The Portland daily press., 1880-01-01

returned as follows:
Garland.
George S. Hill rep had
Francis W. Hill (Fusion) had .................141
Ereter.
G. S. Hill Qiep) had ~
T. w. Hill (Fdsion) had ................. 40
On the vote as actually cast George S. Hin had
decided majority, and not a ballot was thrown In
either town for either G. S. Hill or F. w. Hill.
Again refusing correction and violating the plain
letter of the statute of 1877, tn c Governor ana
Council counted the candidates as ,our !, Inherent
persons and sent the summons to f. w Hill as hay-
ing the largest number of votes. Their Wanton
disregard of law ached this remarkable result that
a certificate of election was issued to mythical f.
w Hill for whom not man i'll the whole district
had voted, and was taken away from the p9stohlce
and will be presented to the Legislature by trancis
w Hill, the defeated candidate.
GOULDsDoRo.
Every town but Gouldsboro returned its Republic
can vote as cast for Oliver P. Bragdon. In the
Gonldsboro return the initial middle letter P had
line dropping down from 1t like the last loop OF
letter b. The letter evidently intended for L
and was left a by the clerk, and to avoid the
possibility of a mistake the downward mark had
been PARTIAL ly erased so that it ended so me
distance above the line. Yet the Governor and
Council denyine to 2o7 voters even the poor bene-
fit of a doubt removed the entire Republican vote
of the town from Mr.. Bragdon's column, disfran-
chised POT citizens and counted in a Democrat who
was never elected.
WESTON.
This district composed of several towns and
plantations in Aroostook county, elected Frank G.
Nickerson Republican, for Representative. But
the town Of Weston returned 43 votes for Frank
Nickerson instead of for Frank C. Nickerson. The
record gave the name correctly. 1t is understood
that the ballots printed and cst were for Frank
c. Nickersof. The statute of 1877 provides a rem
edy by the record but again in plain violation of the
law the Governor and Council counted in by ma
jority of 16 John II. Brown, the Democrat, whom
the people had repudiated.
NEW SHARON
This district composed of several towns and plan
tations in Franklin county gave David NJ. Norton,
Republican, clear majority. The town of New
Sharon the strongest Republican town in the dis
trct gave MIR. Norton rs majority. The return
was without flaw upon its face yet without notice
to the towntor its officers to the representative
who was really elected, without a hearing and in
dark they threw out the vote of the town on the
ground that the three signatures of the selectmen
signing Sathl Harding, j.. G. Brown and l.. r.
Cram, and the town clerk is j. e. Whitmore. The
signatures of the fast selectman and of the town
clerk are palpably unlike each other and the rest.
The signatures of the remaining two selectmen have
a certain resemblance, but suppose one of them
wrote both that would still leave two genuine sigma
lures of selecmen, that Of the writer and that of
Nathaniel Harding together with the genuine sigma
ture of the town clerk. Two selectmen being
majority of the board legally and sufficiently authen
ticate the returns by the statute OF Maine Revised
Statutes. cap. l, sec 4, def. 3. But Mr.. Harding
signature being obviously original on the face of the
return have now before me the affidavit OF John
G. Brown, one of the two selectmen whose sigma
lures resemble each other, in which he makes oath
that he signed this return with his own hand and
signed no name but his own, and the other two
seectmen, both fusionists have admitted that they
also signed the return individually though they
refuse to give aidavits< to Republican applicants.
Investigation will show beyond all doubt that the
action Of the Governor and Council in DISTINGUISHING
New Sharon as baseless in fact as it was I'M
justihable in law.
RoBBINsToN.
This district elected Robert NJ Loring Republi-
cam as its representative, but the vote of Robbn
ston was returned for Robert Loring instead OF
Robert NJ. Loring. The record had the same error,
but the ballots themselves had been preserved and
were all for Robert NJ. Lorng, and this Mr.. Lor-
ings counsel offered to show under one of the pro-
visions of the public laws of 1877, C. ~, which
reads follows
sThe Governor and Council shall count and de-
clare for any person all votes Intentionally cast for
such person though his name upon the ballot Is
msspeed written with only the initial or initials
of his christian name or names"
Here there was need TO go back of the ballot,
but the Governor and Council refused the evidence
of the ballot itself and unseated the Republican for
whom the ballots were cast.
cHERRyFIELD.
In this Washington county district Henry c..
Baker Republican, was chosen Representative by
clear majority. The town of Cherryfield gave
large Republican majority. Its return had no flaw
its face. AT the hearing paper filed secretly
and taken without notice produced by the de-
feated candidate alleging that one of the select
men was an alien in March, 1879, when he was
elected, though naturalized before the September
election, and therefore not an alien at the time of
singing the return. The Governor and Council re-
ected the return and seated the defeated candidate
on that ground
DANFoRrn AND yANCEBoRo.
