The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1880-09-23

for President. Notwithstanding the In
reference with the freedom of the cleo
ton by United States supervisors and
marshals, backed up by the army, all
under the control of the Republican
party, the people in their majesty elected
Samuel j. Tilden President, not only by
majority of more than a quarter of
million of the popular vote, but by
clear majority of the electors appointed
by the States respectively. To overcome
this majority and continue itself in pow
er required the commission of crime
without parallel in the history of free
governments. No sooner was it known
that the States Of South Carolina, Flon.
da, and Louisiana had cast their votes
tor Mr.. Tilden, than a conspiracy was set
on foot by the leaders of the Republican
party to count them for Mr.. Hayes,
without every one of which his election
was impossible. The machinery for
making the false count was all in their
own hands, and they resolved to use it.
With this view emissaries were sent to
those States, the State Canvassing B )ards
in which were all under III .ir control,
and in some instances composed of the
most disreputable characters. President
Grant issued an order TO the army to
protect these Boards in their action.
This, together with the rewards of Office,
was all they needed to induce them to
give certificates of election to the Hayes
electors, Notwithstanding they had been
clearly defeated at the polls in both
Florida an louisiana. The State can
vassers in Florida, arbitrarily, without
authority and without cause, amended
and threw out returns from different
counties in the State, and thereby
changed the result Of the vote of the
people 80 as 10 give Stearns, the Repub-
iican candidate for Governor, and the
Hayes electors majority, When this
result was announced, Drew, who had
been the Democratic candidate for Gov
ernor, applied to the Supreme Court of
the State for a mandamus, to compel the
State Canvassers to restore to III -ir can
vass the eliminated precincts The court
decided that the State Canvassers had no
power under the laws Of Florida to
eliminate votes; but they were bound
to count every lawful vote cut into the
ballot box, and in obedience to the or
der of the court, the State canvassers re-
stored to the canvass the rejected pre-
cincts, and cert I'D majority for Drew,
who thereupon took his place and be
came the lawful and accepted Governor
of the Sta 9. The Tildea electors also
appealed to the court, and before the
casting of the votes by the electors on
the h day of December 1875 filed
quo WarrdntO against the Hayes electors,
IN which it was alleged that they, the
Tiden electors. were the lawful claim
ants of the Office and that the others
we're usurper5. The TiIden and Hayes
electors each met separately at the ap.
pointed time and east their votes for their
respective candidates. Tho quo WarrantO
proceeding did not reach final hearing
till after Dec. 6, the day appointed for
casting the votes by the electors. But
the judgment of the Court in the q,t0
aDarrantO proceeding was rendered in
January, previous to the time of the
meeting of the Electoral Commission,
and was as follows:
tits therefore considered and adjudged that the re.
spOndents (wh0 were the Hayes electors Humphries
and so on) were not nor was any one OF them elect.
ed, chosen, or appointed such electors OF eectOr
or to receive certificates or certificate of election or
appointment as such electors eectOr and that said
respondents were not upon the said 9th day of De-
cember or at any other time, entitled to assume or
exercise any of the powers or functions of such cleo
tors or eector, but that they were upon the said day
and date, usurpers and II Is further considered and
adjudged that The SAID reatoTs, bert Bullock Rob
eIt b. Hilton, Wilkinson Call and James e. Young
these are the Tiden eectOrs) all and singular were
at said election duly elected chosen and appointed
electors Of President and Vice President the Uni
ted States, and were, on the 9th day of December
1876 entitled to be declared elected chosen and an.
pointed as such electors and to have and receive GER
hc tss thereof and upon the said day and date and
at all times since to exercise and perform all and
singular the powers and duties of such electors and
to have and enjoy the pay and emoluments thereof
The Legislature of Florida, in view of
the fact that Drew had become Governor
on the l7Ch of January, 1877, passed IAN
act to provide for a canvass according to
the laws of Florida, as interpreted by
the Supreme Court, of the votes for eleC.
tors of President and Vice President, cast
at the election held Nov. 7, 1876" In
pursuance of this act recount was had,
which resulted In giving a msilrity to
the Tilden electors. And thereupon the
Legislature passed an act declaring the
Tilden electors to have been duly elected.
Thus all the departments of the govern
ment of FlOrida-its executive, its legis.
latiVe, and its judicial Departmental
decided that the Tilden electors were
duly elected, and entitled to cast the vote
of the Safe for President.
ALI these facts were laid before the
Electoral Commission, which convened
Jan, 81, 1877. In behalf of the Hayes
electors it was insisted that they all
went for nothing, hut that the certificate
of Gov. Stearns to the election of the
Hayes electors, based on the fraudulent
and false count of the State canvass, was
conclusive. The Commission decided,
eight to seven, as follows:
That 1t was not competent to go Into evidence to
show that other persons than those regularly cert
c0rdlnR 10 the determination Of their app intment
6y the Board OF State Canvassers, prior to the time
OF tue performance OF their duties had been appointed
electors or by counter proof TO show that they had
not and that proceedings 0fthe courts or acts the
Legislature, or of the Executive of Florida subse.
quent to the casting of the votes OF the electors on
the prescribed day are inadmlssblt for any such
purpose
For one purpose only, and that the
most important of all, the inauguration
Of a President who was not elected, effect
is given to the illegal and fraudulent &C.
tion Of the State Canvassers while for all
other purposes it is nullity. What an
absurdity Surely, nothing short of
party blindness can sanction su ch an in.
iquity.
THE LOUISIANA FEATURE OF THE CRIME
WITHOUT A PARALLEL.
The case OF Louisiana was, if possible,
still worse. In that State the entire ma.
chinery for the registration of votes and
supervising the election was in the hands
of Kellogg, the Republican Governor,
backed by the army and United States