The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-06-22

Mr. Colexu1u~-1 would &e< tup cu4sf< nnan.of this committee # this pro- vfsion of his does not confer judicial power upon the House. Mr. Jonss--Gnquestionably it does. and was intended to do sp. but h tho three particulars named In this sunsfi- ute. 1t is expressly denied any power save in the instances named.
 Nr. Coieman-They are to judge and determine for themselves whether thers are any errors and as to the correction of themf
 MT: Whether the returns are genuine. s
 MT. coleman--correct such errors as may be found. They are made tue judges of whether there are errors and they are to correct them?
 Mir. Jones-UnQuestiona
 Mir, Coleman-Then they act judi eiaily under this instead of nainiste- rially?
 MT. Jones-Yes; and we were afraid. if we put the word "ministeriaily" tn there. they would be put in straight jacket and could not correct manisest er plain error. or 2 frauauient sltsra-
 MT. Harrison-WiIl the gentleman permit a question?
 Mir. Ashcraft-May interrupt the gentleman with a question:
 The President pro tem.--Wiil the delegate yield for question?
 Mr. Jones (Montgomery)--To either one of them; but not to the two at the same time.
 Mr. Harrison--would it not be better. Instead of saying to correct such CT TOTS as may be found therein to make 1t to permit such errors as may bc found therein to be correctedr
 Mir. Jones (Montgomery)--Is not that
 MT. Harrison-Permit them to be cor rected by the County Board; or do you Intend that the Joint Convention shall act judicially and correct the errors!
 Mr.. Jones (Montgomeryl-- Athe committee intended was, in view of the decision of the Supreme Court, to give this Board. or Joint Convention. the power to judiciaily determine when the returns were sent up. whether they were true returns. whether in proper form. signed by the proper officers. and whether the returns tally with the declaration made by the Board of Su- pervisors of the county at the time the votes were counted and the result declared. and if there were errors in the retui ns-not frauds in the election or wrongs of the election officers-tn give the joint convention power to coy~ rect such errors.
 l take 1t for granted if there was gentleman on the floor of the Joint Convention who said there was an er- TOT of five hundred votes in the re- turns sent up from his county, and there was no dispute about it, the con- vention would correct 1t by common consent, as they did in 1872i but if it was disputed. they would send cosn- mittee of the body to examine into the etAx ar.9 AnG l<S supervisors, and say. to them, You have given this man % and So many votes-is that mistake? Everybody else running on that ticket got nine hundred votes?" If they answer. aYes. that is a mistake" then the Convens ton would correct 1t. If thsy testify, No. that Is not a mistake" then the Joint Convention would not change 1t.
 The committee was afraid if they used the word ministerial" purely. it would make Q set of dummies of the 133 men of the two Houses, and put ia in the power of any County Board of Supervisors by sending up return. which fraudulently contracdicted the result as declared by them be- low, or which had been tays- pered with in the mails to change the result, and compel the convention to make a declaration of election in favor of man who was not elected.
 All of us know that in times of pas sion and political excitement. good men do a great many things they nSter- wards regret. Some men get so fanat- lcal that they think they are doing Gods service when. no matter how or by what means. they down political opponent. Take a close election in the State where the vote of one County would decide 1t. and turn over the po- Ah. kNaua.s der the plan proposed by the gentleman from Sumter. a Board of Supervisors of three men, even after the result had been declared in their County could give man ten thousand votes when he didn't have but fifteen hundred, and when 1t was notorious that 1t contr0Il- ed the result as declared below, and thus the will of the people could be overthrown by three men. Is 1t not better to insert one hundred and thir.
 MT. Ashcraft--wnl the gentleman al. low an interrogatoFy right here?
 Mir. Jones-Certainly.
 Mir. Ashcraft-You have approached precisely the point about which l de- sire to ask Q question. The safeguards which have been thrown around the holding of an election and the making of returns are such as to bring the returns to the Speaker of the House presumptively correct. Now. in the heat of this political condition to which you refer. you say the Board of Su- pervisors may certify and return party as having received five thousand votes when he only received three thousand.
 MT. Jones (Montgomery)-And when they declared he had only received three thousand when the result was announced. e
 MT. Ashcraft-As I say, the returns come to the Speaker presumptively cor rect, and suppose a member Of that one hundred and thirty-three stands up and says, MT. Speaker, those re- turns are not correct" They are pre- sumptively correct before the Speaker. The House constitutes itself into a re- turning board. Now, will it do that without giving notice to the parties who are interested. and if 1t must give notice to them in order that justice may be done. does not that incidental ly place 1t where the body is under later clause of this report which pro- vides for contests in the regular form
 Mn Jones (Montgomery)-There is only one way to make a contest and that is to contest the result that is de- cIared by the Speaker the House or the presiding officer of the two houses. When that Is done the question of contest comes in, but before decla- ration is made. there cannot be any contest. strictly speaking, in legal sense. the contest to which. the Constl- tuition refers.