Year: 1877




in this whole business was uneup-
ported by legal authority. The LIE,
gislature of the State did not, because
it could not, give them power to dis.'
franchise qualified electors. They
lacked, therefore, the general juris-
diction which they assumed. But
that is not all; they proceeded in the
very teeth even of the void statute
which they prGfessed to follow. That
statute pretends to give them no such
authority as they exercised over any
return to which q protest or statement
or charge Of Intimidation Is not at
tached when it is sent in by the Su,
pervisog of Registration or Commits
sioner of Election, and the charge so
attached to the return must be sup
ported by the affidavits of three citi-
zens of the, proper parish.


Wanting this, the board was abso-
lutely without the pretense of power
to touch the return from any parish
or polling place, except for the pur-
poses OF compilingit and adding it
as true to the others. BY the cleo
tion law of Louisiana the board has
no more authority to examine or de-
eide question of intimidation which
is not raised by the election officers
than private individual would have
to steal it from the records and burn
it. So stands the law. The fact is
established by conclusive evidence
that from every one of the Demo-
cratic parishes the returns came up
without any charge, statement, OF
protest. In ali those cases they were
therefore without color of jurisdic-
ton. ~ p :H ,.'....
FORGING AFFIDAvTTs AND RETURNS.
But the conspirators could not af
ford to be baked of their game by
the failure of the local officers tt
make false charge of intimidation
Theso votes must be excluded per fas
aut nofas, and the returning board
must do it; that was what the board
was made for. The returning off
cors went upon the principle aut in
veniam aut facium. They made the
protests Which they could not find;
affidavits which no creature in
the parishes was base enough to
back with his oat were fabricated
in the custom house, and used by the
board with a full knowledge that
they were moro counterfoits. The
exclusion Of returns on the ground Of
intimidation was in every case dis
honest, for in none was thore q par
ticle of evidence to justify it. When
nothing else would servo the purpose
they did not ecruple to resort to plain
forgery. Of The return from Vernon
parish every figure on tho whole
broad sheet was altered with elabo~
rate pains under the special direc-
ton Of Wells. Perjury aud subor-
nation of perjury entered largely into
the business. There is hardly any
species of tho crimen falsi for which
the law has punishment that did
not become an elementary part of
the great fraud which was commit I.
ted when the defeatod electors and
State officers of louisiana were fall
sely certified as chosen by the peo-
pie.


THE CREATION OF THE COMMISSION.


But how was the object OF the COM
spiracy 10 be Accomplished The
House of Representatives was De-
mocratic, and without it's consent, ex-
pressed or implied in some form or
another, the Senate could not give
effect to O false count. The first in
tention was TO claim that the Presi-
dent of the Senate had power to de-
termine absolutely and arbitrarily
what electoral votes should be count.
cd and what not. This was the great
rallying point until Mr.. Conklinp