Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1880-01-02
THE MAINE CONTEST.
THE COUNCILS REPORT ON
THE CANVASS. @
Gov. Garcelon's Address to the Pub
lie And How it Was Received.
Correspondence Between Gar
celon and Morrill,.

Inc following is an ADstTacJ from Jue
.rport ofihe committee on the Maine
lection returns made in council:
Your committee in submitting this
report, deem II necessary TO state spe-
officially certain facts connected with
the returns from many OF the towns,
cities and plantations, in which we
have materially affected the result, by
canvassing the votes returned. There
are many returns, which owing to the
fatal defects cannot bo counted; but we
shall specify only those which have af-
fected the result, .....
Article four, part one, section five, OF
the constitution regulates the manner
OF electing senators and representatives
to the Legislature, and also the process
Of transmitting to the governor and
council the process by which they
are TO determine Who have been
elected. This section provides that in
case Of towns and plantations, the
municipal officers shall, in open town
and plantation meeting, Mt the close of
election day, Sort count and declare
the votes cast and forward II list OF all
persons voted for and after the name
of each person, thus voted for, shall
write the number Of votes received by
him. This list shall he recorded III
open meeting by a clerk and u copy Of
this recorded list shall be signed by the
soectmen and attested by the clerk
and sealed up in open meeting. This
copy or recorded lists, thus attested, il
to be deposited in the Office Of secre-
tary Of state within 30 days thereafter.
A section OF the revised statutes re.
quires that in addition to the foregoing
specific and mandatory provisions of
the constitution, the returns shall state
the whole number Of ballots cast nj the
election. The same section Of the con.
stitutiun requires that the governor and
council shall open and compare the re-
turns, thus transmitted, and from them
determine who appear to be elected,
and the governor il to issue to such
persons ~ thus appear to be elected, II
summons to take the seats in the legis-
lature. OF course the first require
ment IL that tho returns shall DO made
md rcaled up in open town and planta-
ton meetings. We understand this IL
required in order that the electors may
be present. and zee TINT the returns are
made in accordance with the facts; and
we are of the opinion that tho returns
not made up in open meeting nro not
legal returns, and cannot be counted,
and we have acted upon this belief in
making our tabuations. Several pro
tests accompanied with atiidavits to
support them against counting Of the
returns specified therein, have
been considered by us. These
protests nllege that said returns
should not 10 counted because they
were not made up in open town meet
ing, but were, made after the meeting
closed in some private office or store,
when no one but II portion OF tho NUM-
eipal officers we're present. and in some
cases only the clerk. This condition Of
things IN several cases has been proven
to our entire satisfaction and we have
rejected the returns thus defective in
our tabulations. In the case Of the
town of Stoneham, mn affidavit signed
by tho two select men establishes the
fact that they signed the returns in
blank and the town clerk took them
home and filled them up and the
seloclmen had no knowledge Of what
the returns contained.
For tho foregoing reasons va have
rejected in our tahulntions the returns
from the towns of jay, Stoueham, Lis
bon, Webster and Pennington. The
returns from tho town OF Senrspcrt
ha . nlso been rejected because II was
OF sealed up in omen town meeting.
BY means Of these rejeCtons, u few
perons will receive seats in the legisla-
ture who would not have been thus
seated. had the returns from the afore-
suid towns been made up ne the consti
tuition requires. These are Jas Q.
White, of Jay district; Louis Voter, of
Pennington district; N. Bradbury, OF
Stoneham district; Joshu Il. Gordon, of
Sealsport district and Lsonard IL.
Beale. of Derham district.
Tho supreme court have held that the
municipal officer shall sign the ieturns
with their own hands or make their
marks; otherwise the returns cannot he
counted. We have found several re-.
turns fatally defective in this particular
ana have accordingly rejected them.
BY this rule, laid down by the court,
the New Sharon returns have been Ivy
us rejected This rejection affects the
election of one representative.
We found several returns fatally de-
fecliye because they were not attested
by the town clerk. Tho supreme court
have ncld that such are not legal
returns and We have rejected them.
They are quite numerous, but we shall
specify only such Ms affect the result Of
the election. The representative re,
turned from the town Of Lebanon is
one Of them. Its rejection affects the
election ol ono representative, viz:
Stephen Lord. Vanoeboro and Albany
are like cases, and the rejection Of the
returns from these towns affects the
election of two representatives, The
representative districts III most cases
are composed OF several towns; in some
of the towns the full Christian names of
the candidates seem to have been used !;
in others only the initials, and we hest.
tated as to whether we could count the
initial names. with the full names. On
an examination of the law, we find the
supreme court, in volume "a, page So,
l.. 4, a,,l