Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1886-09-16

I
This result left the Republicans a ma
jority Ofsix in the House aud gave th,
Democrats a majority of three in tn
Senate, and on Joint ballot the Repub
licans had majority of three.
AS soon as this fact was known th,
Republican National Committee
EMPLOYED TWO ABLE LAWYERS
And the Lincoln Club, of Cincinnati
and numerous other Republicans em
ployed numerous other lawyers to de
feat, If possible, the declaration of thu
result, as shown by the returns made
by the proper officers of election, by tn,
CanvRssing Board, and the issuing o
certificates of election to those showI
to be entitled to them by the results o
such canvass.
The statute undel which the Board o
Canvassers acted expressly says tha
they sin making the abstract of votes
shall not decide upon the validity of the
return, but shall be governed by the
number of votes stated in the poll
book"
Notwithstanding the fact that the
law governing the Canvassing BOARD
was thus explicit and an absolute pro
hibition upon their performing or at
tempting to perform any function Other
than the mere ministerial duty of ab.
stracting and adding up the returns as
made and before said Board, these emf.
Enent lawyers attempted by proceedings
in mandamus, to investigate the valid,
ity of the returns, hear testimony, sill
in judgment and decide, but with spe.
cific instructions to decide in certain
way.
1t is not my purpose at this time, mol
is this the occasion, to discuss the legal
questions involved in the case of Dal-
ton VS.. Richardson, reported in 43 o. s.
r.
That decision will stand as a monu-
ment to the wisdom, the integrity and
the legal ability of the Judges concur
ring in it long after the names and
works of the partisan blackguards who
traduced them for rendering that Opin-
ion shall have been forgotten.
There is, however, one strange signi-
ficant, inexplicable and startling fact
connected with the dissenting opinion
in that case, which, in view of what
preceded and what followed the rendi-
tion of that opinion, should seriously
and indelibly impress every honest,
thinking patriot.
The opinions of Judges of our Su-
preme Court, which are published, are
carefully prepared and read over to all
the Judges in the consultation-room
before they are given to the press or the
public.
This dissenting opinion, so prepared,
and | doubt not SO read to the other
Judges in the consultation-room, was
given to the public December Is, 1885,
and was soon thereafter published in
numerous newspapers and law journals.
What was in that dissenting opinion
must have been placed there by the dis
senting Judge, must have been careful
ly reread and revised by him before it
was read by him to his brethren on the
Bench, so that just what it contained
he must have known, and it must have
been just what he wanted, and as he
wanted it before it came into possession
of the public. AS thus announced by
him the last paragraph was as follows:
In conclusion, my regret at this decis-
ion is deeper than can be expressed in
words. 1t is an apparent, if not a real
sanction to frauds ..-
OF A MOST ATROCIOUS
Character-crimes, that if continued,
will ultimately sap and destroy our rep
resentative form of government.
"It is no comfort to say that con-
test by the Senate of Ohio furnishes an
adequate remedy, especially since by
counting these frauds the party ben
Gifted thereby gets the control of the
body which is to sit in judgment on the
contest. They obtain their certificates
by means of fraud and forgery; this en-
titles them to become members of the
contesting body.
This entities them to sit and vote in
their own cases, or the cases of each
other, and it would be miracle if they
or those who affiliate with them po-
should surrender control of the |
Senate by.ousting themselves, however
strong the case may be for the contes-
tants.
"Such thing is unheard in contest |
by political body when a successful |
contest would surrender the control of
that body to its political opponents
This opinion, as have said, was rem
dered December Is, 1885, about two
weeks before the Legislature met, and
doubtless before the eminent Judge had
heard from that great legal light-that
star of the first magnitude in the galaxy
Of jack-o-lanters, the phosphorescens
exhalations from corruption and decay,
and produced only in swamps, marshes
and cesspools; that man thoroughly in
dOctrinated with the modern Republi-
can idea the official oaths, parliamenta-
ry rules and statutory and constitution
al law should never arrest or restrain
the consummation of a partisan design,
who by the grace of a misguided, de-
,eived and deluded people has been per-
nitted to rattle around in the seat of
Lieutenant Governor of this greatState,
md who has been fawned upon and
1attered by the vultures of his party,
who, while they despised him, knew
hat by tickling his vanity they could
Use him as they desired until his little
mind is greatly perplexed by the at
empt to solve the problem whether the
Almighty created him or he created the
Almighty. The announcement of the
'ule of law, by the Republican Judge,
n an opinion pronounced by Republi-
IAN papers and partisan leaders as sound
md invulnerable, that the certificates
If election entitled the Hamilton coun-
~ Senators not only to become MEM
oers of the contesting body, but also en-
titled them to sit and vote in their own
Eases of each other" was an insur-
nountable obstacle to the rape of the
Senate so necessary to the complete
of tha ohiaoto dacirod |