The sun., 1898-12-19

4 again in evidence in matters politica
K New and mysterious portents are bein
: continually discovered in its provision
t What can, and what cannot be dor
j under its provisions are still unknow
: quantities in political equations. So fa
however, as its influences have been d.
! veloped and deter mined, it has proved
: be. a Democratic boomerang" Mad
. by body fraudently organised in tn
, interest OF the Democratic party, an
thrown from that party's citadel with
brazen confidence, begotten of lon
career of successful political fraud, it ha
} carried back, and fell upon its maker
J with destructive force. 1t was expecte,
to defeat the Union Republican party
The opponents OF that party, Democrati
and otherwise, confidently asserted that
The fact is, its operation defeated tn
Democratic combine. 1t is conceded
that it practically assured pure ballo
and an honest election, and it is unde
niable that in securing pure ballot ant
an honest election, it also secured thu
defeat OF the Democratic party.
There can be but one reasonable infer.
ence from this correlation of facts; and
that is, that the Democratic party, de.
spite its assured horror over alleged
frauds and wholesale bribery in our eIec.
tions, had been profiting by these very
things. The result OF the election proved
further, that the allegations of fraud and
bribery by the Union Republicans, and
that they won, and could only win vic
tories by fraud and bribery, were untrue.
These are the reasonable, conclusions to
be drawn from the result of the recent
election. They must not be overlooked
or forgotten by voters who desire to cast
a pure ballot and have that ballot hon
estly counted. 1t is possible that the
Democratic party-the organized man.
agement of twill not be so desirous of
a pure ballot aud an honest election at
the next bout of the ballots. Then. if
this surmise should prove prophetic the
facts here cited will be worth having
been remembered. 1t is amusing now, to
remember how very jealous they were.
How, positively sure they were that the
antl-bribery provisions OF the registra-
ton law would prevent Republicans
from registering; how the antl-briberv
provisions of the election law would pre-
vent Union Republicans from buying
votes; how these double ended anti-brib.
cry provisions were to eliminate the COL
ored Republican vote and assume
Democratic majority at the election; and
then, more amusing than all else, the
Immediate effort of Democratic news
paper writer's to prove that an over
whelmlng per cent. of the Republican
votes was cast by colored voters.
Surely the gods have decided to de
slroy the Democratic party-they have
made it mad
There seems, however, to be more of
these sugar-coated Democratic political
nostrums concealed somewhere in the
new constitution. In indication of this
a curious story came to Union RepubIi.
can Glasses during the last week. Sber-
III Shaw, OF Kent county, who has al
ready served two terms, consecutively in
that office and thereby earned singular
distinction among Delaware sheriffs, is
for saying that Democratic law
yers tell him that he may be continued
IN that office for third term. Several
lawyers, including the Hon. John B.
Pennington have told him that he is not
Twill not be compelled to vacate his
ofilce. Sheriff Shaw was of course inter-
ested in this story. He was not desir-
Gus Gus or anxious to keep Sheriff.elect
Wharton out OF the office to which he
had been elected; but if he, Shaw. was
still sheriff under the law he wanted to
know it. He consulted several LAWYERS.
put they could not find any warrant for
the Democratic statement. Mr.. Shaw
came to Wilmington and consulted law
yers here. He was still assured that
sherlffs elect in the various counties had
been legally elected, He had concluded
that the Democratic story was fake.
W hat it meant he could not tell. But
Just as he had given it up another promi.
nent Democratic lawyer meeting him on
the street, repeated the suggestion that
he, Shaw, would not be compelled to
vacate the sheriff's office if he did not
want to do so. The mystery appeared
to be deepening. 1t has been suggest
ed that the riddle is constitutional
one.
1t is fact that the new constitution
makes no specific or special regulation
for the election of sheriffs to succeed the
present incumbents of that office.
SECTION, 22, of article III, saws: "* y
the terms of office of Sheriffs and Coron-
ers shall be two years. These officers
shall be chosen by the qualified electors
o. the respective counties at general
elections and be commissioned bv the
Governor.
mo person shall be twice elected
Sheriff in any term of four years"
These two indefinite paragraphs. OK.
cept a reference in the following section
Section 23) of the same article, directing
where the Sheriffs shall ''keep their OF.
fees is the only reference to that office
there is in the constitution proper. The
schedule appended to the constitution,
Section 7, provides for the extension OF
the term of such officers as have been
elected or appointed to State or county
officers "made elective by the amended
and whose terms expire be.
fore the first Tuesday in January, 1S99>
10 that date. This apparently applies to
the Sheriffs of the various counties,
whose terms of Office under the old law
expired upon the election of their sue
,essors. 1t is claimed, however, that the
Sheriff. Office was not "made elective"
oy the new constitution. 1t has always
oeen an elective Office. The term "made
elective" it is claimed applied to Court
House Observation-Disclosures, Clerks of
he Peace, Regiter Of Wills, Recorders,
2oUiatora in Nho vScnrv urd GlnrLo - Ar