The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-12-24
Clerk Young Declines 70 FRO
duce Ballot Boxes.
Mr. BRouGHToN'S CONTEST
Jim Young's Prospects NOW
Looking Gloomy.
FURTHER HEARING POSTPONED
a S,nreme Court Judge Will Be APP
nealed To To-day For an Order
on the Clerk as to the
Ballot Boxes.

The taking of dispositions is, as rule
\ slow and tedious process, devoid OF
interest or excitement But when the
hour arrived yesterday morning for the
taking of evidence in the matter OF n g..
Rroughton. contestant, against j. H.
Young, contestee, for seat in the Cen
eral Assembly of North Carolina, to begin
before Justice J. c. Maroon, Commission
or. there were a hundred or more people
present. They were principally negroes, to
he sure. and Jinr Young's friends, but
their presence showed the great
interest that is being taken i'll the contest.
and the fear among the RepuD-
licans that Jim is not really eject
ed and that Broughton will get his seat.
This fear was increased by the investi-
CATION yesterday morning. Though IL
lasted but an hour, and only one witness
went on the stand, that was long enough
to show that Jim Young and his friends
fear a full investigation of the matter
and are stunning recount of the ballots
as they would the plague.
Counsel for Mr.. Broughton had before
this time demanded that the Clerk of the
Court produce the boxes and recount the
ballots This he refused to do. Again
yesterday they made the same demand be-
fore the Commissioner, and the clerk
again refused. Then Mr. Maroon, as
Commissioner, upon application of MT.
Rroughton's attorneys, ordered that the
boxes be produced. Still Clerk Young de-
clined to comply. And now the matter
goes to some judge for an order upon the
clerk commanding him to show cause why
he should not produce the boxes and bal
lots.
The contestant Broughton was repre-
scented by Messrs. w. N. Jones, w. &.
Douglas and j. III. Fleming, while Mr..
j. G. l.. Harris appeared for Jim Young,
the contestee.
The only deposition taken was that of
d. III. Young, clerk OF the Superior court
Of Wake county. He said he had in his
possession the ballot boxes used at the
various voting precincts in this county
for members of the General Assembly,
and the ballots purporting to have been
cast at the recent election. Asked il he
would now, in accordance with SUBJ
poena heretofore served on him, produce
the boxes in order that the votes for mem
bers OF the General Assembly may now
be recounted, he said he would not do SO,
having been advised by his attorney that
he had no right to do SO.
Thereupon Mr.. Douglas, for thecon-
testant, Mr.. Broughton, asked that the
Commissioner issue an order to the clerk
to now produce the boxes containing the
ballots for the purpose Of recount, con-
tending that the ballots were preserved
under the new election law for this very
purpose. To this Mr.. Harris, Jim
~Is &nI an N
that authority was not given. in the law
for any such recount, and that only q
legislative committee could order re-
count. Mr.. Douglas replied by saying
that the ballots were preserved only as re-
cords and the clerk was bound, on de-
mand Of the Commissioner to produce them.
These ballots, he said, were not only evil
dence, but that they being records We're
the very best evidence and conclusive evil
dence in the contest.
AS to the ballots being records, Mr..
Harris said the ballots were not yet pub
lie records-they were sealed up and
neither sthe clerk nor any one else has
any right to break the seals. The re-
turns, he said, were public records and
the clerk was bound to produce them,
but the law provided that the ballots be
sealed and preserved for II months and
nobody but the Legislature had a right
to break the seals, without doing violence
to the law.
Mr.. Jones said that the law governing
the investigation Of contested elections OF
this nature was passed long before the
new election law was passed, and that
this law was still in force and this pro-
per tribunal for the trial Of evidence. de
said the Commissioner had right to
order any evidence he might see fit to be
brought before him and investigated. The
ballot boxes, he said, were simply sealed
in order to prevent fraud, and the fact
that they were sealed up was no reason
why the boxes should not be gone into.
II the Legislature had not intended that
the ballots be used as evidence in just
such cases as this no provision for pre-
serving them would ever have been put
in the law.
Mr.. Douglas also referred to the joint
resolution passed by the last Legislature
providing for the early investigation OF
all election cases and said that il the
Legislature undertook to count the bal
lots i'm every contested election case II
would be able to do nothing but count
ballots. Mr.. Fleming contended that
the ballots were preserved for a recount
in case they were not properly counted
at first; and now the charge was. that
they were not properly counted, and
it was the duty, the express duty, Of the
Commissioner, the agent OF the Legisla-
ture, to take such evidence as is necessary
to secure correct count. The only way
to do this is to break the seals OF the
ballot-boxes and, in the presence OF wit
nesses, recount the ballots. 1t is the
duty OF the Commissioner to get the best
evidence possible in the case-and the
best evidence is the ballots. If the legis'
lative committee has authority to go into
the ballot-boxes, its agent, the Commits
sioner, has a right to go into them.
Mr.. Douglass explained that in this
matter they simply desired to secure q
ruling and that they did not propose to
ask for any contempt judgment.
Thereupon the Commissioner made the
following ruling:
After hearing counsel for the contest
ant and contestee in the above entitled
matter whether ID. II. Young, clerk OF
the Superior court, should be required te