Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1888-02-28

~, ~ wipds, shifting to southeriy'
-. COMMON CoUNcIL.-At the session
laI Common Council, called last night,
o. an.ider the contest made by Nj. G. j..
10 cS ".orners over Tie seat held by Mr.. B. F.
w.. sI Of the Sd Ward, Mr.. Bayne said be
ha sSd 70 saw that the committee had not
" ::.Isd in their report the statement of
i \. S,siner and others that in their opin-
NJ ultimate result OF the election was
lo y. 'c cssoged by the early closing OF the
P'yvI SDowdeu said that it was agreed that
,anort should be unanimous and he had
report iust as was agreed upon by
Tho members OF the committee.
H. B4yne said be had no quarrel with
~ ,.oorf ghich had been made In accord
-. ,girb The agreement OF the committee.
tT'' had merely desired TO state that the
% nroirtss had by oversight neglected to re-.
Ss- ina Two OF the judges had expressed
n. onlnion that if the polls had been kept
10. rbe thirteen or fifteen minutes longer
va intimate result would not have been
'I w. Wsddey said that the contest was
,,a,eIv q personal one on the part of Judge
.,u.ri Nr. Summers had told him Mr..
Waddsy saturday that "he would never
b.ys contested the matter if he knew then
much as he does now"
in5pe Stuart, counsel for MIR. Summers,
,bs contestant, then opened the case. He
.aii ba would not contend for the second
n.ouod made in the notice of contest, viz
That the notice read Wednesday, the 18th,
in.ie.d of Thursday, the 15.h." But the
Law required tho polls to be kept open till
.on.-r The evidence showed that while
tba an was shniug clearly In The sky the
nolls Of the 81 Ward were closed in spite of
ihs remops!rancea Of Mr.. Summers friends
ond their declaration that voters were ready
,oyote aud the sun was not down. He had
-nofe reliance on Hostetter's Almanac than
m tbs sun. The mere failure TO open the
nols in time would not invaiidate an cleo.
ian because that would not prevent voter
iom exercising his franchise. II Judges
mas close The POLLS thirteen or fifteen min
ute. before the sun is down they can close
the polls al hour before, and IN election be
made to suit the judges and not the voters.
The question in this case is Has the will
ri III, people and the law Of the land been
carried out
MrGreeue for Mr Waddey commended that
Toe terms OF tho statute declaring that the
m rs should omen at sunrise and close at
.nn.N was directory aud not manda-
ro,y Judge Stuart had admitted this in
saving ,,5at The failure TO open polls at sun.
ri.s would not vtiate the election. He read
from MEG .eery on the American Law of
Elections" to eustain his views, There was
NOT even the III Sdow of a suspicion that the
result of the election had been changed by
The early closing oil the polls.
Judge Stuart. III reply, said that the au-
thority quoted by Mr.. Greene declared that
when the premature closing of the polls "op-
crates TO deprive legal voters of their rights"
the election is thereby invslidated. 1t is in
evidence that voters were deprived of their
rights Seven men can vote each minute.
Nlney.one men could have yoted-niueteen
more imam was wanted TO change the result
oil that eecticn-and no man can say those
voters would not have come forward,
Mr. Germond asked if Judge Stuart sup
posed that all the late voters would have
Jeea democrats.
Judge Stuart said that the negro vote had
been given for Waddey, and the negro vote
had been exhausted, and the white vote was
coming in when the polls were closed.
After The discussion Mr.. Snowden INTRO
iuced resolution declaring the sense OF the
Council that the election in the 81 Ward on
tue 18th of December last was illegal, IN
that the polls had been closed from thirteen
10 fifteen minutes before shutdown and a
number of voters thereby deprived of their
right to cast their ballots
Mr.. Kelly offered the following as Il sub
stute:
Resolced That it is the sense Of this body
that Mr. Weddey has been duly elected and
that he be allowed TO retain his seat.
The substitute was rejected by the vote
found III ne official proceedings, and by like
vote Mr. Waddey was unsested and u new
election on the 22i of March ordered.