-
MEDITATED PLAN OF CONSPIRACY?
Your committee can account for certa in
transactions in no other way. The secre CIV
which was maintained during the time of ex-
animation and tabulation of the retarns was
remarkable and unprecedented In other years
the returns had always been laid open to the
inspection of candidates and parties interested.
No harm had come to the State or to any contes
tant or member elect thereby.
But in 1879 everybody was repulsed until af-
ter the result had been in effect determined by
the Governor and Council, although that re-
suit affected thirty-seven Republican Senators
and Representatives unfavorably. And every
one of these has since been declared by the
court to have been entitled to his seat, and is
to-day either Senator or Representative.
The alterations, tampering with, suppression
or destruction of the returns that have been
found and to which reference has been made,
must have taken place before the tabulation
and lists were made up, because the results ar
rived at by the governor and council are based
upon the returns as they appear after such alter
alton, tampering with, suppression or destruc-
tlon, and this completely disposes of any init
nation that the changes have been made since
the returns left the hands of the governor and
council.
The whole great fraud and crime then is
thrown back upon the members of the council
with whatever completely the governor had in
1t, or upon any persons whom the governor
and council permitted to handle the returns,
and whose interest it was to improperly treat
them.
That the rule of exclusion from inspection
was so closely applied strengthens the assump-
tion that mischief was going on under the COW
er OF the secrecy.
Mr. Orville D.. Baker has fully described in
his estimony the difficulty which Republican
candidate had who tried either to prove his
case or to find out if it needed to be proved.
He had been entrusted with attested copies of
the records in four hundred cities, towns and
plantations, taken and made up by the town
officers of every shade of political faith, and he
found it impossible to get the opportunity to file
his papers or compare them with the returns
on file His testimony is referred to as most
Important, and the instances which he gives
show fixed pre-determination on the part of
both Governor and Council to persist in the
contingent, aud TO hear little or no testimo-
ny that might arrest their course. Herbert
nj Heath and Charles b. Rounds also testify
to like facts If there was such plan or con-
spiracy it must have embraced not only the
governor aud council but they must have given
information to other parties, who upon such
information furnished the materials with
which to do the work.
1t is plain that consultations were had upon
the matter, and the indications are that what
ever part the Governor had in them was taken
hesitatingly at first.
ATTORNEY GENERAL MCCLELLAN.
The testimony of the Hartman brothers
shows clearly that as early as November Sth,
week before the Committee on Election Re-
turns had reported, Attorney General McLel-
Ian, at Belfast, shadowed forth the exact plan
which was pursued and the reasons on which
it was to be defended.
Mr.. Mcclellan told these gentlemen that the
Republicans were to be counted out; that they
had passed a law in 1877 which made return
ing board of the Governor and Council and
that his party meant to use it. He also named
Waldo county town which he said was to be
counted out, and and the result in that town
answered to his prediction. He further said
tina the had seen the Governor and had labored
with him, and "stiffened his back so that he
was at the date of the talk "all right"
JOHN BENsoN's TESTIMONY
The testimony of John Benson Jr., who
was the Deputy Secretary of State, under the
fusion government is in point He tells the
80 k.,,r~D DvD1ar rs11- -
the members of Governor Garcelons council,
at Bangor at an early date after the election,
a date which he fixes as surely previous to
Nov. 18th. Mr.. Parker told Mr.. Benson of the
defect that existed in the return of the towu of
Dixmont, and that Councillor Brown of Fair
field had a blank return, which would be sent by
him to the witness to be used in correcting the
return. Mr.. Parker told Mr.. Benson that the
Dixmont return needed to be corrected in or
der to make precedent on which certain fu-
SioniSt towns could be saved which otherwise
must be counted out.
This testimony is very important in that 1t
establishes conclusively the fact that long be-
fore the time when the council committee had
completed their first examinations the project
of manipulating the returns had been discussed
in the council and methods had been devised to
the end that fusion majority should be se-
cured in the legislature.
Though not pertinent to this branch of the
case, we call special attentioa to the further
straction of certain original tabulations and
their suppression by member of the council
in order to conceal the evidences which they
furnish of the fraudulent proceedings in the
counting out.
On this feature of the case Governor Garce-
Ion testifies that all the returns were kept
closely, and that up to Nov. 18th no person
outside of the Councils Committee on Elec-
tion Returns, or its Messenger, Mark Harden,
or the Secretary or his deputy, who attended
the session, had any opportunity to inspect the
returns or to know that any defects existed in
them.
But on November Sth, 1879, E. K Smart of
Pembroke, the fusion candidate for county at
torney in Washington county, was fon1d, as
he testifes, travelling about his county, armed
with blank return, such as can only be fur
nished from the office of the Secretary of
State, for the purpose of correcting the defec-
tive returns in Robbinston and other towns,
where the defects were against the fusion can
didates. And at the same time, the dates
agreeing exactly, George w. Drisko, the edi-
tor of a fusion newspaper was visiting the
towns of Addison and Jonesboro as before
stated, with blank returns which had been sent
to the fusion candidate for Senator, Hon.
James r. Talbot, with accompanying instruc-
tions as to the exact defects in the returns from
those towns, defects which the town officers
IL. III .lz1-. Is