Daily Kennebec journal., 1880-01-01

The signatures Of the first selectman and Of
the town clerk are palpably unlike each other
and the rest The eixnatnres Of the remaining
txo selectmen have certain resemblance.
But suppose one Of them wrote both. II
would ssill leave tvo genuine signatures Of
selec4men, that Of the writer and that Of Nath'l.
Harding, together With the genuine signature
of the town clerk. Two eelectmen being q
majority Of the board. legally and sufficiently
authenticate the return by the statute of
Maine. Revised Statutes. /. s Definition s.
Rut, Mr. Harinys signature being obvi-
ousiy original On the face of the return, l
have now before me the affidavit of John G.
Brown, one of the two selectmca whose sig
natures resemble each other. in which he
makes oath that he signed this return with
his owu hand and signed M name but his
own, and the other two selectmen. both fu-
sionists, have admitted that they also
signed the return Individually. thouy.i they
refuse to give aflidavits to republican appli-
cants.
Investigation will show beyond all doubt,
that the action Of the Governor and
Council in disfranchising New Sharon was
Is baseless in fact as il is unjusti6aGle in law.
The RossIxsroN-PERRY DISTRICT.
In this and the other Washington county
districts. the facts are taken as furnished by
the courtesy Of Mr. Heath, the special attor-
ney of the Washington county senators-elect.
This distric: elected Robert NJ Loring, re-
publican. rs its representative.
But the vote Of Robbinston was returned
for Robert Io-ing instead of Robert NJ. Lor-
ing. The record hal the same error. but the
ballots themselves had been preserved and
were all for Robert N. Loriny, an this Mr..
Ioring's counsel offered to shDw under one
of the provisions of the Public Laws Of 1917,
e. PIP, which reads as follows.
s.The Gov. aad Council shall count and
declare for any person all votes intentionally
cast for such person. though his name upon
the ballot is misspelled, or written with only
the initial or initials of his christian name or
names"
Here there was no need to 20 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.
THE CHERRYFIELp DisrRIcr.
In this Washington Co. District, Henry C.
Baker, republican, was chosen representa-
tive by clear majority.
The town of Cherryfeld, gave a large re-
publican majority. Its return had no flaw on
its face. At the hearing, a paper. fled se-
cretly and taken without notice, was produced
by the defeated candidate, alleging that one
of the selectmen was an alien in March. 1879.
when he was elected, though naturalized
before the September election. and therefore
not an alien ut the time of signing the return.
The Governor and Council rejected the re-
turn, and seated the defeated candidate on
that ground.
This extraordinary and unprecedented ac-
ton suggests the following objections:
/. If the alienage was n legal disability it
ceased before the signature was made.
9. The alienage did not appear on the
face of the return, to which the constitution
confines the Governor and Council, and they
must override the constitution to receive the
evidence.
3. In the well-known Frenchville case,
the Supreme Court decided, six judges con-
curing. that return must be counted, though
the town clesk whose signature is indispen-
sable confessed he was an alien and could not
read the return he was required to sign. The
court decided that the Governor and Council
must decide from the face Of the return alone.
fOpiniOn of the Justices, 81 Me. $50.
But the Governor and Council quote the
dissenting opinion of Judge Dickerson, and
thus in law as in politics overrule the decis-
ion of the majority:
1. If the fact of alienage could be legally
proved an alien Is q de facfo officer and as
such his acts are binding in all matters affect
ing third persons or public right.
Opinion of Libbey j., in Belfast VS.. Nor
rill, IS Maine $50, and cases there cited.
The court say:
"When one of board of officers is not le-
gally elected or qualified, but is nm officer de
faeto. he may legally join in the action of the
board with those who are officers de jure."
A peoples right of suffrage cannot be de-
feated by q secret defect of title in a return
ing officer.
5. Even if the signature of the alleged
alien was struck from the return, there would
remain the legal signatures of two and ma
jority of the board.
The DANFORrH-VAxCEBORO DISTRICT.
This district gave Charles A. Rolfe, repub-
lican, majority Of nearly fifty (5O). To
unseat him it was necessary to count out the
republican vote of Danforth and Vanceboro
In DanfOrth the vote was erroneOusly re-
turned for Charles Rolfe instead Of Charles
A. ROlfe, and though the town clerk amend
ed his record, relying on the decision Of the
Supreme Court in Chamberlain v. Dover, 13
Maine 466. and offered thus to correct the
return, according to the facts, under the law
Of 1877, the Governor and Council again de-
MED us the benefit of the law.
But they must count out Vanceboro also,
in order to seat A. H. Woodcock, the defeat.
was A; the democratic vote 12. The return
was signed by 4 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 Coun-
Gil rejected the return on account of the
signature. Why? In case of the temporary
absence. sickness or disability of the town
clerk, who should sign return if not clerk
chosen pro tempore? Is a town to be dis
franchised because its clerk is temporarily
disabled and no deputy las been chosen?
In default of the regular clerk should the
person signing be clerk pro tempore or a
deputy clerk?
But to avoid all doubt it was proved in thi,
case before the Governor and Council that
the clerk signing was both. The democratic
town of Scarboro was counted in, though
signed by deputy clerk alone. The repub-
lican town of Vanceboro is counted out,
though the return was signed by one who
was both deputy clerk and clerk pro tempore.
THE FAIRFrELD DISTRICT.
This district 10 composed of the towns of
Fairfield, Smithfield and Mercer, in Somer-
set county. The republican represen-
tative, A. B. Cole, received q clear ma