New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-01-27

Ihe House the Republicans mad ninety members anu
the Democrats sixty-one. Garceon and his Council
counted out seventeen Republicans and counted in
seventeen Democrats or Greenbackers right against
the face of the returns and the obvious and known
vote of the towns They also refused, in the of
the five cities of Portland, saco. Bath, Rockland
and Lewiston, to give certificates to the
men elected on the ground that the return
signed by only three Aldermen. These re-
turns made blanks sent out by the Secretary
of State who was in the plot which contained ruled
spaces for the signatures of three Aldermen and no
more. Having msled the election authorities OF
five Republican cities by these official blanks the
conspirators proceeded to dsfranchise these cities
altogether. They then refused to seat their repre-
sentaives after the Supreme Court had decided the
returns to be ample and sufficient In the case OF
the seventeen representatives counted out the
Court decided that every one of them was entitled
by law to his seat. but the bogus Fusion Legisla-
ture refused to admit them. Thus twenty-nne
lawfully elected representatives were excluded.
Besides. the consprators cooked up bogus contests
with charges of bribery to unseat other Re
publcans. In the Senate they counted out eight
Republicans and counted in eight Fusionsts The
same tactics employed in the House were applied to
the Senate, the rejection of the vote of whole
towns for Representatives carrying with 1t the
seating of Fusonists from the Senatorial Districts
containing those towns. Thus no different sort OF
rascaty was needed to steal the Senate from that
devised to capture the lower branch of the Legsla-
ture. In all the thiTtyseven cases where the con-
sprators pretended that the returns were detective,
the Senator or Representative shown to be elected
by the returns was q Republican. Not solitary
man was a Democrat or Grcenbacker. The whole
proceeding open. scandalous, undeniaDie
fraud.
TIE MOTIVE FOR THE CRIME.
The control of the State Government for year
was a mere incidental feature of this gross and pal
pable crime against free government The chef OBJ
ject which the cOnspiratOrs had in view was to cap
the electoral vote of the State If possible and
IN any event to prevent its being counted for the
Republicans Their plan, if they bad been per
mited to control the Legislature. to avoid the
Presidential question during the regular session and
provide for an adjourned session in October under
the pretence Of completing the new State valuation.
At that session they expected to have the choice OF
two courses. If the September election proved
Republican delugc, rolling up majortytoo bigto
be tampered with, then they would foTestall
the November election by the Legislature taking
the choice of electors away from the people and
electing outright full quota to cast the vote of
Maine fo1 the Democratic candidates for President
and Vice-President If, however, the September
election were close enough TO make the juggling OF
the returns feasible, the scheme would be to count
in the Democratic electors In November by the
same practice employed to manufacture Fusion
Legislature last month. The object In throwing
the business over till October would be TO wait until
the Legislatures of Connecticut, New-York and
New-Jersey were safely home so that they could
not offset the fraud here by the choice OF Republi-
can electors in all three of those close States
now THE PLOT WAS DEFEATED.
.,ff1 f1o ,,4rno noct rpio md
sacacity have the Republicans been able to defeat
the conspiracy. Everything was iu- its favor from
the start If the point played for had been merely
the possession of the state Government the Repub
licans with law and public conscience on their side
and the Supreme Court decision backing them up,
could have won a complete victory at any time, and
could have successfully maintained their rights
when once they had taken possession of them. But
the Democrats eager for some act OF violence.
All they wanted was techmcahtv, or
pretence of somc SORT 10 take before
the Democratic Congress next Winter, and
furnish an excuse for robbing the Republicans Of
the electoral vote of Maine. If the Republicans
had turned the Democrats out of the State House
Inv force they would have done exactly what their
enemies hoped they would do. In the hope of bring
ing about such result the Fusionists were eager TO
cet into tho State House on the Monday morning
after the Supreme Court made its decision. If they
had got in and had been afterward put out iy Cen
eral Cbamberlain's armed force there wonld have
been cry of military usurpatlon loud enough to
make the country partly forget the rascality OF
the Democratic conspiracy To Mr.. Blaine's
coolness and sagacity throughout the whole affair
we owe the impreCnable strength of tho Republi-
can positon to-day, which has not been compromised
in the least by any violent or hasty act. He compre-
bonded from the first the length, breadth and depth
l. That xtifh Tn,,
oress at Washington ready to back il up any thin
nretence that could be manufactured, II could be
conpletev baffied only by using means Of the most
indisDutable legality. More than once in the course
of the contest it seemed TO the indignant Republi
can leaders eager to cut the snarl OF fraud and
trickery. that he was 0vcr-cautious, and some no
doubt thought him hating and tmid bat all now
recognize the wisdom Of the course he dictated
THE RECENT MILITARY PREPARATIONS.
Governor Davis's recent action IN calling out three
companies of militia to protect the state House was
not the result of n scare, as some OF the news
DISPATCHES from here have stated. The Governor
ascertained that in Portland. Bath and other cities
a class of men who usually have not money enough
to buv bread for their families were purchasing
revolyers and repeating rifles and holding secret
meetings The money to buy these expensive
weanons Is believed 10 have been supplied by
Democrats IN BOstoh anu No"-ioih' ho " laSV
desperate resort. the Fusionists intended to make
n raid on the State House. drive out the hand
ful of police guarding it, install their Lcgisla-
ture and State officers III the building, and 90 on
with their bogus Government expecting that Con-
0ress would come to their aid with resolution rec
oonizlDQ its legality. Governor Davis wisely
Thought that the scheme could be best nppcd III the
bud by showing the cODsplrat0rs that he was ready
for them with a we-drilled military force armed
with rifles that could shoot down the State Honsc
hill and take effect on mob eight hundred yards
away. As for the GatiDg gun, of which the Dem