New-York tribune., 1891-12-23
THE DEMOCRATS DESPERATE.
TAMpERNG WITH DUTCHEss RETURNS.
THEY ARE BROUGHT TO THIS CITY WHEN THEY
SHOULD HAVE REMAINED IN ALBANY.


SHOULD HAVE REMAINED IN ALBANY.
| Judge Cullen on Saturday about o'clock made
on order vacatng stay which Judge Furs-
man, of Troy, had granted to prevent the County
| Clerk of Duchess County from forwarding to
Albany The corrected returns of the vote for
Senator in that county. The order was given to
| Mr. Wood the counsel of the Democratic Board Of
Canvassers; to take to Poughkeepse and enter with
the County Clerk. This done by Judge
Culen's direction. Wood went to Poughkeepsle.
but instead of entering it directed, he sent it
back to New-York on Monday morning. lie was
followed up by the Republican counsel, and then
he said he had sent it to Deos McCurdy, one
of the Democratic associate counsel in
this city. Mr.. McCurdy, on being applied to
ON Monday about / O'Clock, said that he had not
received the order unless it had been included in
some papers which had been sent to him to be
printed and which he had sent to the printer
without examination. lie promised to go to the
printer at once and if he found it, to send it to
Mr.. Wilkinson, one of the Republican counsel, at
Colonel George Bliss office Mr.. McCurdy, about
2 D. m, handed Mr. Wilkinson Judge Cullen's
original order, saying that he had received it by
private hands, after making his previous state
mcnt that it might be among the papers sent him
to be printed.
followed up the County Clerk, and
compelled him to enter the order
late Monday afternoon When called upon to
perform the duty which the statute imposed
upon him, and which Judge Cullens order re-
inforced by directing him to forward the returns
forthwith the County Clerk, who is Governor
Hills recent appontee, tried to dodge. He went
to consult counsel, but finally agreed to forward
to the Governor, Controller and Secretary OF
State that night the three copies of the returns
required under the law. He was watched till
he made them up In packages and took them to
the postofice, and they were followed till they
were actually locked up in the Albany pouches
and sent to Albany.
Now comes the extraordinary result. The re
turns are declared by the officers to whom they
were mailed not TO be in their Offices They GER
tainly went to Albany. Where did they 90 10
next? 1t is said at Poughleepsie that the County
Clerk went himself to Albany late Monday night
or early Tuesday, that in some way he got posses
sion of these official returns, and brought them
back to Poughkcepsia TIE facts which follow
may show why he did this.
The original order of Judge Cullen, as has
been said, was taken by Mr.. Wilkinson to Pough-
keepsie on Monday afternoon and delivered to
the County Clerk late in the day. Some time
that night the original order was taken from the
County Clerks office and brought TO New-York.
II was there used to obtain from Judge Ingraham
an order granting temporary stay Of Judge
Cullen's order requiring the returns to be for
warded to Albany This order Of Judge Ingra-
hams is dated December 81, but could not have
been obtained till late Monday night.
for Judge Cuen's order not en-
tered at Poughkeepse till about o'clock
that afternoon. 1t had to be sent here papers
had to be prepared and Judge Ingraham's order
obtained This could not be done before the
mail from Poughkeepsie TO Albany which carried
the returns, left the former place Consequently
Judge Ingrahams order staying the forwarding
of the returns was of no avail The only way to
make it Of any was in some way to get the re
turns which had been forwarded to Albany back
into the County Clerks hands.
The hearing upon Judge Ingraham's order to
stay the forwarding of these returns comes up to-
day in Brooklyn, the papers having been served
on the Republican counsel here in the middle Of
the afternoon yesterday. The papers themselves
prevent any claim being made that they were pre-
pared earlier than the time already mentioned, for
they not only recite an interview which did not
take place until about l o'clock Monday after
noon, but they contain copy Of Judge Cullen's
order on which the County Clerk has indorsed
the fact that he had received it and the papers TO
ferred to in it. lie could only have
received it after Mr.. Wilkinson took it to his
Office late Monday afternoon, unless, indeed, MI
Wood had delivered it to the County Clerk early
on Monday and this official had himself sent
10 New-York the original official record thus given
to him by Mr. Wood
However this may be, there is every reason
10 believe that the original order Of Judge Cullen
was in New-Yorl1 Monday night, after Mr. WllkLa-
son had delivered it to the County Clerk, ana
portion of Tuesday morning. 1t could not theh
be found in the County Clerks office, where
the law required it to be, and the Republican
counsel could not get certified copies
~ IL tilI late Yesterday afternoon. by which tine
il had apparently been returned from New-iork'
Some one may ask, Why all this chicanery ?"
The answer is plain. There Is one return at Al
banv. before the State Canvasscrs. known as the
Nylod return, which the Supreme Court has de
clarcd to be false and fraudulent The question
% tho original validity of that return has been
argued before the Court of Appeals, and de-
cision is expected to-day or tomorrow. The ques-
tion as presented to the Court of Appeals
is whether such return is authenticated in the
manner which the law requires But the day
after that question was argued IN the
Court Of Appeals Judge Barnard Issued an
order reauirinC the Board Of Canvassers in
Dutchess County to make corrected return, ana
IL is this corrected return which the Democrats
are making such extraordinary efforts to keep
away from the State Canvassers. They want to
do this because the statute expressly declares
that in all places, and everywhere, the corrected
returns shall take the place of the original re-
turns, and ostrichke, they seem 10 think that
if they can only keep this corrected return from
getting before the State Canvassers through
the County Clerk OF Dutchcss County.
the canvassers can have no knowledge OF
IT, cannot count il and must count
the return which the Supreme Court has ex-
pressly found to be false The latter elects
,l,borne the Democrat the former elects Deane
the Republican, and it may be that the contest
OF the Senate depends OH this question.
But Democratic schemers are at fault In Their
law The moment the returns were deposited In
ON MnnllaV IL nht fhpX