The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-11-08

hin in case he continued toe4efciyF the
vff,ities of his office. He Set forth that
Arrhed men had come TO his houses CALLED
6orshim and when his wife told them lag
'Ava$ not at home, they had brokeH into
threatened his lifatp hip
MILO sAHe sgeEs tlsat he fhad llrepA fRrceq
to- give hps Ids pficey and HhaFt Ae hhits
SmaM, Jim Barnett, had been1 eanerFfl3
violent and threatening. He said the
names he had put IN the Yreg3stra ton
book had been stricken off and none of the
Republican and p0phlist Aregistfars' and
judges rof, election, WeEeV present an iSisc'
ton day. I"
=. !Ehe etRep negro registrafy-T. CsConn6r,,
the .stafeme8ta Of alexander.
and further made oath that he had given
up his office because he feared bodily
harm. Isaac Wilson, Judge of election,
seerrolbmtedl sAffaxsnasrg aed Connor and
ssvorefhat hetybted peRase theS5 names
from the registration book because he
feared bodily harm. He said Barnetts
mannsr had behn very threatening.
Tie Populist registrar, jeff Edwards,
swore that the affidavits of Alexander,
Conner and Wilson were true, and that he
himself feared personal eaiiokslfa from
Barnett and his followers. John Dunn
I nsed pn s HI BsiIlsFed 7IexsS1sr n53
Conner had been frightened away from
the discharge of their duties. j. II. Ed
ward, f. Mcdonald and ]. +. Sossamon
EAtEeas that Barnett was an extreme
partisan and that the negrQ Alexander
was a man of good, ehameter.
The argument was,ppeped by Mr.. Platt
D.. Walker, who submitted to the court
that it had no power in this proceeding
to 60 behind the returns and inquire into
4he manner of conducting the election.
After the election the clerks duties be-
Z come only ministerial and his duties are
simply to canyass the returns, count the
votes and declare the result The court
only has power to supervise the. exercise
Of the duties, he said. Only when the
clerk tries to fraudulently exercise these
duties ean the court interfere. In this
case the, clerk was. doing just what the
law requires. him to do and nothing else,
when. .the.Goua stopped dim with this
restraining order The law, still gives
ample remedy. fnr goiaBt @bel8hd the re-
turns, but not in such a proceeding as
tfHs. Ep SupRart of this position the opin-
ion of Judge Pearson in a similar case
ASFnS4 Yea eass -, =ASa 'essssss k.459 ~ ;
49, Here Fudge aslsdrehesa snggpsttad' That
the~peint dc dfscusSetl us at6 Whether the
clerk Aha vintei n ten fequired to- APPOINT
Judges tfnti. registrars ana having done !
so, Vwasafi fednifed 70 accept the re-
turns frenf any one Else A. 80 sA's
sSfr Walker then read the section of
tho election INV giving TO the chairman
"of the 4eIecrfoffA board. 'bowef TO 8npoaint al
substitute in case. any ole fans to serve
, He. further said that & copy of the Of
fftiSi" oath taken ny fhes Two men who
Mad been appointed IN place Of the two
men who had failed to appear had been
i takens fp the clerk. But the clerk, he
sid, had no right to stop and inquire
whether this had been lawfully done.
This would give to the clerk judicial pow
ers which it was not intended to confer
upon him. He had no right to presume
that these two men had not been regu-
larry appointed in the manner prescrib-
ed by. the 4 law. The offitial 0fths
brought to him by the messenger were
evidence of their appointment Several
opinions were read in support of this
position.
Judge Furches said there wasEno ques-
fion as 10 the face that the clerk had no
right to determine whether or not the vot-
ers We're legally qualified electors, but
the question is as TO Whether he has
sufficient returns to justify him in tabu-
lating th9"ysUre 1of "tlftp township Vitf dis
pute.
Mr.. Walker explained thar the returns
were signed by two of the officers. APP
pointed by the clerk and BY Two ap-
pointed hys the chairman of the board
Of election. go
Mr., Henry for t4e plaintiff, said that
therexamirfHtion of Superior court re-
ports was of little 1rse In this case as we
have q new election law. He held that
the court had n right TO make the clerk
act IN accordance,s not only with the let
ter, but the spirit of the law, and the
power. is given to enjoih him FROM pro-
ceeding unless he proceeded In accordance
with this law. The time. has passed
when the court can not go behind Their
turns.
He further contended that there was
no election at Pineville precinct on No
vember 3, 1896 The election law. he
said, pressribes that the eharman of the
board Of election shall be chosen by the
whole board. He denied that this was
done. Smith, who was elected to sue
coed Alexander, he1said, ahat1 only been
voted for by three members of the board,
and one of them was Smith himself.
Such proceeding, he thought, did not con-
stitute an election.
Here Judge sFurehes. fdld Mr.. Henry
tlrW the counsel OF the other side was
not trying to sustain the regularity Of
this appointment and the court had no
right to inquire into this phase of the
matter or into the question of intimida-
ton. He said the point at issue was the
sufficiency Of the rettifhs that had been
" tIdbry Icoste5asd abat ahs-el&k
Veg i'd D eeEts&n Axsknkc dsnpelfed to ScH
in a Judicial capacity. And that the re-
turns were not signed by LEGAL officers,
two of the men signing them, ID. II. Grier
and O. M. sCNnpbells being srs afpas and
not .YegaIls appoiptef@y saitk he Con