Year: 1877

lull RuOWl6uRe JDbJ JDey were mere
counterfeits. The exclusion of returns
on the ground Of intimidation was in ev-
cry case dishonest, for in none was there
a particle of evidence TO justify it. When
nothing else would serve the purpose,
they did not scruple a resort to plain
forgery. OF the return from Vernon
parish every figure on the whole broad
sheet was altered with elaborate pains
under the special direction of Wells.
Perjury and subornation of perjury en-
tered largely into the business. There
is hardly any species of the crimen tdlsi
for which the law has punishment that
did not become an elementary part of
the great fraud which was committed
when the defeated electors and State
officers of Louisiana were falsely certi-
fled as chosen by the people.


President Grants Completely.


Another question arises here, which
the Muse of History may answer at her
leisure. Is there any justification of
Gen, Grants conduct in this business?
Within two or three days after the elec-
tion it became perfectly well known to
the whole country that in Louisiana
there had been full poll, and large
majority for the Tilden electors. No
reason was suggestedb by anybody for fall
styling this result. The apprehension
that it would be falsifed in the return
arose solely out of the fact that the elec.
tion machinery of the State was in the
hands Of mere knaves who were just base
enough to do it, and these were Gen,
Grants own knaves, whom for years he
had kept in their places by lawless force.
It was then that he said no man could
afford to be President by fraud, and
sent committee to see that true count
was made. This was fair-seeming enough,
but he did not row the way he was look
ing. Every one Of his committee favored
the fraud, and their report which he en-
dorsed and sent to Congress, was a de-
fence of it from beginning to end. He
had supported and enforced frauds of
the same kind several times before, and
now his troops were at New Orleans
avowedly to protect the carpet. baggers
while they were repeating them on a
large scale. Besides, when Chandler
promised the fraudulent Governor of
Florida to send troops and money to that
| State after the election-troops and mon
ey to count the votes-he declared in one
Of his dispatches that the President had
been consulted. Still further, while his
party in Congress were holding up the
fraud, he answered the arguments in ia.
vor Of Tilden's right by ordering to the
capital all the cavalry, artillery and in
fantry within reach. Whether these
circumstances be sufficient or not to con-
vict him of participation in the fraud, let
the world judge.


The Creation Of the Commission.


But how was the object of the conspir.
acy to be accomplished? The House of
Representatives was Democratic, and
without its consent, expressed or inn
piled in'some form or another, the Sem
ate could not give effect to false count.
The first intention was to claim that the
President of the Senate had power to
determine absolutely and arbitrarily
what electoral votes should be counted
and what not. This was the great rally
ing point until Mr.. Conklin took it up,
and, in speech of surprising ability,
utterly demolished and reduced it to ih-
visible atoms. 1t became settled, there
fore. that the two Houses must count the
votes, and this clearly implied the pow
err to inquire and determine what were
votes 1t could not be denied that the
voice of the House Of Representatives
was at least as potential as that Of the
Senators; and it was not supposed that
the House would suffer a fraud 80 glar-
ING as this to be thrust down the throat
ofthe country against the stomach of
its sense" But if the two bodies would
declare inconsistent results of the count,
and proclaim the election of different
Presidents, state Of things might come
which would subject our institutions to
strain severe enough to endanger them
greatly. 1t was in these difficult circum-
stances that mixed commission of fif-
teen was proposed, consisting of five Sem
ators, five Representatives, and FIVE
Judges of the Supreme Court, The
mode Of appointing them made it cer-
tain that fourteen would be equally di-
vided between the parties; and as the
fifth Judge would be named by the con-
sent of his brethren on both sides, he
might be expected to stand between
them, like daysman, with hand as
heavy on one head as the other. The
Democrats consented to this in the be-
lief that no seven Republicans could be
taken from the Court or from Congress
who would swear to decide the truth and
then uphold known fraud; if mistaken
in that opinion of their adversaries' hon.
esty, they felt sure, at all events, thatthe
umpire would be a fair.minded man.
They were bitterly disappointed; the
commission went eight to seven for the
great fraud and all its branches; for
fraud in the detail and in the aggregate:
for every item of fraud that was necessa.
nv to make the sum total big enough
eight to seven all the time.


II Refuses to do its Duty.


We must look at the stage of the case
as it went before the commission. Til
den and Hendricks had 1S4 electoral
votes clear and free of all dispute, one
less than majority of the whole num-
Der. They also had in Louisiana eight,
and in Florida four, appointed by the
people, but falsely certified to Hayes and
Wheeler by the Governors, In Oregon
they had one certified by the Governor,
but against whom popular majority
had been cast for an ineligible candi-
date. To elect Hayes it was necessary
that each and every one of these thir-
teen votes should be taken from Tilden
and given to Hayes. As this required
many distinct rulings based upon con-
Trajectory grounds, the path Of the COM
mission was not only steep but crooked,


The great and important duty cast
upon the commission by a special law
and by special oath Of each member
was to decide, in the caiIe of contested
votes from a state. whether any and
what votes from such State are the yo-
tes provided for by the Constitution Of
the United States, and how many and
what persons were duly appointed cleo
tors in such State" Itisnot denied that
the sole power of appointing electors for
thn Stntnn Of I nrisiana and Florida is In