Middletown transcript., 1906-09-15

suit thereof, duly sighed By the
Judges, were deiiv@N
to the Board Of Canvas, and "
one Of the other two districts al
election was held but no ceTtifi-s
cate signea or returned, while no.
election was held in the other Of
two said districts; the inspectors
with the Sheriff met and orga-
nized as a Board Of Canvass at the
time.and place prescribed by laws
the ten Democratic members of
the Board calculated the votes of
only eight of fourteen districts
for which, returns had been made
aud refused to calculate the vote
of the remaining six districts,
whereby the vote of the county
was ascertained to be 1858, or
about 1862 less than the total
vote returned, aud by this means
pluralities was ascertained for
the Democratic candidates for
the Offices to be filled by the cleo
ton, and certificates of the result
were signed by the said ten in
spectors; the six Republican in
speetors; with the Sheriff rs pre-
siding officer, calculated the
votes of all the said fourteen dis
tricts for which certificates had
been returned and thereby ascer-
tanned the total vote soretQrned,
by viii h there were pluralities
| in favor of the Republican candi-
Fdates and of this result certifi-
Gates were made and signed by
the said six inspectors and the
Sheriff. /"
This is Judge Marvel's judicial
| opinion of the facts of the case.
The Court at tnat time was
solidly Democratic and the case
was fought out. Chief Justice
Lore delivered the opinion of the
Court, in the course of which he
said:
"The Board had no right to GO
behind the certificates of the re-
turns of the Judges of the cleo
ton. The attempt to do SO was
a gross usurpation of the powers
vested by the Constitution and
laws of the State in the Legitla.
ture, where it relates to the elec.
ton of members in THAT body,
| and in the Courts when It relates
Ito the election of other officers,
In these tribunals full and ex.
hanstive examination of all the
facts and circumstances attend
ing the election Can be had under
sanction of law, with all rights
carefully guarded and pre-.
served"
Mr.. Wilson refused for a time
| to take his seat as a member ol
the Legislature, elaitning that he
was not elected, but on the l1th
of January, he appeared before
the bar of the House and took
| the oath. The House had then
been in session six days, but Mr.,
Wilson took pay for the whole
session at $3 per. One of the
first acts passed by the Legisla'
ture of 1897 and the record shows
that it passed the Mousse unani-
mously, was one to abolish the
Board Of Canyass and substitute
| certain County officers as the
Canvassing Board. The idea
was to Save the results of the
steal. The Court passed upon
lIhis proposition and said that
"Such a construction would em,
balm in judicial sanction the craft
to devise the power to defeat the
will of the people at the will Of
the Legislature. No thoughtful
person can contemplate without
abhorrence the possible result OF
such a construction. It would
be political suicide; and finds no
sanction either in reason or
authority"
This case was carried 10 the
old Court of Errors and Appeals,
but before that Court could pass
upon it, the Constitutional Con-
vention abolished the COURT apd
substituted the present Supreme
Court. The same Legislature,
with Mr.. Wilson still a member,
passed early in 1898 at its ad-
iourned session law prohibit
ing the meeting of the Supreme
Court before June 1893, when
the Legislature had finally ad-
journed and no further use was
to be made of the steal. Incl.
dentally, the same Legislature
elected Mr.. Wilson's good friend
Kenney Senator of the United
States.
OF the candidate for State
Auditor, we have been unable to