Daily Kennebec journal., 1880-01-01

eut0rse WIKI tue TttQIu protest against t1t |
forM If the taitQfEas being a distinguished
mark in Itself. 81 Gov. Gzrcelon and lrisf
Council took thiS protest Is the justification
Of their decision, and threw out the entire
republican vote Of Skowhegan, and thus COM
pietefy disfranchised five hundred and seven
" citizens II Maine, who possess the clear and
undoubted right of suffrage Gov. Garcelon
made this extraordinary decision in the face
Of the provision Of Law above quoted, which
forbiis any vote 10 be rejected after it has been
received into the ballot box even If it con-
tains distinguishing mark. Under the statute
prescribing nothing but writing or printing
on clean white paper, it is idle to affirm that
the Skowhegan ballots contained disting-
uishing mark. The law does not undertake to
prescribe the size or form Of ballot 10 be used
Who shall say what the standards: That
long ballot shall be counted and vide one
shail not! That vote with two columns has
Distinguishing mark, while a vote with one
column has none:
The Law itself sets up no standard. but
wisely leaves the whole to the selectmen who
preside at the town meeting. The question
Is decided then, by them. and forever.
The seiecfmen Of Skow hegan decided and
wisely. that the ballot in question had no dis
tingui-hing mark. Ii they had deeiied 9TH
crwise at the ballot box, the defect could
have been cured, other ballots substituted
and the honest representation # the people
have beeen saved Therefore the Law above
quoted, scrupulous to guard the right Of the
voter, says iha: the decision made can never
he reviewed or reversed by the Governor and
Council. The ballots were received into the
box. fncIEfed In the count and declaration Of
the vote, and returned by the lgeai officers as
east for the republican representative The
fltat .,I
a specimen Of the ballot, could not give the
Governor and Council a Jurisdiction and
power which the Law Of the land had in
term. denied them.
/ In the opinion Of the Justices. Ga Maine,
500, the Supreme Court say, speaking Of a
certificate like this, accompanying and scaled
/ up with the returns
| when the SeIcctmen and Town Clerks
attest fair copies of the lists OF votes" and
seal up the same in open town meeting, and
cause the same to be delivered into the See
retary's Office as required hy the constitution
aud the statutes. their duty is at an end.
/ They are not certifying officers, for the rea-
son that The constitution has not made them
such"
| Yet in defiance of the law and of the ex-
press decision of the court, against the pub
/ lished remonstrancc of their own counsel
I ~
seized the representative seat and ousted the
legal Incumbent.
! TuE ASHLAND DISTRICT.
In the Ashland district in Aroostook coun-
", embracing several towns and plantations
John Burniam, republican, was chosen rep
reaen,atiye over Alfred Cushman, greenback
candidate, by majority of I'll. In the re-
turn for the town of Ashland. the name of
The republican candidate was spelled Burn
ava. the silent letter h. being omitted. The
! Governor and Council decided to call John
Rurnhm different man from John Burnham.
and hy dividing the vote in iis manner they
lrft plurality for Alfred Cushman and de-
clared him elected. This question has al
read, been completely covered by the Su-
prenc Court of the State. In the opinion of
the Justices 6!, Maine 500, the court expic-
lily held that ''when name was misspeled
hut was recognizable hv its sound on the face
pf the returns rs that of candidate" it was
the dniv of the Governor and Council to
''count the name misspelled fir the candi-
date for whom IL obyousl, Intended"
Moreover, in the Uarpswell- dis
frirt in Cumberland county. the democratic
vote of Scarhoro is returned for Melville r.
Iiunnewell, and the democratic vote of IIarps-
I well for Melville l.. IIunn,wc and in the
Newcastle district the democratic vote from
two towns is returned for James W. Clark.
and in two others for James W. Clarke; vet
the Governor and Council in order to seat the
--tlcmocraiic representatives from those dis
tricts have counted these names as Identical.
4 few days after this remarkable decision
in the Ashland case. Hon. Llcwellyn Powers
being permitted to examine the returns from
the district found that in Merrill. Plantation
giving a large democratic majority the
. / Va rpturpeJ fnr Nlf,rsl
Cushman. Mr.. Powers called the attention
of the Governor and Council to this fact
which they had apparently overlooked. and he
insisted that if Burnam could not be taken
for Burnhani, tdcm saaHRs. Afford could not
be taken for Alfred. not ijem soHaas. nor in
deed the same name Gov. Garcelon en-
pressed his surprise Mt the revelation. said
he had never before heard Of the facts. and
said that il should be corrected. Mr.. Powers
pointed out that if both were counted or both
rejected. Burnham would in either event be
cleclcd. He urged prompt reversal of the
decision. n recall of the summons from
Cushman. and the issuing of new one to
Bnrnham. He left the Governor and Conn
ci! with the full belief that the change would
be made and Justice done.
The Council did not take up the matter
till Saturday last. and they then decided that
votes for Afford Cushman conld not be count
cd for Alfred Cusliman. and they adhered to
their former decision that votes for Burnhsm
could not he counted for Burnham. and left
Mr.. Burnham elected nv seventeen majority.
But the Council wonld not accept this conclu-
sion. and to avert it they resorted to very
singular process. The town of Hersey. he
longingto the district, gave twenty votes for
Burnham and one for Cushmsn, and had been
/ so counted tahulatcd and declared by the
Governor and Council in their official exam
ination. They now took il up afresh. and
some person skilled in the counting Of
| Aroostook votes. averred that the names Of
the second and third Selectmen were writ
ten in the same hand. namely. that of the
third Selectman. But that would not
10 alone, for that left two genuine
sigualures--that of the first and third Select
men. and left the return good.
Mr.. William Dickey of Fort Kent then in
forms the public that the first Selcctman. To-
sier. was an alien. and that Mr. Councillor
I Parker knew all ahou, il. Wien Mr. Coun-
cillor Parker was present at the time the vote
of fierscy was counted. he concurred in re-
gar,ling IL as regular and legal: but now with
Mr.. Councillor Parker two hundred miles
away. in Areosteok. the valuable statement of
Mr.. William Dickey as To- what Parker knew
| and could tell IL he were present. is accepted
I 4. u.