Year: 1878

MR.. POTTERs COMMITTEE TRYING HARD BUI IN


VAIN. TO DISCOVER AN IRREGULARIrY IN THE


LOUISIANA ELECTORAL RETURNS.


lBY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBUSE.l


WAsHINGToN, June 7.-The Potter Committee
spent nearly four hours to-day in secret session. the
time being consumed in an examination OF the
electoral returns from Louisiana, and comparison
OF them with the copies printed in the official re-
ports OF the proceedings of the Electoral Commls-
sion.


The position Of the Democrats is that the electoral
vote of the State of Louisiana, which was actually
counted by the Joint convention Of the two Houses
of Congress- was the one to which Judge Levissee
swOre yesterday that his signature was forged The
Democrats will probably discover that they are
wasting time in following out this line OF
investigation. Although they were good
deal puzzled by some things they found
ont to-day, it will be ascertained that the
proceedings before the Electoral Commission
and IN the int convention were regular in every
particular and that the presence of the certihcate
to which Judge Leyissee's name was forged had no
influence and was of no consequence in connection
with the counting of the vote Of Louisiana.


Three certificates of the vote Of Louisiana we're
sent by the joint convention to the Electoral Com
mission They were known in all subsequent pro-
ceedings as numbers one, two and three. respec-
lively. Number was the certificate signed on
the 9th of December by the Republican electors,
which has been proved TO be genuine
in every particular having been signed by all the
electors. II il was technically irregular in form,
that iiregularity was not discovered by the Demo-
Gratis during the proceedings before the Electoral
Commission and no objection was raised to it on
that ground. Number two was the pretended return
made by the Democratic candidates on the electoral
ticket in Louisiana Number three is the certificate
which was mailed at New-Orleans on December %
purporting TO have been signed by the Republican
electors but To which Judge Leyissee declares his
signature is n forgery.


These several certificates We're all sent to the
Electoral Commission, and were printed IN separate
pamphlets for its use. After extended arguments
upon both sides the Electoral Commission reported
that certificates numbered one and three declared
what the vote Of Louisiana was, and that the
votes which they contained were the ones
10 be counted. Each Of these certificates
Represented Louisiana as having cast eight votes
for Hayes and Wheeler. IL one or more sig
natures to both OF them had been forged,
some question rs to the validity of this
count might DO raised but. as it IS.
any objection which may be made to
certificate number three on account Of the forgery
of Judge Levlssees name, cannot be raised to num-
Der one. Ii was only necessary that one certificate
should be accepted by the Electoral Commission
and reported TO the House rs the one to be counted
The purport Of numbers one and three was the same
and from the fact that tie Electoral Commission in
clnded number one, which was the genuine certf-
oa'e in its report, no question can properly be
raised as to the validity Of the count.


During their investigations to-day, the Demo-
cratic members Of the committee thought they had
discovered that. by some trickery the certificate
number three was never sent TO the Electoral
Commission The official reports Of the proceedings
of the Commission contain, of course, what purport
TO he copies OF all three of the certificates in ques
ton but upon comparing the original papers with
these printed COPIES, II was found that no copy OF
certificate number three is published, that
which purports to he such being in fact
copy Of certificate number one. This
discovery greatly puzzled the committee
but the explanation of il is very simple. Each of
the certificates was printed in pamphlet form for
the use of the ElcctOtal Commission. aud copies
were kept In separate envelopes when the com
mission adjourned each day the copies which
had been IN use were gathered up
By the clerks messengers who attended
at the Supreme Court TOOm and returned 10 the en-
veloues IN which they were kept. After the com
mission adjourned the secretary discovered that
some Of these pamphlets had been placed in the
wrong envelopes, but 10 was not until to-day that
anyone knew of a mistake having arisen
from tins bunder. IL now appears that copy OF
certificate number one must have been IN the en-
three when Mr. Murphy the official reporter Sc
lected his copies 10 send to the public printer IL
therefore happened that two copies OF certificate
number one were published IN the Oihclal reports
and none OF certificate number three.


These facts will be brought out by the testimony
of the official reporter and the Secretary of the Flee
tOral Commission If the committee thlnkS tnat IL II
Of sufficient Importance to follow the subject up.