This district gave Charles A. Rolfe Republican,
majority of nearly fifty To unseat him it was nee
essary to count out the Republican vote OF Danorth
and Vanceboro In Danforth the vote erron-
eously returned for Charles Rolfe instead of Charles
A. Rolfe, and though the town clerk amended his
record relying on the decision of the Supreme
Court in Chamberlain V. Dover, ID Maine 1885, and
offered thus to correct the return according to the
facts under the law of 1877. the Governor and
Council again denied us the benefit of the law. But
they must Vanceboro also in order to seat
A. Fl. Woodcock the defeated Democrat There the
Republican vote was A, the Democratic vote y.
The return signed by man who was in fact
both deputy clerk and clerk pro tempore, but IN
signing he added only the designation, town clerk
pro tempore The Governor and Council rejected
the return on account of the signature.
FAIRFIELD.
This district is composed of the towns Of Fairfield,
Smithfield and Mercer in Somerset county. The
republican Representative, A. Is. Cole received
clear majority of all the votes cast and the returns
showed that fact. BY rejecting the strong Republl-
can vote of Fairfield it was possible to defeat the
Representative chosen by the people. The vote was
counted and declared and return legal in all re-
spects signed and sealed up in open town meet
ing and the meeting adjourned. This return was
regularly sent to the Secretary of States office; it
was the only Representative return sent from the
town of Fairfield which was signed and sealed in
open town meeting; But some time after TINS was
sent a recount of the vote was ordered and mis-
take was discovered in the count by which the Dem
ocratic vote was increased more than the Republic
can 1t is stated by the people of Fairfield that Mr.
Councillor Brown the town agent, told them there
would be trouble about that and that he would
furnish them blank for an amended return, which
the town officers accordingly made. This last return
was not signed or sealed till long after the town
meeting had adjourned and to distinguish it it was
marked "amended return" By counting either re-
turn the Representative would have clear MAORI
ty of at least 55 votes But the Governor and
Council refused to count either, DISTINGUISHED Fair
field in toto and seated Democrat. Having, the
Governor and Council alege in their report reject
ed six returns-from Jay, Webster, Lisbon, Stone
ham, Pennington and Searsport-and counted In
,tafix tl,nrA
they assert these returns not signed and seal
ed in open town meeting, they now count in another
defeated Democrat by rejecting the only return from
Fairfield that was so signed and sealed.
sEARsPoRT.
In this DISTRICT. in Waldo county, Robert French,
Republican, had majority at the polls but the
enEeloPe containing the returns from the Repuo-
tary of States office was nnsealed, or not sealed
closely. 1t is not claimed that the return was not
signed by all the Selectmen and by the clerk in
open town meeting, nor is it denied in this or in
the Jay, Stoneham, Webster, Lisbon and Farming
districts that the return stated the vote east with
absolute certainty Yet the Governor and Council
refused to count the return and thus gain another
seat and defeat the will of the people at the polls.
LEBANON.
In this district in York County, the Republican
Representative is Isaac Hanscon, who was legally
elected but was counted out because tho town clerk
of Lebanon did not formally sign the return, and
though the statute of 1877 says ''when return is
defective by of any informality duly attest
ed copy of the record may be substituted therefor
and be counted" the Governor and Council again
repudiated the statute, counted i'll stephen D. Lord,
a Democrat and reversed for the seventeenth time
the verdict of the people
SENATE.
The changes made in the Senate followed or
rather accompanied the changes in the House, and
in great part covered by the statement already
made of the representative districts.
CUMBERLAND COUNTY
II, Tu,nherIapd County entitled tn fo,,r Senators
they deprived the Republican candidates of their
large majority in the city of Potland by the same
decision made touching the Representative VOTE
But something more needed than throwing out
three thousand four hundred Republican votes in
Portland. The returns from the Cumberland towns
were very accurate, but they discovered in the Re-
publican town of Otisteld thai the whole number
of votes had been1omitted and forthwith Otisfeld
was thrown out, though the return absolutely
faultless except in this nonessental point.
More reductions being still demanded on the Re-
publican vote the Governor and Council found
Westbrook to be the only available spot: Here they
found the Republican vote $50. The vote was
the name of Joseph A. Locke but opposite the
names of Mr.. Lockes Republican colleagues ditto
marks were used both under the letters and figures.
On this ground and this alone Mr.. Locke's three
colleagues were counted out. The Westbrook rec
ord was correct in all respects, but the Governor
and Council would not permit any reference there
to- The result was that in Cumberland three fusion
Senators were counted in, although the Republican
~ 4